Patent Application
20230135915
The present application is based upon and claims the right of priority to Brazilian Patent Application No. BR 10 2021 021947 5, filed Oct. 31, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
The present disclosure relates generally to agricultural harvesters, such as sugarcane harvesters, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for monitoring crop yield of an agricultural harvester.
Typically, agricultural harvesters include an assembly of processing equipment for processing harvested crop materials. For instance, within a sugarcane harvester, severed sugarcane stalks are conveyed via a feed roller assembly to a chopper assembly that cuts or chops the sugarcane stalks into pieces or billets (e.g., 6 inch cane sections). The processed crop material discharged from the chopper assembly is then directed as a stream of billets and debris into a primary extractor, within which the airborne debris (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) is separated from the sugarcane billets. The separated/cleaned billets then fall into an elevator assembly for delivery to an external storage device.
During operation of the harvester, it is typically desirable to monitor the crop yield as the machine goes through the field. For sugarcane harvesters, existing yield monitoring systems rely upon a sensorized plate positioned within the elevator assembly to estimate the crop yield based on the load sensed thereby as the sugarcane passes over the plate. While such systems are equipped to provide accurate yield data, the various components of the system are quite expensive, thereby rendering the system cost-prohibitive for some users. Moreover, the sensorized plates typically require a significant amount of maintenance, including the time require to remove any dirt, mud, or other materials that have accumulated between the plate and the elevator.
Accordingly, systems and methods for monitoring the crop yield for an agricultural harvester that address one or more issues associated with existing systems/methods would be welcomed in the technology.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In one aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a system for monitoring crop yield for an agricultural harvester. The system includes a material processing system configured to receive a flow of harvested materials, a first sensor configured to generate data indicative of a volume of the flow of harvested materials being directed through the material processing system, and a second sensor configured to generate data indicative of a density of the flow of harvested materials being directed through the material processing system. In addition, the system includes a computing system communicatively coupled to the first and second sensors, with the computing system being configured to determine a mass flow rate of the flow of harvested materials through the material processing system based at least in part on the data received from the first and second sensors.
In another aspect, the present subject matter is directed to an agricultural harvester that includes a frame and a material processing system supported relative to the frame, with the material processing system being configured to process a flow of harvested materials. The material processing system includes a feed roller assembly extending between a first end and a second end and including a plurality of bottom rollers and a plurality of top rollers. The feed roller assembly is configured to receive the flow of harvested materials and direct the flow of harvested materials along a flow path defined between the plurality of bottom rollers and the plurality of top rollers from the first end of the feed roller assembly to the second end of the feed roller assembly. The material processing system also includes a chopper assembly positioned downstream of the feed roller assembly such that the chopper assembly receives the flow of the harvested materials from the feed roller assembly. In addition, the harvester includes a first sensor configured to detect a parameter associated with a distance defined between a first roller of the plurality of top rollers and a second roller of the plurality of bottom rollers, and a second sensor configured to detect a pressure associated with an operation of the chopper assembly. Moreover, the harvester includes a computing system communicatively coupled to the first and second sensors, with the computing system being configured to determine a mass flow rate of the flow of harvested materials through the material processing system based at least in part on the data received from the first and second sensors.
In a further aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a method for monitoring crop yield for an agricultural harvester, with the agricultural harvester including a material processing system configured to receive a flow of harvested materials. The method includes receiving, with a computing system, data indicative of a volume of the flow of harvested materials being directed through the material processing system, and receiving, with the computing system, data indicative of a density of the flow of harvested materials being directed through the material processing system. In addition, the method includes determining, with the computing system, a mass flow rate of the flow of harvested materials directed through the material processing system based on the data received from the first and second sensors, and initiating, with the computing system, a control action in response to determining the mass flow rate of the flow of harvested materials directed through the material processing system.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures, in which:
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present technology.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
In general, the present subject matter is directed to systems and methods for monitoring the crop yield of an agricultural harvester. In several embodiments, a computing system is communicatively coupled to one or more volume-related sensors that generate data associated with the volume of harvested materials being directed through a material processing system of a harvester and one or more density-related sensors that generate data associated with the density of such harvested materials. Such volume-related and density-related data may, in turn, be used by the computing system to monitor the crop yield of the harvester, such as by allowing the computing system to calculate or determine the mass flow rate of the harvested materials directed through the material processing system of the harvester. In addition to monitoring the crop yield based on the volume-related and density-related sensor data, the computing system may also be configured to initiate or execute one or more control actions associated with the monitored crop yield.
