Combine harvester

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9756787-B2
Application number	US-201615084736-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2016
Priority date	Apr 2, 2015
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A combine harvester has a threshing unit for threshing picked-up crop to obtain grain and a driver assistance system for controlling the threshing unit. The driver assistance system includes a memory for storing data and a computing unit for processing the data stored in the memory. The threshing unit, together with the driver assistance system, forms an automated threshing unit, in that a plurality of selectable harvesting-process strategies is stored in the memory and in that, in order to implement the particular selected harvesting-process strategy, the computing device autonomously determines at least one machine parameter, for example, a threshing-unit parameter, and specifies the parameter to the threshing unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A combine harvester, comprising an automated threshing unit, the automated threshing unit comprising:
a threshing unit for threshing picked-up crop to obtain grain; and
a driver assistance system for controlling the threshing unit, the driver assistance system configured with a memory for storing data, including a plurality of selectable harvesting-process strategies, and a computing unit for processing the data stored in the memory;
wherein to implement a particular selected harvesting-process strategy, of the plurality of selectable harvesting-process strategies, the computing unit autonomously determines at least one machine parameter and specifies the machine parameter to the threshing unit;
wherein the at least one machine parameter is a threshing-unit parameter;
wherein a functional system model for at least one part of the combine harvester is stored in the memory and the computing unit carries out the autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter on a basis of the functional system model;
wherein the automated threshing unit implements the particular selectable harvesting-process strategy based on the at least one machine parameter that is automatically determined by the computing unit; and
wherein the selectable harvesting-process strategies are each directed to an objective of setting or optimizing at least one harvesting-process parameter selected from the group consisting of: threshing losses, broken grain portion, separation losses, cleaning losses, slip threshing-unit drive, and fuel consumption by specifying the at least one machine parameter as drum speed, concave width or both.

2. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the computing unit aligns the functional system model with a current harvesting-process state during an on-going harvesting operation, cyclically.

3. The combine harvester according to claim 2 , wherein the current harvesting-process state includes field information selected from the group consisting of: crop density, threshability, crop moisture and harvesting-process parameters.

4. The combine harvester according to claim 2 , further comprising a sensor system configured to ascertain at least a portion of the harvesting-process state.

5. The combine harvester according to claim 2 , wherein at least one initial model is stored in the memory and, wherein in a first autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter is carried out by the computing unit on a basis of the at least one initial model.

6. The combine harvester according to claim 5 , wherein at least two initial models are stored in the memory, wherein the computing unit selects one of the at least two initial models depending on the harvesting-process state, and wherein the computing unit makes a subsequent autonomous determination of the threshing-unit parameters based on said selected one of the at least two initial models.

7. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein in order to implement the particular selected harvesting-process strategy, the computing unit cyclically determines the at least one machine parameter and specifies the at least one machine parameter to the threshing unit.

8. The combine harvester according to claim 3 , wherein the harvesting-process parameters are selected from the group consisting of: threshing losses, broken grain portion, material field height, separation losses, cleaning losses, slip threshing-unit drive, fuel consumption and threshing-unit parameters.

9. The combine harvester according to claim 8 , wherein the threshing-unit parameters are selected from the group consisting of: drum speed, concave width and environment information.

10. The combine harvester according to claim 9 , wherein the environment information includes ambient temperature, ambient humidity or both.

11. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , further comprising an input/output device, wherein at least a portion of a harvesting-process state is entered via the input/output device.

12. The combine harvester according to claim 11 , wherein the computing unit generates queries related to the current harvesting-process state and outputs the queries via the input/output device and, wherein in response to a query, at least a portion of the current harvesting-process state is entered via the input/output device.

13. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one threshing-unit parameter includes one of the group consisting of: drum speed, concave width and at least one further harvesting-process parameter.

14. The combine harvester according to claim 13 , wherein the at least one further harvesting-process parameter comprises material feed height.

15. The combine harvester according to claim 1 , wherein for a depiction of the functional interrelationships, at least one family of characteristics (A-J) is assigned to a harvesting-process parameter, and wherein harvesting-process parameter is the output variable of the at least one family of characteristics (A-J).

16. The combine harvester according to claim 15 , wherein the harvesting-process parameter material feed height and a threshing-unit parameter are the input variables for the at least one family of characteristics (A-J).

17. The combine harvester according to claim 16 , wherein the computing unit selects the at least one family of characteristics (A-J) depending on the harvesting-process state and uses the selected at least one family of characteristics (A-J) as a basis for the autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter.

18. The combine harvester according claim 17 , wherein the computing unit aligns the at least one family of characteristics (A-J) with the current harvesting-process state during an on-going harvesting operation, cyclically, wherein at least one initial family of characteristics is stored in the memory and, wherein in a first determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter, the computing unit carries out the autonomous determination on a basis of the initial family of characteristics.

19. The combine harvester according to claim 18 , wherein at least one implementation instruction is stored in the memory, according to which the computing unit, based on the functional system model, carries out the implementation of the particular selected harvesting-process strategy based on the autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter.

20. The combine harvester according to claim 19 , wherein the at least one implementation instruction implements the autonomous determination of the at least one threshing-unit parameter in a control process and wherein the computing unit determines the at least one threshing-unit parameter as a characteristic control.

21. The combine harvester according to claim 19 , wherein at least two of the selectable harvesting-process strategies or the at least two sub-strategies of the particular selected harvesting-process strategy conflict with one another with respect to one and the same threshing-unit parameter, and wherein the at least one implementation instruction includes a multi-objective optimization for the simultaneous implementation of the mutually conflicting harvesting-process strategies.

22. The combine harvester according to claim 21 , wherein the at least one implementation instruction includes at least one premise, on the basis of which the computing unit autonomously determines the at least one threshing-unit par

Assignees

• Claas Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen Gmbh

Inventors

• Heitmann Christoph
• Wilken Andreas
• Baumgarten Joachim
• Neu Sebastian
• Bussmann Christoph
• Voecking Henner
• Teroerde Stefan
• Vieregge Christopher

Classifications

• G05B17/02

  electric · CPC title

• G05B13/021

  in which a variable is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance · CPC title

• A01D41/127 Primary

  Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines · CPC title

• A01F12/58

  Control devices; Brakes; Bearings · CPC title

• A01F12/18

  Threshing devices · CPC title