Kongskilde Illuminate is a set of lights mounted on the beam of the plough, illuminating the working zone below the plough and away from the tractor driver without illuminating any areas on the plough that would cause reflections and reduce the driver's night vision.
Reflections cause problems
One of the challenges with tractor mounted lights is the reflection caused by shiny mould boards. The reflection from these surfaces is unpleasant for the driver's eyes, and areas with low exposure will appear even darker. Even though tractor mounted working lights reach high lumen outputs, the light does not illuminate the soil as even and selective as the Kongskilde Illuminate.
“The idea is to create an even illumination for the full working zone. It is important to monitor the work carried out in order to maintain precision, and this can be a challenging task during night time, especially with long ploughs,” says Morten Wittrock Brandt, Group Product Manager of Kongskilde Industries.
Eliminate reflections
The largest advantages of Kongskilde Illuminate are found on reversible ploughs, where a number of reflective surfaces above the soil can cause problems. Under normal conditions, these surfaces will reflect the light from the tractor mounted units.
The Kongskilde Illuminate is a modular system mounted on each beam, illuminating 180 degrees below the plough. Two lights are mounted on each beam on reversible ploughs to accommodate the two working directions. Each light consists of a number of LED bulbs. The system automatically dims down when the plough is turned on the headland, ensuring illumination of working areas only. Light that previously faced
downwards switches off when faced upwards.
Service life of the electronic system is very long. The electronics for the switching contain no mechanical parts, which means that vibrations and wear are not a critical design problem. LED light sources have a very long service life, up to 30,000 to 50,000 hours,
Kongskilde Illuminate is patent pending.
Further information
Morten Wittrock Brandt, Group Product Manager, Agro Line, Kongskilde Industries A/S
Mobile: +45 5329 7610
E-mail: mwb@kongskilde.com
Caption:
The Kongskilde Illuminate improves the working condition for the tractor driver when ploughing at night by lightening up the area under the plough.