NZ754677B - Device comprising a motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop - Google Patents
Device comprising a motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested cropInfo
- Publication number
- NZ754677B NZ754677B NZ754677A NZ75467717A NZ754677B NZ 754677 B NZ754677 B NZ 754677B NZ 754677 A NZ754677 A NZ 754677A NZ 75467717 A NZ75467717 A NZ 75467717A NZ 754677 B NZ754677 B NZ 754677B
- Authority
- NZ
- New Zealand
- Prior art keywords
- conveyor
- nominal
- conveying
- harvested crop
- speed
- Prior art date
Links
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 12
- 238000003306 harvesting Methods 0.000 claims description 91
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 claims description 37
- 235000013399 edible fruits Nutrition 0.000 claims description 22
- 230000000875 corresponding Effects 0.000 claims description 8
- 235000021028 berry Nutrition 0.000 claims description 3
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000006011 modification reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 11
- 241000196324 Embryophyta Species 0.000 description 7
- 238000011084 recovery Methods 0.000 description 7
- 240000005505 Ribes rubrum Species 0.000 description 4
- 235000016911 Ribes sativum Nutrition 0.000 description 4
- 239000002023 wood Substances 0.000 description 4
- 241000219094 Vitaceae Species 0.000 description 3
- 235000021021 grapes Nutrition 0.000 description 3
- 240000001890 Ribes hudsonianum Species 0.000 description 2
- 235000016954 Ribes hudsonianum Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- 235000001466 Ribes nigrum Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- 235000002355 Ribes spicatum Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- 235000016897 Ribes triste Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- 240000003497 Rubus idaeus Species 0.000 description 2
- 210000002832 Shoulder Anatomy 0.000 description 2
- 230000003247 decreasing Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000001419 dependent Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 2
- 235000021013 raspberries Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- 230000004913 activation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002689 soil Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005507 spraying Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D46/00—Picking of fruits, vegetables, hops, or the like; Devices for shaking trees or shrubs
- A01D46/26—Devices for shaking trees or shrubs; Fruit catching devices to be used therewith
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D46/00—Picking of fruits, vegetables, hops, or the like; Devices for shaking trees or shrubs
- A01D46/28—Vintaging machines, i.e. grape harvesting machines
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01D—HARVESTING; MOWING
- A01D46/00—Picking of fruits, vegetables, hops, or the like; Devices for shaking trees or shrubs
- A01D46/28—Vintaging machines, i.e. grape harvesting machines
- A01D46/285—Vintaging machines, i.e. grape harvesting machines with means for separating leaves and grapes, e.g. pneumatical means like blowing or aspirating devices
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
- A23N—MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING HARVESTED FRUIT, VEGETABLES OR FLOWER BULBS IN BULK, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PEELING VEGETABLES OR FRUIT IN BULK; APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ANIMAL FEEDING- STUFFS
- A23N15/00—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs
- A23N15/02—Machines or apparatus for other treatment of fruits or vegetables for human purposes; Machines or apparatus for topping or skinning flower bulbs for stemming, piercing, or stripping fruit; Removing sprouts of potatoes
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
- B65G43/00—Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
- B65G43/10—Sequence control of conveyors operating in combination
Abstract
Problems relating to the altered flow rate of a harvested crop along a harvester conveyor due to the changing incline of the crop terrain are herein addressed. The invention relates to a device comprising at least one motorized conveyor (10, 13, 14) for conveying a flow of harvested crop between an upstream (10a, 13a, 14a) and a downstream (10b, 13b, 14b) ends of said conveyor along a longitudinal direction (D10, D13, D14), said device further comprising: - at least a sensor for monitoring a longitudinal inclination of the device in relation to a nominal orientation of said device; - means for computing a conveyor speed based on said monitored longitudinal inclination, said conveyor speed being adapted to maintain the conveying kinematics of the harvested crop independent from said inclination; - means for operating the motorized conveyor (10, 13, 14) at said computed conveyor speed. upstream (10a, 13a, 14a) and a downstream (10b, 13b, 14b) ends of said conveyor along a longitudinal direction (D10, D13, D14), said device further comprising: - at least a sensor for monitoring a longitudinal inclination of the device in relation to a nominal orientation of said device; - means for computing a conveyor speed based on said monitored longitudinal inclination, said conveyor speed being adapted to maintain the conveying kinematics of the harvested crop independent from said inclination; - means for operating the motorized conveyor (10, 13, 14) at said computed conveyor speed.
