Granted Patent B2

US 12,610,937 · App. 17/613,842 · Granted Apr 28, 2026

Inventor: Frank Grosse Prues (Bersenbrück, DE)

Assignee: AMAZONEN-WERKE H. DREYER SE & CO. KG

A01M7/0057A01C7/205A01C23/007A01M7/0089

Abstract

Claims (37)

1 . A control and/or regulating system for an agricultural device including a distributor linkage for spreading material, such as fertilizer, pesticide or seed, which extends transversely to the direction of travel and has a central part and two lateral arms connected to the central part with a plurality of arm sections which are foldable in towards one another in the transport position and foldable out in the working position and are connected by joints, wherein comprising:

at least one hydraulic device associated with each arm, wherein the hydraulic device is controllable for damping vibrations occurring at the distributor linkage in horizontal and/or vertical direction, and wherein the hydraulic device comprises a double- acting hydraulic cylinder;

a sensor device configured to detect a pressure change occurring at a respective hydraulic device due to vibrations in the horizontal and/or vertical direction of the distributor linkage, wherein the sensor device comprises a first pressure sensor and a second pressure sensor, wherein the first pressure sensor is configured to detect a first pressure associated with a pressure on the side of a ring surface area of the hydraulic cylinder of the respective hydraulic device, and wherein the second pressure sensor is configured to detect a second pressure associated with a pressure on the side of a piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder of the respective hydraulic device; and

a data processing unit configured to process signals of the sensor device and, on the basis thereof, to generate a control signal for the respective hydraulic device, wherein the control signal is generated by taking into account a pressure offset corresponding to a pressure difference between the pressure chambers of the respective hydraulic cylinder in a target position of the distributor linkage, and,

wherein the pressure offset is determined based on signals from the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor.

2 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 , wherein, for determining the pressure offset, the signals of the sensor device are processed by filtering by means of a low-pass filter.

3 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 , wherein the data processing unit is configured to process the signals of the first sensor and the second sensor in particular taking into account the ratio of the ring surface area and the piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder so as to generate the control signal for the respective hydraulic device.

4 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 3 , wherein the data processing unit is configured to:

determine a plurality of pressure difference values based on the signals of the first sensor and the second sensor while taking into account the ratio of the ring surface area and the piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder,

applying a filter, in particular a low-pass filter, to the plurality of pressure difference values, and

determine the pressure offset based on the filtered pressure difference values.

5 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 , wherein the respective hydraulic device further comprises:

a hydraulic line connected to the hydraulic cylinder for supplying hydraulic fluid; and

at least one hydraulic valve unit for controlling the hydraulic pressure, wherein the valve unit is controllable via a control signal of the data processing unit.

6 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 5 , wherein the at least one hydraulic valve unit is formed by a proportional valve.

7 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is configured to detect a pressure associated with a common pressure on the side of the ring surface area of all hydraulic cylinders of the system.

8 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 , further comprising further sensors on the distributor linkage configured to determine a rotation about a folding axis and/or a position of an arm section and/or arm, wherein the data processing unit is configured to generate the control signal based on the determined rotation and/or position.

9 . The control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 , wherein the hydraulic device is configured to transfer the distributor linkage from a transport position to a working position and vice versa.

10 . An agricultural device for spreading material, such as fertilizer, pesticide or seed, comprising a control and/or regulating system according to claim 1 .

11 . A method for controlling and/or regulating an agricultural device including a distributor linkage for spreading material, such as fertilizer, pesticide or seed, which extends transversely to the direction of travel and has a central part and two lateral arms connected to the central part with a plurality of arm sections which are foldable in towards one another in the transport position and foldable out in the working position and are connected by joints, wherein at least one respective hydraulic device is associated with each arm, wherein the respective hydraulic device is controllable for damping vibrations occurring at the distributor linkage in horizontal and/or vertical direction, and wherein the respective hydraulic device comprises a hydraulic cylinder, in particular a double-acting hydraulic cylinder, wherein the method comprises:

detecting, by a sensor device, a pressure change occurring at the respective hydraulic device due to vibrations in the horizontal and/or vertical direction of the distributor linkage; and

generating, on the basis of the detected pressure change, a control signal for the respective hydraulic device, wherein the control signal is generated by taking into account a pressure offset corresponding to a pressure difference between a ring surface area and a piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder in a target position of the distributor linkage,

wherein the pressure offset is determined based on signals from the sensor device.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the signals of the sensor device are processed by filtering by means of a low-pass filter.

13 . The method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

detecting a first pressure associated with a pressure on the ring surface area of the hydraulic cylinder;

detecting a second pressure associated with a pressure on the piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder;

processing the first pressure and the second pressure by taking into account the ratio of the ring surface area and the piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder; and

generating the control signal for the respective hydraulic device based on the processed pressure values.

14 . The method according to claim 13 , further comprising:

determining a plurality of pressure difference values based on the first pressure and the second pressure by taking into account the ratio of the ring surface area and the piston surface area of the hydraulic cylinder;

applying a filter, in particular a low pass filter, to the plurality of pressure difference values; and

determining the pressure offset based on the filtered plurality of pressure difference values.

15 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein the first pressure is associated with a common pressure on the ring surface areas of all hydraulic cylinders of the hydraulic cylinder of the system.

16 . The method according to claim 11 , further comprising:

determining a rotation about a folding axis and/or a position of an arm section and/or arm; and

generating the control signal based on the determined rotation and/or position.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (12)