Diverter control system for an agricultural harvester reel assembly

A diverter system for a reel assembly of an agricultural harvester, comprising:

• a diverter configured to move between an engaged position and a disengaged position, wherein the diverter is configured to engage a follower coupled to a bat tube of the reel assembly to drive a tine coupled to the bat tube to a retracted position while the diverter is in the engaged position;
• an actuator configured to drive the diverter to move from the disengaged position to the engaged position;
• and
• a diverter control system comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the actuator, wherein the controller comprises a processor and a memory, and the controller is configured to:
• identify potential contact between the tine and a cutter bar assembly of the agricultural harvester;
• determine whether a distance between the diverter and the follower along a path of the follower is greater than a threshold distance;
• and
• control the actuator to drive the diverter to the engaged position in response to identifying the potential contact between the tine and the cutter bar assembly and determining the distance between the diverter and the follower is greater than the threshold distance.

A reel assembly of an agricultural harvester, comprising:

• a rotating structure configured to be driven in rotation about a rotational axis of the rotating structure;
• a bat tube rotatably coupled to the rotating structure;
• a follower coupled to the bat tube;
• a plurality of tines coupled to the bat tube;
• a tine rotation mechanism configured to drive the bat tube to rotate in response to rotation of the rotating structure;
• and
• a diverter system, comprising:
• a diverter configured to move between an engaged position and a disengaged position, wherein the diverter is configured to engage the follower to drive the plurality of tines to a retracted position while the diverter is in the engaged position;
• an actuator configured to drive the diverter to move from the disengaged position to the engaged position;
• and
• a diverter control system comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the actuator, wherein the controller comprises a processor and a memory, and the controller is configured to:
• identify potential contact between at least one tine of the plurality of tines and a cutter bar assembly of the agricultural harvester;
• determine whether a distance between the diverter and the follower along a path of the follower is greater than a threshold distance;
• and
• control the actuator to drive the diverter to the engaged position in response to identifying the potential contact between the at least one tine and the cutter bar assembly and determining the distance between the diverter and the follower is greater than the threshold distance.