Vibration control with operating state measurement

• US 8,600,627 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2006
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deere & Company
• Original Assignee: Deere & Company
• Inventors: Beck, Folker, Bischoff, Lutz
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US11/432,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20060276949A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,763 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/35, 701/36, 701/50, 701/47, 702/127, 702/189, 706/22, 706/15, 706/16
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/127 Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 75/18 Safety devices for parts of the machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

The invention relates to a monitoring device and to a method for monitoring the function of the components of an agricultural implement, with a vibration sensor for providing signal values containing information on mechanical vibrations generated by moving components of the implement, an operating state detecting device for providing a signal containing information on the operating state of components of the implement, and a calculating device for generating state information on the basis of the state of the components of the implement. The calculating device can be operated to divide the signal values of the vibration sensor on the basis of the corresponding signals of the operating state detecting device into different classes, which correspond to different combinations of the operating states of the components in the detection of the signal values, and to compare the signal values divided into classes or data derived from these signal values with comparison values for generating state information.

Claims

1. A monitoring device for monitoring the function of components of an agricultural implement, comprising:

a vibration sensor configured to provide signal values containing information on mechanical vibrations generated by moving components of the implement;

an operating state detecting device configured to generate a signal containing information on the operating state of components of the implement; and

a calculating device configured to generate state information of the state of the components of the implement, which is based on the signal values of the operating state detecting device and the vibration sensor, the calculating device being configured to divide the signal values of the vibration sensor into various classes on the basis of the corresponding signals of the operating state detecting device, which correspond to different combinations of the operating states of the components when signal values are detected, the calculating device being further configured to compare the signal values divided into the classes or data derived from these values with comparison values for generating the state information, wherein the calculating device is configured to selectively store signal values of the vibration sensor for subsequent use by said calculating device in determining said state information, said storing occurring only when the calculating device determines that the signals of the operating state detecting device indicate that the operating conditions during which the signals of the vibration sensor were gathered fall into a class of said various classes that can be analyzed.

2. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the calculating device is further configured to compare the signal values divided into classes with comparison values for generating the state information class-by-class or over all classes.

3. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the operating state detecting device is further configured to identify whether a component of the implement is in an operating state, and the calculating device is further configured to generate state information only for components for which the operating state detecting device signals an operating state.

4. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the operating state detecting device is further configured to derive the operating state of a component from the signal of the vibration sensor and/or to determine the operating state on the basis of a sensor allocated to the components and/or an input element allocated to the components.

5. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein information on the rotational speed or the movement frequency of at least one moving component of the implement, including at least one of an internal combustion engine and/or a crop processing device is fed to the calculating device, the calculating device being further configured to reference signal values of the vibration sensors detected over a measurement period only when the rotational speed is within a tolerance range during the entire measurement period.

6. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the calculating device is further configured to reference signal values of the vibration sensor detected over a measurement period for analysis only when the length of a continuous measurement period is above a certain threshold.

7. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the calculating device is further configured to bring components into a defined operating state and/or to give instructions to an operator for bringing components into a defined operating state.

8. A method for monitoring the function of the components of an agricultural implement, comprising the steps of:

providing signal values of a vibration sensor containing information on mechanical vibrations generated by moving components of the implement;

providing a signal to an operating state detecting device, which contains information on the operating state of components of the implement; and

generating state information on the basis of the state of the components of the implement with a calculating device, with this information being based on the signal values of the operating state detecting device and the vibration sensor;

wherein the calculating device divides the signal values of the vibration sensors into different classes on the basis of the corresponding signals of the operating state detecting device, which correspond to different combinations of the operating states of the components in the detection of the signal values, the calculating device comparing the signal values divided into classes or data derived from these values with comparison values for generating state information, wherein the calculating device is configured to selectively store signal values of the vibration sensor for subsequent use by said calculating device in determining said state information, said storing occurring only when the calculating device determines that the signals of the operating state detecting device indicate that the operating conditions during which the signals of the vibration sensor were gathered fall into a class of said different classes that can be analyzed.