Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to regenerative braking in agricultural vehicles, and more particularly to IoT based systems and methods for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement.
BACKGROUND
In general, agricultural implements (such as rotavators, sprayers, harrows, plows, planters, harvesters/reapers, etc.) are connected to agricultural vehicles for practicing commercial farming related activities (such as land preparation by pulverizing, ploughing, threshing, sowing, etc.). Further, the agricultural implements that are coupled with electric motors of the agricultural vehicles are called active implements, wherein the active implements are acquiring electrical energy from the electric motors. During an agricultural or farming related activity, the active implements may need to be turned off in various unfavorable environments, such as changing direction from a row line for pulverizing in an agricultural field, performing a headland turn or coming into contact with obstacles (e.g. rocks, stones, tree stumps, etc.). The active implement can be turned off (for short periods of time) in order to avoid certain damage to the active implement. While turning off the active implement, energy is wasted due to application of a brake to the motion of the active implement. Further, as the factors affecting the braking are not monitored, the braking operation cannot be accurately estimated in order to affect saving of the energy wasted in braking. So far, there is no existing technology addressing this issue of saving or storing the energy wasted due to braking in one or more active implements of an agricultural vehicle.
Hence, there is a need in the art for solutions which will overcome the above-mentioned drawback(s), among others.

OBJECTS
The principal object of embodiments herein is to disclose systems and methods for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement, used in an agricultural field.
Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose systems and methods for controlling regenerative braking in the agricultural vehicle, wherein the systems and the methods are developed based on an IoT based module.
Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose IoT based systems and methods for accurately estimating moment of regenerative braking in one or more moving components of an active implement used in the agricultural vehicle.
Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose IoT based systems and methods for implementing regenerative braking in an active implement of the agricultural vehicle based on output from at least a pair of sensors present as an integrating part of the system.
Yet, another object of embodiments herein is to disclose controlling of regenerative braking in the agricultural vehicle using at least an angle sensor arranged on a wheel of the agricultural vehicle and at least a force sensor arranged on the body of the active implement.
Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose IoT based systems and methods for enabling a regenerative braking in the at least one active implement of the agricultural vehicle based on data generated by the at least one angle sensor, wherein the angle sensor data comprises one or more signals corresponding to one or more angular position of at least one wheel associated with the agricultural vehicle (i.e., sensed angle of the at least one wheel).
Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose IoT based systems and methods for enabling regenerative braking for the at least one active implement of the agricultural vehicle based on data generated by the at least one force sensor. The force sensor data comprises one or more signals corresponding to one or more draft forces as experienced by the at least one active implement during operations (i.e., draft force value).
Yet, another object of embodiments herein is to disclose IoT based systems and methods for determining by a control module a moment of activating regenerative mode for an implement motor upon analyzing the received sensed angle of the at least one wheel and the received draft force value.
These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating at least one embodiment and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
Embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the following illustratory drawings. Embodiments herein are illustrated by way of examples in the accompanying drawings, and in which:
FIG. 1A is depicting a block diagram of an IoT based system for controlling a regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
FIG. 1B is depicting an architecture of the IoT based system for controlling a regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and
FIG. 2 is an example flowchart depicting a method for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
For the purposes of interpreting this specification, the definitions (as defined herein) will apply and whenever appropriate the terms used in singular will also include the plural and vice versa. It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purposes of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” are to be construed as open-ended terms unless otherwise noted.
