Patent Application
20250185544
The present invention relates to agricultural balers, and, more particularly, to a round baler, and even more particularly to a system for controlling a pickup of the baler.
As is described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,612,108, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, agricultural harvesting machines, such as balers, are used to consolidate and package crop material so as to facilitate the storage and handling of the crop material for later use. In the case of hay or silage, a mower-conditioner is typically used to cut and condition the crop material. In the case of straw, an agricultural combine discharges non-grain crop material from the rear of the combine defining the straw (such as wheat or oat straw) which is to be picked up by the baler. The cut crop material is typically raked into a windrow, and a baler, such as a large square baler or round baler, straddles the windrows and travels along the windrows to pick up the crop material and form it into bales.
A round baler may generally include a frame supported by wheels, a hydraulic system, a pickup unit to engage and lift the crop material into the baler, a cutting unit, a main bale chamber for forming a bale, and a wrapping mechanism for wrapping or tying a material around the bale after it has been formed in the main bale chamber. As the baler is towed (or moved) over a windrow, the pickup unit lifts the crop material into the baler. Thereafter, the crop material may be cut into smaller pieces by the cutting unit. As the crop material enters the main bale chamber, multiple carrier elements, e.g. rollers, chains and slats, and/or belts, will begin to roll a bale of hay within the chamber. These carrier elements may be movable so that the chamber can initially contract and subsequently expand to maintain an appropriate amount of pressure on the periphery of the bale. The size of the bale chamber may be variable, as described above, or the size of the bale chamber may be fixed. After the bale is formed and wrapped by the wrapping mechanism, the rear of the baler is configured to open for allowing the bale to be discharged onto the field.
Most round balers are towed by a tractor or other vehicle, and those round balers receive power from a power take-off (PTO) shaft extending from the tractor. In such an arrangement, the pickup unit rotates a constant speed due to its connection to the PTO shaft. It would be desirable to operate the pickup unit (and/or other components of the baler) using a variable source of power in the interest of efficiency (e.g., fuel, time and crop feedrate), controlling the shape of the bale, estimating the crop throughput of the baler, and more.
According to one aspect, an agricultural baler includes a pickup unit having a rotatable reel for introducing crop material into a baling chamber of the baler. A variable speed drive system rotates the reel.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
The terms “forward”, “rearward”, “left” and “right”, when used in connection with the agricultural baler and/or components thereof are usually determined with reference to the direction of forward operative travel of the towing vehicle, but they should not be construed as limiting. The terms “longitudinal” and “transverse” are determined with reference to the fore-and-aft direction of the towing vehicle and are equally not to be construed as limiting. The terms “connected,” “coupled” and variants thereof refer to either direct or indirect connections.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
Crop material may be lifted from windrows on the field into the baler 10 by a pickup unit 16. The pickup unit 16 includes a rotating pickup reel 18 with tine bars and tines 20, which move the crop rearward toward a variable bale chamber 22. The reel 18 is rotatable in an operating direction for lifting the crop material off of the ground and a reverse direction, i.e., opposite to the operating direction.
The bale chamber 22 is configured as a variable bale chamber 22 which includes multiple rolls or rollers 24, 26, such as various stationary rollers 24 and movable rollers 26, actuators and pivot arms coupled to the movable rollers 26, and at least one belt 28. The rollers 24, 26 may comprise a floor roller, starter roller, fixed roller(s), pivot roller(s), stripper roller, and/or follower roller(s). Together, the rollers 24, 26 and the belt(s) 28 create a round circulating chamber which expands in between an empty bale position and a full bale position for engaging and rolling the bale. As the bale grows inside the chamber 22 it begins to act upon the belts 28 such that the belts 28 pull against the pivot arms which in turn causes the movable rollers 26 to move upwardly so that the variable bale chamber 22 incrementally expands with the size of the bale. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular details of the bale chamber, as the bale chamber may vary. Also, the baler is not limited to being a round baler. For example, the baler may be a small or large square baler.
When the bale reaches a predetermined size, the bale is wrapped with a wrapping material (e.g., mesh or twine) by a wrapper. Then, once fully wrapped, the bale is ejected out of the tail gate 12. The tail gate 12 may pivot upwardly about pivot axis 30 to open the bale chamber 22. Then, the bale rolls out of the bale chamber 22 and onto a bale ramp, accumulator, ejector or kicker 32, which urges the bale rearwardly away from the baler 10 so that the tail gate 12 may downwardly pivot unencumbered by the ejected bale.
