U.S. patent application number 11/148113 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-29 for method and device for controlling an agricultural working machine.
Invention is credited to Brunnert, Andreas.
Application Number | 20050284119 11/148113 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35295523 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050284119 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brunnert, Andreas |
December 29, 2005 |
Method and device for controlling an agricultural working
machine
Abstract
A method for controlling an agricultural working machine
includes the step of assigning a route planning system (7) to the
agricultural working machine (2) for generating driving routes (8)
in a territory (1). The route planning system (7) subdivides the
territory (1) into a worked territory (13) and a remaining
territory area (14), and at least one parameter (17) of the
agricultural working machine (2) is adapted as a function of the
shape of the worked territory (13) and/or the remaining territory
area (14). In this manner it is ensured that the working method of
the agricultural working machine (2) or its working attachments (6)
is adaptable to the shape of the particular territory (13, 14) to
ensure economically efficient use of the agricultural working
machine (2). A device for controlling an agricultural working
machine also is provided.
Inventors: |
Brunnert, Andreas;
(Delbrueck, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STRIKER, STRIKER & STENBY
103 EAST NECK ROAD
HUNTINGTON
NY
11743
US
|
Family ID: |
35295523 |
Appl. No.: |
11/148113 |
Filed: |
June 8, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
56/6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01D 41/127 20130101;
A01B 69/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
056/006 |
International
Class: |
A01D 075/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 28, 2004 |
DE |
10 2004 031 211.7 |
Claims
What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters
Patent is set forth in the appended claims:
1. A method for controlling an agricultural working machine,
comprising the following steps: assigning a route planning system
to the agricultural working machine for generating driving routes
in a territory, whereby the route planning system subdivides the
territory into at least one worked territory and at least one
remaining territory area; and adapting at least one parameter of
the agricultural working machine as a function of the shape of the
worked territory and/or the remaining territory area.
2. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 1, wherein the agricultural working machine
comprises at least one carrier vehicle and at least one working
attachment adapted to the carrier vehicle, and wherein the at least
one parameter is assigned to the carrier vehicle and/or the adapted
at least one working attachment.
3. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes
orientation of the agricultural working machine and/or the adapted
at least one working attachment.
4. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 3, wherein the at least one parameter that
determines orientation includes adjusting partial working
widths.
5. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 4, wherein the partial working widths are
influenced by turning the at least one working attachment on and
off.
6. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes
changing a driving speed of the agricultural working machine.
7. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes
activating predefined working sequences.
8. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 7, wherein the predefined working sequence is
turn-around management.
9. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter includes
right- or left-side activation of working devices.
10. The method for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 1, wherein at least one engine and a plurality of
drives are assigned to the agricultural working machine, and the at
least one parameter includes changing the rotational speed of the
engine and/or changing the rotational speeds of the drives.
11. A device for controlling an agricultural working machine,
comprising: a route planning system assigned to the agricultural
working machine for generating driving routes in a territory,
wherein the route planning system subdivides the territory into at
least one worked territory and at least one remaining territory
area; at least one arithmetic and control unit actively connected
to the route planning system, wherein the arithmetic and control
unit generates actuating signals as a function of the generated
driving routes for adjusting at least one parameter of the
agricultural working machine, wherein the at least one parameter of
the agricultural working machine is determined as a function of the
shape of a worked territory and/or a remaining territory area.
12. The device for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited in claim 11, wherein the arithmetic and control unit
automatically adapts the determined parameters.
13. The device for controlling an agricultural working machine as
recited claim 11, wherein the determined parameters are visualized
using a display unit.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a device for
controlling an agricultural working machine.
[0002] EP 0 660 660 discloses equipping agricultural working
machines with "GPS" systems to record the position of the
agricultural harvesting machine in an area to be worked. In this
process, the operator of the machine determined the route to be
driven, and the GPS system--that is actively connected to a
recording unit--delivered the position data of the vehicle, which
were then used in the recording unit to electronically depict the
driving path that had been covered. Systems of this type were an
initial step in the direction toward recording driving routes,
whereby the initial application was only to record driving routes.
It was not possible to use systems of this type to perform advance
planning of driving routes to be worked.
