Patent Application
20240183835
The present subject matter relates generally to agricultural implements and, more particularly, to systems and methods for monitoring an operating condition of discs of an agricultural implement (e.g., a damaged or missing condition)
It is well known that, to attain the best agricultural performance from a piece of land, a farmer must cultivate the soil, typically through a tillage operation. Common tillage operations include plowing, harrowing, and sub-soiling. Modern farmers perform these tillage operations by pulling a tillage implement behind an agricultural work vehicle, such as a tractor. Depending on the crop selection and the soil conditions, a farmer may need to perform several tillage operations at different times over a crop cycle to properly cultivate the land to suit the crop choice.
In some configurations, a tillage implement includes a plurality of disc blades or “discs” supported on its frame. In this respect, as the tillage implement travels across the field to perform a tillage operation thereon, the discs rotate relative to the soil to cut and size the residue present on the field surface for improved microbial degradation and incorporation into the soil.
During such tillage operations, the discs may contact rocks or other buried obstacles. In certain instances, the contact between a disc and an obstacle may be sufficient to bend, break, or otherwise damage the disc. A damaged disc may, in turn, negatively impact the quality of the tillage operation being performed and should be replaced as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for an operator to notice a damaged disc during a tillage operation as the frame and/or the wheels of the tillage implement and/or the associated work vehicle may block the operator's view of the discs. Similarly, in instances in which a disc has fallen off the implement or is otherwise missing, it can be difficult for the operator to notice such missing disc during the performance of an agricultural operation.
Accordingly, a system and method for monitoring the operating condition of discs of an agricultural implement, such as a damaged or missing condition, 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 the condition of discs of agricultural implements. The system includes a plurality of discs configured to be supported relative to an agricultural implement, and a field profile sensor configured to generate data indicative of a field profile of an aft portion of the field located rearward of the plurality of discs relative to a direction of travel of the agricultural implement. In addition, the system includes a controller communicatively coupled to the field profile sensor. The controller is configured to monitor the data received from the field profile sensor and determine an operating condition of one or more of the plurality of discs based at least in part on the field profile of the aft portion of the field.
In another aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a method for monitoring the condition of discs of agricultural implements. The method includes receiving, with a computing device, data indicative of a field profile of an aft portion of a field located rearward of a plurality of discs of an agricultural implement relative to a direction of travel of the agricultural implement. The method also includes analyzing, with the computing device, the field profile of the aft portion of the field to determine an operating condition of one or more of the plurality of discs, and initiating, with the computing device, a control action based on the determined operating condition of one or more of the plurality of discs.
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 operating condition of discs of an agricultural implement. Specifically, in several embodiments, the disclosed system may monitor the field profile (e.g., a surface profile or a seedbed profile) of the field behind the implement as the implement performs an agricultural operation to determine when the operating condition of a disc has changed (e.g., when the disc has become damaged or is missing). For instance, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, a field profile sensor (e.g., a surface profile sensor or a seedbed profile sensor) may be provided in association with the implement, with the field profile sensor being configured to capture data indicative of a profile or contour of the field rearward of the implement. When a disc is damaged or missing, the field profile of the aft portion of the field located rearward of the respective disc will differ from an expected or baseline field profile. Accordingly, a controller of the disclosed system may be configured to determine the operating condition of discs of the tillage implement based on the detected field profile of the field. Additionally, in some embodiments, the controller may further be configured to automatically initiate a control action in response to determining the operating condition of one or more discs. For instance, in one embodiment, the control action may include providing an operator notification or adjusting the operation of one or both of the tillage implement and/or the work vehicle towing the implement (e.g., stopping operation of the vehicle/implement). In addition, or as an alternative thereto, the control action may be associated with identifying the location of at which a disc was damaged or went missing, such as by mapping or georeferencing the location at which it was initially detected that the disc was damaged or missing.
Referring now to
As shown, the implement 10 includes a carriage frame assembly 12 configured to be towed by a work vehicle 14 (shown schematically in
As shown in
Additionally, as shown in
Moreover, each of the frame sections may be configured to support a plurality of ground-engaging tools, such as one or more gangs of discs 50. In such an embodiment, the gangs of discs 50 may be supported relative to frame members 46, 48, 52, 54, 60, 62 of the frame sections in any suitable manner so as to provide smooth working of the soil. It should be appreciated that, in other embodiments, any other suitable ground-engaging tools, such as shanks, tines, rolling baskets, and/or the like, may also be supported by the various frame members.
