Tractor Three-Point Hitch Control System

Author(s): Thomas E. Boe and Mark A. Bergene

Source: SAE Transactions, Vol. 98, Section 2: JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (1989),
pp. 229-236
Published by: SAE International
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44468766
Accessed: 20-02-2023 09:18 UTC

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 891835

Tractor Three-Point Hitch Control

System
Thomas E. Boe and Mark A. Bergene
John Deere Product Engineering Center

ABSTRACT ADVANTAGES

On-board vehicle electronics has matured and be- The advantages of going to an electronically con-
come a practical replacement for mechanical type trolled hitch can be summarized as design flexibilit
Mechanical linkages between operator controls a
control systems. Electronic control systems typically
allow more application flexibility and performance control devices are no longer required. This allo
enhancement potential than the mechanical control increased flexibility in the location of operator con
trols. For example, the mechanical system requi
systems they replace. This paper will cover the elec-
tronic three-point hitch control on the John Deerethe55 load/depth mix control to be located near the fl
Series row-crop and 60 Series 4WD tractors. It willof the operator station. This was necessary to prov
mechanical linkage to the rockshaft control valv
explain how the use of electronics has provided a more
With electronics, this control has been brought up i
flexible system with adaptation to different vehicle
configurations. It will also show how electronics convenient
has reach and view of the operator. On 4
provided improved serviceability and performance.tractors with mechanical hitches, push-pull cab
were required to transmit the control moveme
across the hinge. Cables and linkages make th
problem of sealing the cab against noise and dirt m
THERE ARE A NUMBER of advantages which can
difficult.
be gained when a hydromechanical system is replaced Because the electronic controls are no longer
by a microprocessor-based electronic system for the
linked directly to control valves, they require signif-
control of a tractor three-point hitch. The useicantly
of less force to operate. This means that heavy
levers can be replaced by more convenient controls
electronics can eliminate mechanical linkages between
the operator controls and the mechanical componentssuch as knobs and switches. This not only provides
of the hitch system. This in turn can provide more more convenient access by the operator, but also of-
flexibility to the design engineer in the locationfers
of greater flexibility in the placement of these con-
these controls. The use of a "smart" controller can trols.
allow changes in the system configuration to beThis elimination of control linkage also provides
"learned" at the time the tractor is manufactured. configuration flexibility when applied to various trac-
This can give the engineer further flexibility in his tor
de- sizes. For example, the same basic hitch control
signs. system can be used on both row-crop and 4WD trac-
The microprocessor-based system described in this tors. The primary difference is the length of the wire
paper is an emulation of the traditional John Deere harness and the absence of a draft sensor on the 4WD
hydromechanical hitch with enhancements which tractors. This ability to use the same control system
provide improved performance and serviceability, as for draft sensing and non-draft sensing systems is also
well as design flexibility. This paper explains how this provided by a self configuration feature which is pos-
new hitch control system has provided these improve- sible because the electrohydraulic hitch is micro-
ments in performance, serviceability and design flexi- processor based.
bility. An explanation of three-point hitch control This software system has added flexibility because
theory is also included to aid the reader in under- certain parameters are defined at the time the con-
standing some of the performance improvements ob- troller is installed on the tractor. These parameters
tained by use of electronic control. allow adjustment to match the control system to dif-

