Patents by Inventor Gerhard Nienaber

Gerhard Nienaber has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8428829
    Abstract: Vehicles, in particular self-propelled agricultural harvesting machines such as forage harvesters or combine harvesters designed to pick up and process crops, include transfer devices that transfer all of the harvested crop material to a hauling vehicle or an attached hauling container. The discharge device is equipped with a control device for performing automatic or manual adjustments, and the self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine is equipped with a navigation system for determining the positions of the vehicles involved. To transfer the crop material to the hauling vehicle without loss, the crop discharge flow is directed only to a defined permissible tolerance region on the hauling container. The tolerance region is located within the hauling container contour and is bounded by edge zones, which are “keep-out” zones for the transfer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2013
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Brunnert, Lars Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber, Norbert Diekhans
  • Patent number: 8332135
    Abstract: Generation of one or more reference driving tracks for use in automatic route planning of an agricultural working vehicle includes driving along a starting route of an agricultural field to be worked, recording the starting route in a data processing device, selecting at least one section of the recorded starting route as a reference driving track, investigating the starting route along its entire length for changes in direction, and in the selecting at least one section, selecting a section as the reference driving track only if a change in direction that falls below a limit value is not found anywhere along an entire length of the section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Norbert Diekhans, Lars Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber
  • Publication number: 20100217516
    Abstract: Generation of one or more reference driving tracks for use in automatic route planning of an agricultural working vehicle includes driving along a starting route of an agricultural field to be worked, recording the starting route in a data processing device, selecting at least one section of the recorded starting route as a reference driving track, investigating the starting route along its entire length for changes in direction, and in the selecting at least one section, selecting a section as the reference driving track only if a change in direction that falls below a limit value is not found anywhere along an entire length of the section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Publication date: August 26, 2010
    Inventors: Norbert Diekhans, Lars Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber
  • Patent number: 7502678
    Abstract: For controlling an agricultural machine system while it works a territory, which a route (R) is created for the machine system, which includes working tracks (FN) along which the machine system is driven while the territory (S) is being worked, and which includes headland tracks (FV), along which the machine system is driven when it travels from one working track (FN) to the next working track (FN) to be driven along. The machine system automatically processes a sequence of headland working steps at the end of one working track (FN) and/or while a subsequent headland track (FV) is being driven along, and/or at the beginning of a subsequent working track (FN). The sequence of headland working steps is updated and carried out dynamically depending on the current position of the machine system and depending on the next working track (FN) to be driven along. A related automatic control system for controlling an agricultural machine system is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH
    Inventors: Norbert Diekhans, Andreas Brunnert, Lars Peter Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber
  • Publication number: 20090044505
    Abstract: The invention relates to an agricultural working machine (1), in particular a forage harvester (2), with at least one spout (4) for conveying received and processed crop (7) to a transport vehicle (6, 25), wherein an electro-optical device (18) is provided for the direction control of the spout (4) at least during the process of conveying to the transport vehicle (6, 25), and wherein the electro-optical device (18) detects characteristic parameters (30) of the spout (4) and characteristic parameters (30) of the transport vehicle (6) and/or the agricultural working machine (1). This ensures that a control of a spout (4) of agricultural working machines (1, 2) is provided which almost completely relieves the operator of the agricultural working machine (1, 2) of the task of monitoring the spout.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2008
    Publication date: February 19, 2009
    Inventors: Jochen Huster, Jens Moeller, Norbert Diekhans, Ludger Autermann, Gerhard Nienaber, Peter Hieronymus, Andreas Wilken, Christoph Pein, Michael Reckermann, Karl-Josef Kleingraeber, Hubert Erdmann, Tommy Madsen, Kristian Kirk, Jesper Vilander, Rufus Blas, Allan Kildeby
  • Publication number: 20090037059
    Abstract: The invention relates to a control system for agricultural working vehicles with at least two sensor systems which generate sensor signals (A, B), wherein the sensor signals (A, B) are vehicle-dependent or dependent on the crop characteristics or a combination of both. The object of this invention is to develop a control system for agricultural working vehicles in such a manner that a suitable fusion of the sensor signals (A, B) of the sensor systems is achieved, in particular. This object is achieved according to the invention in that at least one first and at least one second sensor signal processing algorithm (I,II,III,IV,V) is provided in the control system, and in that a selection is made as to which sensor signal processing algorithm (I,II,III,IV,V) is to be used as a function of at least one characteristic parameter (P).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2008
    Publication date: February 5, 2009
    Inventors: Jochen Huster, Jens Moeller, Norbert Diekhans, Ludger Autermann, Gerhard Nienaber, Peter Hieronymus, Andreas Wilken, Christoph Pein, Lars-Peter Meyer Zu Helligen, Tommy Madsen, Kristian Kirk, Rufus Blas
  • Publication number: 20080245042
    Abstract: Vehicles, in particular self-propelled agricultural harvesting machines such as forage harvesters or combine harvesters designed to pick up and process crops, include transfer devices that transfer all of the harvested crop material to a hauling vehicle or an attached hauling container. The discharge device is equipped with a control device for performing automatic or manual adjustments, and the self-propelled agricultural harvesting machine is equipped with a navigation system for determining the positions of the vehicles involved. To transfer the crop material to the hauling vehicle without loss, the crop discharge flow is directed only to a defined permissible tolerance region on the hauling container. The tolerance region is located within the hauling container contour and is bounded by edge zones, which are “keep-out” zones for the transfer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2008
    Publication date: October 9, 2008
    Inventors: Andreas Brunnert, Lars Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber, Norbert Diekhans
  • Publication number: 20070282523
    Abstract: In a method and a device for visualizing the movement of a vehicle, the vehicle includes at least one display unit coupled with a control and evaluation unit, and the control and evaluation unit is coupled with at least one track-following system for guiding the vehicle along driving routes, and the control and evaluation unit detects at least one characteristic orientation parameter that describes the orientation of the vehicle, and the control and evaluation unit—with consideration for the at least one characteristic orientation parameter of the vehicle—determines a virtual future driving track of the vehicle and this virtual future driving track is visualized in the display unit. In this manner, the operator of the vehicle obtains information about, at the least, which future driving track his vehicle will move on if the current vehicle orientation is maintained, and with consideration for characteristic parameters of the vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2007
    Publication date: December 6, 2007
    Inventors: Norbert Diekhans, Andreas Brunnert, Lars Peter Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber
  • Publication number: 20070255470
    Abstract: For controlling an agricultural machine system while it works a territory, which a route (R) is created for the machine system, which includes working tracks (FN) along which the machine system is driven while the territory (S) is being worked, and which includes headland tracks (FV), along which the machine system is driven when it travels from one working track (FN) to the next working track (FN) to be driven along. The machine system automatically processes a sequence of headland working steps at the end of one working track (FN) and/or while a subsequent headland track (FV) is being driven along, and/or at the beginning of a subsequent working track (FN). The sequence of headland working steps is updated and carried out dynamically depending on the current position of the machine system and depending on the next working track (FN) to be driven along. A related automatic control system for controlling an agricultural machine system is also provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2007
    Publication date: November 1, 2007
    Inventors: Norbert Diekhans, Andreas Brunnert, Lars Peter Meyer Zu Helligen, Gerhard Nienaber