The words/phrases "exemplary", “example”, “illustration”, “in an instance”, “and the like”, “and so on”, “etc.”, “etcetera”, “e.g.,” , “i.e.,” are merely used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein using the words/phrases "exemplary", “example”, “illustration”, “in an instance”, “and the like”, “and so on”, “etc.”, “etcetera”, “e.g.,” , “i.e.,” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
Embodiments herein may be described and illustrated in terms of blocks which carry out a described function or functions. These blocks, which may be referred to herein as managers, units, modules, hardware components or the like, are physically implemented by analog and/or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits and the like, and may optionally be driven by a firmware. The circuits may, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like. The circuits constituting a block may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry), or by a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions of the block and a processor to perform other functions of the block. Each block of the embodiments may be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, the blocks of the embodiments may be physically combined into more complex blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
It should be noted that elements in the drawings are illustrated for the purposes of this description and ease of understanding and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flowcharts/sequence diagrams illustrate the method in terms of the steps required for understanding of aspects of the embodiments as disclosed herein. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Furthermore, in terms of the system, one or more components/modules which comprise the system may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any modifications, equivalents, and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings and the corresponding description. Usage of words such as first, second, third etc., to describe components/elements/steps is for the purposes of this description and should not be construed as sequential ordering/placement/occurrence unless specified otherwise.
Embodiments herein achieve IoT based systems and methods for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle (124) based on operation of at least an active implement (110), using at least one angle sensor and at least one force sensor.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1A through 2, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
According to one or more embodiments as disclosed herein, FIG. 1A depicts a block diagram of an IoT based system for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement (110) connected to the vehicle by a connection means (128) of FIG. 1B. The system of FIG. 1A further discloses an angle sensor (sensor 1) (118), a force sensor (sensor 2) (120), a control module (114), and an implement motor (112) coupled with the active implement (110).
FIG. 1B depicts an architecture of the IoT based system (100) for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle based on operation of at least one active implement (110). The agricultural vehicle (124) as depicted further comprises an implement motor (112), a steering wheel (126), a connection means (128), and other vehicular components (130), wherein the other vehicular components are one or more essential components of a vehicle useful for one or more vehicular applications. The system of FIG. 1B further comprises a sensor unit (116) comprising the angle sensor (118) and the force sensor (120), an energy regenerating unit including a control module (114), a power storage unit (134) (i.e., a battery), and a communication network (122), wherein the communication network (122) can facilitate data communication between the active implement (110) of the agricultural vehicle, the sensor unit (116) and the control module (114).
The agricultural vehicle (124) herein refers to any vehicle/farm-machinery having at least one active implement that can be used for performing at least one agricultural related operation. An example of the agricultural vehicle without limitation can be a tractor, a thresher, a harvester, a combiner and so on. Embodiments herein are further explained considering the tractor as an example of the agricultural vehicle (124), but it may be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art that any suitable vehicle can be considered for using the system (100) in order to achieve the objects as stated earlier for the present disclosure.
As depicted in FIG. 1B, the agricultural vehicle (124) can be capable of pulling, operating, and transporting one or more active implements (110) connected thereto. Examples of the active implement (110) can be but not limited to a rotavator, a harrow, a plow, a planter, a harvester/reaper, a seed driller and so on. The active implement (110) can be detachably connected to the agricultural vehicle (124) by the connection means (128). In an embodiment, the connection means (128) further may be a detachable connection means (130) such as a three-point hitch/linkage with three movable arms assembled in a triangle form for supporting the active implement (110), a drawbar detachably engaged with the agricultural vehicle (124) for supporting and trailing the active implement (110) and so on. In an embodiment, the active implement (110) can be connected to the agricultural vehicle (124) permanently.
As depicted in FIG. 1B, the active implement (110) herein is an agricultural implement coupled with the implement motor (112) operated by electrical energy. The active implement has a plurality of moving components including one or more sharp metal equipment to engage with soil of the agricultural field, wherein the one or more sharp metal equipment can be such as sharp metal blades, metal discs, curved prongs and so on of various size and shape. Further, a moving component of the plurality of moving components of the active implement (110) may include a power transmission component such as a gear assembly and so on, for transmitting electrical energy to the one or more sharp metal equipment for enabling operation thereof. A moving component of the plurality of moving components further may include a rotor shaft engaged with the one or more sharp metal equipment in order to enable rotational motion operation of said metal equipment. Furthermore, a moving component of the plurality of moving components may include a transportation wheel fixed to the active implement (110) for smooth maneuverability on ground. However, the active implement (110) is debarred from any limitation in configuring the plurality of moving components and may include any other type of moving components as needful for the purpose of carrying out related activity(ies). Therefore, the configuration of moving components of the active elements is not intended to be limiting in any way. The plurality of moving components is driven by electric power as delivered by implement motor (112) during a row-planting farming related activity.