Description
DEVICE COMPRISING A MOTORIZED CONVEYOR
FOR CONVEYING A FLOW OF HARVESTED CROP
Technical Field
The invention relates to a device comprising at least one motorized
conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop, as well as a harvesting machine
comprising such a device.
The invention applies to the field of mechanized harvesting of fruits
growing on trees or bushed, especially fruit berries such as grapes, raspberries,
red, white or blackcurrants, and other fruits growing in bunches.
Background art
Fruits are conventionally harvested by a harvesting machine comprising a
motorised support structure which is movable along rows of plants, a harvesting
unit being mounted on said structure for straddling at least one of said rows of
plants and harvesting fruits from said row, in particular by means of a shaker
system implemented in said harvesting unit. Then, the harvested crop obtained is
conveyed into the machine to be stored in at least one hopper provided for that
purpose or in an attached trailer.
However, because of the action of the shaker system, the harvested crop
includes, in addition to detached fruits, and among other things, juice, leaves,
wood particles, bunches of fruits of various sizes.
To eliminate components other than fruits, in particular leaves and wood
particles, harvesting machines further include a cleaning unit which is adapted to
eliminate by suction said components from the harvested crop before its storage.
Moreover, the search for quality, in particular in the field of vinification,
requires destemming of the cleaned harvested crop to separate the fruits from the
components attached to them, such as stalks, and thus to store only the
separated fruits. To do so, the harvesting machines may also carry a destemming
unit located downstream of the cleaning unit for achieved destemming of the
harvested crop after their cleaning by said cleaning unit. It is furthermore possible
to perform a previous sorting of the cleaned harvested crop before destemming,
in order to destem only the remaining portion of said crop including bunches.
In particular, harvesting machines are known, the motorized support
structure thereof comprises a lower portion carrying a harvesting unit and an
upper portion carrying a cleaning unit, a previous sorting unit, a destemming unit
and at least one storage hopper, said harvesting machines further embedding a
recovery unit, which comprises at least one bucket conveyor adapted to recover
the harvested crop under the harvesting unit and to convey said harvested crop
on said upper portion.
Such harvesting machines also embed conveying devices with motorized
conveyors that are adapted to convey the harvested crop between the different
crop processing units located on the upper portion of the motorized support
structure, said conveying being achieved between an upstream end and a
downstream ends of said conveyors.
In particular, a harvesting machine may comprise a conveying device with
three motorized conveyors adapted to convey a flow of harvested crop
respectively under the cleaning unit, within the previous sorting unit and within the
destemming unit, and thus along longitudinal directions, notably comprised in a
longitudinal section plane of said machine that also comprises the moving
direction of said machine. Moreover, such a conveying device may comprise
another conveyor adapted to convey a flow of harvested crop from the cleaning
unit to the longitudinal conveyor of the previous sorting unit, and thus along a
transversal direction which extends perpendicularly to the moving direction of the
machine in a transverse section plane of said machine.
These conveyors are generally operated with a constant speed during a
whole harvesting procedure, and thus whatever the type of ground on which the
harvesting machine is moving. However, a harvesting machine generally works
on uneven grounds, comprising tilts, shoulders, gutters and areas of different
solidity, so that the longitudinal inclination of said machine may vary all along a
harvesting procedure, which may alter the functioning of the longitudinal
conveyors, because of their sensibility to said longitudinal inclination.
In particular, for an efficient suction cleaning, the conveyor embedded
upstream from the suction cleaning unit must be operated to pour the flow of
harvested crop under the suction cleaning unit with a given ballistics, said
ballistics being dependent not only from the conveyor speed, but also from the
longitudinal slope of the harvesting machine.