[0003] Building logically on the idea of displaying driving routes,
systems as described in EP 0 821 296 enable the generation of
driving routes as a function of external geometries of agricultural
useful areas to be worked. The main advantage of these systems is
that, for the first time, driving routes can be determined in
advance with consideration for diverse optimization criteria,
which, in the simplest case, are subsequently processed
automatically by the agricultural working machine. Based on the
fact that driving paths were defined in advance based on simple
geometric interrelationships, systems of this type are only capable
of subdividing the territory to be worked into these driving paths
as a function of the working width of the agricultural working
machine. Since the width of a territory to be worked is usually not
a whole-number multiple of the working width of the agricultural
working machine, route planning systems of this type are also used
to work driving paths that require only a portion of the possible
working width of the working machine. In the least favorable case,
the situation can occur in which a great deal of effort--namely
skillful maneuvering by the operator of the agricultural working
machine--is required to work calculated driving paths in the edge
regions, or, when substances are applied, such as fertilizer or
herbicides, the situation can occur in which the particular
substance is applied multiple times to the same partial areas of
the territory to be worked. This results in increased costs due to
an unnecessarily excessive application of the substance and, in the
least favorable case, the multiple applications can also damage the
plants.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The object of the present invention, therefore, is to
propose a route planning system that avoids the disadvantages of
the related art described above, and to ensure economically
efficient use of the agricultural working machine on the territory
to be worked.
[0005] Due to the fact that a parameter of the agricultural working
machine is adapted as a function of the shape of a worked territory
and/or a remaining territory area, it is ensured that the working
method of the agricultural working machine or its working
attachment is adaptable to the shape of the particular territory to
ensure economically efficient use of the agricultural working
machine.
[0006] An advantageous further development of the present invention
results when the agricultural working machine is a carrier vehicle
with adapted working attachments, and the parameters capable of
being adapted as a function of the shape of the territory to be
worked can be parameters of the carrier vehicle and the working
attachments. With this, a great deal of flexibility in the
optimization of the economic efficiency is achieved, since,
depending on the type of agricultural working machine, individual
working attachments can be moved from an operating position into a
non-operating position, or working attachments that are not
required can be simply shut off but not moved out of the way.
[0007] In the simplest case, the changeable parameter can include
the orientation of the agricultural working machine or the working
attachment adapted to the shape of the worked territory and/or the
remaining territory area. The orientation can be the diagonal
position of the agricultural working machine and its working
attachments, or the adjustment of partial working widths. This has
the advantages, in particular, that better use is made of the
working width of the agricultural working machine, and repeated
working of the same territory is prevented.
[0008] In a manner with a particularly simple design, the
adjustment of partial working widths is realizable by switching
individual working devices on and off.
[0009] The agricultural working machine is usually moved to a new
territory after it has been used to work a territory, and it is
typically moved at a faster driving speed than it traveled when
working the territory. The same applies for moving from a driving
route after working it to the next driving route to be worked. In
an advantageous further development, the driving speed of the
agricultural working machine can be changed immediately when the
size of the remaining territory area is zero, i.e., when the
working of the territory that, in the simplest case, can even be a
single driving route, has therefore been completed.
[0010] In another advantageous further development of the present
invention, the parameter capable of being changed as a function of
the shape of the worked territory or the remaining territory area
can include the activation of predefined working sequences. This
has the advantage, in particular, that repeating working sequences
are always triggered automatically at certain places in the
territory, e.g., at the end of a driving route. These predefined
working sequences can be "turn-around management" in particular,
whereby, in the simplest case, the shape of the remaining territory
area can also be defined such that it is the shape of a driving
route to be worked that remains.
[0011] The activation of working devices such as the orientation of
devices that transfer harvested crops depends decisively on the
shape of the worked territory or the remaining territory area in
such a manner that, e.g., hauling vehicles can be positioned only
at certain places on the territory due to limited space. In an
advantageous further development of the present invention, the
changeable parameter can now include the right- or left-side
orientation of working devices, so that actions to be carried out
by the operator in particular to carry out hand over processes can
be reduced considerably.
