Almost 10 years ago, Porsche revealed an electric tractor. The Mission E Tractor was an April Fools’ gag that played into the company’s brief agricultural foray in the 1950s, and the modern electric Mission E concepts.
Someone at the company must have thought it was a good idea, though, because CarBuzz recently discovered a most curious Porsche patent. It’s for a combine harvester, and no, we aren’t talking about some kind old International Scout thing. This appears to be actual farm equipment. Let’s take a closer look.
Porsche Looks To Expand In Your Field
Porsche Tractor PatentPorsche
What makes a Porsche combine different? No, it’s not a flat-six engine, or a stripped-down GT model. This combine is a hybrid. The patent describes a combine that uses a combustion engine to drive a generator, with a handful of electric motors to drive the multiple moving parts instead of the existing system used by nearly every other model.
Porsche explains the problem with current combines in the patent. It says that almost the entire process is driven by a series of belts on even the most modern machines. Porsche calls it “generally reliable” but says that it limits how much you can adjust the different parts of the process for cutting crops and capturing the valuable components. When they’re attached to a belt, you can only do so much to slow or speed one unit. The drive system also takes up a massive amount of space.
Electric Could Be Hugely Flexible
Porsche Tractor PatentPorsche
Using electric motors for each section makes it more flexible. The feeder, headers, augers, mowers, and threshing drum can all be adjusted independently. The motors would be able to run in reverse, too, which could help unclog sections of the machine without a user having to take the highly dangerous step of sticking their hands or a tool in the machine.
It’s smaller, more efficient, and has fewer moving parts. That should be exactly what a farmer is looking for, though moving from a time-tested and field-serviceable system to one that’s a brace of electric motors isn’t going to be an easy sell. Porsche also suggests using a small battery to buffer for peak loads, allowing for a smaller engine to be used. The patent does not suggest a full EV.
The German sports car company hasn’t built a tractor since 1963, so why is it getting into this field now? Hybrid combines already exist, but they use a hybrid system like a Toyota Prius, where the engine and motor drive a normal belt system. A system like this, where the motors drive the parts, isn’t on the market yet.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
John Deere TractorJohn Deere
Is Porsche trying to find a new way to use motors it developed for electric cars that don’t sell? Probably not. It’s more likely that it is working on this system for an existing company. Claas, for example, is a German tractor company that has shown similar concepts.
Porsche has a long history of selling engineering services and cutting-edge innovation, and this might just be the latest example. The company is well-versed in motors, batteries, and controls through its current electric products.
This patent is also the shortest patent filing we’ve ever covered. It has just a page of text versus the usual dozens. That’s not really impactful, but it is interesting.
Patent filings do not guarantee the use of such technology in future vehicles and are often used exclusively as a means of protecting intellectual property. Such a filing cannot be construed as confirmation of production intent.
Source: DPMA
