A01D41/1276

RESIDUE MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM FOR HARVESTER
20220232772 · 2022-07-28 ·

A control system for a harvester having a residue discharge system operable to eject crop residue according to an adjustable residue discharge parameter, the control system including a processor, a memory, a human-machine interface, and a sensor configured to detect at least one of wind speed, wind direction, or humidity. The control system is configured to receive the signal from the sensor, receive an operator input corresponding to a desired residue management strategy selected from at least a first residue management strategy and a second residue management strategy, and adjust the residue discharge parameter based on the desired residue management strategy and the detected at least one of wind speed, wind direction, or humidity.

Three-Degree-of-Freedom Hybrid Vibratory Screening Mechanism, Control Method Thereof, and Harvester
20210402437 · 2021-12-30 ·

The present invention provides a three-degree-of-freedom hybrid vibratory screening mechanism, a control method thereof, and a harvester. The three-degree-of-freedom hybrid vibratory screening mechanism comprises a frame, a vibrating screen, a first driving mechanism, a second driving mechanism, sensors and a controller; parallel drive of hydraulic motors are used for achieving two-degree-of-freedom rotational adjustment of the horizontal attitude angle and inclination angle of the screen surface of the vibrating screen, and the first driving mechanism drives the vibrating screen to reciprocate in one degree of freedom, so as to realize three-degree-of-freedom vibration adjustment of the screen surface; a vibration parameter control model is established by means of theoretical analysis in combination with experiment. In the operating process, the sensors installed at the tail part of the vibrating screen monitor the loss rate and distribution of the grains in real time, and the horizontal attitude angle of the screen surface, inclination angle of the screen surface and vibration frequency are self-adaptively optimized and adjusted to promote uniform and discrete distribution of the material on the screen surface, so that the screening efficiency of the material under a condition of non-uniform material feeding is effectively improved and the loss rate of the grains is decreased.

Operator adjustable continuous bin level measurement
11202406 · 2021-12-21 · ·

An embodiment includes a combine having a feeder housing for receiving harvested crop, a separating system for threshing the harvested crop to separate grain from residue, a grain bin for storing the separated grain, a bin level sensor for detecting grain in the grain bin; and a controller that controls the combine. The controller is configured to generate a usable operating range by discarding a selected range of values from an operating range of the bin level sensor, generate a shifted operating range by shifting the usable operating range by a shift value, receive a first value indicating a level of grain in the grain bin, generate a second value by shifting the first value by the shift value, and present the second value to an operator of the combine.

CONTROLLER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL HARVESTER

A controller for controlling a harvesting performance of an agricultural harvester. The controller receives automation settings, selected by an operator via a human-machine interface. The controller also receives data from on-board harvester sensors. The controller defines a target value for quality parameters based on the automation settings, and determines a current value of each of the quality parameters in dependence on the crop sensor data. The controller determines an actuator setting for actuators of the agricultural harvester when the current value of one or more of the plurality of quality parameters differs by greater than an acceptable amount from the associated target value. The actuator setting is determined in dependence on the automation settings and the target value. The controller controls the actuators to achieve the determined actuator setting.

Dynamically operated concave threshing bar
11191215 · 2021-12-07 ·

A dynamically operated concave threshing bar system, method, and apparatus wherein one or more threshing bars within a concave can dynamically move to various positions in real-time based on one or more conditions such as the type crop being harvested and on a determination by a combine harvester's computerized system, artificial intelligence (AI) system, or upon the operators input, among others. The concave can include a concave frame having a pair of arcuate side members, a threshing bar, and an actuator coupled to the threshing bar, wherein the actuator can be configured to move the threshing bar along the arcuate side members of the concave frame.

Removable auger trough

An agricultural vehicle including at least one threshing rotor and an auger bed located underneath the at least one threshing rotor. The auger bed has a working position and a cleaning position. The auger bed includes a frame, a plurality of augers rotatably coupled to and supported by the frame, and a trough portion moveably connected to the frame. In the working position the bottom surface of the trough portion is positioned underneath the plurality of augers and in the cleaning position the entire trough portion is moved relative to the frame so that the bottom surface of the trough portion is not positioned underneath at least a portion of the plurality of augers, creating an open space underneath the portion of the plurality of augers for allowing an unwanted material to pass therethrough.

Side shake rate based on machine throughputs
11723309 · 2023-08-15 · ·

An agricultural harvester has a chassis carrying a header for gathering a crop. The header is removably attached to a feeder housing for feeding the crop into the agricultural harvester to be processed. A threshing and separating system is connected to the feeder housing for separating grain from Material Other than Grain (MOG). A grain cleaning system is connected to the threshing and separating system for further cleaning the separated grain. The grain cleaning system has at least one sieve operable to oscillate fore and aft and a side shaker mechanism operable to produce a side to side shaking motion in the at least one sieve. A control system is connected to the side shaker mechanism and operable to automatically proportionately increase an amount of the side to side shaking motion as a function of an amount and type of crop being processed.

MATERIAL FLOW SENSING SYSTEM IN A COMBINE HARVESTER
20230247940 · 2023-08-10 ·

A combine harvester (10) comprises sensing means to detect or estimate a volume of material other than grain (MOG) flowing through crop processing apparatus. A photoelectric sensing device (60) in communication with a controller (101) is arranged forward of, and below, a front edge (32′) of a return pan (32) which serves to catch crop material falling from overhead separating apparatus (20). The photoelectric sensing device (60) generates one or more light beams (68) which are directed across a path of a crop mat (80) as the mat falls under gravity from the front edge (32′). The controller (101) is configured to generate one of a fan speed setting and a sieve opening setting in dependence upon detection signals that are generated by the photoelectric sensing device (60).

Louver position sensing system for a sieve and chaffer of a combine harvester
11765995 · 2023-09-26 · ·

A louver position sensing system for a sieve and chaffer of a combine harvester. One system provides that at least one sensor is in actual, physical contact with one or more louvers of the sieve and chaffer. Another system provides that a one or more magnet holders are mounted on louvers and, spaced away, sensors sense magnets in the magnet holders to determine the rotational position of the louvers. Either system allows for accurate, on-the-fly adjustment of the louvers in order to maximize the efficiency of operation of the sieve and chaffer. Preferably, the sensing systems are configured such that sensed position of the louvers is broadcast on the CAN bus of the combine harvester. As a result, the position information can be used to dynamically adjust the openings between the louvers of the sieve and chaffer to achieve more efficient grain cleaning as the machine and field variables change.

Forward-looking perception and machine control during crop harvesting operations
11758844 · 2023-09-19 · ·

A computer-implemented method includes obtaining harvest data indicative of a prior harvesting operation on a field, identifying a region of the field having already-harvested crop plants based on the harvest data, detecting a characteristic of crop plants in a field in a path of an agricultural harvesting machine in a direction of travel, generating, based on the detected characteristic, a height metric representing a height of the crop plants on a particular area of the field, and generating a control signal to control the agricultural harvesting machine based on the height metric and the identified region.