In several embodiments, the various frame sections 26, 28, 30, 32, 34 of the tillage implement 10 may be configured to be positioned at variable positions relative to the soil in order to set the position of the gangs of discs 50 above the soil as well as the penetration depth of the discs 50. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the tillage implement 10 includes center transport wheels 68 pivotally interconnected with the carrier frames 22 so that they provide support to the forward and aft frame members 46 and 48 relative to the soil. Similarly, inner-wing transport wheels 70 may be interconnected with the frame elements 58 to support and variably position the inner-wing sections 28, 30 relative to the soil. In addition, outer-wing transport wheels 72 may be pivotally mounted on the frame members 66 to support and variably position the outer-wing sections 32, 34 relative to the soil.
In such an embodiment, wheel actuators may also be provided in operative association with the various wheels to adjust the relative positioning between the frame sections and the soil. For instance, center wheel actuators 74, 76 may be utilized to manipulate the center transport wheels 68 to establish the distance of the central frame section 26 relative to the soil while inner-wing wheel actuators 78, 82 may be used to variably position the inner-wing sections 28, 30 relative to the soil. Similarly, outer-wing wheel actuators 80, 84 may be used to variably position the outer-wing sections 32, 34 relative to the soil.
It should be appreciated that the implement 10 may also include gauge wheels 86, 88 on the outer-wing sections 32, 34 to orient the fore-to-aft angle of the tillage implement 10 relative to the soil. In such an embodiment, gauge wheel actuators 90, 92 may be provided in operative association with the gauge wheels 86, 88 to allow the fore-to-aft angle of the implement 10 to be adjusted. As shown in
In accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, the implement 10 may be configured to support one or more field profile sensors 118, 120 that generate or provide data indicative of a field profile of an aft portion of the field disposed rearward of the implement 10 relative to the direction of travel 18 of the implement 10. As used herein, the term field profile may include, for example, a surface profile of the surface of the field and/or a seedbed profile of the seedbed underlying the surface of the field.
In several embodiments, the field profile sensor(s) 118, 120 may correspond to one or more surface profile sensors 118. For instance, each surface profile sensor 118 may be mounted to or supported on the implement 10, with the surface profile sensor 118 having a field of view 118A directed towards the field. Specifically, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, while the implement 10 is shown as only including or being associated with one surface profile sensor 118, the implement 10 may include or be associated with any other suitable number of surface profile sensors 118, such as two or more surface profile sensors 118. For instance, in one embodiment, the number of soil profile sensors 118 may be selected such that the sensor(s) collectively has(have) a field of view that extends across the width of the implement 10 in the lateral direction L1 and, thus, allows surface profile data to be collected at every field location positioned aft of a given disc 50 of the implement 10. Further, in alternative embodiments, the surface profile sensor(s) 118 may be supported at any other suitable location on the implement 10 and/or the work vehicle 14 towing the implement 10 such that the field of view 118A of the sensor 118 is directed towards the aft portion of the field behind the implement 10.
Moreover, in addition to the surface profile sensor(s) 118 (or as an alternative thereto), the field profile sensor(s) 118, 120 may correspond to one or more seedbed profile sensors 120. In general, each seedbed profile sensor 120 may be mounted to or supported on the implement 10, with the seedbed profile sensor 120 having a field of view (not shown) directed towards the field. Specifically, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, each seedbed profile sensor 120 may be supported relative to the implement 10 (e.g., adjacent to the aft end 19 of the implement 10) such that a field of view of the sensor 120 is directed towards an aft portion of the field disposed rearward of the implement 10 relative to the direction of travel 18 of the implement 10. As such, each seedbed profile sensor 120 may be configured to generate data indicative of the seedbed profile or contour of the portion of the field located behind or aft of the implement 10. In this regard, each seedbed profile sensor 120 may be configured as any suitable device that allows the sensor 120 to generate data indicative of the profile of the seedbed located aft of the implement 10. For instance, in several embodiments, each seedbed profile sensor 120 may be configured as a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) device configured to transmit waves that penetrate through the soil surface and reflect at least partially off the seedbed floor located below the soil surface to allow the GPR device to collect data indicative of the profile or contour of the seedbed. In another embodiment, each seedbed profile sensor 120 may be configured as an electromagnetic induction (EMI) device.
It should be appreciated that, while the implement 10 is shown as including or being associated with four seedbed profile sensors 120, the implement 10 may include or be associated with any other suitable number of seedbed profile sensors 120, such as three or fewer seedbed profile sensors 120 or five or more seedbed profile sensors 120. For instance, in one embodiment, the number of seedbed profile sensors 120 may be selected such that the sensor(s) collectively has(have) a field of view that extends across the width of the implement 10 in the lateral direction L1 and, thus, allows seedbed profile data to be collected at every field location positioned aft of a given disc 50 of the implement 10. Further, in alternative embodiments, the seedbed profile sensor(s) 120 may be supported at any other suitable location on the implement 10 and/or the work vehicle 14 towing the implement 10 such that the field of view of the sensor(s) 120 is directed towards the aft portion of the field behind the implement 10.