Thus, the conveying kinematics of the harvested crop on these longitudinal
conveyors is not constant, which may alter the quality of the cleaning, the previous
sorting and/or the destemming of said harvested crop, and then the global quality
of the whole crop.
The invention aims to improve the prior art or provide the public or industry
with a useful choice by proposing a device comprising at least one motorized
conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop, said device being in particular
intended to be implemented in a harvesting machine, said device providing for
adapting in real time the conveyor speed to operate said conveyor at to the
longitudinal inclination taken by the machine during its movement, so as to
maintain the conveying kinematics of the harvested crop on said conveyor
independent from said inclination.
Summary of the invention
For that purpose, and according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a
device comprising at least one motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of
harvested crop between an upstream and a downstream ends of said conveyor
along a longitudinal direction, said device further comprising:
- at least a sensor for monitoring a longitudinal inclination of the device relative
to a nominal orientation of said device;
- means for computing a conveyor speed based on said monitored longitudinal
inclination, said conveyor speed being adapted to maintain the conveying
kinematics of the harvested crop substantially independent from said
inclination;
- means for operating the motorized conveyor at said computed conveyor
speed.
According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a harvesting
machine comprising such a device.
Description of the Figures
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the
following description made with reference to the appended figures, wherein:
- Figure 1 represents a side view of a harvesting machine according to the
invention;
- Figures 2a, 2b and 2c represent schematically in a side view the upper
portion of a harvesting machine which is focused on the cleaning unit,
respectively during a movement of the machine on a horizontal ground
(Figure 2a), on a ground with a longitudinal upslope (Figure 2b) and on a
ground with a longitudinal downslope (Figure 2c);
- Figures 3a, 3b and 3c represent schematically in a side view the upper
portion of a harvesting machine which is focused on the destemming unit
and the previous sorting unit, respectively during a movement of the
machine on a horizontal ground (Figure 3a), on a ground with a longitudinal
upslope (Figure 3b) and on a ground with a longitudinal downslope (Figure
3c);
- Figure 4 represents schematically the successive steps of a process
implemented by a device according to an embodiment of the invention.
Detailed embodiments of the invention
With reference to these figures, we describe below a device comprising at
least one motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop between an
upstream and downstream ends of said conveyor along a longitudinal direction,
as well as a harvesting machine comprising such a device.
In particular, the longitudinal direction of the conveyor is comprised in a
longitudinal section plane of the harvesting machine, said plane also comprising
the moving direction of said harvesting machine.
The harvesting machine is in particular operable for the selective and
mechanical harvesting of fruits growing on plants, such as trees or bushes, which
are arranged in rows, and more particularly to fruits berries, such as grapes,
raspberries, red, white or blackcurrants, and other fruits growing in bunches.
To do so, the harvesting machine comprises a motorized support structure
1 that is equipped with a driver station 2 and that is movable along rows of plants
3, a harvesting unit 4 being mounted on a lower portion of said structure for
straddling at least one of said rows of plants and detaching fruits F from said
plants.
In particular, the harvesting unit 4 can be mounted on the support structure
1 permanently or removably, so as to be replaceable by other equipment and
accessories, for example spraying equipment, pruning equipment or equipment
for working the soil.
The harvesting unit 4 includes a straddling chassis which delimits a
harvesting tunnel into which the plants 3 are successively introduced to move
through said tunnel between respective openings at the front and at the rear of
said tunnel. Moreover, the harvesting unit 4 includes a shaker system including
two shaker devices 5, said shaker devices being arranged on respective sides of
the harvesting tunnel to delimit said tunnel transversely.
The harvesting machine also includes a unit 6 for continuously recovering
the crop detached by the harvesting unit 4, which comprises in particular, in
addition to the detached fruits, stalks, juice, leaves L, pieces of wood, bunches of
varied sizes. In one embodiment, the recovering unit 6 comprises at least one
bucket conveyor 7 adapted to recover the harvested crop under the harvesting
unit 4 and to convey said crop on an upper portion of the machine, in particular
for the storage of said crop in at least one hopper 8 provided for that purpose.
