Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
  • A01D45/00—Harvesting of standing crops
  • A01D45/10—Harvesting of standing crops of sugar cane
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
  • A01D41/00—Combines, i.e. harvesters or mowers combined with threshing devices
  • A01D41/12—Details of combines
  • A01D41/14—Mowing tables
  • A01D41/141—Automatic header control

Definitions

• the present invention solves at least some of the above-described problems and related problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of sugarcane harvesters. More particularly, the present invention provides a sugarcane harvester that automatically calibrates an operational height of its basecutters before and/or during harvesting to achieve maximum cutting capabilities while avoiding unwanted ground contact.
• a sugarcane harvester constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention broadly comprises an intake and cutting assembly; a chopping section; a discharge assembly; and a height adjustment system.
• the height adjustment assembly automatically calibrates an operational height of the basecutters.
• the intake and cutting assembly cuts sugarcane stalks from sugarcane plants as the sugarcane harvester moves through the plants.
• the intake and cutting assembly may include a topper to cut off the leafy top portions of the sugarcane plants, one or more crop divider scrolls to divide and separate the sugarcane plants, one or more knockdown rollers to knock down the sugarcane plants, the above-described basecutters, and a feed section to feed the sugarcane stalks rearwardly to the chopping section.
• the basecutters include rotary blades operated by at least one hydraulic motor.
• the chopping section receives the sugarcane stalks from the intake and cutting assembly and chops or otherwise cuts the sugarcane stalks into billets.
• the chopping section includes blades or other chopping mechanisms operated by at least one hydraulic motor.
• the discharge assembly is positioned at or near the rear of the harvester and receives the sugarcane billets from the chopping section and then discharges the billets into a wagon or other storage vehicle that travels alongside the harvester.
• the discharge assembly may comprise elevators, conveyors, or the like that lift the billets to an elevated position and discharge the billets to a wagon or other storage vehicle or mechanism following the harvester.
• the discharge assembly includes at least one hydraulic motor for driving the elevators, conveyors, or the like.
• the harvester may also include one or more extractor fans or blowers that separate leaves, stems, and other crop residue from the billets and discharges the debris back into the sugarcane field.
• the sensor includes a pressure sensor that monitors the hydrOaulic pressure associated with the basecutter motor. This monitored pressure is representative of the load on the basecutter motor. If the basecutters touch the ground, the load increases, and the pressure sensor readings spike. The processing system monitors this to determine a height or setting of the basecutters when they contact the ground as described below.
• the height adjustment system may include other sensors that directly or indirectly monitor the load of the basecutter motors to aid in the calibration.
• the height adjustment system may include a sensor to monitor the hydraulic pressure of the chopping section motor.
• the height adjustment system first lowers the basecutters toward the ground while monitoring an operational aspect of the basecutters.
• the monitored operational aspect is the hydraulic pressure of the basecutter motor as sensed by the basecutter motor pressure sensor.
• the processing system determines the basecutters have contacted the ground.
• the processing system then obtains and saves data representative of a height or setting of the basecutters when the basecutters contact the ground.
• This height data may represent a setting or position of the height adjustment mechanism.
• the processing system directs the height adjustment mechanism to again raise and lower the basecutters until they again strike the ground.
• the processing system then again obtains and saves data representative of the height or setting of the basecutters when they are in contact with the ground. These steps are repeated at least twice and preferably 3 - 5 times.
• the harvester may be moved forward or rearward after each raising/lowering cycle to compensate for any ground compaction or ruts caused by the basecutters striking the ground.
• Each raising/lowering cycle saves basecutter height data, with each set of data representative of the height or setting of the basecutters when they contact the ground.
• the processing system then calibrates the operational height of the basecutters based on this data.
• the processing system determines an average height or setting of the basecutters when they contact the ground and then selects the operational height of the basecutters to be a selected distance above this average height. For example, if the above raising/lowering cycles are repeated 4 times and result in ground contact heights of 1cm, 2cm, 2cm, and 1 cm, the processing system determines the average height or setting of the basecutters when they contact the ground is 1.5 cm.
• the processing system directs the height adjustment mechanism to position the basecutters at a height or setting of 6.5 cm, which positions the basecutters 5 cm above the ground.