The implement motor (112) is an electrical motor that can extract electric energy from a power storage unit (134) for its operation. The implement motor (112) can deliver required electrical energy to the one or more moving components of the active implement (110) for carrying out operation of said moving component together in order to accomplish the required activity. In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the implement motor (112) coupled with the active implement (110) is operated as a regenerative motor, producing a negative torque to the active implement (110) in order to achieve a regenerative braking mode while turning OFF operation of the one or more moving components of the active implement (110). During the regenerative braking mode, the driving force at the one or more moving components of the active implement (110) is transformed to an equivalent electrical energy without any loss in energy by dissipation. The implement motor (112) as discussed is further coupled with a control module (114).
The control module (114) is configured to manage setting of the regenerative braking mode and a normal driving mode in the agricultural vehicle (124). Further, the control module (114) is configured to manage setting of the regenerative braking mode and the normal driving mode of the one or more moving components of the active implement (110) via the implement motor (112). In the normal driving mode of the agricultural vehicle and the active implements, the vehicle and the active implement operates using electrical energy from an electric motor. In a regenerative mode, the control module (114) is further configured to drive the implement motor (112) to extract kinetic energy from the one or more moving components of the active implement (110) thereby storing the kinetic energy in the form of electrical energy in the power storage unit (134).
In an embodiment, the control module (114) may be a micro-control module configured to control operation of the implement motor (112). Further, the control module (114) may be a smart computing unit with internet facility embedded in the agricultural vehicle (124). Further, the control module (114) may be a computing unit located remotely to the agricultural vehicle (124) in a cloud-based environment. In an embodiment, the control module (114) can include at least one of a single processer having the control module, a plurality of processors having the control module, multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple CPUs of different kinds, a microcontroller, and other accelerators. Further, the plurality of processers may be located on a single chip or over multiple chips. The control module (114) also includes components such as, but not limited to, Input/Output (I/O) ports, a memory, a data storage unit, and so on. For example, the control module (114) can be a smart phone (iPhone, Android phone, Windows phone), a conventional web-enabled computer, a tablet computer or another device capable of communicating through a communication network (122) to connect to internet or any other conventional network. In one embodiment, the control module (114) includes an image capturing unit, a GPS unit, and a user application for enabling a virtual interaction with a user via an application interface.
The control module (114) is communicably coupled to the implement motor (112) and the active implement (110) by the communication network (122) having at least one of the Internet, a wired network (a Local Area Network (LAN), a Controller Area Network (CAN), a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART), a bus network, ethernet and so on), a wireless network (a Wi-Fi network, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth, Zigbee and so on using Wireless Application Protocol), a direct interconnection, and so on. The communication network (122) can further be configured to enable the control module embedded to agricultural vehicle (124) to connect with at least one external entity (such as an external server, a user/operator device (device used by an operator of the agricultural implement)), and so on. In an embodiment, the communication network (122) can enable the control module to connect with the at least one external entity using at least one of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), cellular communications (2G/3G/4G/5G or the like), and so on. In an embodiment, the control module (114) may include physical ports that enable the control module to connect with additional devices/modules. Examples of the physical ports can be, but not limited to, general-purpose input/output (GPIO), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Ethernet, Display Serial Interface (DSI), and so on. Examples of the additional devices/modules can be, but not limited to, a CAN bus, On-board diagnostics (OBD) ports, and so on.