The baler 10 can further include an electrical processing circuit 34, e.g. controller 34 with a memory 36, for conducting various baling procedures. For instance, the controller 34 can be configured for carrying out the bale discharge operation. Hence, the controller 34 may open the tail gate 12 via accompanying actuators upon sensing a full bale condition by a bale-size sensor (not shown). Controller 34 may communicate with the controller of tractor 14 in order, for example, to adjust the speed of tractor 14. Although controller 34 is shown as being associated with baler 10, it should be understood that controller 34 may be associated with tractor 14. Further details in connection with the baler 10 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 11,612,108.
As noted above, most round balers are towed by a tractor or other vehicle, and those round balers receive power from a power take-off (PTO) shaft extending from the tractor. In such an arrangement, the pickup unit rotates at a constant speed due to its connection to that PTO shaft. It would be desirable to operate the pickup unit (and/or other components of the baler) using a variable source of power in the interest of efficiency (fuel, time, crop throughput, etc.), controlling the shape of the bale, estimating the crop throughput of the baler (i.e., the amount of crop entering the baler to be processed by the baler), and more.
Turning now to
Turning specifically to
As an alternative to hydraulically powered drive 200a, the drive 200 may be an electrically powered drive 200b. The drive 200b generally comprises an electric motor 201b that is connected by electric line 203b to a distributor 204b. Drive 200b may also include the electrical lines connected thereto as well as the circuitry for operating the motor 201b. Distributor 204b may deliver power to various systems of baler 10. Distributor 204b is electrically connected by a line 207b to a remote electrical hookup 205b on tractor 14. The speed of motor 201b may be controlled by controller 34, as required. Controller 34 may be responsible for delivering power to motor 201b, as required. Alternatively, another controller, such as a controller on board the tractor 14, may be responsible for delivering power to motor 201b. It is noted that distributor 204b is optional, and other means for delivering electricity to motor 201b are envisioned.
Turning now to
Alternatively, if the PTO shaft 301 is a traditional constant speed PTO shaft and not a variable speed PTO shaft, then the power transmission device 303 may be a system-controlled clutch or a disconnect clutch that is configured for either permitting or preventing power to be transferred to unit 16. The controller 34 may be electrically connected to the clutch for controlling the clutch to meter the rotational speed of the reel 18 of the pickup unit 16. As another alternative, the power transmission device 303 may be a mechanical variator (such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,061), a friction disc, a hydraulic CVT transmission, etc. It is noted that the aforementioned devices could also be used with a variable-speed PTO shaft, if so desired.
Turning now to the first benefit flowing from using a variable-speed pickup unit drive 200, using a variable-speed pickup unit drive can result in various efficiencies in terms of fuel savings, time savings, reduced component wear, and maximizing crop throughput. In a traditional baler setup, the pickup unit rotates at a constant speed due to its connection to that PTO shaft, and the pickup unit runs continuously. For example, the traditional pickup unit continues to operate even when it is not required for operation during the wrapping and ejecting bales as well as when passing headland areas or between windrows. This traditional setup can result in parasitic loss of power, loss of fuel efficiency and increased wear on components. By using the variable-speed drive 200, the drive 200 operates the pickup unit 16 only as required thereby avoiding the aforementioned disadvantages associated with continuously operating the baler 10 at a constant speed.
The ability to activate or deactivate the drive 200 of the pickup unit 16 can be automated and based on a number of conditions including (i) activating drive 200 when a sensor, such as sensor 250, senses a windrow on the field, (ii) deactivating drive 200 when baler is wrapping and/or ejecting bales, and/or (iii) activating drive 200 when crop material is detected by a sensor associated with either baler 10 or tractor 14.
Turning now to the second benefit flowing from using a variable-speed pickup unit drive 200, the drive 200 can be used to adjust the shape of the bale while the bale is forming in the bale chamber 22. Most operators seek to produce a bale having a uniform circular cross-section. On the other hand, it may also be desirable to produce a bale having a non-uniform shape in order to prevent the bale from rolling away when placed on a hill. The drive 200 can be operated to adjust the cross-sectional shape of the bale to achieve either a uniform shape or a non-uniform shape, as desired. Stated differently, variable drive 200 can be used to impact the cross-sectional shape of a bale by either achieving or correcting for a non-round bale shape.
