Method and system for controlling the height of an agricultural implement relative to the ground

A method for automatically controlling a height of an implement of an agricultural work vehicle relative to a ground surface, the method comprising:

• monitoring, with one or more computing devices, the height of the implement relative to the ground surface;
• determining, with the one or more computing devices, an implement height error by comparing the height of the implement with a predetermined target height;
• calculating, with the one or more computing devices, a first proportional signal based on the implement height error raised to a first power greater than one;
• calculating, with the one or more computing devices, a second proportional signal based on the implement height error raised to a second power greater than one;
• and
• adjusting, with the one or more computing devices, the height of the implement relative to the ground surface based on a combination of the first proportional signal and the second proportional signal.

A height control system for an implement of an agricultural work vehicle, the control system comprising:

• an implement connected with the agricultural work vehicle;
• an implement height sensor configured to detect a height of the implement relative to a ground surface;
• an implement controller communicatively coupled to the implement height sensor, the implement controller including a processor and associated memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, configure the implement controller to:
• monitor the height of the implement relative to the ground surface based on signals received from the implement height sensor;
• determine an implement height error by comparing the height of the implement with a predetermined target height;
• calculate a first proportional signal based on the implement height error raised to a first power greater than one
• calculate a second proportional signal based on the implement height error raised to a second power greater than one;
• and
• adjust the height of the implement relative to the ground surface based on a combination of the first proportional signal and the second proportional signal.

A method for automatically controlling a height of an implement of an agricultural work vehicle relative to a ground surface, the method comprising:

• monitoring, with one or more computing devices, the height of the implement relative to the ground surface;
• determining, with the one or more computing devices, an implement height error by comparing the height of the implement with a predetermined target height;
• calculating, with the one or more computing devices, a proportional signal based on the implement height error raised to a power greater than one;
• and
• adjusting, with the one or more computing devices, the height of the implement relative to the ground surface based on the proportional signal;
• wherein the power greater than one has been selected using at least one of empirical testing or theoretical modeling to adjust a response of the system.