Vehicle function management system

A tractor includes various actuators or functions, such as a powershift transmission, a hitch and hitch control system, a PTO, a plurality of selective control valves, etc., all controlled by one or more control units in response to sensed parameters and operator manipulated control devices, such as switches, knobs and levers. A function management system includes a programmed control unit which has a learn/save mode which is operable while the vehicle is moving. During the learn/save mode the operator performs a sequence of manual manipulations of the operator control devices, and the control unit records and then stores information pertaining to the sequence of operations, together with information pertaining to the distances traveled by the tractor between operations. The control unit also has an execute or replay mode, operable in response to an operator command signal, wherein the control unit automatically performs the stored sequence of operations so that the sequence of operations is performed at the same distance intervals at which they were learned, regardless of the speed of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The invention relates to a system for managing or controlling functions as
 a vehicle moves over terrain, such as the various functions which must be
 controlled as an agricultural tractor moves through a field.
 As an agricultural tractor moves through a field, the operator will
 typically be required to perform many operations at the start and at the
 end of a crop row in addition to simply steering the tractor, such as
 raising or lowering the implement hitch, shifting the transmission,
 engaging or disengaging the PTO shaft, etc. The number and complexity of
 the tasks can cause operator fatigue and can result in operational errors
 being committed. A system which can simplify the operator's tasks is
 desired.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a function
 management system which can simplify the tasks of an operator of a work
 vehicle, such as an agricultural tractor.
 Another object of this invention is to provide a function management system
 which can learn and store various sequences of function operations, and
 execute or replay such learned sequences upon command.
 A further object of the invention is to provide such a function management
 system wherein sequences of function operations are learned in
 correspondence with the distances traveled by the tractor between
 operations, so that the operational sequences can be automatically
 replayed with the same distance relationships therebetween as when they
 were learned.
 These and other objects are achieved by the present invention, wherein a
 tractor includes various functional systems, such as a powershift
 transmission, a hitch and hitch control system, a PTO, a plurality of
 selective control valves, etc., all controlled by a control unit in
 response to sensed parameters and operator manipulated control devices,
 such as switches and levers. According to the present invention, the
 control unit has a Learn Mode which is operable while the vehicle is
 moving. During the learning mode the operator performs a sequence of
 manipulations of the operator control devices, and the control unit stores
 information pertaining to the sequence of operations, together with
 information pertaining to the distances traveled by the tractor between
 operations. The control unit also has an execute or replay mode wherein
 the control unit automatically performs the stored sequence of operations
 so that the sequence of operations is performed at the same distance
 intervals at which they were learned, regardless of the speed of the
 vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 This application includes a microfiche appendix including one microfiche
 and 52 frames. A portion of the disclosure of this patent document
 contains material which is subject to a claim of copyright protection. The
 copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone
 of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
 Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves
 all other rights whatsoever.
 Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle, such as a production John Deere 8000 series
 tractor, includes an engine 10 which drives an engine output shaft 11,
 which drives a power shift transmission (PST) 12, which drives an output
 drive shaft 16 which is connected to drive wheels 17. The PST 12 includes
 a transmission 18 which is operated by a set of pressure operated control
 elements or clutches 20 which are controlled by a corresponding set of
 solenoid operated proportional control valves 22. The PST may be a the PST
 available on the production John Deere 8000 Series tractor, or any
 electronically controlled transmission with similar operator controls. The
 valves 22 may be electrohydraulic valves, such as are also on the
 production John Deere 8000 Series tractor. The engine 10 also drives a
 conventional power take off (PTO) drive (not shown) via a PTO clutch (not
 shown), and drives a hydraulic pump (not shown) which supplies pressurized
 hydraulic fluid to selective control valves (not shown), all also as
 available on the production John Deere 8000 Series tractor. Such a tractor
 may also include a differential lock, a mechanical front wheel drive and
 electro-hydraulic depth control cylinders (not shown) may be part of an
 implement (not shown) pulled by the tractor.
 An implement hitch 30, such as a conventional 3-point hitch, includes draft
 links 32 which are connected to lift arms 34 via lift links 36. The lift
 arms 34 are connected to the rockshaft 28 to insure simultaneous and equal
 movement, and are raised and lowered via a pair of parallel connected
 hydraulic lift or rockshaft cylinders 38. The tractor portions and the
 hitch 30 are merely exemplary and those skilled in the art will understand
 that the invention can be applied to tractors and hitches of other
 configurations. As is well known, various ground-engaging implements (not
 shown), such as a moldboard plow or a chisel plow, may be attached in a
 conventional manner to the hitch 30.