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ferent rockshaft cylinder volumes and tractor power pictorial diagram is shown in Figure 1. Draft forc
levels, as well as draft sensing configuration. transmitted from the draft link to the draft arm
A software based system also offers the ability to This force is translated hydraulically by means of
monitor the system sensors and send diagnostic infor- draft sensing cylinder (6) to the load sensing v
mation to the tractor monitoring system, as well as to piston (8). The movement of the load sensing p
disable failed sensors without disabling the whole sys- and the rockshaft cam (9) is mechanically summed
tem. This fall-back mode provides "limp-home" ca- the cam follower (10). This combined feedback sig
pability for all hitch sensors. is further combined with the operator command f
the control arm (2) by the cam adjusting link (7).
MECHANICAL HITCH results of this mechanical combination provide con
to either the pressure or return valve (3 or 4).
The John Deere electrohydraulic hitch is aresulting
software hitch action changes the position of
emulation of the Deere hydromechanical rockshaft
hitch with cam and (if operating in the field) the d
some added enhancements. Before going sensing force. The hitch movement will continue u
into detail
on the operation of the electronic hitch, thean equilibrium
theory of between position, draft and comm
operation of the mechanical hitch which was replaced
is obtained. The load/depth mix control (1) pro
an adjustment to the cam follower link so that var
will be explained.
ratios of position and draft feedback can be obtai
The John Deere hydromechanical hitch is a lower
This mechanical linkage can be described mathe
link draft sensing hitch with a single primary control
ically by the following equations:
lever which sets the desired position and draft. There
is a secondary (mix) control which allows the selection
of the mix between draft and position feedback. A

URE 1 - Pictorial Diagram of John Deere Hydromechanical Hitch

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 Up
XV = ( FDBK - PCOM ) *PGA I N+ ( DRAFT - DCOM ) *DGA I N
PCOM = A * LEVER + B %^^ o I
Draft mode
DCOM = C * LEVER + D
PGA IN = E * LDMIX + F
DGAIN = G * LDMIX Z V N ' ,
FLOW = f(XV)
m X, Vt-
Where: 2
X ' I"
' II I
I -^
U Position mode x^. ^ ^
XV - Valve travel (either pressure or re-
turn)
X ' "/xNyOE-»! N v
Operating point ' | x.

FDBK - Actual hitch position

PCOM - Commanded hitch position I
DRAFT - Sensed draft
Down - I - - - - - - - -
DCOM - Commanded draft
Decrease increase
PGAIN - Position error gain DRAFT LOAD
DGAIN - Draft error gain
LEVER - Primary control lever setting FIGURE 2 - Typical Hitch Position Versus Draft
LDMIX - Load/depth mix lever setting Relationship
FLOW - Oil flow through the valves
A, B, C, D, E, F & G are constants determined
from the hitch control linkage geo-
metry. This draft control mode will tend to provide a con-
stant load on the tractor. Since the draft of an im-
plement is proportional to tillage depth, this control
Before examining the details of these equations,
mode will provide better depth control than will a po-
the purpose of a draft control hitch needs to be un-
derstood. In 1961 Borchelt and Smith1 stated that,sition control hitch. This is especially true when the
tractor pitches due to rough or uneven terrain.
"The principal functions of the modern hitch are to:
1) provide a convenient means of depth adjustmentThe dashed diagonal line shows the implement
simply by means of control lever position, 2) provide curve relative to the tractor rockshaft position when
load control and 3) take full advantage of the dynamicthe tractor attitude changes due to rear wheel dig-
weight transfer offered by the implement." Almost 30 down or uneven terrain. As seen, the attitude change
years later, the purpose of tractor three-point hitch causes a draft error (DE) which will require a hitch
control has not significantly changed. correction (HC). The rate at which hitch corrections
Borchelt and Smith further explained that, "Con- must be made is based on the rate at which tractor
trol of implement operating depth is provided by any attitude changes occur.
or all of three modes of control: 1) position control inBecause of variations in implement and hitch con-
which the hitch assumes a position relative to the figurations, the position versus draft relationship may
vary from implement to implement. Soil conditions
tractor, in direct relation to the control lever position.
This control is unaffected by load signals but is sub-can also change this relationship. Implements which
ject to depth variations in rough (or uneven) terrain exhibit large changes in draft for small changes in po-
because of the vertical oscillation of the tractor, 2)
sition can be called high draft gain implements, while
load control, in which the position of the hitch those de- which exhibit small variations in draft for large
pends upon the draft load regardless of the relative variations in position are called low draft gain imple-
position of the implement and tractor and 3) compro- ments. This change in implement draft gain will re-
mises of load control and position control, where the quire a change in the draft gain (DGAIN) of the
load signal is modified to prevent excessive variationcontrol system if proper hitch performance is to be
which would result from large changes in draft load." achieved.
To understand these control modes, the positionFigure 3 shows high and low draft gain implement
versus draft relationship of the typical hitch controlcurves. This figure also shows each of these curves
system must be examined. The solid diagonal line in
shifted due to tractor attitude changes of similar
Figure 2 shows a position versus draft curve foramounts.
a It can be seen that the low gain curve will
typical implement. The dot marks the desired oper- provide a smaller draft error (DEI) than the high gain
ating point for this implement. If this implement curve is (DE2) for the same change in position. In order
being controlled in position mode, the commanded to achieve similar hitch response for both conditions,
position is represented by a horizontal line. This line it is necessary to use a larger draft gain (DGAIN)
shows that for every value of draft, only one hitch within the control system when operating with the
position will be acceptable. This position control lower draft gain implement curve.
mode will not provide any of the three desired func-
tions of a modern hitch system.
In draft control mode, the hitch position versus
draft is represented by the vertical line in Figure 2.
Here it can be seen that the selected draft setting will
be held regardless of what hitch position is required.

