Adaptive rate control for feeding grain to a grain unloader conveyor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9254773-B2
Application number	US-47015309-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2009
Priority date	May 22, 2008
Publication date	Feb 9, 2016
Grant date	Feb 9, 2016

Abstract

The control of an apparatus within a grain holding device for feeding grain to an unloader conveyor operable for conveying the grain from the holding device, includes sensing a predetermined condition or conditions representative of capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving grain, and adaptively controlling the apparatus for feeding grain to the unloader conveyor in advantageous varying manners responsive to the conditions, including to delay initiation of feeding until the receiving capacity is increased, and to match the grain feed to the capacity. The automatic control can be overridden, to allow user control of unloader speed, and can be configured to allow cleanout of the unloader conveyor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of adaptive rate control for feeding grain to an unloader conveyor, comprising:
providing a grain holding device;
providing an unloader conveyor adjacent to the grain holding device, including a housing having an inlet end including an opening for receiving grain, an opposite outlet end including a discharge opening through which the grain can be discharged, an unloader conveyor element extending through the housing between the ends and operable for conveying the grain through the housing from the inlet end and discharging the grain through the discharge opening;
providing apparatus within the grain holding device operable for feeding the grain therein at a controllable rate into the opening of the inlet end of the unloader conveyor for conveyance thereby from the grain holding device;
automatically sensing at least one condition representative of a capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving the grain wherein automatically sensing comprises determining information representative of a resistance to rotation or a torque loading condition exerted against a drive of the apparatus that conveys the grain through the housing from the inlet end;
automatically controllably operating the apparatus in a variable manner as a function of the information representative of the resistance to rotation or the torque loading condition to automatically adapt a delay in feeding from the apparatus based on the resistance to rotation or the torque loading condition against the drive of the conveyer when feeding the grain to the inlet end of the unloader conveyor at a rate which is a function of the sensed capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving the grain.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of automatically sensing at least one condition comprises momentarily initiating the operation of the apparatus while sensing the at least one condition, to determine an initial capacity of the unloader to receive the grain, and the step of automatically controllably operating the apparatus comprises operating the apparatus at a rate which is a function of the determined initial capacity.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein subsequent to the initiation of the operation of the apparatus, the step of automatically sensing the at least one condition will be performed at least periodically and the rate adjusted responsive thereto.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the grain holding device comprises a grain tank of an agricultural harvester, and the apparatus comprises at least one cross conveyor located within the grain tank.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the apparatus comprises a fluid drive separate from a drive of the unloader conveyor element.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of automatically operating the apparatus in the variable manner comprises increasing a speed of operation of the apparatus responsive to an increase in the capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving the grain.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining information representative of a resistance to rotation or a torque loading condition comprises detecting a pressure condition exerted against the apparatus by the operation thereof in opposition to the grain within the unloader conveyor.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the apparatus will be operated only when the pressure condition is less than a threshold value.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the threshold value comprises a stall pressure of a drive of the apparatus.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the operation of the apparatus is controlled by a controller and the threshold value is a stored value.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an input device operable for overriding the automatic operation of the apparatus the input device wherein the input device is configured to be at least one of usable for controlling the apparatus for feeding the grain to the unloader conveyor at a limited rate less than a maximum rate for feeding the grain to the unloader conveyor and operable by an operator to cease operation of the apparatus and then cease operation of the unloader conveyor element sufficiently thereafter for emptying substantially all of the grain from the unloader conveyor.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically ceasing operation of the apparatus prior to cessation of operation of the unloader conveyor element sufficiently for cleaning substantially all of the grain from the unloader conveyor.

13. A method of adaptive rate control for feeding grain to an unloader conveyor, comprising:
providing a grain holding device;
providing an unloader conveyor extending from the grain holding device, including a housing having an inlet end including an opening for receiving grain, an opposite outlet end including a discharge opening through which the grain can be discharged, an unloader conveyor element extending through the housing between the ends and operable for conveying the grain through the housing from the inlet end and discharging the grain through the discharge opening;
providing apparatus within the grain holding device controllably operable for feeding the grain within the grain holding device at a varying rate to the inlet end of the unloader conveyor for conveyance thereby from the grain holding device;
automatically sensing at least one condition representative of a capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving the grain; and
automatically controllably operating the apparatus in a variable manner for feeding the grain to the inlet end of the unloader conveyor at a rate which is a function of the sensed capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving the grain; and
providing an input device operable for overriding the automatic operation of the apparatus the input device wherein the input device is at least one of configured for controlling upon input the apparatus for feeding the grain to the unloader conveyor at a limited rate less than a maximum rate for feeding the grain to the unloader conveyor and configured to be operable by an operator to cease operation of the apparatus and then cease operation of the unloader conveyor element sufficiently thereafter for emptying substantially all of the grain from the unloader conveyor.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least one condition representative of a capacity of the unloader conveyor for receiving the grain comprises a pressure condition.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the input device is further configured to be operable by an operator to either perform the step of momentarily initiating the operation of the apparatus, or an alternative step of simultaneously initiating the sustained operation of the apparatus and the unloader conveyor element.

16. The method of claim 13 , comprising a further step of automatically ceasing operation of the apparatus prior to cessation of operation of the unloader conveyor element sufficiently for cleaning substantially all of the grain from the unloader conveyor.

17. A method of adaptively controlling a rate of feeding grain to an unloader conveyor of an agricultural harvester, comprising:
providing a grain holding device on the harvester;
providing an unloader conveyor adjacent to the grain holding device, including a housing having an inlet end including an opening for receiving grain, an opposite outlet end including a discharge opening through which the grain can be discharged, an unloader conveyor element extending through the housing between the ends and operable for conveying the grain through the housing from the inlet end and discharging the grain throu

Assignees

• Farley Herbert M
• Young Steven C
• Ward Kevin W
• Holt Ii Edmund N
• Frego Jeffrey D
• Anderson Bruce E
• Cnh Ind America Llc

Inventors

• Farley Herbert M
• Young Steven C
• Ward Kevin W
• Holt Ii Edmund N
• Frego Jeffrey D
• Anderson Bruce E

Classifications

• B60P1/42 Primary

  mounted on the load-transporting element · CPC title

• A01D41/1217

  Unloading mechanisms · CPC title