The presently disclosed system and method generally provide numerous advantages for monitoring the crop yield of the harvester. For instance, the volume-related and density-related sensors described herein can be implemented using relatively low cost sensors, thereby minimizing the overall costs to the end-user. Moreover, the sensors require little or no maintenance, thereby eliminating (or least minimizing) the downtime associated with maintaining the sensors of existing yield monitoring systems.
Referring now to the drawings,
As shown in
The harvester 10 may also include a material processing system 19 incorporating various components, assemblies, and/or sub-assemblies of the harvester 10 for cutting, processing, cleaning, and discharging sugarcane as the cane is harvested from an agricultural field 20. For instance, the material processing system 19 may include a topper assembly 22 positioned at the front end of the harvester 10 to intercept sugarcane as the harvester 10 is moved in the forward direction. As shown, the topper assembly 22 may include both a gathering disk 24 and a cutting disk 26. The gathering disk 24 may be configured to gather the sugarcane stalks so that the cutting disk 26 may be used to cut off the top of each stalk. As is generally understood, the height of the topper assembly 22 may be adjustable via a pair of arms 28 hydraulically raised and lowered, as desired, by the operator.
The material processing system 19 may further include a crop divider 30 that extends upwardly and rearwardly from the field 20. In general, the crop divider 30 may include two spiral feed rollers 32. Each feed roller 32 may include a ground shoe 34 at its lower end to assist the crop divider 30 in gathering the sugarcane stalks for harvesting. Moreover, as shown in
Referring still to
Moreover, the material processing system 19 may include a feed roller assembly 44 located downstream of the base cutter assembly 42 for moving the severed stalks of sugarcane from base cutter assembly 42 along the processing path of the material processing system 19. As shown in
In addition, the material processing system 19 may include a chopper assembly 50 located at the downstream end of the feed roller assembly 44 (e.g., adjacent to the rearward-most bottom and top rollers 46, 48). In general, the chopper assembly 50 may be used to cut or chop the severed sugarcane stalks into pieces or “billets” 51, which may be, for example, six (6) inches long. The billets 51 may then be propelled towards an elevator assembly 52 of the material processing system 19 for delivery to an external receiver or storage device (not shown).
As is generally understood, pieces of debris 53 (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugarcane billets 51 may be expelled from the harvester 10 through a primary extractor 54 of the material processing system 19, which is located immediately behind the chopper assembly 50 and is oriented to direct the debris 53 outwardly from the harvester 10. Additionally, an extractor fan 56 may be mounted within the primary extractor 54 for generating a suction force or vacuum sufficient to pick up the debris 53 and force the debris 53 through the primary extractor 54. The separated or cleaned billets 51, heavier than the debris 53 being expelled through the extractor 54, may then fall downward to the elevator assembly 52.
As shown in
Moreover, in some embodiments, pieces of debris 53 (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the elevated sugarcane billets 51 may be expelled from the harvester 10 through a secondary extractor 78 of the material processing system 19 coupled to the rear end of the elevator housing 58. For example, the debris 53 expelled by the secondary extractor 78 may be debris remaining after the billets 51 are cleaned and debris 53 expelled by the primary extractor 54. As shown in
During operation, the harvester 10 is traversed across the agricultural field 20 for harvesting sugarcane. After the height of the topper assembly 22 is adjusted via the arms 28, the gathering disk 24 on the topper assembly 22 may function to gather the sugarcane stalks as the harvester 10 proceeds across the field 20, while the cutter disk 26 severs the leafy tops of the sugarcane stalks for disposal along either side of harvester 10. As the stalks enter the crop divider 30, the ground shoes 34 may set the operating width to determine the quantity of sugarcane entering the throat of the harvester 10. The spiral feed rollers 32 then gather the stalks into the throat to allow the knock-down roller 36 to bend the stalks downwardly in conjunction with the action of the fin roller 38. Once the stalks are angled downwardly as shown in
The severed sugarcane stalks are conveyed rearwardly by the bottom and top rollers 46, 48, which compress the stalks, make them more uniform, and shake loose debris to pass through the bottom rollers 46 to the field 20. At the downstream end of the feed roller assembly 44, the chopper assembly 50 cuts or chops the compressed sugarcane stalks into pieces or billets 51 (e.g., 6 inch cane sections). The processed crop material discharged from the chopper assembly 50 is then directed as a stream of billets 51 and debris 53 into the primary extractor 54. The airborne debris 53 (e.g., dust, dirt, leaves, etc.) separated from the sugarcane billets is then extracted through the primary extractor 54 using suction created by the extractor fan 56. The separated/cleaned billets 51 then fall downwardly through an elevator hopper 86 into the elevator assembly 52 and travel upwardly via the elevator 60 from its proximal end 62 to its distal end 64. During normal operation, once the billets 51 reach the distal end 64 of the elevator 60, the billets 51 fall through the elevator discharge opening 82 to an external storage device. If provided, the secondary extractor 78 (with the aid of the extractor fan 80) blows out trash/debris 53 from harvester 10, similar to the primary extractor 54.