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 Up What about draft gain in this mix control system?
I

^ N I
As stated earlier, draft gain will determine how fast
^ v /Draft mode hitch corrections are made due to draft error. It was
shown in Figure 3 that implements with low draft
>X ' gains require increased draft gains within the control
system. When an implement is operating in mix
1
2 ' s ^ ^ Ť
1 ^ I mode, the draft gain must be reduced as the mix con-
X Position mode DE1 V| ^ ļ trol goes further toward the position mode. This is
because the hitch correction (HCM) is reduced as the
ë 1 " " " x" r " ".r" "
1 Operating point I mix control goes toward the position mode.
Figure 5 is a plot of the hydromechanical hitch
I
equations in the position/draft plane. This chart
shows the region of hitch control for one setting of the
Down- i 1
Decrease Increase
hitch control lever. The hatched area indicates the
DRAFT LOAD range through which the mix control command line
can be adjusted. This chart shows that at minimum
FIGURE 3 - High and Low Draft Gain Implement setting of the mix control the hitch will operate in po-
Curves
sition control mode, but at maximum settings of the
mix control full draft mode is not achieved. This is
As indicated earlier, a draft control system which by design, since it is felt that full draft mode is too
"mixes" some hitch position can provide better hitch active for most hitch operations.
control than does the pure draft system. Figure 4

1 ». |f''
shows a typical hitch control system with mix mode
operation.

up
' u i Draft mode '
3° X
e„ ^
i /
^ I

u
2
* i- ~ V X
i-
V/
*
/X
/
o /
X
X
X
X
X
/

>Sb ex. '

^
N?V / V ex. 1 / Mix mode
W"" V u
a «O / ' «O
Y X ' N
W X X
z NX- ^ / I 8°- ' I X^ X
g z ^ <2 Position mode ' '
1 Û. 1 8 X
x'
Û. X
x Position " ~ " mode ~ ~ N* " t_
t " ~ " ~ ~ XV|*X ' BE- *1 ~v r
X Operating point / ' s 2
/ ' X. s * 2 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120