For ensuring the best quality of the crop, especially in the context of
vinification of grapes, it is desirable to eliminate the residues contained in the flow
of harvested crop, in particular green residues such as stalks, leaves L, branches
and pieces of wood. To do so, the harvesting machine may embed at least one
processing unit on the upper portion of the support structure 1, in order to remove
such residues from the flow of harvested crop provided by the recovery unit 6
before the storage of said flow in the hopper 8 and in an ancillary trailer.
To do so, with reference to Figures 1 and 2, the harvesting machine
comprises a suction cleaning unit 9 that is provided on the upper portion of the
support structure 1 to eliminate by suction light residues, in particular leaves L,
from the flow of harvested crop coming directly from the recovery unit 6.
In particular, as represented on Figures 2, the harvesting machine
comprises a conveying device, which comprises a motorized conveyor 10 which
is embedded between the recovery unit 6 and the suction cleaning unit 9, said
motorized conveyor being arranged for conveying the flow of harvested crop
between an upstream end 10a, which is fed with the flow of harvested crop by the
recovery unit 6, and a downstream end 10b of said conveyor, which leads under
the suction cleaning unit 9, said conveying being achieved along a longitudinal
direction D10, which is notably comprised in a longitudinal section plane of the
harvesting machine, said plane also comprising the moving direction M of said
harvesting machine during the harvesting procedure.
With reference to Figures 3, the harvesting machine further comprises a
destemming unit 11 which is arranged downstream of the suction cleaning unit 9
for enabling the destemming of the bunches contained in the flow of cleaned
harvested crop, so as to enable the removing of the stalks attached to the fruits F
and to store only said fruits and the juice.
To do so, the destemming unit 11 comprises motorized rotary members
12, each of said rotary members including paddles 12a which are adapted, on
rotation of said rotary members, to interact with the flow of harvested crop in order
to separate fruits F attached to bunches.
Moreover, the conveying device comprises a motorized conveyor 13 which
is arranged to convey a flow of cleaned harvested crop under the rotary members
12 within the destemming unit 11, said conveying being achieved between an
upstream end 13a and a downstream end 13b of said conveyor along a
longitudinal direction D13 comprised in a longitudinal section plane of the
harvesting machine that also comprises the moving direction M of the harvesting
machine during the harvesting procedure. In particular, the motorized conveyor
13 is arranged as a sieve and comprises openings that are adapted to allow the
detached fruits F to pass through them, in particular to be recovered within a
storage hopper 8 provided under said conveyor.
As represented on Figures 3, the conveying device further comprises a
motorized conveyor 14 which is embedded between the suction cleaning unit 9
and the destemming unit 11, said motorized conveyor being arranged for
conveying the flow of cleaned harvested crop within the destemming unit 11, said
conveying being achieved between an upstream end 14a, which is fed with the
flow of harvested crop that was previously cleaned by the suction cleaning unit 9,
and a downstream end 14b of said conveyor, which leads near the upstream end
13a of the sieve-conveyor 13 of the destemming unit 11, and thus along a
longitudinal direction D14 comprised in a longitudinal section plane of the
harvesting machine that also comprises the moving direction M of the harvesting
machine during the harvesting procedure.
In particular, the motorized conveyor 14 may form a previous sorting unit
for removing already detached fruits F from the flow of harvested crop before its
entry within the destemming unit 11. To do so, the motorized conveyor 14
comprises a plurality of rollers 15 spaced longitudinally and driven in rotation, said
rollers being arranged to form therebetween vertical opening the geometry of
which is adapted to enable detached fruits F from the conveyed flow of harvested
crop to pass through them, in particular for allowing their recovery by a lower
conveyor 16 leading to a storage hopper 8, and to retain elements of larger sizes,
especially the bunches to be destemmed, on said motorized conveyor.
With reference to Figures 2, 3, the conveying device further comprises a
motorized conveyor 17 adapted to convey the flow of harvested crop from the
suction cleaning unit 9 to the previous-sorting motorized conveyor 14, and thus
along a transversal direction which extends perpendicularly to the moving
direction M of the harvesting machine in a transverse section plane of said
machine.
