Patent Publication Number: US-2023141306-A1

Title: Methods and systems for controlling power supply of agricultural implement(s) attached to an agricultural vehicle

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based on and derives the benefit of Indian Application 202041010452 filed on 11th March, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments disclosed herein relate to agricultural vehicles, and more particularly to controlling power supply of at least one agricultural implement connected to an agricultural vehicle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Agricultural implements (such as rotavators, sprayers, harrows, plows, planters, harvesters/reapers and so on) can be connected to an agricultural vehicle for performing agricultural related operations. The agricultural implement may include a control system for measuring parameters of the agricultural implement (such as speed, hours of usage, and so on) and providing warnings/alerts to an operator to operate the agricultural implement at an optimized speed based on the measured parameters. 
     In conventional approaches, the agricultural implement may be coupled to a battery that provides power supply to components of the control system to measure the various parameters of the agricultural implement. The battery derives the power supply from a power source present in the agricultural vehicle (for example, an ignited engine, a battery of the agricultural vehicle, an on-board battery, or the like). In order to derive the power supply from the agricultural vehicle, the battery coupled with the agricultural implement may be connected to the power source of the agricultural vehicle using a wire connection. In an example herein, the agricultural implement such as a rotavator connected to a tractor and the wire connection used to connect the battery coupled to the rotavator with the power source of the tractor is illustrated in  FIG.  1   . However, such a wire connection may be damaged while performing agricultural related operations due to various factors. For example, the wire connection may be damaged due to high rotating speed of a Power Take Off (PTO) shaft mounted on the agricultural vehicle (a device used to transfer the power supply from the agricultural vehicle to the agricultural implement). The wire connection may also be damaged due to stones during tillage process. The damage of the wire connection may lead to a failure in the control system. 
     In addition, due to the wire connection, terminal connections with the battery have to be disconnected, while disconnecting the agricultural implement from the agricultural vehicle, which further leads to requirement for water and dust protections for the battery. 
     OBJECTS 
     The principal object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for controlling power supply of at least one agricultural implement, wherein the agricultural implement is connected to an agricultural vehicle. 
     Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for implementing at least one standalone battery as a part of a control system of the at least one agricultural implement. 
     Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for powering up at least one component of the control system using the at least one battery based on a mode of the agricultural implement for saving energy of the at least one battery. 
     Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for powering up and powering off of at least one speed sensor of the control system of the agricultural implement for a pre-determined time during an idle mode of the agricultural implement. 
     Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems for deciding to power up at least one component of the control system of the at least one agricultural implement based on at least one signal received from at least one speed sensor, wherein the at least one signal is generated by sensing a rotation of the agricultural implement that indicates an operative mode of the at least one agricultural implement. 
     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, through out 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 drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    depicts a wire connection used to connect a battery of an agricultural implement with a power source of an agricultural vehicle; 
         FIGS.  2   a - 2   c    depict a control system for controlling power supply of agricultural implement(s) attached to an agricultural vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; 
         FIG.  3    is an example flowchart depicting a method for controlling power supply of the control system of the agricultural implement, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; 
         FIG.  4    is an example flowchart depicting control logic of a control unit for operating components of the control system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; 
         FIG.  5    is an example timing diagram depicting control logic of the control unit, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and 
         FIG.  6    is an example flowchart depicting a method for operating the control unit, 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. 
     Embodiments herein disclose methods and system for controlling power supply of at least one agricultural implement connected to an agricultural vehicle. 
     Embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for implementing at least one standalone battery as a part of a control system of the at least one agricultural implement. 
     Embodiments herein disclose methods and systems for powering up at least one component of the control system using the at least one battery based on a mode of the agricultural implement for saving energy of the at least one battery. 
     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to  FIGS.  2   a  through  6   , where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments. 
       FIGS.  2   a - 2   c    depict a control system  201  for controlling power supply of agricultural implement(s)  200  attached to an agricultural vehicle, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The agricultural vehicle herein refers to any vehicle/farm machinery that can be used for performing at least one agricultural related operation. An example of the agricultural vehicle can be, but not limited to, 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, but it may be obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that any suitable vehicle can be considered. 
