Agricultural baling machine clutch control

An agricultural system, comprising:

• an agricultural baler comprising:
• a pick-up arrangement for collecting plant matter, the pick-up arrangement comprising a roller for feeding crop into the baler;
• a clutch;
• and
• a pick-up drive shaft for moving the roller at a desired rotational speed, the pick-up drive shaft connected to the roller by the clutch for selectively transferring power between the pick-up drive shaft and the roller;
• a control unit configured to:
• receive clutch-status-data indicative of an engagement status of the clutch;
• determine a speed-control-signal for varying the rotational speed of the pick-up drive shaft based on the clutch-status-data;
• and
• provide the speed-control-signal to a driveline for driving the pick-up drive shaft and
• a rotary input shaft connected by the driveline to the pick-up drive shaft, and wherein the driveline includes a transmission for selectively moving the pick-up drive shaft at various speeds that differ from a rotational speed of the input shaft
• wherein the transmission includes components defining at least first and second selectable transmission ratios between the input shaft and the pick-up drive shaft, the speed-control-signal applicable for selecting the first or the second transmission ratio, and wherein, when the second transmission ratio is selected, the pick-up drive shaft moves at a first rotational speed and, when the first transmission ratio is selected, the pick-up drive shaft moves at a second rotational speed, the second rotational speed being slower than the first rotational speed, and wherein the speed-control-signal is for selecting the first transmission ratio if the clutch-status is indicative of clutch-slip occurring in the clutch.

A computer-implemented method for controlling an agricultural baler, said agricultural baler comprising:

• a pick-up arrangement for collecting plant matter, the pick-up arrangement comprising a roller;
• a clutch;
• and
• a pick-up drive shaft for moving the roller at a rotational speed, the pick-up drive shaft connected to the roller by the clutch for selectively transferring power to the roller,
• wherein the method comprises:
• receiving clutch-status-data indicative of an engagement status of the clutch;
• providing a speed-control-signal to a driveline for driving the pick-up drive shaft;
• determining the speed-control-signal for driving the pick-up drive shaft at:
• a first rotational speed for normal operation of the pick-up arrangement and
• a second rotational speed for re-engagement of the clutch, the second rotational speed being slower than the first rotational speed, and
• determining the speed-control-signal for:
• selecting the first rotational speed if the clutch-status-data is indicative of the clutch being engaged;
• and
• selecting the second rotational speed if the clutch-status-data is indicative of clutch-slip occurring in the clutch.