[0012] Given that the shape of the remaining territory area is
known, the agricultural working machine also has qualitative
information about the remaining power requirement. In an
advantageous further development of the present invention, said
information can be used to adapt the rotational speed of the engine
of the agricultural working machine and/or the rotational speed of
the various drives of the agricultural working machine or the
adapted working devices to this remaining power requirement.
[0013] An implementation of the method according to the present
invention with a particularly simple design results when at least
one arithmetic and control unit is assigned to the route planning
system that generates actuating signals for adjusting at least one
parameter of the agricultural working machine as a function of the
generated driving routes and this at least one parameter is
determined as a function of the shape of a worked territory and/or
a remaining territory area.
[0014] The job of the operator of the agricultural working machine
is made even easier when the arithmetic and control unit induces
the automatic adaptation of the determined parameter to the
agricultural working machine.
[0015] To enable the operator to influence the adaptation of the
determined parameter, an advantageous further development of the
present invention provides that the determined parameter is
displayed to the operator using a display unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of the method
according to the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of the method according to the
present invention; and
[0018] FIG. 3 shows various applications of the method according to
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a territory 1 to be
worked, said territory being driven over and worked by an
agricultural working machine 2 designed as a self-propelled mower
mechanism 3. The self-propelled mower mechanism 3 is a carrier
vehicle 4 which, in the simplest case, can be designed as a tractor
5, to the front and sides of which working attachments 6 designed
as mowing units are assigned. In addition, the agricultural working
machine 2 includes a route planning system 7 known per se that is
capable of subdividing territory 1 to be worked into "driving
routes" 8 to be worked by the agricultural working machine 2. These
driving routes 8 are usually generated in a first working step by
the agricultural working machine 2 first driving around the
territory 1 to be worked, following outer contours 9, so that the
route planning system 7 can then determine further driving routes 8
as a function of working width A, thereby ultimately ensuring that
the territory 1 to be worked is completely covered with driving
routes 8 based on working width A. The route planning systems 7 of
this type are typically GPS-based, since this ensures better
reproducibility, whereby a GPS receiver 10 is assigned to the
agricultural working machine 2, said GPS receiver transferring
satellite-generated position signals 11 to a computation unit 12
coupled with the route planning system 7. The route planning system
7 is furthermore structured such that it subdivides the territory 1
to be worked into an already-worked territory 13 and a remaining
territory area 14 yet to be worked, as a function of the driving
routed 8 covered by the agricultural working machine 2.
[0020] The worked territory 13 and remaining territory area 14 can
be visualized in a manner known per se on a display unit 16 located
within viewing distance of operator 15. It is within the scope of
the present invention that the remaining territory area 14 is based
only on a single driving route 8. A large number of remaining
territory areas 14 can therefore result within the territory 1 to
be worked.
[0021] According to the illustration in the center of FIG. 1, when
generated driving routes 8 are being worked by the agricultural
working machine 2, the case can occur in which, e.g., the last
driving route 8 to be worked has a diagonal extension that is
narrower than working width A of agricultural working machine 2. In
this case, the present invention now determines how to adapt at
least one parameter 17--working width A in this case--to the shape
of the remaining territory area 14 or, analogously, to the shape of
the territory 13 to be worked. For simplicity, the shape of the
remaining territory 14 in FIG. 1 was selected such that the width
of the remaining territory area 14 corresponds to nearly two
individual working widths EA of the mowing units 6 assigned to the
carrier vehicle 4, thereby ensuring--in a manner to be described in
greater detail and incorporating the route planning system 7--that
the working attachments 6 of the agricultural working machine 2 are
now activated only over a partial working width TA. Based on the
mowing units 6 shown in FIG. 1, this means that the agricultural
working machine 2 has a lower power requirement and is better able
to maneuver, provided that the extra mowing unit 6a is not moved
from the operating position into a non-operating position.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows a schematic flow chart of the essential steps
of the method according to the present invention. As described
above, the route planning system 7 first generates a large number
of driving routes 8 in a manner known per se and at least using
GPS-based position data 11, said driving routes being recorded and
stored in a program step 18 by the route planning system 7. In
addition, generated and stored driving routes 8 and their working
status are linked with each other by an "area ratio" sequence 19.