As indicated above, it is generally desirable to monitor the mass flow rate of harvested materials (e.g., sugarcane) through an agricultural harvester to allow the operator to gather data associated with the crop yield and evaluate the performance of the harvester. In addition, the mass flow rate through the harvester may also be used to automate certain functions or control actions associated with the harvester, such as to automatically adjust one or more operational settings of one or more harvester components to improve the efficiency and/or performance thereof. As will be described below, the mass flow rate of the harvested materials may be estimated or determined based on one or more monitored, harvesting-related parameters. For instance, in several embodiments, one or more harvesting-related parameters may be monitored that are indicative of the volume (or volumetric flow rate) of the harvested materials being directed through the material processing system of the harvester while one or more other harvesting-related parameters may be monitored that are indicative of the density of such materials. The mass flow rate of the harvested materials may then be determined as a function of such monitored parameters.
Referring now to
As shown in
Due to variations in the volume of harvested materials being processed by the material processing system 19, the flow of harvested materials through the feed roller assembly 44 will inherently vary in thickness. As such, one set of the rollers of the feed roller assembly 44 may be configured as floating rollers (with the other set of rollers being configured as fixed or non-floating rollers) such that the spacing between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 is variable to account for changes in the volume of the harvested materials being directed through the feed roller assembly 44. For instance, in one embodiment, each of the top rollers 48 is movable within a respective slot 100. As particularly shown in
In accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, one or more sensors may be provided in association with the feed roller assembly 44 for detecting variations in the spacing between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48, thereby providing an indication of the volume of harvested materials being directed through the feed roller assembly 44. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, one or more displacement sensors 110 may be provided for detecting the displacement of one or more respective top rollers 48 of the feed roller assembly 44, including, for example, the magnitude and/or rate of the displacement. For instance, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, although a single displacement sensor 110 is shown as being associated with the feed roller assembly 44, any number of displacement sensors 110 may be used to monitor the displacement of any number of the floating rollers so as to provide an indication of the volume of harvested materials being directed through the feed roller assembly 44. It should further be appreciated that the displacement sensor(s) 110 may comprise any suitable sensor(s) or combination of sensors for detecting displacement of an associated floating roller of the feed roller assembly 44, such as angular position sensors, accelerometers, and/or the like. Additionally, it should be appreciated that, in alternative embodiments, any other suitable type of sensor(s) may be used to generate data indicative of the volume of harvested materials being directed through the material processing system 19 of the harvester 10, such as cameras and/or other imaging devices, radar or sonar sensors, and/or the like.