     The agricultural vehicle can be capable of pulling, operating, and transporting one or more agricultural implements  200  connected thereto. Examples of the agricultural implement  200  can be, but not limited to, rotavators, sprayers, harrows, plows, planters, harvesters/reapers, fertilizer spreader, sprayers, dispersers, and so on. In an embodiment, the agricultural implement  200  can be connected to the agricultural vehicle using a detachable means, such as a three-point hitch/linkage, and so on. In an embodiment, the agricultural implement  200  can be connected to the agricultural vehicle permanently. 
     The agricultural implement includes the control system  201 , which can be mounted on the agricultural implement  200  at a suitable position. The control system  201  can be configured to manage operations of the agricultural implement  200 . In an embodiment, the control system  201  can be configured to control the power supplied to the agricultural implement  200 . As illustrated in  FIG.  2   a   , the control system  201  includes a Battery Management System (BMS) unit  202 , a communication unit  204 , a display unit  206 , a storage  208 , a sensor unit  210 , and a control unit  212 . The control unit  212  can be communicatively coupled with the BMS unit  202 , the communication unit  204 , the display unit  206 , the sensor unit  210 , and the storage  208  using at least one of the Internet, a wired network (a Local Area Network (LAN), a Controller Area Network (CAN) network, 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) and so on. 
     The BMS unit  202  can be configured to power up components  204 - 212  of the control system  201  by providing power supply to the components  204 - 212 . In an embodiment, the BMS unit  202  can provide power supply to the components  204 - 210  of the control system  201  under a control of the control unit  212 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  2   b   , the BMS unit  202  includes at least one standalone battery  202   a . In an embodiment, the at least one battery  202   a  can be a rechargeable battery  202   a . The at least one battery  202   a  can be configured to provide the power supply to the components  204 - 212  of the control system  201  of the agricultural implement. The at least one battery  202   a  can be associated with at least one charging port/module  202   b , that can be used to connect with an external adapter/charger to recharge the at least one battery  202   a . The usage of the at least one standalone rechargeable battery  202   a  in the agricultural implement eliminates a need for the agricultural implement  200  to derive the power supply from the agricultural vehicle. 
     The communication unit  204  can be configured to enable the control system  201  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 unit  204  can enable the control system  201  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 communication unit  204  may include physical ports that enable the control system  201  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, the sensor unit  210 , and so on. 
     The display unit  206  can be configured to enable the operator of the agricultural implement  200  to interact with the control system  201 . The display unit  206  can display status/charging level of the at least one battery  202   a  to the operator. The display unit  206  can also display various parameters (such as speed, load, and so on) of the agricultural implement  200  that are measured by the control unit  212  to the operator. The display unit  206  can also display alerts/warnings generated by the control unit  212  to the operator to operate the agricultural implement  200  in an optimized speed. The alerts/warnings can be in the form of at least one of a visual alert/warning (provided using the display or any other suitable means such as a light) or an audio alert/warning (provided using a speaker, headphones, earphones, and so on). The alerts/warnings can be also provided to another device (which may be present remotely), such as a mobile phone, smart phone, computer, server, and so on. 
     The sensor unit  210  can be configured to measure the speed of the agricultural implement  200 . As illustrated in  FIG.  2   b   , the sensor unit  210  includes at least one speed sensor  210   a  for measuring the speed of the agricultural implement  200 . The speed can be measured with respect to the rotation of the agricultural implement  200 . The speed sensor  210   a  can be mounted on the agricultural implement  200  at suitable position. In an embodiment, the speed sensor  210   a  can be an hour counter. In an embodiment, the speed sensor  210   a  can be, but not limited to, a magnetic type speed sensor, a proximity type speed sensor, a contact-type sensor, a non-contact type sensor and so on. In an embodiment, the speed sensor  210   a  can be a Hall Effect sensor. However, it is also within the scope of the embodiments disclosed herein to provide any type of speed sensor without otherwise deterring the intended function of measuring speed values as can be deduced from this description and corresponding drawings. 
     The sensor unit  210  can also be configured to measure parameters of the agricultural implement  200  such as, but not limited to, load, hours of usage, speed, time of operation, and so on. 
     In an embodiment, the speed sensor  210   a  can be configured to generate at least one input signal by sensing rotation of the agricultural implement  200 . The speed sensor  210   a  may generate pulse with the signal based on duration and a number of detecting pulses, which can be converted to the speed. The generated at least one input signal can correspond to the speed of the agricultural implement  200 . In an example herein, the generated at least one input signal can be a digital signal. The speed sensor  210   a  can be coupled to a signal-conditioning unit  210   b . The signal-conditioning unit  210   b  can process the at least one input signal generated by the speed sensor  210   a  using at least modulation technique. The signal-conditioning unit  210   b  further provides the processed at least one input signal (generated by the speed sensor  210   a ) to the control unit  212 . In an example herein, the signal-conditioning unit  210   b  can convert the at least one digital input signal generated by the speed sensor  210   a  into an analog signal using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). 
