The China National Intellectual Property Administration has announced the award decision for the 26th China Patent Award. The invention patent “An Adaptive Cleaning Control Device for a Combine Harvester and Its Adaptive Cleaning Method,” developed by Prof. Xu Lizhang’s team at Jiangsu University (JSU), was granted the China Patent Excellence Award.

Grain cleaning is a core process in rice and wheat combine harvesting, directly affecting grain loss rates and harvesting quality. Field conditions are complex and changeable, with crop moisture content, feed rate and weed impurities fluctuating in real time. Traditional combine harvesters have fixed cleaning parameters and cannot adapt dynamically to changes in field conditions, often leading to incomplete cleaning and grain loss with the straw, which limits performance gains in harvesting equipment. To address these challenges, JSU’s agricultural machinery researchers have worked on the front lines of agricultural production, pursuing technological breakthroughs in response to China’s major national need for food security.

The patented technology introduces an adaptive cleaning control solution that senses field conditions in real time and dynamically adjusts key working parameters such as fan speed and sieve vibration, enabling the cleaning system to automatically match its operating state to crop conditions. This effectively reduces grain loss with the straw, improves grain cleanliness, and overcomes the industry-wide challenge of insufficient environmental adaptability in traditional combine harvesters. The technology has been applied to rice and wheat combine harvesters, helping to reduce grain loss and improve harvesting efficiency.

(Source: School of Intellectual Property)