/:
HUTCH LOAD (PERCENT RA

Down 1 1 ■ I ' - - FIGURE 5 - Hydromecha

Decrease Increase
the Position/Draft Plane
DRAFT LOAD

FIGURE 4 - Hitch Control System with Mix

Mode As stated, this chart sh
one setting of the hitch
In this mix control system, the hitch commandadjusted, the intersectio
becomes a diagonal line which allows larger values of maximum draft mode lin
draft as the hitch raises. The actual hitch operating lever line. The actual posi
point is the intersection of this hitch command line termined by the impleme
with the implement curve. If the implement curve control equations. For t
changes due to tractor attitude change (dotted line),
implement will be influen
the hitch will move upward to the new intersection control, as well as the sett
with the command line. The hitch draft will, however,If the implement operati
be allowed to increase. With this mix control, it is lever line, the depth varia
seen that hitch corrections (HCM) no longer fully will be minimized.
correct the depth error caused by tractor attitude Figure 6 shows the draft error gain and draft-to-
changes. If however, the draft change is due to soil position mix (or sensitivity) as functions of the mix
or speed changes, the hitch position should not have control lever on the hydromechanical hitch. A draft
been changed. Therefore, a control which can adjust gain of 1 is defined as that gain which will provide a
the slope of this line (mix) can allow the tractor oper- change in position rate of 1 percent of position move-
ator to control the amount of draft or position feed- ment per second at a draft error change of 1 percent
back which will provide the best hitch operation in of rated draft. The sensitivity is defined as the ratio
current field conditions. between draft error gain and position error gain. The

232

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curves shown are approximate because of the nonlin- ELECTROHYDRAULIC HITCH
earity of the hydromechanical hitch valves.
At this point, the details of the electrohyd
8
hitch can be discussed. Figure 7 is a pictorial
7- ✓ ' gram. Draft is sensed by a strap (1) which u
"embedment" type strain gauge sensor simil
y

6-
described in SAE paper 8301032. The hitch po
is sensed by a potentiometer (3) attached to one
1 5" /
I 4- ' / / /
rockshaft lift arms. The outputs of these senso
read directly by the hitch controller (2) and
& ' /

!» _ f & ' / /
summed by the hitch algorithm which uses the
of the mix control potentiometer (4) to determ
relative weight of each. The rockshaft control
attached to a rotary potentiometer (5) which pr
the lever command to the algorithm. A rate-of
0-1«- potentiometer (7) and a raise limit potentiom
0 37 have also been added.
MIXThe lever command,
CON the mix setting and the draft
FIGURE 6 - Draft Error Gain and Draft-to-
and position feedbacks are used to determine the
command to send to the appropriate (pressure or re-
Position Mix Functions
turn) valve solenoids (6). The electrohydraulic hitch

FIGURE 7 - Pictorial Diagram of John Deere Electrohydraulic Hitch

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control algorithm is defined by the following Figure 9 shows t
equations: position mix as a
also shows the ga
VCOM = ( FDBK - PC0M ) "PGA I N+ ( DRAFT - DC OM ) » DGA I N hitch. Note that
PCOM = A * LEVER + B
hydromechanica
DCOM = C * LEVER + D
be seen that the
PGA IN = fl(LDMIX) center third of the mix control. This modification of
DGAIN = f2(LDMIX)
FLOW = f 3(VCOM)
the gain and mix curves was done because it was de-
termined that the 1:1 mix ratio provides the best con-
Where: trol for most implements. The change of the draft
gain at a constant mix ratio allows the adjustment of
VCOM - Valve command current (either pressure the control to match various implement curves and
or return) operating speeds. Mix ratios above 2:1 and below
FDBK - Actual hitch position 0.5:1 are not typically required.
PCOM - Commanded hitch position
DRAFT - Sensed draft
81 I I ] '
- • Draft gain (hydromechanical) ' ^
DCOM - Commanded draft
7"
PGAIN - Position error gain - • Draft gain (electronic) / ^ x
DGAIN - Draft error gain 6" - - Mix (electronic) '
LEVER - Primary control lever setting X <

s / 5
a Z / s I / / /
LDMIX - Load/depth mix pot setting
FLOW - Oil flow through the valves Z 4 _ / /
A, B, C, & D are constants which were deter- Z < 4 _ / / / /
mined to give best hitch performance
2-
//y/
The microprocessor-based system has allowed tai-
1 ^ ^
loring of these equations to provide performance and
controllability improvements over the hydro- 0-f ^