 The PST 12, the hitch 30, a PTO drive (not shown), selective control valves
 (not shown), a differential lock (not shown), a mechanical front wheel
 drive (not shown) and electro-hydraulic depth control cylinders (not
 shown) are examples of the various types of functions or actuators which
 may operated in desired sequences during operation of a tractor, such as
 at the start or end of a crop row.
 The communication of hydraulic fluid to and from the cylinders 38 is
 controlled by a pair of solenoid-operated electro-hydraulic flow control
 valves 40a and 40b which are operated by drivers 42a and 42b which receive
 electrical control signals generated by a vehicle control unit (VCU) 44.
 The VCU 44 is preferably a microprocessor-based electronic control unit,
 such as is used on the production John Deere 8000 Series tractor. The flow
 control valves 40a and 40b and the drivers 42a and 42b could be such as is
 available on the production John Deere 8000 Series tractor. The VCU 44
 also preferably controls a differential lock (not shown), a mechanical
 front-wheel drive clutch (not shown), the PTO (not shown), the SCVs (not
 shown), all such as is available on the production John Deere 8000 Series
 tractor.
 VCU 44 receives signals from a spring centered, three-position rocker type
 hitch raise/lower switch 46, a vehicle monitor/display unit 48, and a
 shift lever unit 50, all such as is available on the production John Deere
 8000 Series tractor. VCU 44 also receives signals from an engine speed
 sensor 52, preferably a mag pick-up, and an axle speed sensor 54,
 preferably a Hall effect sensor, which supplies an axle speed signal.
 Components 52 and 54 are preferably similar to their counterparts found on
 the production John Deere 8000 series tractors, but similar commercially
 available components could also suffice. VCU 44 also receives signals from
 a self-centering Sequence 1/Sequence 2 (Sequence) switch 56, preferably, a
 commercially available 3-position (1, 2 and neutral) momentary rocker
 switch which is used in connection with the present invention. The VCU 44,
 such as is available on the production John Deere 8000 Series tractor,
 includes input and output circuits, a programmed microprocessor and memory
 (not shown). VCU 44 also receives signals from a clutch switch 57 which is
 operatively connected to the clutch pedal 58.
 Referring now to FIG. 2, the monitor/display unit 48 is similar to the
 monitor/display unit which is provided with the production John Deere 8000
 series tractors, with some additions and or changes as will be described
 herein. The left-hand third of the monitor/display unit 48 includes a
 plurality of warning and status lights 60 associated with various vehicle
 functions, but which do not relate to the present invention. The upper
 portion of the middle part of unit 48 includes a graphic/numeric display
 62. The lower portion of the middle part of unit 48 includes a plurality
 of touch pad switches 64 (also not involved with the present invention)
 which can be used to control what parameters are displayed by the numeric
 display portion of display 62. The upper and lower parts of the right-hand
 third of the monitor/display unit 48 includes touch pad switches (not
 shown) which do not relate to the present invention. The unit 48 also
 includes a speaker (not shown) which generates audible sounds in response
 to certain conditions and operations.
 The middle part of the right-hand third of the monitor/display unit 48
 includes touch pad On/Off switch 66 and a Learn/Save touch pad switch 68,
 both of which are used in connection with the function management system.
 The lower right-hand part of the display 62 includes an IMS (Implement
 Management System) display element 70 and a 1-2 sequence display element
 72, both of which are lit up as a function of the operational status of
 the present invention, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.
 To implement the present invention, the VCU 44 executes the program set
 forth in the attached microfiche appendix. Thus programmed, the VCU 44
 derives distance information from the speed sensor 54, using well known
 integration techniques. The programmed VCU 44 cooperates with the elements
 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and thereby implements the function management
 system invention.