It should also be appreciated that the configuration of the implement 10 described above and shown in
During normal operating conditions for the discs 50 (e.g., when the discs 50 are not damaged or missing), the discs 50 will generally work the soil such that a known or expected field profile will be located immediately behind the implement 10. Specifically, under normal operating conditions, the working of the soil by the discs 50 generally results in both a surface profile across the field surface and a seedbed profile across the seedbed located beneath the field surface that has uniform pattern. For instance,
As shown in
As shown in
Based on the field profile defined across the different lanes 154A-154I, the operating condition of each respective disc 50 may be determined. For example, the measured field profile provided by the field profile sensors 118, 120 (e.g., the measured surface profile provided by the surface profile sensor(s) 118 and/or the measured seedbed profile provided by the seedbed profile sensor(s) 120) may be compared to the baseline field profile 150 illustrated in
For example,
However, within lane 154C, the height of the associated peak varies across the time period. Specifically, referring to field profiles 170A, 170D, and 170G (i.e., at Times 1, 4, and 7), the peak within lane 154C defines a height HP2 that exceeds the associated baseline height HP1 of the baseline field profile. However, referring to field profiles 170B, 170C, 170E, and 170F (i.e., at Times 2, 3, 5, and 6), the peak within lane 154C defines a height that that generally matches the associated baseline height HP1 of the baseline field profile 150. Such a cyclical deviation from the baseline field profile 150 is generally indicative of a damaged condition of the associated disc 50, such as when the disc 50 has become bent or broken. In particular, with a bent or broken disc 50, the field profile will deviate from the baseline field profile 150 as the bent or broken portion of the disc 50 rotates through the soil, but will return back to the baseline field profile 150 as the remainder of the disc 50 (i.e., the remaining portion that is not bent or broken) rotates through the soil. Thus, by recognizing this cyclical deviation from the baseline field profile 150, it may be determined or inferred that the disc 50 aligned with lane 154C is damaged or otherwise has a damaged condition.
Similarly, referring to the field profiles 170 defined within lane 154F, the height of the associated valley consistently or uniformly varies from the baseline field profile 150 across the entire time period. Specifically, within each measured field profile 170, the valley within lane 154F defines a height HV2 that is significantly less than the associated baseline height HV1 of the baseline field profile 150. Such a constant deviation from the baseline field profile 150 is generally indicative of a missing condition of the associated disc 50, such as when the disc 50 has fallen off the implement 10. In particular, with a missing disc 50, the field profile will consistently deviate from the baseline field profile 150 since no disc exists within the associated lane to work the soil. Thus, by recognizing this constant deviation from the baseline field profile 150, it may be determined or inferred that the disc 50 aligned with lane 154F is missing.
Referring now to
As shown, the system 200 includes a controller 202 configured to electronically control the operation of one or more components of the agricultural implement 10 and/or the associated work vehicle 14 configured to tow the agricultural implement 10. In general, the controller 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 controller 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 controller 202 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 disc-read only memory (CD-ROM), a magneto-optical disk (MOD), a digital versatile disc (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 controller 202 to perform various computer-implemented functions, such as one or more aspects of the methods and algorithms that will be described herein. In addition, the controller 202 may also include various other suitable components, such as a communications circuit or module, one or more input/output channels, a data/control bus and/or the like.
It should be appreciated that, in several embodiments, the controller 202 may correspond to an existing controller of the agricultural implement 10 and/or of the work vehicle 14 to which the implement 10 is coupled. However, it should be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the controller 202 may instead correspond to a separate processing device. For instance, in one embodiment, the controller 202 may form all or part of a separate plug-in module that may be installed within the agricultural implement 10 (and/or the associated work vehicle 14) 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 implement 10.
In some embodiments, the controller 202 may include a communications module or interface 208 to allow for the controller 202 to communicate with any of the various other system components described herein. For instance, the controller 202 may, in several embodiments, be configured to receive data from one or more sensors of the agricultural implement 10 that is used to detect one or more parameters associated with the operating condition of the discs 50 of the implement 10. Particularly, the controller 202 may be in communication with one or more field profile sensors 118, 120 (e.g., one or more surface profile sensors 118 and/or one or more seedbed profile sensors 120) configured to detect one or more parameters associated with or indicative of the field profile (e.g., the surface profile and/or the seedbed profile) at a location aft of the implement 10, which can be used to determine or infer the operating condition of the discs 50. In one embodiment, the controller 202 may be communicatively coupled to the field profile sensor(s) 118, 120 via any suitable connection, such as a wired or wireless connection, to allow data to be transmitted from the sensor(s) 118, 120 to the controller 202.