     In an embodiment, the speed sensor  210   a  can be used as a voltage generator. The speed sensor  210   a  can generate the voltage by sensing the rotation/rpm of the agricultural implement  200 . The speed sensor  210   a  includes a magneto system for generating the voltage/charge (as disclosed in Indian Patent Application 201941008765 (“Methods and apparatus for integrated sensing and self-charging in farm implements”)). In an embodiment, the voltage generated by the speed sensor  210   a  based on the rotation of the agricultural implement  200  can be used to power up the control unit  212 . In an embodiment, the voltage generated by the speed sensor  210   a  can be used to power up the components (the communication unit  204 , the display  206 , the storage  208 , and the control unit  212 ) of the control system  201 . In an embodiment, the voltage generated by the speed sensor  210   a  can be used to charge the at least one battery  202   a  of the BMS unit  202 . Thereby, a need for a charging port requirement on the control system  201  and a need for a battery replacement requirement can be eliminated. Due to the elimination of such needs, the control system  201  (as illustrated in  FIG.  2   c   ) can be completely sealed. The completely sealed control system  201  can be dust proof, leak proof, water proof and able to withstand dry land and wet land cultivation and vibration as per the farm requirements. In addition, the control system  201  (as illustrated in  FIG.  2   c   ) may have zero maintenance as the control system  201  is completely sealed and does not require any replacement of the at least one battery  202 . 
     The control unit  212  can include at least one of a single processer, a plurality of processors, multiple homogeneous or heterogeneous cores, multiple CPUs of different kinds, a microcontroller, and other accelerators. Further, the plurality of processing units may be located on a single chip or over multiple chips. The control unit  212  also includes components such as, but not limited to, Input/Output (I/O) ports, a memory, a storage unit, and so on. The control unit  212  can be configured to measure the various parameters of the agricultural implement  200  using the sensor unit  210  and accordingly provides the warning/alerts to the operator to operate the agricultural implement  200  in the optimized speed. 
     In an embodiment, the control unit  212  can be configured to control the power supply to the components (the communication unit  204 , the display  206 , the sensor unit  210 , and the memory  208 ) of the control system  201 , thereby saving energy of the at least one battery  202   a  of the BMS unit  202 . The control unit  212  may decide to power up the components of the control system  201  based on a mode of the agricultural implement, thereby saving energy of the at least one battery  202   a . The mode can be an idle mode, in which the agricultural implement does not operate. The mode can be an operative mode, in which the agricultural implement operates/starts rotates. 
     In an embodiment, the control unit  212  can alone be powered up/turned ON to operate in the idle mode of the agricultural implement  200 . During the idle mode, the control unit  212  can decide to only turn ON the speed sensor  210   a  of the sensor unit  210  for a first pre-determined time (for example; ‘X’ milliseconds (ms)). When the control unit  212  decides to turn ON the speed sensor  210   a , the control unit  212  provides instructions to the BMS unit  202  to provide required amount of power supply to the speed sensor  210   a . In an embodiment, the amount of power supply/current can be pre-determined/fixed, however, calibration may be used to fix the amount of power supply. In an embodiment, the amount of power supply can be varied based on requirements for charging the other components, however the amount of current may be fixed charge only. When the sensor unit  210  is turned ON for ‘X’ ms (hereinafter referred as a turn ON period) during the idle mode, the control unit  212  checks for the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  based on the rotation of the agricultural implement  200 . On receiving the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  during the turn ON period, the control unit  212  determines that the agricultural implement  200  has entered into the operative mode. 
     Once the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  is received, the control unit  212  decides to turn ON all other components (the communication unit  204 , the display  206 , and the storage  208 ) of the control system  201 . When the control unit  212  decides to turn ON one or more of the components  204 - 208 , the control unit  212  instructs the BMS unit  202  to provide the power supply to one or more of the components  204 - 208 . If the control unit  212  does not receive any signal from the speed sensor  210  during the turn ON period, the control unit  212  does not turn ON all other components  204 - 208  of the control system  201 . Thus, all other components of the control system  201  can be in a sleep state/turned OFF state during the idle mode. 