For an operator seeking to produce a bale having a uniform shape, as a first step, the controller 34 is operated to detect the bale shape based on the readings provided by one or more bale-shape sensors 220 (
The circumferential shape of the bale can be adjusted by either speeding up or slowing down the pickup unit 16. By increasing the rotational speed of the pickup unit 16 for a brief moment in time, the additional crop flow (due to the increased speed) can be added to an undersized area of the bale thereby making the cross-sectional of the bale more uniform. The circumferential location of the undersized area of the bale is known as a result of the bale shape sensor 220, and, the increased speed of the pickup unit is timed such that the increased crop flow is coextensive with the known location of the undersized area of the bale. The time delay between increasing the speed of the pickup unit and the moment that the additional crop flow reaches the undersized area may be a known value that is derived from factory testing. It is also noted that by directly monitoring the rotation speed of the rollers 24/26, the linear speed of the belt 28, or the rotation of the crop material in the bale chamber 22, the speed changes of the pickup unit 16 can be timed in conjunction with the rotation of the bale. In this way, the bale shape can be improved during the period of time that the bale is being formed.
In a similar way, the bale shape can be intentionally made to be non-uniform (i.e., non-circular). In scenarios where bales are likely to roll down a hill, the pickup speed can be varied so that the bale can be intentionally shaped with two, three, or four bulbous portions on the outer surface of the bale. To produce these bulbous portions, the speed of the pickup unit is either increased or decreased at predetermined intervals.
With regard to the predetermined intervals, for a bale that is intended to have two lobes, the pickup might need to increase and then decrease speed twice within the time of one rotation of the bale. However, there may be instances where the pickup speed cannot be changed in a time period less than one rotation of the bale. In such an instance, the pickup could be timed by the controller 34 at a multiple of the desired frequency so that crop can be added at a greater/lesser rate to the outer surface of the bale on every second or third rotation of the bale, for example.
Turning now to
The reels 18a and 18b can be separately controlled by the variable speed drives 200a/b to make the cross-sectional shape of the bale uniform. Specifically, the reels 18a and 18b can be either accelerated or decelerated, as required, to direct the crop material to specific locations on the left and/or right hand side of the bale.
Turning now to the third benefit flowing from using a variable-speed pickup unit drive 200, the drive 200 can be used to estimate crop throughput through the baler 10. The estimate may be used for various purposes including maximizing the efficiency of the baler 10, which ties into the aforementioned first benefit. The crop throughput may also be referred to as the amount of crop entering the baler to be processed (i.e., baled) by the baler.
Depending upon the type of variable drive(s) 200, the estimated crop throughput can be used to control operation of the pickup unit 16 (or other system of baler 10), the rotational speed of the PTO shaft 301 and/or the ground speed of tractor 14. The ground speed of tractor 14 could be changed, e.g., by increasing the engine speed of tractor 14, changing a transmission gearing or setting of tractor, etc.
As background, crop throughput plays an important role in the efficient baling operation. Baling operations are most efficient when the tractor can move through a field and maintain a relatively high load while baling. There is always some amount of “overhead” operating costs to operate a tractor and baler in terms of fuel usage, ground compaction, operator wage. The goal is to bale as much crop material as possible relative to those costs, i.e., minimize the time spent in the field, minimize the number of passes driven over the field, and maximize the rate at which the crop is packaged into a bale (throughput).
Traditionally, throughput of a round baler is estimated by weighing the finished bale and/or utilizing the LIDAR data, for example, to measure volume of crop going into the baler. Weighing the finished bale only provides useful data after the bale is formed and the LIDAR data provides no indication of crop density, and can be costly and subject to dust interference.
Independently driving the reel 18 using the variable drive 200 allows for the load on the pickup unit 16 to be measured separately from other systems of the baler 10. For example, if the drive 200 is an electric drive 200b, the current draw of the motor 201b can be calculated using a sensor 222b. Although sensor 222b is shown associated with motor 201b, it should be understood that the position of sensor 222b can vary. For example, sensor 222b may be either directly or indirectly connected to line 207b and located within tractor 14. The crop throughput can be calculated or estimated using a pre-determined correlation between crop throughput and the measured current draw. The correlation may be saved in a look-up table, for example. The correlation may be linear and/or calculated by a processor.
Alternatively, if the drive 200 is a hydraulic drive 200a, a torque load can be calculated by measuring the hydraulic pressure using a sensor 222a that is located in the fluid circuit that provides flow to the pickup unit 16. Sensor 222a may be located upstream of the motor 201a to measure the pressure that is formed in the input line 203a due to the resistance of the pickup unit 16 to rotate. Another sensor may also be located downstream of the motor so that a pressure drop across the motor 201a can be calculated. In some cases, a sufficiently accurate measurement can be achieved by assuming that the outlet of the motor 201a has a low fixed pressure.