During a harvesting procedure, a harvesting machine generally works on
uneven grounds, comprising tilts, shoulders, gutters and areas of different solidity,
so that the longitudinal inclination of said machine may vary all along said
harvesting procedure, which may alter the functioning of the longitudinal
conveyors 10, 13, 14 of the conveying device, because of their sensibility to said
longitudinal inclination.
In particular, for an efficient suction cleaning, the conveyor 10 must be
operated to pour the flow of harvested crop under the suction cleaning unit 9 with
a given ballistics, said ballistics being dependent not only from the conveyor
speed, but also from the longitudinal inclination of the harvesting machine.
Thus, the conveying kinematics of the harvested crop on these longitudinal
conveyors is not constant, which may alter the quality of the cleaning, the previous
sorting and/or the destemming of said harvested crop, and then the global quality
of the whole crop.
Indeed, when the harvesting machine moves on a longitudinal upslope, the
conveyor 10 fed by the recovery unit 6 conveys the flow of harvested crop to the
suction cleaning unit 9 with a decelerated kinematics, and on the contrary
performs said conveying with an accelerated kinematics during a moving of said
harvesting machine on a longitudinal downslope, which alters in both cases the
ballistics of the pouring of the flow of harvested crop under the suction cleaning
unit 9, and then alters not only the efficiency of the suction of the leaves L from
the harvested crop, but also the pouring of the cleaned harvested crop on the
transversal conveyor 17 leading to the previous-sorting 14 and destemming 12,
13 units.
In the same way, when the harvesting machine moves on a longitudinal
downslope, the previous-sorting conveyor 14 and the destemming conveyor 13
convey the harvested crop with a decelerated kinematics, and on the contrary
perform said conveying with an accelerated kinematics during a moving of said
harvesting machine on a longitudinal upslope, which alters in both cases the
quality of the previous sorting and of the destemming of the harvested crop.
To avoid these drawbacks, we describe below a device which provides for
adapting in real time the conveyor speed to operate a motorized conveyor 10, 13,
14 at to the longitudinal inclination taken by the harvesting machine during its
movement, so as to maintain the conveying kinematics of the harvested crop on
said conveyor independent from said inclination.
The device comprises at least a sensor for monitoring a longitudinal
inclination of said device, which corresponds in particular to a longitudinal
inclination of the harvesting machine in which said device is embedded, in relation
to a nominal orientation of said device, which corresponds in particular to a
nominal orientation of said machine.
According to an embodiment, the nominal orientation of the harvesting
machine corresponds to a moving of said machine on a horizontal ground, as
represented on Figures 2a and 3a.
In particular, the device is arranged for operating the motorized conveyor
, 13, 14 on a range of longitudinal inclination comprised between -45° and +45°,
which corresponds to the maximal ranges at which said conveyor may be
operated with real efficiency.
With reference to Figure 4, the device comprises means for implementing
a step A for starting the operation of the conveyor 10, 13, 14, for example upon
activation by a human operator of the harvesting machine of an appropriate mean
located in the driver station 2 of said harvesting machine, such as a step B which
is launched consecutively to the starting step A for checking if all the required
conditions are reunited for operating correctly said conveyor, in particular the
value of the monitored longitudinal inclination, but also the operating mode of said
machine, i.e. if said machine is performing or not a harvesting procedure.
Thus, if the value of the monitored longitudinal inclination falls within the
range comprised between -45° and +45° and if the harvesting machine is currently
performing a harvesting procedure, the device can then launch the following step.
Otherwise, i.e. if the value of the monitored longitudinal inclination is lower than -
45° or greater than +45° and/or if the harvesting machine is not currently
performing a harvesting procedure, the device can launch directly an ending step
In particular, the device can operate a closed loop which provides for
relaunching automatically a checking step B after the completion of an ending
step C, especially as long as the harvesting machine is operated.
The device further comprises means for computing a conveyor speed
based on the longitudinal inclination monitored by the at least one sensor
embedded in said device, said conveyor speed being adapted to maintain the
conveying kinematics of the harvested crop independent from said inclination.
Moreover, the device comprises means for operating the motorized conveyor 10,
13, 14 at the computed conveyor speed.
