Agitation control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11665995-B2
Application number	US-201916265266-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2019
Priority date	Feb 1, 2019
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

The controller that receives at least one sensor signal indicative of a measured profile of a particulate material within a storage tank of an agricultural system. The controller also determines whether a variation between the measured profile and a target profile is greater than a threshold value. The controller outputs a first output signal to a user interface indicative of instructions to inform an operator of a profile variation, outputs a second output signal to an agitator indicative of activation of the agitator, or a combination thereof, in response to determining that the variation between the measured profile and the target profile is greater than the threshold value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An agitation control system, comprising:
a controller comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the controller is configured to:
receive at least one sensor signal indicative of a measured profile of a particulate material within a storage tank/hopper system of an agricultural system, wherein the measured profile corresponds to a distribution of the particulate material within the storage tank/hopper system;
determine whether a variation between the measured profile and a target profile is greater than a threshold value; and
output an output signal to an agitator system having an agitator within the storage tank/hopper system indicative of activation of the agitator system in response to determining that the variation between the measured profile and the target profile is greater than the threshold value.

2. The agitation control system of claim 1 , comprising at least one sensor communicatively coupled to the controller and configured to output the at least one sensor signal.

3. The agitation control system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors.

4. The agitation control system of claim 3 , wherein a first sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to be disposed at a middle portion of the storage tank/hopper system, a second sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to be disposed at a first end of the storage tank/hopper system, and a third sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to be disposed at a second end of the storage tank/hopper system.

5. The agitation control system of claim 1 , wherein the measured profile comprises a plurality of measured levels of the particulate material across the storage tank/hopper system, and the target profile comprises a corresponding plurality of target levels of the particulate material across the storage tank/hopper system.

6. The agitation control system of claim 5 , wherein the variation corresponds to one of the plurality of measured levels being lower than a corresponding one of the plurality of target levels.

7. The agitation control system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitance sensor, an electrostatic sensor, a LIDAR sensor, a camera, rotation sensor, load sensor, rotation sensor, position sensor, pressure sensor, or a combination thereof.

8. The agitation control system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to output another output signal to a user interface indicative of instructions to inform an operator of a profile variation.

9. The agitation control system of claim 1 , wherein activation of the agitator system causes the agitator of the agitator system to move the particulate material.

10. An agitation control system, comprising:
an agitator system comprising at least one drive system and an agitator driven by the at least one drive system, wherein the agitator is configured to be positioned within a storage tank/hopper system of an agricultural system over a product metering system and configured to distribute a particulate material across the product metering system;
at least one sensor disposed above the agitator, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to detect a measured profile of the particulate material within the storage tank/hopper system, wherein the measured profile corresponds to a distribution of the particulate material within the storage tank/hopper system; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor and configured to:
receive at least one sensor signal from the at least one sensor;
determine whether a variation between the measured profile and a target profile is greater than a threshold value; and
output an output signal to the at least one drive system indicative of activation of the agitator system in response to determining that the variation between the measured profile and the target profile is greater than the threshold value.

11. The agitation control system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of sensors.

12. The agitation control system of claim 11 , wherein at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors is disposed above a respective meter roller of the product metering system.

13. The agitation control system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitance sensor, an electrostatic sensor, a LIDAR sensor, a camera, rotation sensor, load sensor, rotation sensor, position sensor, pressure sensor, or a combination thereof.

14. The agitation control system of claim 10 , wherein the measured profile comprises a plurality of measured levels of the particulate material across the storage tank/hopper system, and the target profile comprises a corresponding plurality of target levels of the particulate material across the storage tank/hopper system.

15. The agitation control system of claim 14 , wherein the variation corresponds to one of the plurality of measured levels being lower than a corresponding one of the plurality of target levels.

16. The agitation control system of claim 11 , wherein a first sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to be disposed at a middle portion of the storage tank/hopper system, a second sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to be disposed at a first end of the storage tank/hopper system, and a third sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to be disposed at a second end of the storage tank/hopper system.

Assignees

• Cnh Ind Canada Ltd

Inventors

• Stuart Graham Douglas

Classifications

• B01F27/1145

  ribbon shaped with an open space between the helical ribbon flight and the rotating axis · CPC title

• B01F27/72

  with helices or sections of helices · CPC title

• B01F35/2212

  Level of the material in the mixer · CPC title

• B01F35/2209

  Controlling the mixing process as a whole, i.e. involving a complete monitoring and controlling of the mixing process during the whole mixing cycle · CPC title

• B01F27/1921

  comprising helical elements and paddles · CPC title