The present subject matter relates generally to agricultural implements and, more particularly, to systems and methods for monitoring the status of shank attachment members of an agricultural implement (e.g., the installation status of shank attachment members).
A wide range of agricultural implements have been developed and are presently in use for tilling, cultivating, harvesting, and so forth. Tillage implements, for example, are commonly towed behind tractors and may cover wide swaths of ground that include various types of residue. Such residue may include materials left in the field after the crop has been harvested (e.g., stalks and stubble, leaves, and seed pods). Good management of field residue can increase efficiency of irrigation and control of erosion in the field.
Tillers typically include ground-engaging tools, such as shanks and shank attachment members (e.g., shank points, chisels, etc.), configured to condition the soil for improved moisture distribution while reducing soil compaction from sources such as machine traffic, grazing cattle, and/or standing water. The shank attachment members are typically replaceable and come in a wide variety of configurations to accommodate different field conditions and desired results of the tilling operation. Unfortunately, when a shank attachment member falls off or otherwise decouples from its respective shank during operation, the shank attachment member is typically difficult to find and expensive to replace. In addition, the shank may also need to be replaced if the implement is operated for an extended period without a shank attachment member, which further increases the cost of a lost shank attachment member.
Accordingly, a system and method for improved monitoring of shank attachment members configured for use with an agricultural implement 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 installation status of shank attachment members of an agricultural implement. The system includes a shank assembly having a shank extending between a proximal end and a distal end opposite the distal end, with the proximal end of the shank being configured to be coupled to a portion of the agricultural implement. The shank assembly also includes a shank attachment member configured to be coupled to the distal end of the shank. The system further includes a load sensor provided in operative association with the shank assembly and being configured to generate data indicative of a load transmitted through the shank assembly. In addition, the system includes a computing system communicatively coupled to the load sensor, with the computing system being configured to determine an installation status of the shank attachment member relative to the shank based on the data received from the load sensor.
In another aspect, the present subject matter is directed to an agricultural implement including a frame and a plurality of shank assemblies supported relative to the frame. Each shank assembly includes a shank extending between a proximal end and a distal end opposite the distal end, with the proximal end of the shank being configured to be coupled to the frame. Each shank assembly also includes a shank attachment member configured to be coupled to the distal end of the shank. Additionally, the implement also includes a load sensor provided in operative association with a respective shank assembly of the plurality of shank assemblies and being configured to generate data indicative of a load transmitted through the respective shank assembly. The implement also includes a computing system communicatively coupled to the load sensor, with the computing system being configured to determine an installation status of the shank attachment member of the respective shank assembly based on the data received from the load sensor.
In a further aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a method for monitoring the installation status of a shank attachment member of an agricultural implement, with the agricultural implement comprising a shank assembly including a shank and a shank attachment member configured to be coupled to the shank. The method includes receiving, with a computing system, data indicative of a load being transmitted through the shank assembly; determining, with the computing system, when a change in the installation status of the shank attachment member occurs based on the data; and initiating, with the computing system, a control action when it is determined that a change in the installation status of the shank attachment member has occurred.
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:
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 still a 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 determining the status of shank attachment members of an agricultural implement, such as the installation status or presence of a shank attachment member on an associated shank. Specifically, in several embodiments, a computing system may be configured to receive data from one or more sensors configured to generate data indicative of the presence of a shank attachment member. For example, an agricultural implement may include a plurality of shank assemblies, with each shank assembly including a shank and a shank attachment member configured to be coupled to a distal end of the shank. In such an embodiment, the agricultural implement may also include one or more sensors for detecting the presence of one or more of the shank attachment members. For instance, in one embodiment, a load sensor(s) may be provided in operative association with each shank assembly that detects the load applied through the shank assembly. In such an embodiment, it may be determined when a given shank attachment member(s) has fallen off or otherwise become decoupled from its associated shank based on variations in the monitored load, such as a change in the magnitude and/or direction of the monitored load.
Regardless of the sensor configuration, the computing system may be configured to monitor an input from the associated sensor(s) to determine when a given shank attachment member is no longer installed on its respective shank. In response to such a determination, the computing system may, for example, indicate the status of the monitored shank attachment member(s) (e.g., via a user interface) to the operator, and/or initiate one or more other control actions, such as raising the frame of the implement and/or stopping the implement, based on the monitored status of the shank attachment member.
Referring now to the drawings,
As is generally understood, the agricultural implement 10 may be used to till a field to prepare the soil by plowing, ripping, turning, and/or the like. In doing so, a portion of the soil residue, such as plant stalks and/or weeds, may be removed during the tilling process. In addition, the soil may be loosened and aerated, which in turn facilitates deeper penetration of crop roots. The tilling process may also help in the growth of microorganisms present in the soil and thus, maintain the fertility of the soil.
