There is no shortage of technological offerings from the major manufactures, as they scramble to apply what is possible to their products, and Case IH were no exception.
The company launched a new feed rate control system for its combines back in September which, it claims, “Creates consistent flow and threshing performance, allowing the operator to exploit the full potential of the combine without it blocking”.
Presently, most automated combine harvester throughput controllers only react to changes in the condition of the harvested crop once the material has already entered the header, or even the threshing unit.
Case IH contend that even those machines with the sensors located on the cab to scan the crop, do so from an unfavourable angle.
In the event of major changes in harvesting conditions, such as laid crop stalks lying in different directions, or gaps where the crop hasn’t grown, or is infested with weeds, there can be a correspondingly high overloading or underloading of the feed and threshing/separating mechanisms.
Should this happen, then the throughput controller might be deactivated, as well as the sensor technology for controlling the height of the harvesting header – which only registers an area of uneven ground when the cutter has already come into contact with it.
Case IH looks ahead
In the new Forward Looking Feedrate Radar system from Case IH, which was awarded a silver medal at Agritechnica, radar sensors are mounted on folding supports that arch out over the reels, ensuring that they monitor the crop before the header encounters it.
Their function is to measure the condition, height and density of the crop, and the data collected by doing so is used as input variables for the throughput controller.
In addition, they also monitor the ground profile which, when combined with the data from the ground sensors themselves, optimises cutter bar height control thanks to a raft of new algorithms.
Case IH believe that this patented development will lead to greater consistency in harvested crop infeed and will ensure more precise header control with less ground contact.
When these new sensors and algorithms are all working together they result in increased combine harvester output, operating reliability and therefore, say Case IH, overall efficiency.