Soil processing machine and method for operating a soil processing machine

A method for operating a soil processing machine, the soil processing machine comprising a hydraulic drive system, wherein the hydraulic drive system comprises:

• an electrohydraulic pressurized fluid source with at least one electric motor and at least one hydraulic drive pump;
• a hydraulic drive circuit supplied with pressurized fluid by the at least one hydraulic drive pump;
• at least one hydraulic drive motor supplied with pressurized fluid from the hydraulic drive circuit;
• and
• a discharge valve assembly for discharging fluid from the hydraulic drive circuit into a fluid reservoir;
• wherein the discharge valve assembly is operated to discharge fluid to the fluid reservoir as a function of at least one of the following parameters:
• a temperature of the fluid in the hydraulic drive circuit;
• a temperature of the fluid in the fluid return to the fluid reservoir;
• an ambient temperature;
• a viscosity of the fluid in the hydraulic drive circuit;
• a degree of contamination of the fluid in the hydraulic drive circuit;
• a period of time since the last start-up of the hydraulic drive system;
• a period of time since the last fluid discharge from the hydraulic drive circuit;
• wherein the hydraulic drive system is designed to trigger a discharge operation of the discharge valve assembly to discharge fluid to the fluid reservoir when the temperature of the fluid in the hydraulic drive circuit is above a predetermined discharge fluid threshold temperature or is within a predetermined discharge fluid temperature range and,
• when the discharge valve assembly has been triggered to discharge fluid from the hydraulic drive circuit to the fluid reservoir in dependence on the temperature of the fluid in the hydraulic drive circuit, to adjust the quantity of fluid discharged to the fluid reservoir and/or the fluid discharge rate as a function of the ambient temperature and/or the degree of contamination and/or the time that has elapsed since the last start-up of the hydraulic drive system and/or the time that has elapsed since the last fluid discharge from the hydraulic drive circuit.