Additionally, as shown in
During operation of the chopper assembly 50, an anti-rotation or resistive force is applied to the chopper drums 122 that generally varies depending on both the volume of harvested materials being directed between the chopper drums 122 and the density of such harvested materials. As indicated above, the volume of harvested materials can be monitored or determined by detecting the floating roller displacement within the feed roller assembly 44. Thus, by knowing the volume of harvested materials, the material density of the harvested materials can be estimated or inferred by detecting one or more parameters indicative of the resistive force applied to the chopper drums 122 by the harvested materials being directed therebetween. In several embodiments, this resistive force (and, thus, the density of the harvested materials) is directly related to the pressure of the hydraulic fluid that must be supplied to the hydraulic motor(s) 126 in order to maintain the drums 122 rotating at a given rotational speed (e.g., a desired RPM setting). Thus, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, one or more pressure sensors 140 may be provided to monitor the fluid pressure associated with the hydraulic motor(s) 126, thereby providing an indication of the density of the harvested materials being directed through the chopper assembly 50. For instance, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, although a single pressure sensor 140 is shown as being used to monitor the fluid pressure associated with the operation of the chopper assembly 50, any number of pressure sensors 110 may be used to monitor the fluid pressure. Additionally, it should be appreciated, that in alternative embodiments, any other suitable type of sensor(s) may be used to generate data indicative of the density of the materials being directed through the material processing system, such as any other suitable sensor(s) configured to detect a parameter associated with the resistive force applied to the chopper drums 122 of the chopper assembly 50.
It should also be appreciated that various other sensors or sensing devices may be provided in operative association with the feed roller assembly 44 and/or the chopper assembly 50. In one embodiment, one or more speed sensors may be provided to monitor the rotational speed of the feeder rollers 46, 48 and/or the chopper drums 122. For instance, as shown in
As will be described below, a computing system may be provided in association with an agricultural harvester that is configured to determine or estimate the mass flow rate of the harvested materials through the harvester's material processing system based on sensor feedback associated with one or more harvesting-related parameter. For instance, in several embodiments, the computing system may be communicatively coupled to the above-described sensors 110, 140 to obtain data associated with the volume and density of the harvested materials being directed through the material processing system 19, thereby allowing the mass flow rate of the harvested materials to be subsequently calculated or determined. For instance, the volume-related data received from the displacement sensor(s) 110 may be used to determine a volumetric flow rate of the harvested materials through the feeder assembly 44, while the density-related data received from the pressure sensor(s) 110 may be used to determine the material density of the harvested materials. Such variables may be then used to calculate the mass flow rate through the material processing system 19 (e.g., an instantaneous mass flow rate through the system) using the following relationship (Equation 1):
M=Q×φ (1)
wherein: M corresponds to the mass flow rate of the harvested materials in kilograms per second (kg/s); Q corresponds to the volumetric flow rate of the harvested materials in meters cubed per second (m3/s); and φ corresponds to the density of the harvested materials in kilograms per meters cubed (kg/m3).
As indicated above, the volume-related roller displacement data provided via the displacement sensors 110 may be used to determine the volumetric flow rate of the harvested materials through the material processing system 19. Specifically, the displacement data may allow for the distance or height defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 to be determined, which may then be used to calculate the volumetric flow rate. For instance, in one implementation, the volumetric flow rate may be calculated using the following equation (Equation 2):
wherein: Q corresponds to the volumetric flow rate of the harvested materials in meters cubed per second (m3/s); W corresponds to the width of the feeder assembly 44 in meters (m) (e.g., at the location within the feed roller assembly 44 at which the floating roller displacement is being monitored); H corresponds to the distance or height defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 in meters (m) (e.g., at the location within the feed roller assembly 44 at which the floating roller displacement is being monitored); and V corresponds to the speed at which the harvested materials are being fed through the feeder assembly 44 in meters per minute (m/min) (e.g., as determined as a function of the rotational speed of the rollers 46, 48 of the feeder assembly 44 or as a function of the rotational speed of the chopper drums 122 when a known relationship exists between the chopper drum rotation and the roller rotation, one or both of which can be monitored via the speed sensors 142, 144 described above).
It should be appreciated that, although Equation 2 above incorporates a denominator value of 60 for converting minutes-to-seconds (e.g., to allow the determined mass flow rate to be expressed in kilograms per second (kg/s)), any other suitable time basis or units may be used for the equations contained herein.
The distance or height (H) defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 may also be expressed as function of the percentage that the monitored roller has been currently displaced between its minimum height (e.g., when the top roller 48 is at position 100A in slot 100 and distance D1 is defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48) and its maximum height (e.g., when the top roller 48 is at position 100B in slot 100 and distance D2 is defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48), such as by using the expression (Equation 3):
H=D1+(D2−D1)×DP (3)
wherein: H corresponds to the distance or height currently defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 in meters (m); D1 corresponds to the minimum height that cab be defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 in meters (m); D2 corresponds to the maximum height that can be defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 in meters (m); and DP corresponds to the displacement percentage of the monitored roller between its minimum and maximum positions 100A, 100B as monitored via the displacement sensor(s) 110.
