Patent classifications
A01D41/1277
AGRICULTURAL PROCESSING MACHINE WITH A MEASURING DEVICE BEHIND A WINDOW AND AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL PROCESSING METHOD
A conveying device of an agricultural processing machine conveys loose material along a window which is inserted into a wall. A sensor measures in a contactless manner a characteristic of the conveyed loose material. A fluid ejector ejects a fluid jet onto a surface formed in the interior of the processing machine. The fluid is thereby provided in a space between the window and the conveyed loose material.
KERNEL-LEVEL GRAIN MONITORING SYSTEMS FOR COMBINE HARVESTERS
Embodiments of a kernel-level grain monitoring system include a grain camera positioned to capture bulk grain sample images of a currently-harvested grain taken into and processed by a combine harvester, a moisture sensor, and a display device. A controller architecture is coupled to the grain camera, to the moisture sensor, and to the display device. The controller architecture is configured to: (i) analyze the bulk grain sample images, as received from the grain camera, to determine an average per kernel (APK) volume representing an estimated volume of a single average kernel of the currently-harvested grain; (ii) repeatedly calculate one or more topline harvesting parameters based, at least in part, on the determined APK volume and the moisture sensor data; and (iii) selectively present the topline harvesting parameters on the display device for viewing by an operator of the combine harvester.
Agricultural harvesting machine with a monitoring assembly to sense harvested material flow in the agricultural harvesting machine
An agricultural harvesting machine, with at least one work assembly and a monitoring assembly, is disclosed. The agricultural harvesting machine transports harvested material in a harvested material flow along a harvested material transport path. The monitoring assembly includes an measuring system positioned on the harvested material transport path and an evaluation device configured to determine at least one harvested material parameter. The measuring system includes a first passive optical sensor that senses image data indicative of visible light in a first section and a second non-passive non-optical sensor that senses data in a second section that at least partly overlaps the first section. The evaluation device correlates the image data for the overlapping section from the first optical sensor and the data from the second optical sensor and determines, based on the correlation, at least one harvested material parameter.
APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING AGRICULTURAL MATERIAL
An apparatus for analyzing agricultural material includes a housing defining an inlet adjacent a first end of the housing and configured to receive the agricultural material, a first chamber coupled to the inlet, a first outlet coupled to the first chamber, a second chamber coupled to the first chamber, a funnel portion between the first chamber and the second chamber, and a second outlet adjacent a second end of the housing and coupled to the second chamber. The second chamber includes a metering conveyor. The apparatus includes a first sensor coupled to a first side of the housing. The first sensor may include a camera. At least one second sensor may be coupled to a second side of the housing. The at least one second sensor includes one or more of a moisture sensor, a near-infrared (NIR) sensor, a temperature sensor, a capacitive sensor, and a proximity sensor.
Automatic tuning of an intelligent combine
A method for automatically tuning an agricultural combine (100), comprises the steps of: receiving (304) a signal from an operator of the agricultural combine (100) indicating that current operation of the agricultural combine (100) operation is acceptable; determining (306) current performance parameters of the agricultural combine after the step of receiving; calculating (310) a performance parameter error limit for each of the current performance parameters in the step of determining; again determining (312) current performance parameters; comparing (314) the again determined current performance parameters with the performance parameter error limits to thereby determine whether one or more of the again determined current performance parameters falls outside its associated performance parameter error limit; and if at least one of the again determined current performance parameters falls outside its associated performance parameter error limit, then calculating (316) changes to machine settings of the agricultural combine (100) that will bring the at least one of the again determined current performance parameters back within its associated performance parameter error limit.
Combine for Measuring the Weight of Grain Retained in a Grain Tank
A combine that can accurately measure the weight of grain retained in a grain tank is provided. When a weight measurement signal is output from a measurement switch 66, a weight measurement decision unit 75 instructs a working state determination unit 71 to perform working state determination. If it is determined that the combine is in the working state, the weight measurement decision unit 75 does not instruct a load cell 39 to perform weight measurement.
HARVEST ANALYSIS SYSTEM INTENDED FOR USE IN A MACHINE
A harvest analysis system, intended to be used in a machine (2, 3) for harvesting agricultural products, e.g. combine (2), forage harvester (3) or the like, comprising at least one image acquisition device (4, 40) and at least one processing unit (1), connected to said acquisition device (4, 40) and in turn comprising: at least one memory module (10) in which at least a first reference image is stored; and at least one comparison module (11, 12) configured to perform a comparison between the images of the harvested products, acquired by said device (4, 40) and said reference image.
COMBINE HARVESTER SELF-ADAPTIVE CLEANING CONTROL APPARATUS AND SELF-ADAPTIVE CLEANING METHOD THEREOF
A combine harvester self-adaptive cleaning control apparatus, includes a return plate, a cleaning sieve, a cleaning centrifugal blower, an impurity collection and stirring auger, a grain collection and stirring auger, a cleaning grain loss monitoring sensor, a grain tank grain impurity rate automatic monitoring apparatus, and an on-line monitoring and control system. The on-line monitoring and control system is connected to the cleaning centrifugal blower, the cleaning grain loss monitoring sensor, the grain tank grain impurity rate automatic monitoring apparatus, and a power driving mechanism of a louver sieve having an adjustable opening. Also disclosed is a self-adaptive cleaning method of the cleaning apparatus which can automatically adjust various working parameters according to a working quality of a working process, improve production efficiency, control failure rate, and improve a down-time working time for the apparatus.
GRAIN QUALITY MONITORING
A method and non-transitory computer-readable medium capture an image of bulk grain and apply a feature extractor to the image to determine a feature of the bulk grain in the image. For each of a plurality of different sampling locations in the image, based upon the feature of the bulk grain at the sampling location, a determination is made regarding a classification score for the presence of a classification of material at the sampling location. A quality of the bulk grain of the image is determined based upon an aggregation of the classification scores for the presence of the classification of material at the sampling locations.
GRAIN QUALITY SENSOR
A grain quality sensor comprising a photosite array, an illumination source, a filter, and an electronics module, wherein the illumination source directs light onto a crop sample, wherein the filter limits passage of light into different parts of the photosite array such that certain locations on the photosite array only receive certain wavelengths of light reflected or fluoresced by the crop sample, wherein an electronics module is electrically connected to the photosite array and capable of determining which parts of the photosite array received light and the wavelengths of the light received, wherein the electronics module can analyze the optical data received by the photosite array, and wherein the analysis of the optical data is used to determine the composition of the crop sample.