In particular, the device comprises means for determining a nominal
conveyor speed corresponding to a requested conveying kinematics of the
harvested crop when the monitored longitudinal inclination is null, for example
when the harvesting machine is moving on a horizontal ground (Figures 2a, 3a),
as well as means for operating the motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at said nominal
conveyor speed when the machine is in its nominal orientation.
For example, the nominal conveyor speed can be standard, and notably
initially predefined before the first commissioning of the harvesting machine. In a
variant, the nominal conveyor speed can be selected by the operator of the
harvesting machine, the means for determining the nominal conveyor speed
being arranged to allow said operator to perform such a selection.
According to an embodiment, the device comprises means for
implementing an initial step for defining the nominal conveyor speed in the
nominal orientation of the machine, said nominal conveyor speed being then
tunable in function of potential modifications in time of the kinematics of the
harvested crop.
In particular, the device can comprise means for storing the nominal
conveyor speed, as well as means for testing the validity of a previous nominal
conveyor speed before defining a new one. With reference to Figure 4, once the
step B has successfully checked the fulfilling of all the requested conditions, the
device provides for launching a consecutive step D for checking the validity of a
previous nominal conveyor speed.
Then, if the validity of the previous nominal speed is correct, the device
provides for launching a consecutive main step E for computing a conveyor speed
based on the monitored longitudinal inclination and for operating the motorized
conveyor 10, 13, 14 at said computed conveyor speed. Otherwise, the device
previously provides for launching a step F for defining a new and valid nominal
conveyor speed, and then for launching the main step E once said new and valid
nominal conveyor speed has been stored.
According to an embodiment, the device comprises means for determining,
for example during a step for setting up the computing and operating means of
the device, a gain chart to apply to the nominal conveyor speed in function of the
monitored longitudinal inclination, so that, during the main step E, the means for
computing the conveyor speed to operate the motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at
will compute said conveyor speed by using said gain chart.
In particular, the gains of the gain chart are higher – respectively lower –
than a nominal value for a positive – respectively negative – longitudinal
inclination as regards the conveying direction D10, D13, D14, i.e. the direction
between the upstream 10a, 13a, 14a and downstream 10b, 13b, 14b of the
motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14.
Advantageously, the gains of the gain chart are percentages, the means
for computing the conveyor speed being arranged to compute said conveyor
speed upon multiplying the nominal conveyor speed by said gains. In particular,
the nominal value of the gains corresponds to a percentage of 100% and is
applied to the nominal conveyor speed by the means for computing the conveyor
speed when the machine is in its nominal orientation, the values of the gains
corresponding to a non-null monitored longitudinal inclination being percentages
which are higher – respectively lower – to 100% for a positive – respectively
negative – longitudinal inclination as regards the conveying direction D10, D13,
D14.
For example, with reference to Figures 2, the motorized conveyor 10
feeding the suction cleaning unit 9 conveys the flow of harvested crop along a
conveying direction D10 which forms an upslope that is oriented according to the
moving direction M of the harvesting machine.
Thus, when the harvesting machine moves along a longitudinal upslope
(Figure 2b), the value of said upslope increases the upslope of the conveying
direction D10, and then is positive as regards said conveying direction, which may
decelerate the conveying kinematics of the flow of harvested crop on the
motorized conveyor 10, so that the corresponding percentage will be superior to
100% to operate said motorized conveyor at an increased conveyor speed.
On the contrary, when the harvesting machine moves along a longitudinal
downslope (Figure 2c), the value of said downslope decreases the upslope of the
conveying direction D10, and then is negative as regards said conveying
direction, which may accelerate the conveying kinematics of the flow of harvested
crop on the motorized conveyor 10, so that the corresponding percentage will be
inferior to 100% to operate said motorized conveyor at a decreased conveyor
speed.
In a same manner, with reference to Figures 3, the previous-sorting 14 and
destemming 13 motorized conveyors convey the flow of harvested crop along
conveying directions D13, D14 which both form an upslope that is oriented
opposite to the moving direction M of the harvesting machine.