 Referring to FIG. 3, the Learn Mode operates as follows. First, at step 100
 the system is turned on by pressing the On/Off switch 66, and the IMS
 display indicator 70 turns on. Pressing Learn/Save switch 68 at step 102
 activates the Learn/Save mode and the IMS indicator 70 will begin to flash
 and a beep will occur every 2 seconds. Step 104 allows the Learn/Save Mode
 to continue if the tractor in forward gear of the transmission 18 and is
 moving faster than a minimum speed, such as 0.5 km/h, for example. During
 Learn/Save mode, if the operator shifts the transmission 18 out of forward
 gear, the system will exit from and cancel the Learn/Save mode and the
 sequence will be cleared. At step 106 the operator momentarily toggles the
 Sequence switch 56 to its Sequence 1 or its Sequence 2 position, and the
 corresponding Sequence number of indicator 72 will begin to flash. Then as
 indicated at 108 the operator can perform a sequence of up to a maximum
 number (such as 12) of manually performed function operations, such as
 shifting the transmission 18 by manipulating the shift lever 50, or such
 as by raising and/or lowering the hitch 30 by manipulating the hitch
 raise/lower switch 46. As indicated at 110, the VCU 44 records (in a
 temporary memory location) all the manually performed operations together
 with the various distances traversed by the tractor between the various
 manually performed operations. Distances are calculated based on axle
 speed sensed by sensor 54 and are recorded with a resolution in
 millimeters. Distance information is recorded only when the tractor is in
 forward gear and is moving faster than the minimum speed. At step 112 the
 Learn/Save switch 68 is pressed again and as indicated by step 114, and
 the VCU stores in a permanent memory the sequence of operations and
 corresponding distances as either a sequence 1 or a sequence 2, depending
 on how the switch 56 was previously toggled. The Learn/Save mode then ends
 at 116 and the flashing sequence number 72 stops flashing and the IMS
 indicator 70 alone remains lit.
 After one or two sequences of operations and distances has been learned and
 saved by the Learn/Save mode, the Execute Mode illustrated by FIG. 4 can
 be performed. At 200 the On/Off switch 66 is pressed to turn on the system
 and the IMS status indicator 70 turns on. Step 202 allows the Execute Mode
 to be performed if the tractor is in a forward gear of the transmission 18
 and is moving faster than a minimum speed. Then, at 204, when the tractor
 reaches a location in a field at which the operator desires to execute a
 stored sequence of operations, the operator momentarily toggles Sequence
 switch 56 to its Sequence 1 or its Sequence 2 position to select which
 stored sequence will be replayed, and the corresponding "1" or "2" on
 display 72 is lit. The "1" or "2" sequence indicator 72 will remain on at
 least 3 seconds, even if the sequence being executed requires less than 3
 seconds to be executed. Then, as indicated at 206 the VCU 44 automatically
 performs the selected sequence of stored operations, such as automatically
 shifting the transmission 18 without the operator manipulating the shift
 lever 50, or such as by automatically raising and/or lowering the hitch 30
 without the operator manipulating the hitch raise/lower switch 46. These
 stored operations will be replayed with the same relative distances
 therebetween as when they were learned, regardless of whether or not the
 tractor is travelling at the same, slower or faster speed. At the
 completion of a sequence execution, the number 1 or 2 of display 72 will
 be turned off. The Execute Mode then ends at 208.
 With two learned sequences and the system turned on, (and as long as the
 tractor is in a forward gear of the transmission 18 and is moving faster
 than a minimum speed), the operator may cause the first sequence to be
 automatically replayed by momentarily toggling the sequence switch 56 to
 its "1" position, for example, at the end of every crop row. Similarly,
 the operator may cause the second sequence to be automatically replayed by
 momentarily toggling the sequence switch 56 to its "2" position at the
 start of every crop row.
 Thus, the function management system described herein can be used to
 automatically replay a sequence of operations at the start of every crop
 row with a single momentary actuation of sequence switch 56, and to
 automatically replay a different sequence of operations at the end of
 every crop row with a different single momentary actuation of switch 56.
 Because the function management system operates on the basis of distances
 traveled by the tractor (instead of on the basis of time intervals, the
 sequences can be "learned" slowly as the tractor is moving slowly, then
 automatically executed or replayed faster as the tractor moves at normal
 operating speeds. This allows the operator plenty of time to operate the
 "learn" mode and have the control unit 48 "learn" a complex sequence of
 operations.
 During the operations described above, the invention also operates as
 follows. A beep will occur when the On/Off switch 66 is pressed. When the
 system is turned on the contents of the stored sequences will be displayed
 on the monitor/display 48. Each sequence, starting with sequence 1, will
 display each event that was learned and recorded every two seconds
 followed by the display of "End" on display 62.
 Learned sequences are retained indefinitely. A maximum number, such as 12
 operations can be recorded. The operator can delete a learned sequence
 from memory. If the Learn/Save mode is canceled during the learning
 process, i.e. the sequence was not concluded normally, then the sequence
 is cleared from memory. A saved sequence can be removed from memory by
 entering Learn/Save mode normally, selecting a sequence, and then hitting
 the Learn/Save switch 68 without operating any vehicle functions. This
 causes the system to exit the Learn/Save mode and discontinue flashing the
 sequence number indicator 72 while the "IMS" indicator 70 alone remains
 on.