The control module (114) is further configured to obtain one or more operational parameters in relation to a row-planting farming related activity of the active implement (110) in a ground using the sensor unit (116) for estimating the moment of regenerative braking for said at least one active implement (110). The control module is further configured to monitor implement motor RPM at various time points of operation of the agricultural vehicle in row-planting farming related activities.
The angle sensor (depicted as sensor 1 (118)) is configured to sense a plurality of angles of at least one wheel as associated with the agricultural vehicle (124) thereby generating a plurality of signals (signal-1) in real-time corresponding to a wheel angle of the vehicle (124) heading towards a headland area. In an example herein, the angle sensor (118) is a wheel angle sensor attached to the steering wheel (126) or to a wheel (not shown) of the active implement (110) or a wheel of the agricultural vehicle (124). The angle sensor (118) can be such as but not limited to a wheel angle sensor installed with a wheel associated with the agricultural vehicle (124). In various embodiments, the angle sensor (118) can generate an analog signal-1 equivalent to a deviation in wheel angle of the agricultural vehicle (124). The deviation can refer to a deviation from the normal resting angle of the wheel; i.e., the normal resting angle of the wheel is the angle of the wheel, when the steering wheel of the vehicle is in its resting/straight ahead mode.
Further, the force sensor (depicted as sensor 2 (120)) is configured to generate a plurality of signals (signal-2) in real-time corresponding to a draft force as experienced by the active implement (110) while performing an activity. In an embodiment, the force sensor (120) is a draft-force sensor installed at the connection means (128) that is connecting the active implement (110) with the agricultural vehicle (124). In various embodiments, the force sensor (120) can generate an analog signal-2 equivalent to a variation in draft force as experienced by the one or more moving components of the active implement (110).
The control module (114) is configured to receive the analog signals as generated by the angle sensor (118) and the force sensor (120), and perform a signal transformation operation of the received analog signals for translating the received analog signals to a machine readable form in order to accomplish an analysis mechanism on the analog signals to activate a regenerative mode in the agricultural vehicle. During the regenerative mode, electrical energy is stored in the power storage unit (134), wherein the electrical energy is regenerated from kinetic energy of one or more moving components of said active implement (110). In an embodiment, the control module (114) is configured to connect to an internal storage unit (not shown) for storing the received plurality of signals in machine readable transformed form in the internal storage unit for utilizing thereof in future analysis purposes.
The internal storage unit can store a plurality of measured parameters of the agricultural implement (110), wherein the plurality of the measured parameters may include inputs collected from the sensor unit (116), a pre-determined suitable turn ON time-period and a pre-determined suitable turn OFF time-period for the active implement and so on. The internal storage unit may include at least one of a file server, a data server, a memory and so on. Further, the internal storage unit may include one or more computer-readable storage media and non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable memories (EEPROM). In addition, the internal storage unit may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term “non-transitory” may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term “non-transitory” should not be interpreted to mean that the memory is non-movable. In some examples, the memory can be configured to store larger amounts of information than the memory. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).
The sensor unit (116) can also include at least one other sensor (not shown) arranged on different parts of the agricultural vehicle (124) body for measuring several physical parameters of the agricultural implement such as, but not limited to, load, hours of usage, speed, time of operation, and so on.
The power storage unit (134) can be configured to power up the moving components of the active implement (110) by way of delivering electrical energy. In an embodiment, the power storage unit (134) stores a regenerated form of electrical energy under a control of the control module (114). In an embodiment herein, the power storage unit (134) may include at least one standalone rechargeable battery associated with at least one charging port, wherein the recharging port is used to connect with an external adapter/charger to recharge the battery. The usage of the at least one standalone rechargeable battery in the agricultural implement eliminates a need for the agricultural implement to derive the power supply from the agricultural vehicle (124).