As indicated above, the field profile sensor(s) 118, 120 may be installed or otherwise positioned relative to the implement 10 to capture data (e.g., point-cloud data, image data, radar data, ultrasound data, and/or the like) indicative of the field profile of an aft portion of the field, which, in turn, is indicative of the operating condition of the discs 50, such as whether a given disc 50 is damaged or missing. Thus, in several embodiments, the controller 202 may be configured to monitor the operating condition of the discs 50 based on the data received from the sensor(s) 118, 120. For example, the controller 202 may be configured to analyze/process the received data to monitor the field profile detected across the aft portion of the field relative to an expected or baseline field profile. For instance, the controller 202 may include one or more suitable algorithms stored within its memory 206 that, when executed by the processor 204, allow the controller 202 to infer the operating condition of one or more discs 50 based on the comparison between the detected or measured field profile and the expected or baseline field profile of the field. Specifically, as indicated above, the shape or dimensions of the measured field profile within each lane 154 aligned with a given disc 50 may be compared to the shape or dimensions of the expected or baseline field profile to determine or infer the operating condition of the respective disc 50.
The controller 202 may also be configured to perform one or more control actions based on the determination of the operating condition of the discs 50. For instance, the controller 202 may be configured to indicate to an operator the operating condition of each disc 50, such as by indicating whether a given disc 50 is damaged or missing. For example, in the embodiment shown in
Is some embodiments, the controller 202 may further be configured to indicate the location within the field at which a given disc 50 becomes damaged or falls of the implement 10. In one embodiment, the controller 202 may indicate the location by mapping or georeferencing the location at which the controller 202 initially detects or determines that a disc 50 is damaged or missing. For example, as shown in
In further embodiments, the controller 202 may be configured to perform one or more implement-related control actions based on the determination of the operating condition of the discs 50. Specifically, in some embodiments, the controller 202 may be configured to control one or more components of the agricultural implement 10 based on the determination that one of the discs 50 is damaged or missing. For example, as shown in
Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the controller 202 may be configured to perform one or more vehicle-related control actions based on the determination of the operating condition of the discs 50. For example, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, depending on the type of controller 202 being used, the above-described control actions may be executed directly by the controller 202 or indirectly via communications with a separate controller. For instance, when the controller 202 corresponds to an implement controller of the implement 10, the controller 202 may be configured to execute the implement-related control actions directly while being configured to execute the vehicle-related control actions by transmitting suitable instructions or requests to a vehicle-based controller of the work vehicle towing the implement 10 (e.g., using an ISObus communications protocol). Similarly, when the controller 202 corresponds to a vehicle controller of the vehicle towing the implement 10, the controller 202 may be configured to execute the vehicle-related control actions directly while being configured to execute the implement-related control actions by transmitting suitable instructions or requests to an implement-based controller of the implement 10 (e.g., using an ISObus communications protocol). In other embodiments, the controller 202 may be configured to execute both the implement-based control actions and the vehicle-based control actions directly or the controller 202 may be configured to execute both of such control action types indirectly via communications with a separate controller.
Referring now to
As shown in
Moreover, at (304), the method 300 may include analyzing the field profile of the aft portion of the field to determine an operating condition of one or more of the plurality of discs. For instance, as described above, the controller 202 may compare the measured field profile of the aft portion of the field to a baseline field profile to determine whether one or more discs 50 are damaged or missing.
Additionally, at (306), the method 300 may include initiating a control action based on the determined operating condition of one or more of the plurality of discs. For instance, as indicated above, in some embodiments, the controller 202 may provide an indication of the operating condition to the operator, such as by controlling the operation of the user interface 212 to display information indicating that one or more of the discs 50 is damaged or missing. In addition to such operator notifications or as an alternative thereto, the controller 202 may be configured to identify a location at which the damaged or missing disc 50 was initially detected, such as by mapping or georeferencing the location. Moreover, in some embodiments, the controller 202 may be configured to execute one or more implement-based or vehicle-based control actions, such as by controlling the operation of an actuator 230 of the implement 10 to adjust the penetration depth of the discs 50 or by bringing the implement 10 to a stop by controlling the operation of the associated work vehicle 14.
It is to be understood that the steps of the method 300 are performed by the controller 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 disc, solid-state memory, e.g., flash memory, or other storage media known in the art. Thus, any of the functionality performed by the controller 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 controller 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 controller 202, the controller 202 may perform any of the functionality of the controller 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 controller. 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 controller, 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 controller, 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 controller.
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.