 Once the Learn/Save mode is completed, no operations can be added to the
 sequence. Distance information will be accumulated only while the tractor
 is in forward gear and above the minimum speed.
 The Learn/Save mode may also be cancelled by hitting the On/Off switch 66
 and, either a) not selecting a sequence with sequence switch 56 within 30
 seconds, b) not learning any operations within 30 seconds of the time the
 sequence switch 56 is toggled, c) not actuating the Learn/Save switch 68
 within 30 seconds of the first operation learned, d) shifting the
 transmission 18 out of a forward gear, or e) if the operator is not
 present and the tractor is not moving for more than 5 seconds.
 The "IMS" status indicator 70 in the display 62 lights up when the system
 is on. If the On/Off switch 66 is pressed while function management system
 is on, then the system shuts off the function management system and turns
 off the IMS indicator 70. If the On/Off switch 66 is pressed and the
 Sequence switch 56 is not in the neutral position, then the function
 management system will not be turned on. If the system is in its
 Learn/Save mode when the function management system is turned off, then
 the Learn/Save mode will be cancelled and no sequence of operations will
 be saved. If the system is executing (replaying) a sequence when the
 function management system is turned off, the execution of the sequence
 will abort.
 A beep will occur when the Learn/Save mode touch pad switch 68 is pressed.
 The "IMS" status indicator 70 on display 62 will flash during Learn mode
 and every two seconds the VCU 44 will generate a 16th of a second duration
 beep. If function management system is not on, pressing the Learn/Save
 switch 68 shall have no effect. If the Learn/Save switch 68 is pressed
 when the function management system is on, then the system shall enter
 into the Learn/Save mode.
 If the function management system is off, pressing either part of the
 Sequence switch 56 will have no effect. If the function management system
 is on and the Sequence switch 56 transitions from the neutral position to
 either the Sequence 1 position or the Sequence 2 position, then the system
 will begin executing (replaying) the sequence. If the Sequence switch 56
 is pressed while the Learn Mode is active, the system will begin learning
 subsequently manually performed operations.
 Execution of a sequence will always begin at the first operation of the
 sequence, even if the sequence was previously aborted. During execution
 mode, the system will always command the learned operation for a function.
 If the function is already in the state which would result from
 performance of the learned operation, then the system will have no effect
 on that function. For example, if the operation is a raise the hitch
 operation, but the hitch is already fully raised, then execution merely
 passes along to the next operation of the sequence. If a sequence is
 already in process and then the sequence switch 56 is toggled for the
 corresponding sequence again, then that toggling of switch 56 will be
 ignored and the sequence execution will continue. If a sequence is already
 in process and then the sequence switch 56 is toggled for the other
 sequence, then the system will abort the execution of the sequence. If a
 function is disabled at the time a sequence is commanded then the system
 will not execute the sequence.
 The operator can use the clutch pedal 58 to stop the system accumulating
 distance during a Learn/Save mode, and to temporarily pause the automatic
 performance of an operation during execution of a saved sequence. Once 30
 seconds has expired, the sequence will abort regardless of whether the
 clutch is engaged or not. The system will also prevent execution of a
 sequence if the transmission gear is above a preselected maximum gear,
 such as 14 forward, unless the sequence was learned above that maximum
 gear.
 If the operator manually operates a function during automatic sequence
 execution, then that manually operated function (under this function
 management system) will be inhibited for the remainder of the execution of
 the sequence. The other operations of the sequence will be performed as
 learned, and the particular manually operated operation will not be
 deleted from the learned sequence.
 Alarm messages pertaining to functions, which are not included in the
 sequence being executed, shall not cause IMS to abort sequence execution.
 While the present invention has been described in conjunction with a
 specific embodiment, it is understood that many alternatives,
 modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art
 in light of the foregoing description. For example, the function
 management system described herein can also be used to learn and replay
 operations involving the tractor differential lock, the mechanical front
 wheel drive, the power take-off (PTO), the selective control valves (SCVs)
 and any electrohydraulic depth control cylinders, such as on a towed
 implement and controlled by operator controls on the tractor. Accordingly,
 this invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications
 and variations which fall within the spirit and scope of the appended
 claims.