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The attachment structure 130 (e.g., first, second, and third attachment members 132, 134, 136) may generally be configured for pivotally coupling the shank 102 to the implement frame 14 (e.g., at a first pivot point 138). For instance, as shown in
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During normal operation, the shank point 104 is retained in its installed state relative to the shank 102 (e.g., via the bolted or pinned connection) to allow the shank assembly 100 to function as intended. However, in certain instances, the shank point 104 may fall off of or may otherwise become decoupled from the shank 102. For example, when the fastener 126 coupled between the shank point 104 and the shank 102 breaks or fails, the shank point 104 is susceptible to becoming disengaged from the shank 102. In many instances, upon failure of the fastener 126, the shank point 104 will be maintained in its position relative to the distal end 108 of the shank 102 while the shank assembly 100 is at its working position due to the backwards force applied on the point 104 by the soil. However, when the implement 10 reaches the headlands and the shank assemblies 100 are raised out of the ground to make a headland turn, the shank point 104 will fall off due to the soil resistive force being no longer present. In other instances, the shank point 104 will simply decouple from the shank 102 during the performance of the tillage operation within the field, which may result in the point 104 being lost underneath the soil surface. Regardless, with the shank point 104 no longer installed on the shank assembly 100, the shank 102 will not properly function as intended (e.g., to fracture the hard pan and mix the soil), thereby reducing the agronomic output of the implement 10.
In accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, one or more sensors may be provided in operative association with each shank assembly 100 of the implement 10 to monitor the installation status of each shank point 104 relative to its associated shank 102. Specifically, in several embodiments, one or more load sensors 160 may be provided in operative association with each shank assembly 100 to monitor the loads applied through the shank assembly 100, which may, in turn, provide an indication of the installation status of the corresponding shank point 104. For instance, when the shank point 104 is installed on the shank 102, the load applied through the shank assembly 100 may generally be expected to have a magnitude falling within a given baseline load range and/or may generally be expected to be oriented in a given direction, such as by having a first expected load magnitude/direction when the shank assembly 100 is in the lowered position (e.g., with the shank point 104 being moved through the soil during the performance of a tillage operation) and a second expected load magnitude/direction when the shank assembly 100 is in the raised position (e.g., when the shank point 104 is raised out of the ground during a headlands turn). However, when the shank point 104 falls off or otherwise becomes decoupled from the shank 102, the magnitude and/or direction of the load applied through the shank assembly 100 will change, thereby indicating that the shank point 104 is no longer present on the shank 102. As will be described below, an associated computing system may be configured to continuously monitor the load applied through each shank assembly 100 based on the sensor data received from the load sensor 160 to detect load variations (e.g., in magnitude and/or direction) that are indicative of the shank point 104 being no longer installed on the shank 102. The computing system may then initiate one or more control actions, as desired, in response to determining that the installations status of the shank point 104 has changed.
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By providing the load sensor 160 at the pivot point 150 as shown in
It should be appreciated that, as an alternative to installing the load sensor 160 at the second pivot point 150, the load sensor 160 may be installed at any other suitable location on or within the shank assembly 100 that allows the load sensor 160 to generate data indicative of the load applied through the shank assembly 100. For instance, in one embodiment, a load sensor 160 (e.g., a stain gauge) may be installed on the shank 102 or a component of the attachment structure 130 to provide data indicative of the load applied through the shank assembly 100. In another embodiment, a load sensor 160 (e.g., a load pin or load cell) may be installed at the first pivot point 138 to provide data indicative of the load applied through the shank assembly 100.
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It should be appreciated that, in several embodiments, the computing system 202 may correspond to an existing computing system 202 of the agricultural implement 10 and/or of the work vehicle to which the implement 10 is coupled. 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 implement 10 and/or associated work vehicle to allow for the disclosed system and method to be implemented without requiring additional software to be uploaded onto existing control devices of the implement 10 and/or vehicle.
In some embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to include a communications module or interface 210 to allow for the computing system 202 to communicate with any of the various other system components described herein. For instance, in several embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to receive data from one or more sensors of the agricultural implement 10 that are used to monitor the status of the shank points 104, such as one or more of the load sensors 160 described above. The computing system 202 may be communicatively coupled to the sensor(s) 160 via any suitable connection, such as a wired or wireless connection, to allow data indicative of the installation status of the shank points 104 to be transmitted from the sensor(s) 160 to the computing system 202.