• Fig. 1 is side elevational view of a sugarcane harvester constructed in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
• Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary height adjustment system for the sugarcane harvester.
• a sugarcane harvester 10 constructed in accordance with embodiments of the invention is illustrated. As explained in more detail below, the sugarcane harvester 10 automatically calibrates an operational height of its basecutters to achieve maximum cutting capabilities while avoiding unwanted ground contact.
• An embodiment of the sugarcane harvester broadly comprises a movable chassis
• sugarcane harvester 10 may have additional and/or different components.
• the chassis 14 has a forward end 21 and a rearward end 22 disposed along a longitudinal axis that is essentially parallel to a ground surface over which the harvester travels.
• the chassis 14 rides on wheels, belts, or other ground-engaging traction elements 24 that are driven by conventional motors, transmissions, and associated mechanical and electrical components.
• An operator’s station 26 may be supported on top the chassis, although the harvester may also include various sensors and controls that provide autonomous operation without direct operator control.
• the intake and cutting assembly 16 is supported on the forward end 21 of the chassis 14 for cutting sugarcane stalks from sugarcane plants as the sugarcane harvester moves through the plants.
• the intake and cutting assembly 16 may include a topper 27 to cut off the leafy top portions of the sugarcane plants, one or more crop divider scrolls 28 to divide and separate the sugarcane plants, one or more knockdown rollers to knock down the sugarcane plants, one or more basecutter assemblies 30 to sever sugarcane stalks from the sugarcane plants, and a feed section 32 to feed the sugarcane stalks rearwardly to the chopping section 18.
• the chopping section 18 is supported between the forward and rearward ends of the chassis 14 and receives the sugarcane stalks from the intake and cutting assembly 16 and chops or otherwise cuts the sugarcane stalks into billets.
• the chopping section includes chopping blades and a hydraulic motor 36 (Fig. 2) for driving the chopping blades.
• the height adjustment system may include other sensors that directly or indirectly monitor the load of the basecutters so as to calibrate the basecutter height adjustment.
• the system may include a sensor that monitors the hydraulic pressure of the chopping section motor.
• sensors that may be used to implement the functional aspects of the invention described herein and may be replaced with or supplemented with any other sensors that directly or indirectly monitor loads on the basecutters.
• the processing system 46 receives signals from the sensor 44 and calibrates an operational height of the basecutters to achieve maximum cutting capabilities while avoiding unwanted ground contact.
• the processing system may be any type of circuitry or other computing elements that are operable to receive signals from the sensor 44 and provide control and/or power signals to the height adjustment mechanism 34.
• the processing system 46 first receives signals from the pressure sensor 44 to monitor the load on the basecutter motor 32 as depicted in step 302. The processing system then directs the height adjustment mechanism 34 to lower the basecutters as depicted in step 304. While the basecutters are being lowered, the processing system 46 continues to monitor the basecutter motor pressure as depicted in step 306.
• the method returns to steps 304 and 306 where the basecutters continue to be lowered and the basecutter motor pressure continues to be monitored.
• the processing system 46 determine an average height or setting of the basecutters when they contact the ground and then selects the operational height to be a selected distance above this average height. For example, if the above raising/lowering cycles are repeated 4 times and result in ground contact heights of 1cm, 2cm, 2cm, and 1 cm, the processing system determines the average height or setting of the basecutter when the basecutter contacts the ground is 1.5 cm. If the desired operational height of the basecutters is 5 cm above the ground surface, the processing system 46 then directs the height adjustment mechanism to position the basecutters at a height or setting of 6.5 cm.
• the performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the one or more processing elements, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines.
• the processing elements may be located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments the processing elements may be distributed across a number of locations.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Harvesting Machines For Specific Crops (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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• 2021
  • 2021-06-12 EP EP21733561.1A patent/EP4175457A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2021-06-12 BR BR112022022699A patent/BR112022022699A2/pt unknown
  • 2021-06-12 WO PCT/IB2021/055188 patent/WO2022003461A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2021-06-12 AU AU2021298945A patent/AU2021298945A1/en active Pending

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