mechanical hitch. 0 270

MIX CONTR
Figure 8 is a graphic representation of these elec-
tronic hitch equations in the position/draft plane.
FIGURE 9 - Draft Error Gain and Draft-to-
Here is shown the control region for a typical setting
Position Mix Functions
of the hitch control lever. Typical operating curves for
various implements are also shown. The control lever Another point to note about these equations is
line for this hitch falls very close to the operating that the draft gain is generally lower than that of the
curves of all these implements. This minimizes the
hydromechanical hitch. This could be accomplished
depth change due to mix adjustment during field op- because of changes to the hitch control valve and
erations. Comparing this chart to Figure 5 for the electronic controller which provide more uniform flow
hydromechanical hitch, it can be seen that the elec- rates. Figure 10 is an approximate curve of the flow
tronic hitch does not allow a position control mode. versus draft error for a draft-to-position mix ratio of
This is because the electronic hitch has a separate po-1:1 for both the electrohydraulic hitch and the
sition control mode which uses different control hydromechanical hitch. Note the near zero valve
equations. deadband with the electronic hitch valve. This was
accomplished because of the preload calibration fea-
ture, which is a part of the electronic hitch.
^ Implement curves /
S 10- (,) _ Ripp.r / ' "§ 50 i i i
0 v20-
/.Xv(2)
(3)- -
Rollover plow /
Chisel plow /'' N
N o y
0 / X
Ij ^ (4) - Semi-integral plow / '
2 30- ^ ^ cu,tivator yC N.
l/J - 55 series flow limit

¿y 40- / x /

Z 40- ^ ^ ^ / '.
¿y uj

a. / X /
K - - 4850 flo
1 50- (4)v ^ /' > J30" 4650 />'48S0
O š </) '
¿ 2 g ' ' /v.
1 20- ^ / Jr 55 series
i 7o-/
CL gQ. --Control
Control lever '
lever = 1 jT
I «°- ï = ,o- A/i»' 1 jT
-67 -33 0 33 67 100 133
i uj ,o- _ ¿X yy V*
uj _ ¿X V*

0 10 20 30 40
HITCH LOAD (PERCENT RATED LOAD)
DRAFT ERR

FIGURE 8 - Electronic
FIGURE 10 - Flow Versus Draft Hitch
Error for a E
Position/Draft Draft-to-
Plane Position Mix Ratio of 1:1

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 As stated earlier, the electrohydraulic hitch pro-
vides a separate "position only" mode for implement
attachment. The position error gain of the position
only mode is also modified from the hydromechanical
hitch. Figure 1 1 shows the flow versus position error
of these two systems. The gain roll-off at high errors
provides a uniform deceleration of the hitch when
large movements are required. Comparing this curve
to the one in Figure 10, we see more valve deadband
in position mode than in draft mode. This higher
valve deadband provides more stable control of the
hitch for implement attachment.
3 50
° /
0
draft responsive or position only hitch controller
was also stated that the hitch could be adjusted
rockshaft volume. These adjustments are done dur
a hitch calibration procedure which allows the h
controller to be matched to the tractor on which It is
installed. Calibration is accomplished by the service
technician activating a switch on the tractor load cen-
ter and going through a step-by-step procedure which
causes the hitch controller to monitor all sensors as
they are rotated through their range. This allows the
controller to determine the range of all sensors except
the draft sensor-the draft sensor is zero adjusted only.
The calibration procedure includes steps which deter-
mine the valve spring preloads. The controller can
therefore better control the system hysteresis caused

by valve preload variations. The hitch controller

$ -55 series flow limit

o: 40- ' '

