Method and apparatus for controlling a tractor/implement combination
First Claim
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1. A method of calibrating the control of a combination of a tractor and an attached ground-engaging implement comprising the steps of:
- while the tractor and implement advance across a surface of the ground with a transmission ratio and a predetermined engine governor setting selected, and with the tractor experiencing one of a range of horizontally acting loads as a result of engagement of the implement with the surface of the ground, detecting the horizontally acting loading and a tractor wheel slip parameter, and generating signals indicative thereof;
storing in a memory the values of the said generated signals associated with a first setting of the implement;
comparing said stored values with reference data; and
in response to said step of comparing said stored values, selecting for use in a control operation a set of reference data corresponding to the detected wheel slip parameter of the tractor and implement combination.
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Abstract
A method of controlling the combination of a tractor and an attached implement includes the calibration of a tractor/implement combination to allow for variations in prevailing slip-pull data at progressively increasing implement draft levels. The recorded data is then interpolated at a reference slip value and compared with a series of reference slip-pull curves. The slip-pull curve approximately most closely to the recorded pull value at the reference slip value is then selected for subsequent use in a control algorithm.
21 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating the control of a combination of a tractor and an attached ground-engaging implement comprising the steps of:
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while the tractor and implement advance across a surface of the ground with a transmission ratio and a predetermined engine governor setting selected, and with the tractor experiencing one of a range of horizontally acting loads as a result of engagement of the implement with the surface of the ground, detecting the horizontally acting loading and a tractor wheel slip parameter, and generating signals indicative thereof;
storing in a memory the values of the said generated signals associated with a first setting of the implement;
comparing said stored values with reference data; and
in response to said step of comparing said stored values, selecting for use in a control operation a set of reference data corresponding to the detected wheel slip parameter of the tractor and implement combination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of calibrating the control of a combination of a tractor and an attached ground-engaging implement that is adjustable to vary the horizontally acting loading experienced by the tractor, comprising the steps of:
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while the tractor and implement combination advances across a surface of the ground with a transmission ratio and a predetermined engine governor setting selected, and with one or more adjustable settings of the implement adjusted to a first setting so as to cause a minimal, horizontally acting loading as a result of engagement of the implement with the ground, detecting the said horizontally acting loading and a tractor wheel slip parameter, and generating signals indicative thereof;
storing in a memory the values of the said detected signals associated with said first setting of the implement;
adjusting one or more settings of the implement to a subsequent setting so as to increase the horizontally acting loading;
while the tractor and implement combination advances across a surface with said transmission ratio and said predetermined engine governor settings selected, and with the implement adjusted to the said subsequent setting, further detecting the resulting, increased horizontally acting loading and the corresponding said tractor wheel slip parameter, and generating subsequent signals indicative thereof;
further storing in said memory the values of the subsequent signals associated with said further setting of the implement;
repeating said adjusting, further detecting, and further storing steps as necessary until the detected tractor wheel slip parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold value;
then, finally comparing said last stored values of the subsequent signals with reference data; and
as a result of step of finally comparing said last stored values, selecting for use in a control operation a set of reference data corresponding to the then current wheel slip parameter of the tractor and implement combination. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification