Residue spread mapping

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12477982-B2
Application number	US-202217806048-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2022
Priority date	Jun 9, 2021
Publication date	Nov 25, 2025
Grant date	Nov 25, 2025

Abstract

Methods and systems for mapping the distribution of residue material in an environment in which one or more agricultural machines are operable. A sensing arrangement including one or more sensors mounted or otherwise coupled to an agricultural machine operating within the environment is used to obtain sensor data indicative of residue material spread by a spreader tool of the machine. A local distribution of material associated with the spreader tool is determined and used to update a map of a global distribution of the material across the environment. The map of the global distribution comprises one or more sub-regions categorized based on the local distribution dependent on material characteristics at those sub-regions.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A system for mapping the distribution of residue material in an environment in which at least one agricultural machine is operable, the system comprising:
a sensing arrangement comprising at least one sensor mounted or otherwise coupled to the agricultural machine operating within the environment; and at least one controller, configured to:
receive sensor data from the sensors indicative of the residue material spread by a spreader tool of the agricultural machine;
determine, from the sensor data, a local distribution of the residue material associated with the spreader tool;
update a map of a global distribution of the residue material across the environment based on the local distribution determined from the sensor data and a location of the agricultural machine, wherein updating the map comprises: assigning one of a plurality of categories to each of at least one sub-region of the environment based on the determined local distribution at a location of the particular sub-region, wherein the plurality of categories comprise:
a region corresponding to unharvested crop;
a region corresponding to harvested crop and where the residue material has been spread;
a region corresponding to standing crop and where the material has been spread into as the agricultural machine passed along an adjacent row in the environment; and
a region corresponding to an area of harvested crop where the residue material has been spread more than once as the agricultural machine passes along an adjacent row in the environment; and

cause the spreader tool of the agricultural machine to modify a distribution rate of the residue material when the agricultural machine travels through areas of the environment corresponding to the sub-regions where residue material has previously been spread.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the sub-regions comprises a bounding box about a region within the mapped environment assigned with the category of the particular sub-region.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein updating the map comprises at least one of the following:
generating a new sub-region within the mapped environment; reassigning a particular sub-region to a different category; and changing the size and/or shape of the sub-region within the mapped environment.

4 . The system of claim 1 , configured to control operation of a user interface which provides information corresponding to the mapped distribution.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the system is configured to control operation of the user interface and provide a graphical representation of the mapped distribution.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the graphical representation comprises a graphical illustration of the sensor data in the form of a two-dimensional map with the categorized sub-regions indicated.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the sub-regions are highlighted using different colors, shades and/or patterns such that they are visually distinct from other regions in the representation of the mapped distribution.

8 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the user interface comprises at least one of the following:
a user interface of the agricultural machine; a display on a remote device; and a user terminal on at least one further machine operating in the environment.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensing arrangement comprises an image sensor.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensing arrangement comprises a transceiver type sensor.

11 . The system of claim 1 , comprising or being communicably coupled to a position module operable to provide information relating to a location of an associated agricultural machine within or with respect to the mapped environment.

12 . The system of claim 1 , including or being communicably coupled to an inertial measurement unit used to determine an orientation of the agricultural machine within the environment.

13 . The system of claim 1 , comprising a distributed system with at least one component of the system located off-board from the agricultural machine.

14 . The system of claim 1 , comprising multiple agricultural machines, each comprising at least one sensor for obtaining sensor data, wherein each of the machines is communicable with a central processing unit having the controllers.

15 . An agricultural machine comprising the system of claim 1 .

16 . A method of mapping the distribution of residue material in an environment in which at least one agricultural machine is operable, the method comprising:
receiving sensor data from at least one sensor of a sensing arrangement mounted or otherwise coupled to the agricultural machine operating within the environment, wherein the sensor data is indicative of the residue material spread by a spreader tool of the agricultural machine; determining, from the sensor data, a local distribution of the residue material associated with the spreader tool; updating a map of a global distribution of the residue material across the environment based on a local material distribution determined from the sensor data and a location of the agricultural machine, wherein updating the map of the global distribution comprises assigning one of a plurality of categories to a sub-region of the environment based on the determined local distribution at a location of the particular sub-region, sub-region, wherein the plurality of categories comprise:
a region corresponding to unharvested crop;
a region corresponding to harvested crop and where the residue material has been spread;
a region corresponding to standing crop and where the material has been spread into as the agricultural machine passed along an adjacent row in the environment; and
a region corresponding to an area of harvested crop where the residue material has been spread more than once as the agricultural machine passes along an adjacent row in the environment; and
causing the spreader tool of the agricultural machine to modify a distribution rate of the residue material when the agricultural machine travels through areas of the environment corresponding to the sub-regions where residue material has previously been spread.

17 . A system for mapping the distribution of residue material in an environment in which at least one agricultural machine is operable, the system comprising:
a sensing arrangement comprising at least one sensor mounted or otherwise coupled to the agricultural machine operating within the environment; and at least one controller, configured to:
receive sensor data from the sensors indicative of the residue material spread by a spreader tool of the agricultural machine;
determine, from the sensor data, a local distribution of the residue material associated with the spreader tool; and
update a map of a global distribution of the residue material across the environment based on the local material distribution determined from the sensor data and a location of the agricultural machine,
wherein updating the map comprises: categorizing at least one sub-regions within the environment based on the determined local distribution to one of a plurality of categories comprising:
a region corresponding to unharvested crop;
a region corresponding to harvested crop and where the residue material has been spread;
a region corresponding to standing crop and where the material has been spread into as the agricultural machine passed along an adjacent row in the environment; and
a region corresponding to an area of harvested crop where the residue material has been spread more than once as

Assignees

• Agco Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Christiansen Martin Peter
• Buchaca Tarragona Ramon
• Laursen Morten Stigaard
• Mujkic Esma

Classifications

• A01D41/127

  Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines · CPC title

• A01B79/005

  Precision agriculture · CPC title

• A01F29/12

  Discharge means (loaders for hay or like field crop having blowers A01D87/10) · CPC title

• A01F12/40

  Arrangements of straw crushers or cutters · CPC title

• A01D41/1243 Primary

  Devices for laying-out or distributing the straw · CPC title