Harverster systems and methods for automated and semi-automated filling of groups of receiving vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12439852-B2
Application number	US-202217931728-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 13, 2022
Priority date	Oct 12, 2021
Publication date	Oct 14, 2025
Grant date	Oct 14, 2025

Abstract

Described herein are technologies that use LIDAR and computer vision to detect locations of receiving vehicles grouped together relative to a forage harvester and detect fill levels of crop material within each receiving vehicle and path and landing position of material expelled from the harvester into a bin of a receiving vehicle of the group. Such information is used as feedback for operating the harvester or one or more self-propelled vehicles moving the receiving vehicles. Some embodiments detect ground level in front of the harvester or the receiving vehicles and use such information as feedback. Some embodiments include a link to communicate the feedback to a GUI for user visualization of the feedback and semi-automated operations. For example, readings from LIDAR and a camera of the harvester detect a position and a crop material fill level for each receiving vehicle in the group, and the GUI outputs the information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus, comprising:
one or more cameras, configured to capture image data of a group of receiving vehicles and one or more vehicles moving the group of receiving vehicles near a harvester;
a LIDAR system, configured to:
scan in coordinates of respective parts of the group of receiving vehicles and the vehicle(s);
scan in coordinates of respective distributions of crop material in each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles; and
scan a crop material flow expelled from a spout of a discharge chute of the harvester; and

a computing system, configured to:
based on the scan of the crop material flow by the LIDAR system, determine an arc formed by the crop material flow;
determine a crop material path by extrapolating points along the arc formed by the crop material flow;
determine boundary parameters of a bin of a selected receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles based on:
(i) a receiving vehicle parts subset of the scanned in coordinates of the parts of the group of receiving vehicles, associated with parts of the selected receiving vehicle, and
(ii) a receiving vehicle crop distribution subset of the scanned in coordinates of the distributions of crop material of the group of receiving vehicles, associated with a crop distribution of the selected receiving vehicle;
process the captured image data to detect the group of receiving vehicles and the vehicle(s) moving the group of receiving vehicles and detect a location of the selected receiving vehicle and respective locations of other receiving vehicles in the group of receiving vehicles relative to the harvester;
compare the determined boundary parameters to the processed image data to validate and augment the determined boundary parameters;
determine an inner surface of the bin of the selected receiving vehicle within the validated and augmented boundary parameters; and
determine a landing point of the expelled crop material flow by curve fitting the determined crop material path to a point of intersection with the determined inner surface; and

process information determined by the computing system to generate a graphical representation of the processed information or to provide feedback to a control system of the harvester or the vehicle(s) moving the group of receiving vehicles, wherein the processed information comprises the determined crop material path, the determined boundary parameters, the determined inner surface, and the determined landing point.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computing system is configured to:
further process the captured image data to determine different fill levels of crop material at different regions within a receiving vehicle for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles; and
generate a receiving vehicle graphic for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles, which comprises a fill graphic of different fill levels of crop material, based on the further processed image data; and
generate a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising the generated receiving vehicle graphics and the graphical representation of the processed information.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein, in the further processing of the captured image data, the computing system is configured to, for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles, determine when an actual amount of crop material within a receiving vehicle has reached or exceeded a threshold amount,
wherein, for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles, the further processed image data comprises the actual amount of crop material within a receiving vehicle and an indication of whether the actual amount has reached or exceeds the threshold amount, and
wherein, for each generated receiving vehicle graphic of the generated receiving vehicle graphics, a generated receiving vehicle graphic comprises the actual amount of crop material within the receiving vehicle and the indication of whether the actual amount has reached or exceeds the threshold amount.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the generated GUI comprises an overhead view comprising the generated receiving vehicle graphics and the graphical representation of the processed information.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the generated GUI comprises a side view of the graphical representation of the processed information.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the generated graphical user interface comprises a side view of the harvester and an overhead view of the harvester.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein, for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles, the determined different fill levels of crop material are part of a topography of the crop material within the bin of the receiving vehicle and the generated receiving vehicle graphic comprises a topography map of the topography of the crop material within the bin.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein, for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles, the determined different fill levels of crop material are part of a topography of the crop material within the bin of the receiving vehicle and the generated receiving vehicle graphic comprises a topography map of the topography of the crop material within the bin.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computing system is configured to:
detect an image of the selected receiving vehicle, in the processing of the captured image data;
generate a bounding box that surrounds the detected imaged of the selected receiving vehicle;
detect boundaries of the selected receiving vehicle using edge detection, within the generated bounding box; and
compare the determined boundary parameters of the bin of the selected receiving vehicle, which were based on the scanned in coordinates, to the detected boundaries of the selected receiving vehicle within the generated bounding box to validate or augment the determined boundary parameters and to enhance the determination of the inner surface of the bin.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , comprising a control system of the harvester, wherein the control system of the harvester is configured to control a discharge direction of the spout of the discharge chute of the harvester based on the processed information determined by the computing system,
wherein the discharge direction is a direction in which the spout expels the crop material,
wherein the control of the discharge direction is at least partially based on the processed image data, the determined landing point, and a target landing point of the crop material, and
wherein the control system is configured to determine, via the computing system, control parameters of parts of the discharge chute to control the discharge direction based on the processed image data, the determined landing point, and the target landing point.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the computing system is configured to:
further process the captured image data to determine different fill levels of crop material at different regions within a receiving vehicle for each receiving vehicle of the group of receiving vehicles, which includes to determine different fill levels of crop material at different regions within the bin of the selected receiving vehicle; and
determine the target landing point according to the determined different fill levels within the bin of the selected receiving vehicle.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , comprising the discharge chute of the harvester, and wherein the discharge chute comprises:
a joint, configured to join the spout to an arm portion of the discharge chute; and
a position feedback sensor on or near the joint, configured to

Assignees

• Agco Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Christiansen Martin Peter
• Mujkic Esma
• Buchaca Tarragona Ramon
• Laursen Morten Stigaard
• Düring Jensen Kenneth
• Bilde Morten Leth

Classifications

• G05D1/689

  Pointing payloads towards fixed or moving targets (positioning towed, pushed or suspended implements G05D1/672) · CPC title

• G05D2105/15

  for harvesting, sowing or mowing in agriculture or forestry · CPC title

• A01D41/1217

  Unloading mechanisms · CPC title

• G05D1/0236

  in combination with a laser (lasers per se H01S) · CPC title

• A01D43/087

  with controllable discharge spout · CPC title