Electric row unit drive system for corn header of combine harvester
A corn header for an agricultural vehicle includes two gathering chains which together draw plants into a snapping gap; two snap rolls positioned beneath the two gathering chains; a first brushless DC motor (BLDC) connected to at least one of the two gathering chains for moving the at least one of the two gathering chains; a chopping unit including a movable blade positioned beneath the snap rolls for fragmentizing stalks of the plants drawn into the snapping gap; and a second BLDC connected to the chopping unit for moving the blade and fragmentizing the stalks of the plants.
1 . A corn header for an agricultural vehicle, said corn header comprising one or more row units, each row unit comprising:
two gathering chains which together draw plants into a snapping gap;
two snap rolls positioned beneath the two gathering chains;
a first brushless DC motor (BLDC) connected to at least one of the two gathering chains for moving the at least one of the two gathering chains;
a chopping unit including a movable blade positioned beneath the snap rolls for fragmentizing stalks of the plants drawn into the snapping gap;
a second BLDC connected to the chopping unit for moving the blade and fragmentizing the stalks of the plants; and
a controller/processor connected to the first and second BLDCs for separately controlling the first and second BLDCs, wherein the controller/processor is configured to be connected to a computer processor of the vehicle,
wherein the controller/processor is configured to set a gathering chain speed based upon a ground speed of the vehicle, the controller/processor is further configured to set a snap roll speed as a function of the gathering chain speed, and the controller/processor is further configured to set a chopping unit speed as a function of the gathering chain speed.
2 . The corn header of claim 1 further comprising another BLDC connected to at least one of the two snap rolls for rotating the at least one of the two snap rolls.
3 . The corn header of claim 1 , wherein the first BLDC is also connected to at least one of the two snap rolls for rotating the at least one of the two snap rolls.
4 . The corn header of claim 3 , wherein the first BLDC is also connected to the other gathering chain for moving the other gathering chain.
5 . The corn header of claim 1 , further comprising an auger attached to the header and positioned downstream of the gathering chains, and another BLDC connected to the auger for rotating the auger.
6 . The corn header of claim 1 , wherein the first BLDC is also connected to the other gathering chain for moving the other gathering chain.
7 . The corn header of claim 1 , wherein each BLDC motor includes a motor controller that receives power and signals from the controller/processor, and transmits signals back to the controller/processor.
8 . The corn header of claim 7 , wherein, for each BLDC, the motor controller is integrated with the BLDC.
9 . The corn header of claim 1 , further comprising a vibration sensor associated with the gathering chains or the first BLDC for monitoring vibrations produced by the gathering chains and communicating signals indicative of the vibrations to the controller/processor.
10 . The corn header of claim 1 , wherein speeds of the at least one of the two gathering chains and the chopping unit are independently settable by the controller/processor.
11 . The corn header of claim 1 , further comprising a geared arrangement interconnecting the gathering chains to the first BLDC.
12 . The corn header of claim 1 , further comprising another BLDC connected to the two snap rolls by a geared arrangement.
13 . The corn header of claim 1 , wherein the chopping unit is not connected to or controlled by a clutch, the gathering chains are not connected to or controlled by a clutch, and the two snap rolls are not connected to or controlled by a clutch.
14 . The corn header of claim 1 , further comprising a frame to which the gathering chains, snap rolls, chopping unit and BLDCs are either directly or indirectly mounted.
15 . An agricultural vehicle comprising the corn header of claim 1 .
16 . The corn header of claim 7 , wherein each motor controller acts as a current limiter in an event of current draw above a pre-determined limit.
17 . The corn header of claim 1 , wherein the one or more row units comprise a plurality of row units, wherein during a turning maneuver of the vehicle each row unit of the plurality of row units experiences a different ground speed, and wherein the controller/processor of each row unit is configured to adjust the speeds of the first and second BLDCs to match a ground speed experienced at that row unit.