Power can be calculated based upon the calculated torque load. Finally, crop throughput can be calculated or estimated based on the calculated power. The correlation may be saved in a look-up table or calculated by a processor.
The following formulas may be used to calculate torque and power for a hydraulic drive 200a.
where the Power is calculated in horsepower (HP), Torque is in units of lb-in., and Speed is the speed of the motor in units of rpm. The Speed may be the maximum rated speed of the motor, which is a known quantity.
Once Power is calculated, that value can be used to compare relative throughput from one portion of the field to another. It is also possible to use an alternative on-the-go style calibration that could be implemented using bale weight information (e.g., on-board scale or external user input measured by transporting the bale(s)) to calibrate relative yield maps for fields that were already baled. Also, as an alternative to using Equation 1, the mechanical drive of the pickup 16 may include torque and/or speed sensors.
Baler 10 includes a feedrate control system that utilizes the above-described measured or estimated crop throughput to control operation of the pickup unit 16 (or other system of baler 10), the rotational speed of the PTO shaft 301 and/or the ground speed of tractor 14, depending upon the type of variable drive(s) 200 employed. The feedrate control system may constitute the controller of the baler and/or the tractor, for example.
As background to the need for a feedrate control system, in a round baling operation, operators often push to drive as fast as they can to form a bale quickly which can result in plugging of the baler. Alternatively, some operators may operate slowly to avoid plugging and miss the opportunity to improve their efficiency by speeding up when baling low-volume sections of crop. Both of these scenarios could be improved by implementing a feed rate control system that uses the above-described estimated crop throughput to control operation of the pickup unit 16 (or other system of baler 10), the rotational speed of the PTO shaft 301 and/or the ground speed of tractor 14, depending upon the type of variable speed drive(s) 200.
Operation of the pickup unit 16 (or other system of baler 10), the rotational speed of the PTO shaft 301 and/or the ground speed of tractor 14 can be controlled to promote optimal bale formation and increased field efficiency using the above-described estimated crop throughput. The above-described estimated crop throughput may be used to perform any one of the following functions: (a) increase the ground speed of tractor 14 if the estimated crop throughput is below a threshold value; (b) control the rotational speed of variable-speed PTO shaft 301 based upon a look-up table or algorithm correlating the estimated crop throughput to the rotational speed; (c) control the speed of motor 201a based upon a look-up table or algorithm correlating the estimated crop throughput to the motor speed; and/or (d) control the speed of motor 201a based upon the detected ground speed of tractor 14 to achieve an optimal relationship therebetween (using a feedrate control algorithm would cause the pickup speed to increase with throughput because the tractor will be driven at a higher speed to achieve higher throughput).
As an alternative or in addition to using the variable drive(s) 200 to estimate crop throughput, LIDAR or other type of non-contact sensor 250 (
It is to be understood that the above-described operating steps are performed by the controllers described above upon loading and executing software code or instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computer readable medium, such as on a magnetic medium, e.g., a computer hard drive, an optical medium, e.g., an optical disc, solid-state memory, e.g., flash memory, or other storage media known in the art. Thus, any of the functionality performed by the controller described herein, such as the aforementioned method of operation, is implemented in software code or instructions which are tangibly stored on the tangible computer readable medium. Upon loading and executing such software code or instructions by the controller, the controller may perform any of the functionality of the controller described herein, including any steps of the aforementioned method described herein.
The term “software code” or “code” used herein refers to any instructions or set of instructions that influence the operation of a computer or controller. They may exist in a computer-executable form, such as machine code, which is the set of instructions and data directly executed by a computer's central processing unit or by a controller, a human-understandable form, such as source code, which may be compiled in order to be executed by a computer's central processing unit or by a controller, or an intermediate form, such as object code, which is produced by a compiler. As used herein, the term “software code” or “code” also includes any human-understandable computer instructions or set of instructions, e.g., a script, that may be executed on the fly with the aid of an interpreter executed by a computer's central processing unit or by a controller.
While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. For example, although the variable speed drives have been described for use with a pickup unit of a baler, the variable speed drives can be used to control any component of the baler.
Features of the different variants and embodiments described herein may be combined in any way with one another.
This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/608,362, filed Dec. 11, 2023, the contents of such application being incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63608362 | Dec 2023 | US |