Thus, when the harvesting machine moves along a longitudinal upslope
(Figure 3b), the value of said upslope decreases the upslope of these conveying
directions D13, D14, and then is negative as regards said conveying directions,
which may accelerate the conveying kinematics of the flow of harvested crop on
these motorized conveyors 13, 14, so that the corresponding percentage will be
inferior to 100% to operate said motorized conveyors at a decreased conveyor
speed.
On the contrary, when the harvesting machine moves along a longitudinal
downslope (Figure 3c), the value of said downslope increases the upslope of
these conveying directions D13, D14, and then is positive as regards said
conveying directions, which may decelerate the conveying kinematics of the flow
of harvested crop on these motorized conveyors 13, 14, so that the corresponding
percentage will be superior to 100% to operate said motorized conveyors at an
increased conveyor speed.
Once the main step E has been performed, the device can provide to
launch directly the end step C, and then for restarting a loop by launching a
consecutive checking step B, so as to continuously adapt the conveyor speed of
the motorized conveyors 10, 13, 14 to the variations of longitudinal inclination of
the harvesting machine during its movements.
In particular, the means for operating the motorized conveyor can be
arranged for operating a motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at a newly computed
speed only if the difference between said newly computed speed and the speed
at which said motorized conveyor is currently operated is superior to a predefined
threshold, for example 5 rounds per minute, said means for operating still
operating said motorized conveyor at said currently operated speed otherwise.
According to an embodiment, the device comprises means for allowing a
human operator of the harvesting machine to modify the speed to operate the
motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at, in particular through dedicated means
implemented for that purpose in the driver station 2 of said harvesting machine.
Indeed, after the computing of a conveyor speed and the operating of a
motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at said computed conveyor speed, the human
operator can check the effects of said conveyor speed on the conveying
kinematics of a flow of harvested crop on said conveyor, for example by checking
the ballistics of the pouring of said flow from the conveyor 10 under the suction
cleaning unit 9 and/or by checking the conveying kinematics of said flow on the
previous-sorting 14 and/or destemming 14 conveyors.
Then, if the conveying kinematics and/or the pouring ballistics are not
satisfactory, the human operator can modify the conveyor speed to operate the
concerned motorized conveyor(s) 10, 13, 14 at to correct said conveying
kinematics and/or pouring ballistic.
Advantageously, the device comprises means for using this modified
speed for computing the subsequent conveyor speed to operate the motorized
conveyor 10, 13, 14 at.
With reference to Figure 4, the device further provides, in case of a
modification of the conveyor speed by the human operator, for launching a step
H consecutive to the main step E to operate the motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at
said modified conveyor speed, and then for launching the ending step C for
restarting a new loop.
In particular, the step H can provide for calculating the absolute value of
the difference between the conveyor speed modified by the human operator and
the conveyor speed that was computed during the main step E, and for checking
if said absolute value goes or not beyond a predefined threshold, for example 1
round per second.
Then, if the absolute value effectively goes beyond this threshold, the
device can provide for launching a step G for storing the modified speed, and then
for launching the ending step C for restarting a loop, wherein said stored modified
speed will be used for the computing of the subsequent conveyor speed to
operate the motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14 at. Otherwise, the device can directly
launch the ending step C for restarting a new loop without taking into account the
modified speed.
In particular, at the beginning of a new loop, the step D can check the
validity of a previous nominal conveyor speed in relation to the storing or not of a
modified speed during the previous loop. Thus, if a modified speed has been
effectively stored during the previous loop, the step D will consider the previous
nominal speed as invalid and then will launch the step F for defining a new and
valid nominal conveyor speed based on said stored modified speed. For example,
the step F can compute a new nominal conveyor speed upon dividing the stored
modified speed by the gain of the gain chart corresponding to the longitudinal
inclination monitored during the step F.
Otherwise, the step D can launch directly the main step E for computing
the conveyor speed according to the previous nominal conveyor speed.
Moreover, the device can comprise means for allowing the human operator
to modify the nominal conveyor speed during the initial step for its definition,
wherein the harvesting machine is operated on a nominal orientation, for example
on a horizontal ground.