     After an expiry of the turn ON period without receiving any signal from the speed sensor  210   a , the control unit  212  decides to turn OFF the speed sensor  210   a  for a second pre-determined time (for example: ‘Y’ ms (hereinafter referred as a turn OFF period)) during the idle mode. During the turn OFF period of the speed sensor  210   a , the control unit  212  turns OFF all other components of the control system  201 . Thus, during the idle mode of the agricultural implement  200 , power consumption from the at least one battery may be reduced, which increases the battery life. 
     In an embodiment, the turn ON period and the turn OFF period may be decided based on requirements to save the energy of the battery  202   a . Also, the turn ON period and turn OFF period may be varied based on a change in requirements to save the energy of the battery  202   a . For example, if the requirement is changed to save more energy of the battery  202   a , then the turn ON period and turn OFF may be set accordingly. 
     In an example herein, the control unit  212  decides the turn ON period for speed sensor  210   a  to turn ON based on the requirement to save the energy of the battery  202   a , wherein the turn ON period may be decided for few msec. During the turn ON period, the control unit  212  sends a signal to the speed sensor  210   a  to determine any rotation of the agricultural implement. Further, the at least one other component (for example, consider the other component may be the communication module/Bluetooth  204 ) may be in the sleep/default OFF mode. The speed sensor  210   a  may obtain the signal in a frequent amount of time from the control unit  212  to determine the speed variations based on the rotations of the agricultural implement. On determining the rotations/speed variations, the control unit  212  may power up the Bluetooth  204  using the power supply from the battery  202   a , thereby makes huge energy saving in Bluetooth  204  to be in a broadcast mode in default. Otherwise, the control unit  212  decides to operate the Bluetooth  204  in the sleep mode. The control unit  212  further sends a successive signal after a gap of sec, wherein the gap between the few msec and sec may be effective. The successive signal may be for the speed sensor  212   a  to turn off for few sec. 
     In an embodiment, when the speed sensor  210  is the voltage generator, the components  202 - 208  of the control system  201  may not be powered up during the idle mode including the control unit  212 . Thus, the entire control system  201  may be in the sleep state. When the agricultural implement enters into the operative mode/starts rotating, the speed sensor  210   a  generates the voltage by sensing the rotation of the agricultural implement  200 . The generated voltage corresponds to the speed of the agricultural implement  200 , which is indicating the operative mode of the agricultural implement  200 . The generated voltage can be used to turn ON/power up the control unit  212 . Thus, the control unit  212  can be turned ON only during the operative mode of the agricultural implement  200 . When the control unit  212  turns ON, the control unit  212  decides to turn ON all other components  204 - 208  of the control system  201  using at least one of the voltage generated by the speed sensor  210   a  and the power supply of the at least one battery. Thus, reducing the power consumption. 
     The storage  212  can store at least one of the measured parameters of the agricultural implement  200 , inputs collected from the sensor unit  210 , the pre-determined turn ON period and the pre-determined turn OFF period, and so on. The storage  212  includes at least one of a file server, a data server, a memory, a server, a cloud and so on. The memory may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The memory may include 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 (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory 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). 
       FIGS.  2   a - 2   c    show exemplary blocks of the control system  201 , but it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereon. In other embodiments, the control system  201  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 control system  201 . 
       FIG.  3    is an example flowchart  300  depicting a method for controlling power supply of the control system  201 , according to embodiments as disclosed herein. 
     At step  302 , the method includes, turning ON only the control unit  212  in the idle mode of the agricultural implement  200  by providing the power supply to the control unit  212  from the at least one battery  202   a . At step  304 , the method includes controlling, by the control unit  212 , the power supply to the components  204 - 208  of the control unit  212  based on the signal generated by the speed sensor  210   a . The control unit  212  turns ON the speed sensor  210   a  for the pre-determined turn ON period and turns OFF the speed sensor  210   a  for the pre-determined turn OFF period (a turn ON and turn OFF logic) during the idle mode of the agricultural implement  200 . Based on the signal received from the speed sensor  210   a  during the turn ON period, the control unit  212  decides to turn ON the other components  204 - 208  of the control system  201  by providing the power supply. Thus, an average power consumption from the at least one battery  202   a  may be very less during the idle mode of the agricultural implement  200 , as the components (excluding the control unit  212 ) are in the sleep state/turned OFF during the idle mode. The various actions in method  300  may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in  FIG.  3    may be omitted. 
