Forage Harvester Swath Sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016270286-A1
Application number	US-201415029518-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 28, 2014
Priority date	Oct 28, 2013
Publication date	Sep 22, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A forage harvester including a header for picking up a swath from a ground surface. The header includes a first and a second distance sensor adapted to measure a sensor-to-target distance respectively along a first and second sensor axis. The first distance sensor is mounted at a first lateral end of the header, and the second distance sensor is mounted at a second lateral end of the header. The first and second distance sensors are positioned such that, when the forage harvester is placed on an even ground surface, the first sensor axis crosses the second sensor axis before reaching the even ground surface in front of the harvester.

First claim

1 . A forage harvester comprising:
a header that is provided to pick up a swath from a ground surface, the header comprising a first and a second distance sensor being adapted to measure a sensor-to-target distance respectively along a first and second sensor axis, wherein the first distance sensor is mounted at a first lateral end of the header and wherein the second distance sensor is mounted at a second lateral end of the header, and wherein the first and second distance sensors are positioned such that, when the forage harvester is placed on an even ground surface, first sensor axis crosses the second sensor axis before reaching the even ground surface in front of the harvester.

2 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second distance sensors is a time-of-flight sensor.

3 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein the first and second distance sensors are symmetrically positioned with respect to an upright plane that comprises a central axis parallel to a travelling direction of the forage harvester.

4 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein the first and second distance sensors are mounted higher than 20 cm above the even ground surface, preferably higher than 30 cm above the even ground surface.

5 . The forage harvester of any one of claim 1 , wherein the first and second distance sensors are mounted lower than 60 cm above the even ground surface, preferably lower than 50 cm above the even ground surface.

6 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein the first and second distance sensors are positioned such that, when the forage harvester is placed on the even ground surface, the first sensor axis reaches the even ground surface in front of the harvester at a distance from the first distance sensor that is larger than 3 meter, preferably larger than 4 meter, more preferably larger than 5 meter, and at a distance from the first distance sensor that is smaller than 8 meter, preferably smaller than 7 meter.

7 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein the forage harvester is a self-propelled forage harvester.

8 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , further comprising a steering means and a controller operationally connected to the first and second distance sensor and provided for receiving a respective input from each of the first and second distance sensors, the controller being further operationally connected to the steering means of the forage harvester, wherein the controller is adapted to steer the forage harvester based on the respective input from each of the first and second distance sensors.

9 . The forage harvester of claim 8 , wherein the controller comprises a comparator operable to compare the respective input of the first distance sensor with the respective input of the second distance sensor to obtain a deviation, wherein the controller is adapted to steer the forage harvester based on the deviation.

10 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein the first and second distance sensors are positioned such that the first and second sensor axes show an angle with respect to the forward travelling direction of the forage harvester that is larger than 35 degrees, preferably larger than 40 degrees, and that is smaller than 55 degrees, preferably smaller than 50 degrees.

11 . The forage harvester of claim 1 , wherein the first sensor axis crosses the second sensor axis at a crossing point that is located at a distance from the first distance sensor that is substantially equal to the distance between the second distance sensor and the crossing point.

12 . A steering system for a forage harvester, the steering system comprising:
a steering means; and a controller operationally connected to a first and a second distance sensor being adapted to measure a sensor-to-target distance respectively along a first and second sensor axis, wherein the first and second distance sensors are provided to be respectively placed at a first and second lateral end of a header of the forage harvester such that when the forage harvester is placed on an even ground surface, the first sensor axis crosses the second sensor axis before reaching the even ground surface in front of the harvester, wherein the controller is configured to control the steering means based on an input from each of the first and second distance sensors.

13 . A method for steering a forage harvester using a steering system of claim 12 , the method comprising steps of:
providing a first sensor-to-target distance, determined via the first distance sensor to the controller; providing a second sensor-to-target distance, determined via the second distance sensor, to the controller; calculating a difference between the first sensor-to-target distance and the second sensor-to-target distance; and steering the forage harvester based on the calculated difference.

Assignees

• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Boydens Joachim
• Vanysacker Pieter
• Viaene Karel M C

Classifications

• A01D89/001

  Pick-up systems · CPC title

• A01B69/008 Primary

  automatic · CPC title

• A01B69/003 Primary

  Steering or guiding of machines or implements pushed or pulled by or mounted on agricultural vehicles such as tractors, e.g. by lateral shifting of the towing connection · CPC title

• A01D41/1278

  for automatic steering · CPC title

• A01B69/007

  Steering or guiding of agricultural vehicles, e.g. steering of the tractor to keep the plough in the furrow · CPC title