Basecutter automated height calibration for sugarcane harvesters

A sugarcane harvester for harvesting sugarcane stalks from sugarcane plants, the sugarcane harvester comprising:

• a movable chassis having a forward end and a rearward end disposed along a longitudinal axis;
• an intake and cutting assembly mounted on the forward end of the chassis for cutting the sugarcane stalks from the sugarcane plants as the sugarcane harvester moves through the sugarcane plants, the intake and cutting assembly including basecutters for cutting bases of the sugarcane plants, wherein the basecutters include a rotary blade and a hydraulic motor for rotating the blade;
• a chopping section mounted between the forward end and rearward end of the chassis for receiving the sugarcane stalks from the intake and cutting assembly and chopping the sugarcane stalks into billets;
• a discharge assembly for receiving the billets from the chopping section and discharging the billets to a wagon or other storage vehicle or mechanism;
• and
• a height adjustment system for automatically adjusting a height of the basecutters to avoid unwanted contact between the basecutters and a ground surface, the height adjustment system comprising:
• a height adjustment mechanism for raising or lowering the basecutters;
• a hydraulic pressure sensor for monitoring a current hydraulic pressure associated with the hydraulic motor of the basecutters and generating corresponding sensor signals;
• and
• a processing system for receiving the sensor signals from the hydraulic pressure sensor and controlling the height adjustment mechanism in response to the sensor signals, wherein the processing system calculates an expected pressure of the hydraulic motor of the basecutters that would be expected if the basecutters were at a target height,
• wherein the chopping section includes a chopping blade and a hydraulic motor for driving the chopping blade,
• wherein the height adjustment system comprises a chopping motor sensor for monitoring a hydraulic pressure associated with the hydraulic motor of the chopping blade and generating corresponding sensor signals, and
• wherein the processing system receives and analyzes the sensor signals from the chopping motor sensor and adjusts the height of the basecutters as a function of the pressure associated with the hydraulic motor of the chopping blade and the pressure associated with the hydraulic motor of the basecutters.