As will be described below, the computing system 202 may be configured to determine the installation status of each of the shank points 104 based on the data received from the sensors 160. For example, the computing system 202 may include one or more suitable algorithms stored within its memory 206 that, when executed by the processor 204, allow the computing system 202 to determine the installation status of the shank points 104 based on the data from the sensor(s) 160. The computing system 202 may be configured to monitor the installation status of each shank point 104 periodically, continuously, or only as demanded by an operator of the implement 10. For example, in some embodiments, the computing system 202 may collect data from the sensors 160 periodically based on some predetermined delay period or sampling frequency.
In several embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to determine the installation status of each of the shank points 104 by detecting variations in the load data received from the load sensor 160 installed relative to the associated shank assembly 100. As described above, the magnitude and/or the direction of the load applied through a given shank assembly 100 may vary based on the installation status of the associated shank point 104. For instance, with a shank assembly 100 moved to its raised position, a significant reduction in the downwardly oriented vertical load may be experienced when the shank point 104 has fallen off its associated shank 102. Similarly, with a shank assembly 100 moved to its lowered position, a significant change in the vertical and/or horizontal load (e.g., including a change in the direction of the vertical load) may be experienced when the shank point 104 has fallen off its associated shank 102.
These load variations may be detected by each load sensor 160 and subsequently used by the computing system 202 to determine when the installation status of a given shank point 104 has changed. For instance, the computing system 202 may be configured to compare the magnitude and/or direction of the monitored load to one or more associated thresholds and/or conditions selected so as to provide an indication as to whether a given shank point 104 is still installed on its respective shank 102. In such an embodiment, the threshold(s) and/or condition may vary depending on whether the load data was collected while the shank assembly 100 was at its lowered or raised position. For instance, one or more first thresholds and/or conditions may be used to analyze load data collected while the shank assembly 100 is at its lowered position, while one or more second thresholds and/or conditions may be used to analyze load data collected while the shank assembly 100 is at its raised position.
Further, in some embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to indicate the installation status (e.g., the presence or lack thereof) of each of the shank points 104. For example, in the embodiment shown in
Additionally, in several embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to indicate to an operator the location within the field at which each monitored shank point 104 falls off or otherwise becomes decoupled from its respective shank 102. For example, in the embodiment shown in
In further embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to perform one or more implement-related control actions based on the determination of the installation status of the shank points 104. Specifically, in some embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to control one or more components of the agricultural implement 10 based on the determination of the installation status of the shank points 104. For example, as shown in
Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the computing system 202 may be configured to perform one or more vehicle-related control actions based on the determination of the installation status of the shank points 104. For example, as shown in
It should be appreciated that, depending on the type of computing system 202 being used, the above-described control actions may be executed directly by the computing system 202 or indirectly via communications with a separate controller. For instance, when the computing system 202 corresponds to an implement controller of the implement 10, the computing system 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 vehicle towing the implement 10 (e.g., using an ISObus communications protocol). Similarly, when the computing system 202 corresponds to a vehicle controller of the vehicle towing the implement 10, the computing system 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 computing system 202 may be configured to execute both the implement-based control actions and the vehicle-based control actions directly or the computing system 202 may be configured to execute both of such control action types indirectly via communications with a separate controller.
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Additionally, at 304, the method 300 may include determining when a change in the installation status of a shank attachment member of the shank assembly occurs based on the data. Specifically, as indicated above, the computing system 202 may be configured to monitor the load data received from the sensor(s) 160 to detect variations in the loads transmitted through the shank assembly 100 that may be indicative of the associated shank point 104 falling off or otherwise becoming decoupled from its respective shank 102. Such a determination of the loss of a given point 104 or other shank attachment member would be indicative of a change in the installation status of such shank attachment member.
Moreover, at 306, the method 300 may include initiating a control action when it is determined that a change in the installation status of the shank attachment member has occurred. For example, as indicated above, the computing system 202 may be configured to initiate one or more control actions (e.g., one or more implement-based and/or vehicle-based control actions) in response to determining that the installation status of a given shank attachment member has occurred. Suitable control actions may include, but are not limited to, providing the operator with an indication of the installation status of the shank attachment member (e.g., via the user interface 212 and/or associated display 214), controlling the operation of one or more components of the implement 10 (e.g., the frame actuators 14A), controlling the operation of one or more components of the vehicle towing the implement 10 (e.g., one or more drive members 218) and/or the like.
It is to be understood that, in several embodiments, 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 disc, solid-state memory, e.g., flash memory, or other storage media known in the art. Thus, in several embodiments, 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 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.