       FIG.  4    is an example flowchart  400  depicting control logic of the control unit  212  for operating the components  204 - 208  of the control system  201 , according to embodiments as disclosed herein. At step  402 , the method includes deciding by the control unit  212  to turn ON the speed sensor for the pre-determined turn ON period by providing the power supply to the speed sensor from the at least one battery  202   a . The speed sensor can be turned ON, on sensing the rotation of the agricultural implement, which indicates the operative mode of the agricultural implement. At step  404 , the method includes waiting by the control unit  212  to receive the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  during the turn ON period of the speed sensor  210   a . The signal can be generated by speed sensor  210   a  on sensing the rotation of the agricultural implement. 
     At step  406 , the method includes the control unit  212  turning ON the other components  204 - 208  of the control system  201  during the turn ON period of the speed sensor  210   a , on receiving the signal from the speed sensor  210   a . The control unit  212  may instruct the BMS unit  202  to provide the power supply to the other components  204 - 208  of the control system  201 . At step  408 , the method includes the control unit  212  not turning ON the other components of the control system  201 , if the control unit  212  does not receive the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  during the turn ON period of the speed sensor  210   a . 
     At step  410 , the method includes the control unit  212  turning OFF the speed sensor  210   a  for the pre-determined turn OFF period, if the control unit  212  does not receive the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  on the expiry of the turn ON period of the agricultural implement  200 . Thus, power consumption from the at least one battery  202   a  may be reduced. The various actions in method  400  may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in  FIG.  4    may be omitted. 
       FIG.  5    is an example timing diagram depicting control logic of the control unit  212 , according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The control unit  212  alone can be turned ON/powered up during the idle mode of the agricultural implement. The control unit  212  turns ON the speed sensor  210   a  for the pre-determined turn ON period by providing the power supply to the speed sensor  210   a . In an example herein, the turn ON period ‘X’ may be pre-determined as 100 ms using a clock. During the turn ON period of the speed sensor, the control unit  212  turns ON the other components  204 - 208  of the control system  201  if the control unit  212  receives the signal from the speed sensor based on the rotation/operative mode of the agricultural implement. 
     The control unit  212  further turns OFF the speed sensor  210   a  for the pre-determined turn OFF period if the control unit  212  does not receive the signal from the speed sensor  210   a  on the expiry of the speed sensor  210   a . In an example herein, the pre-determined turn OFF period may be 2 sec. During the turn OFF period of the speed sensor  210   a , the control unit  212  does not turn ON the other components of the control unit  212 . Thus, the turn ON and turn OFF logic of the control unit  212  may save a huge amount of the battery energy. 
       FIG.  6    is an example flowchart  600  depicting a method for operating the control unit  212 , according to embodiments as disclosed herein. At step  602 , the method includes using the speed sensor  210   a  as the voltage generator. In such a case, the power consumption from the at least one battery  202   a  can be reduced by not powering up the control unit  212  and the other components  202 - 208  of the control system  201  during sleep state/idle mode of the agricultural implement  200 . At step  604 , the method includes generating, by the speed sensor  210   a , the voltage corresponding to the speed of the agricultural implement  200  based on the rotation/operative mode of the agricultural implement  200 . At step  606 , the method includes using the voltage generated by the speed sensor  210   a  to power up/turn ON the control unit  212 . Therefore, the control unit  212  can be triggered by the speed sensor itself without providing power supply to the speed sensor  210   a . The control unit  212  may further turn ON the other components  202 - 208  of the control system  201 . Thus, the components  202 - 212  of the control system  201  can be only turned ON during the operative mode of the agricultural implement  200 , which further enhances the battery life. At step  608 , the method includes using the voltage generated by the speed sensor  210   a  to charge the at least one battery  202   a . Thus, a need for the charging port  202   b  on the control system  201  may be eliminated. The various actions in method  600  may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in  FIG.  6    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  FIGS.  2   a - 2   c    include blocks, which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module. 
     The embodiments disclosed herein describe methods and systems for controlling power supply of an agricultural implement connected to 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 device which can be programmed including e.g. any kind of computer like a server or a personal computer, or the like, or any combination thereof, e.g. one processor and two FPGAs. 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. Thus, the means are at least one hardware means and/or at least one software means. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented in pure hardware or partly in hardware and partly in software. The device may also include only software means. 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 herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims as described herein.