In an embodiment, in the regenerative braking mode, the control module (114) is configured to save the electrical energy of the at least one battery of the power storage unit (134) by way of shutting OFF delivery of power to the moving components of the active element. The control module (114) is further configured to store a regenerated transformed form of electrical energy from kinetic energy of the active implement (110). The control module (114) is configured to power up the moving components of the active implement (110) based on the plurality of analog signals as generated respectively by the angle sensor (118) and the force sensor (120). Thus, the one or more batteries of the power storage unit (134) exhibit an improved energy consumption, wherein battery range has been improved effectively.
In an operation, the control module (114) is powered up/turned ON from the electrical power of a power take off source connected to the control module (114). During a normal driving mode of the active implement (110), a positive torque is generated and provided to the one or more moving components of the active implement (110) based on a signal transmitted from the control module (114) to the implement motor (112).
In an example scenario, consider that the vehicle is proceeding towards a headland area for carrying out pulverizing for an agricultural ground. The angle sensor (118) is configured for sensing in real-time a deviation in wheel angle of the agricultural vehicle (124). The force sensor (120) is configured for sensing in real-time a draft force as experienced by the active implement (110). While the agricultural vehicle (124) proceeds to take a headland turn, corresponding deviation in wheel angle is sensed by the angle sensor (118) and a signal is generated by the angle sensor (118) corresponding to the deviation in the wheel angle and is transmitted to the control module (114) in real time via the communication network (122). Upon receiving the signal from the angle sensor (118), the control module (114) can determine if the angular deviation of at least one wheel (as per the received signal) is greater than a predefined angle. The control module (114) transmits an equivalent command signal to the implement motor (112) to set the active implement (110) to a regenerative braking mode, if the angular deviation of at least one wheel (as per the received signal) is greater than the predefined angle.
Further, the force sensor (120) senses the draft force and a corresponding signal is generated by the force sensor (120) and communicated to the control module (114), wherein the generated signal is equivalent to the sensed draft force. Upon receiving the signal from the force sensor (120), the control module (114) determines if the draft force exceeds a threshold range and implement motor RPM is below a threshold RPM range, then the control module (114) transmits an equivalent command signal to the implement motor (112) to set the active implement (110) to the regenerative braking mode. The threshold range is a normal range of draft force suitable for the active implement (110) used in pulverizing, leaving the active implement (110) unaffected from braking. In the regenerative mode, the control module (114) is configured for monitoring the RPM of the implement motor in real time during the normal operating mode of the active implement (110). In the regenerative braking mode, the control module (114) can automatically set the active implement (110) in an idle mode by shutting off delivery of electrical energy to the active implement (110) and lifting up the active implement (110) from the ground. In an embodiment herein, a human operator can shut off delivery of electrical energy to the active implement (110) and lift up the active implement (110) from the ground manually.
FIG.s 1A-1B show example blocks depicting a method for evaluating regenerative braking, but it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereon. In other embodiments, the system of FIG.s 1A-1B may include less or more number of blocks. Further, the labels or names of the blocks are used only for illustrative purpose and does not limit the scope of the embodiments herein. One or more blocks can be combined together to perform same or substantially similar function in the system 100.
FIG. 2 is an example flowchart depicting a method (200) for controlling regenerative braking in the agricultural vehicle (124) based on operation of the active implement (110), according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
At step 202, the method includes monitoring by the control module (114) RPM of the implement motor (112). In general, RPM of the implement motor (112) is monitored during the time of pulverizing the agricultural field.
At step 204, the method includes receiving by the control module (114) one or more angles of at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle, wherein the one or more angles herein refers to deviation in angles of the at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle. At least one angle sensor (118) arranged in at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle is configured to sense in real time one or more angular deviations in the at least one wheel. Output from the angle sensor (118) is monitored continuously by the control module (114) during a forward movement towards a headland area of the agricultural vehicle (124) while pulverizing the agricultural field. Further, output from the angle sensor (118) is monitored while the agricultural vehicle takes a headland turn. The angle sensor (118) generates one or more signals (signal-1) corresponding to the one or more deviation in angles of the at least one wheel resulting from a headland movement of the agricultural vehicle (124), wherein the wheel can be such as, but not limiting to a steering wheel, a transportation wheel for the agricultural vehicle (124), a transportation wheel for the active implement (110) and so on.