Moreover, as indicated above, the density-related data provided via the pressure sensors 140 may be used to determine the density of the harvested materials directed through the material processing system 19. Specifically, in several embodiments, the instantaneous chopper-related pressure that is detected while chopping harvested materials can be compared to a baseline chopper-related pressure associated with the chopper drums 122 being rotated without any resistive force applied thereto (e.g., when the chopper drums 122 are being rotated without any materials being directed therebetween) to determine a pressure differential between such pressures. This pressure differential may then be used in combination with a correction factor that takes into account the volume of harvested materials being directed through the chopper assembly 50 to determine the material density. For instance, in one implementation, the density of the harvested materials may be calculated using the following equation (Equation 4):
φ=X×(Pwork−Pempty) (4)
wherein: φ corresponds to the density of the harvested materials in kilograms per meters cubed (kg/m3); X corresponds to a correction or adjustment factor in kilograms per meters cubed bar (kg/m3 bar) determined as a function of the volume of harvested materials being directed through the chopper assembly 50 (e.g., by using an associated look-up table that correlates the volume determine via the displacement sensor(s) 110 to the adjustment factor); Pwork corresponds to the instantaneous or monitored fluid pressure associated with the chopper assembly 50 in bars as harvested materials are being processed by the assembly 50 (e.g., as determined based on the data received from the pressure sensor(s)); and Pempty corresponds to the baseline fluid pressure associated with the chopper assembly 50 operating without any harvested materials being processed by the assembly 50.
It should be appreciated that the above-referenced equations may be combined to allow for the mass flow rate of the harvested materials to be expressed as a function of both the displacement percentage (e.g., as determined as a function of the data received from the displacement sensor(s) 110) and the fluid pressure (e.g., as determined as a function of the data received from the pressure sensor(s) 140). For instance, the mass flow rate may be expressed according to the following relationship (Equation 5):
wherein: M corresponds to the mass flow rate of the harvested materials in kilograms per second (kg/s); W corresponds to the width of the feeder assembly 44 in meters (m); D1 corresponds to the minimum height that cab be defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 in meters (m); D2 corresponds to the maximum height that can be defined between the bottom and top rollers 46, 48 in meters (m); DP corresponds to the displacement percentage of the monitored roller between its minimum and maximum positions 100A, 100B; V corresponds to the speed at which the harvested materials are being fed through the feeder assembly 44 in meters per minute (m/min); X corresponds to a correction or adjustment factor in kilograms per meters cubed bar (kg/m3 bar) determined as a function of the volume of harvested materials being directed through the chopper assembly 50; Pwork corresponds to the instantaneous or monitored fluid pressure associated with the chopper assembly 50 in bars as harvested materials are being processed by the assembly 50; and Pempty corresponds to the baseline fluid pressure associated with the chopper assembly 50 operating without any harvested materials being processed by the assembly 50.
Referring now to
As shown in
In addition, the computing system may be communicatively coupled to and/or configured to control a user interface 214. The user interface 214 described herein may include, without limitation, any combination of input and/or output devices that allow an operator to provide inputs to the computing system 202 and/or that allow the computing system 202 to provide feedback to the operator, such as a keyboard, display, keypad, pointing device, buttons, knobs, touch sensitive screen, mobile device, audio input device, audio output device, and/or the like. Moreover, as will be described below, the computing system 202 may also be communicatively coupled to and/or configured to control one or more additional components of the harvester 10 to allow the computing system 202 to, for example, automate the operation such harvester components.
In general, the computing system 202 may comprise any suitable processor-based device known in the art, such as a computing device or any suitable combination of computing devices. Thus, in several embodiments, the computing system 202 may include one or more processor(s) 204, and associated memory device(s) 206 configured to perform a variety of computer-implemented functions. As used herein, the term “processor” refers not only to integrated circuits referred to in the art as being included in a computer, but also refers to a controller, a microcontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic circuit (PLC), an application specific integrated circuit, and other programmable circuits. Additionally, the memory device(s) 206 of the computing system may generally comprise memory element(s) including, but not limited to, a computer readable medium (e.g., random access memory RAM)), a computer readable non-volatile medium (e.g., a flash memory), a floppy disk, a compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), a magneto-optical disk (MOD), a digital versatile disk (DVD) and/or other suitable memory elements. Such memory device(s) 206 may generally be configured to store suitable computer-readable instructions that, when implemented by the processor(s) 204, configure the computing system 202 to perform various computer-implemented functions, such as one or more aspects of the methods and algorithms that will be described herein.