To do so, during the achievement of the step F for defining a new and valid
nominal conveyor speed for a given motorized conveyor 10, 13, 14, the human
operator can check the effects of said nominal conveyor speed on the conveying
kinematics of a flow of harvested crop on said motorized conveyor, for example
by checking the ballistics of the pouring of said flow from the motorized conveyor
under the suction cleaning unit 9 and/or by checking the conveying kinematics
of said flow on the previous-sorting 14 and/or destemming 14 motorized
conveyors.
Then, if the conveying kinematics and/or the pouring ballistics are not
satisfactory, the human operator can modify the nominal conveyor speed to
operate the concerned motorized conveyor(s) 10, 13, 14 at to correct said
conveying kinematics and/or pouring ballistic, said modified nominal conveyor
speed being then stored as a new and valid nominal conveyor speed.
Claims (15)
1. Device comprising at least one motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop between an upstream and a downstream ends of said conveyor 5 along a longitudinal direction (D10, D13, D14), said device further comprising: - at least a sensor for monitoring a longitudinal inclination of the device relative to a nominal orientation of said device; - means for computing a conveyor speed based on said monitored longitudinal inclination, said conveyor speed being adapted to maintain the conveying 10 kinematics of the harvested crop substantially independent from said inclination; - means for operating the motorized conveyor at said computed conveyor speed. 15
2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the nominal orientation of the device correspond to a moving of said device on a horizontal ground.
3. Device according to claims 1 or 2, wherein it comprises means for determining a nominal conveyor speed corresponding to a conveying kinematics 20 of the harvested crop requested for a certain quality of the cleaning, the previous sorting and/or the destemming of said harvested crop when the longitudinal inclination is null, as well as means for operating the motorized conveyor at said nominal conveyor speed when the device is in its nominal orientation. 25
4. Device according to claim 3, wherein it comprises means for determining a gain chart to apply to the nominal conveyor speed in function of the monitored longitudinal inclination, the means for computing the conveyor speed to operate the motorized conveyor at being arranged to compute said conveyor speed by using said gain chart.
5. Device according to claim 4, wherein the gains of the gain chart are higher – respectively lower – than a nominal value for a positive – respectively negative – longitudinal inclination as regards the conveying direction (D10, D13, D14). 35
6. Device according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein it comprises means for implementing an initial step (D, F) for defining the nominal conveyor speed in the nominal orientation of the device, said nominal conveyor speed being then tunable in function of potential modifications in time of the kinematics of the harvested crop. 5
7. Device according to claim 6, wherein it comprises means for storing the nominal conveyor speed, as well as means for testing the validity of a previous nominal conveyor speed before defining a new one.
8. Device according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein it comprises means for 10 allowing a human operator of the device to modify the speed to operate the motorized conveyor at.
9. Device according to claim 8, wherein it comprises means for using the modified speed for computing the subsequent conveyor speed to operate the 15 motorized conveyor at.
10. Harvesting machine comprising a device according to any of claims 1 to 9.
11. Harvesting machine according to claim 10, wherein it comprises a suction 20 cleaning unit, the motorized conveyor being arranged for conveying a flow of harvested crop under said cleaning unit.
12. Harvesting machine according to one of claims 10 or 11, wherein it comprises a destemming unit, the motorized conveyor being arranged for 25 conveying a flow of harvested crop within said destemming unit.
13. Harvesting machine according to any of claims 10 to 12, wherein it is arranged for the harvesting of fruits and/or berries. 30
14. The device of claim 1 as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.
15. The harvesting machine of claim 10 as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP16306829.9 | 2016-12-28 | ||
EP16306829.9A EP3342272A1 (en) | 2016-12-28 | 2016-12-28 | Device comprising a motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop |
PCT/EP2017/084677 WO2018122281A1 (en) | 2016-12-28 | 2017-12-27 | Device comprising a motorized conveyor for conveying a flow of harvested crop |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
NZ754677A NZ754677A (en) | 2020-06-26 |
NZ754677B true NZ754677B (en) | 2020-09-29 |
Family
ID=
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