Similarly, at step 206, the method includes receiving by the control module one or more draft force values of at least one active implement. The force sensor (120) as arranged with the connection means (128) for the active implement (110) is configured to sense the draft forces as experienced by one or more moving components of the active implement (110). Output from the force sensor (120) is monitored continuously during the process of pulverizing the agricultural ground. The force sensor (120) generates one or more signals (signal-2) in real time corresponding to the draft forces as experienced by the active implement (110) of the agricultural vehicle (124). The force sensor (120) is a draft-force sensor configured to sense one or more draft forces in real time as experienced by the active implement (110).
The control module (114) acquires the analog signal-1 from the angle sensor (118) corresponding to a deviation in a wheel angle of the agricultural vehicle (124). For example, the agricultural vehicle (124) is going through a headland area ride and takes a headland turn, the angle sensor (118) generates a corresponding analog signal-1 equivalent to deviation in angle of at least one wheel while the agricultural vehicle is taking the headland turn. Further, the angle sensor generates one or more analog signals (i.e., signal-1) corresponding to one or more angular deviations of at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle while the agricultural vehicle is heading towards a headland area.
At step 208, the control module (114) compares the analog signal-1 thus received in real time with a history of signals as generated by the angle sensor (118), subsequently stored in the storage unit, wherein the history of signals is generated corresponding to a plurality of angular deviations of a plurality of wheel movements. The control module (114) determines a set of wheel angles from the history of the signals as generated by the angle sensor having angular deviation ranges in between 1°- 15°, as a predefined threshold range of angular deviation for the agricultural vehicle (124). The control module (114) at step 210 thereby further determines an angular deviation from a plurality of as acquired angular deviations for a plurality of movements of the at least one wheel, is greater than the predefined threshold range, and generates a command signal for regenerating mode for the implement motor (112). In an example herein, the control module confirms a “headland turn” as attained by the agricultural vehicle (124) upon determining an angular deviation of at least one wheel of the vehicle exceeding the predefined threshold range, wherein exceeding the predefined threshold range is further determined for the at least one wheel under observation having an angular deviation >15°.
At step 212, regenerative braking mode for the active implement of the agricultural vehicle is activated by the control module (114) by means of the implement motor (112) upon determining a moment of exceeding the threshold range of angular deviation as attained by the at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle (124), wherein determining the moment of exceeding the threshold range of angular deviation is corresponding to determining a moment of regenerative braking in the agricultural vehicle based on operation of the active implement (110). At block 216, the control module enables the implement motor to operate at the normal operating mode (i.e., the driving mode) upon determining an angular deviation of at least one wheel of the vehicle is less than the predefined threshold range.
Further at step 208, the control module (114) further performs a comparative analysis after receiving the one or more signals from the force sensor (120) and the motor RPM from the implement motor during pulverizing an agricultural land. In an example step, the control module (114) acquires an analog signal-2 from the force sensor (120) corresponding to a variation in a draft force as experienced by the active implement (110) during pulverizing an agricultural field and compares the acquired signal-2 with a history of signals generated by the force sensor (120), subsequently stored in the internal storage unit, wherein the history of signals are generated corresponding to variations in draft forces. The control module (114) determines a set of draft forces from the history of signals having variation in draft forces, as a predefined threshold range of variation in draft forces. In an example herein, the variation in draft forces can ranges in between 50%- 60%,. The control module (114) thereby confirms presence of an obstacle during pulverizing upon determining a variation in the draft force exceeding the predefined threshold range, wherein exceeding the predefined threshold range is further determined for the active implement (110) under observation having variation in draft force >XX%.