It should be appreciated that, in several embodiments, the computing system 202 may correspond to an existing controller of the agricultural harvester 10. However, it should be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the computing system 202 may instead correspond to a separate processing device. For instance, in one embodiment, the computing system 202 may form all or part of a separate plug-in module that may be installed within the agricultural harvester 10 to allow for the disclosed system and method to be implemented without requiring additional software to be uploaded onto existing control devices of the agricultural harvester 10.
In some embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to include one or more communications modules or interfaces 208 for the computing system 202 to communicate with any of the various system components described herein. For instance, one or more communicative links or interfaces (e.g., one or more data buses) may be provided between the computing system 202 and the sensor(s) 210, 212 to receive sensor data associated with the volume and density of the harvested materials being directed through the material processing system 19. Further, one or more communicative links or interfaces (e.g., one or more data buses) may be provided between the communications interface 208 and the user interface 214 to allow operator inputs to be received by the computing system 202 and/or the allow the computing system 202 to control the operation of one or more components of the user interface 212. Moreover, one or more communicative links or interfaces (e.g., one or more data buses) may be provided between the communications interface 208 and any other suitable harvester component(s) 216 to allow the computing system 202 to control the operation of such component(s) 216.
As indicated above, the computing system 202 may be configured to monitor the crop yield by estimating or determining the mass flow rate of the harvested materials through the material processing system 19 of the harvester 10. For example, the computing system 202 may include one or more suitable relationships and/or algorithms stored within its memory 206 that, when executed by the processor 204, allow the computing system 202 to estimate or determine the mass flow rate of the harvested materials through the material processing system 19 based at least in part on the sensor data provided by the volume-related and density-related sensors 210, 212. Such relationships and/or algorithms may include or incorporate, for instance, one or more of the mathematical expressions described above with reference to Equations 1-5. For instance, the computing system 202 may be configured to monitor the displacement data received from the displacement sensor(s) 110 to determine the instantaneous displacement percentage of the monitored floating roller (which is indicative of the current distance or height defined between such floating roller and the adjacent fixed roller) and the pressure data received from the pressure sensor(s) 140 to determine the instantaneous fluid pressure associated with the current operation of the chopper assembly 50. Such continuously monitored parameters may then be used to calculate the instantaneous mass flow rate of the harvested materials being directed through the material processing system 19 of the harvester 10, such as by inputting such monitored parameters into the afore-mentioned Equation 5 and/or by using one or more related look-up tables to “look-up” the mass flow rate associated with such monitored parameters.
Moreover, the computing system 202 may also be configured to initiate one or more control actions associated with or related to the mass flow rate determined as a function of the monitored parameters. For instance, in several embodiments, the computing system 202 may automatically control the operation of the user interface 214 to provide an operator notification associated with the determined mass flow rate. Specifically, in one embodiment, the computing system 202 may control the operation of the user interface 214 in a manner that causes data associated with the determined mass flow rate to be presented to the operator of the harvester 10, such as by presenting raw or processed data associated with the mass flow rate including numerical values, graphs, maps, and/or any other suitable visual indicators.
Additionally, in some embodiments, the control action initiated by the computing system 202 may be associated with the generation of a yield map based at least in part on the mass flow rate determined as a function of the monitored parameters. For instance, in one embodiment, the computing system 202 may be communicatively coupled to a positioning device(s) 218 installed on or within the harvester 10 that is configured to determine the exact location of the harvester 10, such as by using a satellite navigation position system (e.g. a GPS system, a Galileo positioning system, the Global Navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the BeiDou Satellite Navigation and Positioning system, and/or the like). In such an embodiment, the location data provided by the positioning device(s) 218 may be correlated to the mass flow rate calculations to generate a yield map associated with the crop yield at each location within the field. For instance, the location coordinates derived from the positioning device(s) 218 and the mass flow rate data may both be time-stamped. In such an embodiment, the time-stamped data may allow each mass flow rate datapoint to be matched or correlated to a corresponding set of location coordinates received from the positioning device(s) 218, thereby allowing the precise location of the portion of the field associated with the mass flow rate datapoint to be determined by the computing system 202. The resulting yield map may, for example, simply correspond to a data table that maps or correlates each mass flow rate datapoint to an associated field location. Alternatively, the yield map may be presented as a geo-spatial mapping of the mass flow rate data, such as a heat map that indicates the variability in the mass flow rate across the field.
