Crop detection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12530729-B2
Application number	US-202318335425-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 15, 2023
Priority date	Sep 12, 2022
Publication date	Jan 20, 2026
Grant date	Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

A sugarcane sampling station includes a sugarcane sampling station including a structure defining a passageway through which a harvested material passes, a core sampler mounted to the structure, the core sampler comprising a coring rod configured to retrieve a sample of the harvested, a crop detection system mounted to the structure, the crop detection system comprising a sensing device configured to detect the harvested material, and a processor configured to determine a quality of the harvested material detected by the crop detection system based on an output of the sensing device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A sugarcane sampling station comprising:
a structure defining a passageway through which a harvested material passes; a core sampler mounted to the structure, the core sampler comprising a coring rod configured to retrieve a sample of the harvested material; a crop detection system mounted to the structure, the crop detection system comprising a sensing device configured to detect the harvested material; and a processor configured to determine a quality of the harvested material detected by the crop detection system based on an output of the sensing device.

2 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 1 ,
wherein a transport vehicle is configured to drive through the passageway, wherein the coring rod is configured to retrieve the sample of the harvested material from within a trailer of the transport vehicle, and
wherein the sensing device is configured to detect the harvested material within the trailer.

3 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 2 , wherein the sensing device includes a stereo camera or a lidar device configured to take images of a top surface of the harvested material within the trailer.

4 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 3 , wherein the sensing device further includes a radar sensor configured to measure a speed of the transport vehicle.

5 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 2 , wherein the processor is programmed to generate a topographical map of an upper layer of the harvested material within the trailer.

6 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 5 , wherein the processor is programmed to analyze the colors, shapes, and sizes of the topographical map to determine the quality of the harvested material.

7 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 5 , wherein the processor is programmed to calculate a density of the harvested material within the trailer based on the topographical map.

8 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 2 , wherein the sensing device includes a near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy device configured to identify moisture data and/or sugar content of the harvested material within the trailer.

9 . The sugarcane sampling station of claim 1 , wherein the processor is programmed to compare the quality of the harvested material detected by the crop detection system to a measured quality of the harvested material determined based on the sample retrieved by the core sampler.

10 . A crop detection system comprising:
a structure defining a passageway under which a transport vehicle is configured to drive; a sensing device configured to detect a harvested material within a trailer of the transport vehicle; and a processor configured to determine a quality of the harvested material based on an output of the sensing device, wherein the sensing device includes a stereo camera or a lidar device configured to take images of a top surface of the harvested material within the trailer.

11 . The crop detection system of claim 10 , wherein the sensing device further includes a radar sensor configured to measure a speed of the transport vehicle.

12 . The crop detection system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is programmed to generate a topographical map of an upper layer of the harvested material within the trailer.

13 . The crop detection system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is programmed to analyze the colors, shapes, and/or sizes of a plurality of areas of the topographical map to determine the quality of the harvested material.

14 . The crop detection system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is programmed to calculate a density of the harvested material within the trailer based on the topographical map.

15 . The crop detection system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is programmed to compare the quality of the harvested material detected by the crop detection system to a measured quality of the harvested material determined based on a sample retrieved by a core sampler.

16 . The crop detection system of claim 10 , wherein the sensing device includes a near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy device configured to identify moisture data and/or sugar content of the harvested material within the trailer.

17 . A crop detection system configured to determine a quality of a harvested material within a trailer of a transport vehicle, the crop detection system comprising:
a sensing device configured to analyze a visible layer of the harvested material within the trailer; and a processor programmed to:
generate a topographical map based of the visible layer; and
calculate a quality of the material based on the topographical map.

18 . The crop detection system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is programmed to calculate a quality of the material based on the topographical map by:
determining a weight of the harvested material within the trailer; calculating a density of the harvested material based on the weight and the topographical map; and comparing the calculated density to the density of a desired billet material.

19 . The crop detection system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is programmed to calculate a quality of the material based on the topographical map by analyzing the colors, shapes, and/or sizes of a plurality of areas of the topographical map.

20 . The crop detection system of claim 17 , wherein the sensing device includes a stereo camera and/or a lidar device.

21 . A crop detection system comprising:
a structure separate from a harvesting vehicle and defining a passageway under which a harvested and unprocessed crop is viewable, a sensing device mounted to the structure and configured to detect the harvested and unprocessed crop, and a processor configured to determine a quantity and a quality of the harvested and unprocessed crop based on an output of the sensing device, wherein the sensing device includes a near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy device configured to identify moisture data and/or sugar content of the harvested and unprocessed crop.

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Dugas Bryan E

Classifications

• G01S17/86

  Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders · CPC title

• G01S13/867

  Combination of radar systems with cameras · CPC title

• G01F23/804

  containing circuits handling parameters other than liquid level · CPC title

• G01F23/2928

  using light reflected on the material surface · CPC title

• G01S17/88

  Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications · CPC title