transmits information to the tractor monitoring sys-
u - 4650 flow limit

0. / ✓
ł_ - 4850 flow limit - /-/ - - - - - -- -- -- -
tem which allows the technician to be alerted to any
1 30- 4650^ /, V4850 system problems which might occur during cali-
3 o // TC bration. This information display and the fact that
^ a / all functions are exercised during calibration provides
I 20 . Q l, / ^55 SerieS
P 5E ' / a complete system functional check during calibration.
X 99 /2I /
u.10- /I / This calibration procedure, which takes approxi-
°
i-
° ♦ /
;
//
mately 5 minutes, has eliminated virtually all on-
z
lxi
V
/ vehicle adjustments. It is performed once during final
<-> s
UJ .
o: u
assembly at the factory and again whenever any sys-
CL 0- . I I I I
^ 0 5 10 15 20 25 tem component is replaced. Since it requires no spe-
POSITION cial
ERROR equipment, it can be performed almost anywhere.
(PERCENT OF F
It can, if required, be done at the customer site.
FIGURE 1 1 - Flow Versus Position Error
SERVICEABILITY

Another advantage which was obtained by use of

electronics is the ability to size the hitch to the tractor.
Along with this calibration (functional test), t
electrohydraulic hitch provides improved serviceab
The valve flow versus draft error for a typical
ity in that all sensors are monitored for out-of-ra
hydromechanical hitch was shown in Figure 10. The
conditions. If such a condition does occur, a mes
maximum flow rate is accomplished by the adjustment
is sent to the tractor monitoring system for stora
of a separate flow control valve. Looking at the hitch
These fault conditions can be recalled by the ser
rate of movement for various rockshaft volumes, it
can be seen that the maximum flow rate could be ad- technician. Once out of range occurs, the subje
sensor is disabled and the system reverts to an ope
justed to limit the maximum hitch raise rate, but the
tion mode which provides a reduced performance,
gain effectively decreases with rockshaft volume in-
one which will allow a partial function of the h
creases. The electrohydraulic hitch controls the flow
control system. For example, if the draft sensor f
rate by limiting the valve command, which eliminates
the hitch will revert to position control mode but c
the need for a separate flow control valve. Because tinue to operate. Each of the other sensors has sim
the flow gain is software controlled, it can be adjusted fall-back modes which will provide as much hi
for rockshaft volume changes. This allows the system control as is possible with the sensor disabled. O
to maintain the same rate of hitch movement per draft a sensor has been disabled due to out-of-range cond
error for all rockshaft volumes.
tion, it will not be re-enabled unless the hitch sys
The ability to control maximum valve opening has is restarted. This prevents intermittent failures fr
also been applied to the return valve. This feature causing erratic hitch operation.
allows the tractor operator to select the drop rate by
means of a control knob at the operator station. The CONCLUSION
control of the drop rate by means of the hitch return
valve has also eliminated the need for a separate drop It has been shown that the use of electronics for
rate control valve.
hitch control has provided many advantages to the
tractor designers and service technicians, as well as to
CALIBRATION the customer. Parts count has been reduced, flexibil-
ity has been increased, operator controls have been
Earlier in this report, it was stated that the elec-
located more conveniently, and performance and ser-
tronic hitch can determine if a draft sensor is installedhave been improved. Although this paper
viceability
on the tractor and can automatically becomehas either a
specifically described the features and advantages

235

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All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
of a hitch control system, other hydromechanical con- 3. Lemmon, N. F., "Three Point Hitch Geometry- a
trol systems can achieve similar advantages by use of Tractor Designer's Viewpoint," Paper No. 11558.
electronic controls. 1968.

REFERENCES 4. Alderson, L. ., "Electronic Hitch Control," Agri-

cultural Electronics- 1983 and Beyond, Vol. 1
1. Borchelt, M., and Smith, O.A., "Lower Link ASAE, 1984.
Sensing in Implement Hitches," ASAE Paper No.
61-635, 1961.

2. Barnett, J. D., and West, R., "A New Load Sen-

sor for Truck Self Weighing Systems," SAE Paper
No. 830103, 1983.

236

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