At step 214, the control module determines a variation in draft force exceeding the predefined threshold range as defined as the maximum limit for variation in draft force along with a value of RPM of the implement motor (112) is less than a threshold RPM value, wherein the threshold RPM value is determined from standard RPM values of commercial agricultural vehicle (124). The control module further determines a moment of regenerative braking from the received draft force value and the RPM value of the implement motor. In an aspect, determining a moment of exceeding in the threshold range for draft force corresponds to determining a moment of regenerative braking for the active implement (110). Based on the output from block 214, the control module either activates a regenerating mode for the implement motor as depicted at step 212 or enables the implement motor to carry out operations in normal operating mode (i.e., driving mode) as depicted at step 216. In an embodiment, if the control module (114) determines a draft force as experienced by the active implement (110) exceeds the threshold range of force, however, the implement motor (112) RPM value as obtained is in the normal range for the specific agricultural vehicle (124), the control module (114) instead of activating regenerative braking mode, lifts up the active implement (110) and halts the field pulverizing operation for a short period, e.g., 2 seconds in order to ascertain safety of the active implement (110) from an impact with rocks or stones.
In an example embodiment, the control module (114) is configured to lift the active implement and halt the field pulverizing operation, when regenerative braking mode has been activated for the agricultural vehicle.
The various actions in method 200 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 2 may be omitted.
The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in FIG. 2 include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
The embodiment disclosed herein describes systems and methods based on IoT module for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in at least one embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g., Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of portable device that can be programmed. The device may also include means which could be e.g., hardware means like e.g., an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g., an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented partly in hardware and partly in software. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g., using a plurality of CPUs.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments and examples, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments and examples disclosed herein can be practiced with modification within the scope of the embodiments as described herein.
, Claims:We claim;
1. A system for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle (124), the system comprising:
at least one wheel angle sensor (118) configured to sense an angle of at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle;
at least one force sensor (120) configured to sense draft force value of at least one active implement (110) attached to the agricultural vehicle; and
a control module (114) configured to activate a regeneration mode based on the sensed angle of the at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle and the sensed draft force value.

2. The system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control module (114) is configured to:
turn off and lift the at least one active implement (110); and
activate the regeneration mode, based on a determination that at least one of the sensed angle of at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle is more than a pre-defined angle, wherein
the sensed draft force value is greater than a threshold force level and Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of a motor (112) of the at least one active implement (110) is less than a RPM threshold.

3. The system, as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control module (114) is configured to turn ON the at least one active implement (110) after a pre-defined time period, based on a determination that the sensed draft force value is not greater than the threshold force level or the RPM of the motor (112) of the at least one active implement is not less than the RPM threshold.

4. The system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system further comprises at least one power storage unit (134), wherein control module (114) is configured to charge the at least one power storage unit in the regeneration mode using electrical energy from kinetic energy of one or more moving components of the at least one active implement.

5. A method for controlling regenerative braking in an agricultural vehicle (124), the method comprises:
sensing, by at least one wheel angle sensor (118), an angle of at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle;
sensing, by at least one force sensor (120), a draft force value of at least an active implement attached to the agricultural vehicle; and
activating, by a control module (114), a regeneration mode based on the sensed angle of the at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle and the sensed draft force value.

6. The method, as claimed in claim 5, wherein the method comprises:
turning off and lifting the at least one active implement (110); and
activating the regeneration mode, based on a determination that at least one of the sensed angle of at least one wheel of the agricultural vehicle is more than a pre-defined angle; and
the sensed draft force value is greater than a threshold force level and Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) of a motor (112) of the at least one active implement is less than an RPM threshold.

7. The method, as claimed in claim 6, wherein the method comprises turning ON the at least active implement after a pre-defined time period, on determining that the sensed draft force value is not greater than the threshold force level or the RPM of the motor of the at least one active implement is not less than the RPM threshold.

8. The method, as claimed in claim 5, wherein the method further comprises charging at least one power storage unit (134) in the regeneration mode using electrical energy from kinetic energy of one or more moving components of the at least one active implement.