Patent attributes
A self-propelled harvesting machine having an internal combustion engine, a propulsion system that can be operated to cause the harvesting machine to move across a field with a propulsion speed, a crop material pick-up device for picking up the crop material from a field, a crop material processing device for processing the crop material that has been picked up, a control unit for specifying the speed of the internal combustion engine, and a through-put measurement device for determining the through-put of the harvesting machine. The control unit can be operated to vary the speed of the internal combustion engine depending on the signal from the through-put measurement device. In this manner the RPM of the internal combustion engine that is most favorable in terms of fuel consumption and that corresponds to the power to be applied at a given through-put can be specified.