The "Area ratio" sequence 19 determines--based on generated driving
routes 8 and working status 18, and working width A of the
agricultural working machine 2--the shape of territory 13 to be
worked and the shape of remaining territory 14, and transfers this
information in the form of power requirement signals Z to an
arithmetic and control unit 20 which, in the simplest case, can be
identical to the computation unit 12 of route planning system 7,
which is provided anyway. Based on these power requirement signals
Z which are encoding the shape of territory 13 and/or remaining
territory 14 to be worked, arithmetic and control unit 20 then
determines parameters 17 to be changed for the agricultural
harvesting machine 2 and/or for the working attachments 6 adapted
to the agricultural working machine 2, the changing of which said
parameters induces an adaptation of the method of working of the
agricultural working machine 2 and its working attachments 6 to the
particular shape of the remaining territory area 14 or territory 13
which has already been worked. The shape of the remaining territory
area 14 is usually decisive in this case. Given their direct
dependence on each other, it is also within the scope of the
present invention, however, to couple the changing of highly
diverse parameters 17 to the shape of territory 13 that has already
been worked. Parameters 17 determined by arithmetic and control
unit 20 can be displayed to operator 15 using display unit 16 in a
further method step 21, so that said operator can adjust the highly
diverse devices on the agricultural working machine 2 or working
attachment 6 adapted thereto. It is also feasible, however, that,
in a further method step 22, arithmetic and control unit 20
immediately generates actuating signals Y for automatically
adjusting determined parameters 17 on the agricultural working
machine 2 or adapted working attachments 6.
[0023] According to FIG. 3, in the lower left, the agricultural
working machine 2 can also be designed, e.g., as a
substance-delivering working machine 23, such as a fertilizer
spreader, herbicide sprayer or sowing machine, whereby operation in
a partial working width TA can be carried out either by simply
turning off the working attachments 6 or turning off and moving the
working attachments 6 into a non-operating position. In an
advantageous further development of the present invention, the
parameter 17, which is changeable as a function of the shape of the
remaining territory area 14, can also include driving speed v. This
is an advantage, in particular, when the agricultural working
machine 2 makes auxiliary drives between consecutive driving routes
8 to be worked or, after a territory 1 to be worked has been
completed, moves to the next territory. In both cases, the
agricultural working machine 2 is usually operated at a higher
driving speed v than it is when working the plot. Furthermore, the
changeable parameter 17 can include the activation of predefined
and, e.g., working sequences stored in the arithmetic and control
unit 20 such as "turn-around management" 24, as shown the center
illustration in FIG. 3. In the simplest case, "turn-around
managements" 24 of this type include lifting the working attachment
6 upon completion of working a driving route 8 and lowering the
working attachment 6 when the next driving route 8 to be worked is
entered. Furthermore, changeable parameter 17 can include
right/left activation 25 of working devices 26, such as swiveling
ejection chute 27 of the agricultural working machine 2 designed as
a field chopper 28. This has the advantage in particular that the
agricultural working machine 2 automatically detects--as a function
of the position of the remaining territory area 14 on territory 1
to be worked--when, e.g., the unloading vehicle 29 can be located
only on a certain side of the driving route 8 or remaining
territory area 14 corresponding thereto, due to limited space.
[0024] The power requirement of said agricultural harvesting
machine increases or decreases as a function of working width A of
the agricultural harvesting machine 2. If the route planning system
7 now knows the shape of remaining territory area 14, the
arithmetic and control unit 20 can also be configured such that
generated actuating signals Y according to FIG. 2 adapt, e.g., the
rotational speed 30 of engine 21 of the agricultural working
machine 2 or rotational speeds 32 of highly diverse working
attachments 6 in a manner according to the present invention. This
has the advantage in particular that rotational speeds can be
reduced when working in partial working widths TA, e.g., to save
fuel.
[0025] It will be understood that each of the elements described
above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application
in other types of constructions differing from the types described
above.
[0026] While the invention has been illustrated and described
herein as a method and device for controlling an agricultural
apparatus, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown,
since various modifications and structural changes may be made
without departing in any way from the spirit of the present
invention.
[0027] Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal
the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying
current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications
without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art,
fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or
specific aspects of this invention.
* * * * *