Moreover, in some embodiments, the computing system 202 may additionally or alternatively be configured to automatically control the operation of one or more components of the harvester 216 based at least in part on the mass flow rate determined as a function of the monitored parameters. For instance, if the mass flow rate is consistently higher than expected, the operational settings of one or more components of the material processing system 19 may be automatically adjusted to accommodate the increased mass flow through system. Similarly, if the mass flow rate is consistently lower than expected, the operational settings of one or more components of the material processing system 19 may be automatically adjusted to accommodate the reduced mass flow through system. For instance, the computing system 202 may be configured to automatically adjust the ground speed of the harvester 10 (e.g., by automatically controlling the operation of the engine, transmission, and/or braking system of the harvester 10), the fan speed associated with one or both extractors 54, 78 (e.g., by automatically controlling the operation of the associated fan 56, 80), the elevator speed e.g., by automatically controlling the operation of the elevator motor 76), and/or any other suitable operational settings to accommodate variations in the mass flow through the system.
Referring now to
As shown in
Additionally, at (304), the method 300 may include receiving data indicative of a density of the flow of harvested materials being directed through the material processing system. For instance, as described above, the computing system 202 may be communicatively coupled to one or more density-related sensors 212 configured to generate data associated with the density of the harvested materials being directed through the material processing system 19. As an example, the density-related sensor(s) 212 may, in one embodiment, correspond to one or more pressure sensors 140 configured to detect a fluid pressure associated with the operation of the chopper assembly 50, such as the fluid pressure of the hydraulic fluid that must be supplied to the hydraulic motor(s) 126 to maintain the chopper drums 122 rotating at a given speed despite the anti-rotation or resistive force applied by the harvested materials against the chopper drums 122.
Additionally, at (306), the method 300 may include determining a mass flow rate of the flow of harvested materials directed through the material processing system based on the data received from the first and second sensor. Specifically, as indicated above, the computing system 202 may be configured to determine the mass flow rate of the harvested materials being directed through the material processing system 19 based on the volume-related and density-related data received from the sensors 210, 212. For example, the computing system 202 may include one or more suitable relationships and/or algorithms stored within its memory 206 that, when executed by the processor 204, allow the computing system 202 to estimate or determine the mass flow rate of the harvested materials through the material processing system 19 based at least in part on the sensor data provided by the volume-related and density-related sensors 210, 212.
Referring still to
It is to be understood that the steps of the method 300 are performed by the computing system 202 upon loading and executing software code or instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computer readable medium, such as on a magnetic medium, e.g., a computer hard drive, an optical medium, e.g., an optical disk, solid-state memory, e.g., flash memory, or other storage media known in the art. Thus, any of the functionality performed by the computing system 202 described herein, such as the method 300, is implemented in software code or instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computer readable medium. The computing system 202 loads the software code or instructions via a direct interface with the computer readable medium or via a wired and/or wireless network. Upon loading and executing such software code or instructions by the computing system 202, the computing system 202 may perform any of the functionality of the computing system 202 described herein, including any steps of the method 300 described herein.
The term “software code” or “code” used herein refers to any instructions or set of instructions that influence the operation of a computer or computing system. They may exist in a computer-executable form, such as machine code, which is the set of instructions and data directly executed by a computer's central processing unit or by a computing system, a human-understandable form, such as source code, which may be compiled in order to be executed by a computer's central processing unit or by a computing system, or an intermediate form, such as object code, which is produced by a compiler. As used herein, the term “software code” or “code” also includes any human-understandable computer instructions or set of instructions, e.g., a script, that may be executed on the fly with the aid of an interpreter executed by a computer's central processing unit or by a computing system.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2021 021947 5 | Oct 2021 | BR | national |
