Sensor system for determining crop yield

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10716256-B2
Application number	US-201815967589-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 30, 2018
Priority date	Sep 15, 2017
Publication date	Jul 21, 2020
Grant date	Jul 21, 2020

Abstract

A sensor system for determining crop yield. The sensor system comprises a mounting structure mounted to a housing of a grain elevator of an agricultural work machine and has at least one aperture formed therein. A fulcrum assembly is arranged on the mounting structure. A rocker arm is pivotal about a pivot axis of the fulcrum assembly and extends between a first end and a second end. An engagement member is coupled to the second end of the rocker arm and extends through the at least one aperture of the mounting structure. At least one gap distance sensor is mounted to the fulcrum assembly and is configured to detect an inclination of the rocker arm relative to the fulcrum assembly. A processing device is coupled to the gap distance sensor and is configured to correlate the detected inclination of the rocker arm to an applied force.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor system for determining crop yield, the sensor system comprising:
a mounting structure mounted to a housing of a grain elevator of an agricultural work machine proximate a crop conveyor assembly arranged in the housing, the mounting structure comprising at least one aperture formed therein;
a fulcrum assembly arranged on the mounting structure and comprising a fulcrum element coupled to a base member;
a rocker arm pivotal about a pivot axis of the fulcrum assembly and arranged to extend between a first end and a second end;
an engagement member coupled to the second end of the rocker arm and arranged to extend through the at least one aperture of the mounting structure;
at least one gap distance sensor mounted to the base member of the fulcrum assembly and configured to detect an inclination of the rocker arm relative to the fulcrum assembly; and
a processing device coupled to the gap distance sensor, wherein the processing device is configured to correlate the detected inclination of the rocker arm to an applied force acting on the engagement member when a movable grain mass engages with the engagement member, and wherein the processing device is configured to determine an aggregate crop yield based on the applied force.

2. The sensor system of claim 1 further comprising a counter weight arranged at the first end of the rocker arm for balancing the rocker arm in a first position and a second position.

3. The sensor system of claim 2 , wherein the first position corresponds to a position of the rocker arm at rest, and wherein the second position corresponds to an inclined position of the rocker arm.

4. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gap distance sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor arranged on opposing sides of the fulcrum element, wherein the first sensor is configured to generate a first output signal and the second sensor is configured to generate a second output signal.

5. The sensor system of claim 4 , wherein the processing device is configured to compute a differential output signal based on a difference between respective the first output signal and the second output signal when the rocker arm is arranged in a first position to cancel out noise induced mechanical vibrations of the rocker arm.

6. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor and second sensor comprises one or more of the following: inductive sensors, capacitive sensors, piezoelectric sensors, photoelectric sensors, ultrasonic sensors, magnetic field sensors, or combinations thereof.

7. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the rocker arm comprises a stiffening member formed on at least one surface of the rocker arm, the stiffening member comprising a plurality of recessed grooves adjacently arranged to facilitate increased stiffening of the rocker arm.

8. The sensor system of claim 7 , wherein a depth of the plurality of recessed grooves is the same as the depth of an outer wall of the rocker arm.

9. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the rocker arm is spring loaded.

10. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein an upper end of the engagement member is engaged in flushed relation with a bottom surface of the second end of the rocker arm and a lower end is angled with respect to the an outer surface of the mounting structure.

11. The sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the engagement member is coupled to the rocker arm by at least three fastener elements.

12. The sensor system of claim 7 , wherein the engagement member is sized and shaped for movable insertion into the at least one aperture of the mounting structure.

13. The sensor system of claim 7 , wherein a first portion of the engagement member is coupled to a second portion of the engagement member, and wherein the first portion comprises a metallic material and the second portion comprises a material more resistant to abrasive wear compared to the first portion.

14. The sensor system of claim 8 , wherein a leading edge of the lower end of the engagement member is recessed approximately 1 mm from the outer surface of the mounting structure, and wherein a trailing edge of the engagement member extends approximately 1 mm from the outer surface of the mounting structure.

15. A method for determining crop yield, the method comprising:
detecting, with at least one gap distance sensor, an inclination of a rocker arm coupled to a mounting structure arranged within a housing of a grain elevator of an agricultural work machine;
correlating a degree of inclination of the rocker arm to an applied force acting on the engagement member, wherein the applied force is related to a flow rate of a mass of agricultural material engaged with the engagement member; and
determining a crop yield based on the applied force.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein detecting an inclination of a rocker arm further comprises determining a maximum or minimum rotational magnitude of the inclination in a differential sensing mode.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the differential sensing mode comprises utilizing two or more gap distance sensors that simultaneously output measurement signals which are subtracted to yield a measurement free of common-mode error.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one gap distance sensor comprises a first sensor and a second sensor arranged on opposing sides of the fulcrum element, wherein the first sensor is configured to generate a first output signal and the second sensor is configured to generate a second output signal.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the engagement member comprises an angled surface such that the mass of agricultural material engages the angled surface at an angle normal to the angled surface.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein applied force is a centripetal force.

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Rhodes Michael L
• Cowles Kevin P
• Anderson Noel W
• Advani Gurmukh H

Classifications

• A01D41/1272 Primary

  for measuring grain flow · CPC title

• A01D41/1271 Primary

  for measuring crop flow · CPC title

• G01G19/12

  having electrical weight-sensitive devices · CPC title

• A01D61/00

  Elevators or conveyors for binders or combines · CPC title

• G01G11/04

  having electrical weight-sensitive devices · CPC title