Tailings plug reduction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9560802-B1
Application number	US-201514799053-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jul 14, 2015
Priority date	Jul 14, 2015
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A sensor signal is received, and is indicative of a sensed parameter. A metric is generated that indicates a likelihood of a tailings elevator plug, based upon the sensed parameter. A controller determines whether adjustments to controllable mechanisms are to be made, based upon the metric, in order to avoid a tailings elevator plug and, if so, automatically makes the adjustments.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile machine, comprising:
a tailings conveying mechanism that conveys tailings in the mobile machine;
a controllable mechanism that is controllable to modify an amount of tailings in the tailings conveying mechanism;
a sensor sensing a parameter indicative of the amount of tailings in the tailings conveying mechanism and generating a sensor signal indicative of the sensed parameter; and
a controller that receives the sensor signal, compares it to an upper threshold for the tailings conveying mechanism and a lower threshold for the tailings conveying mechanism, and, if the signal is outside of a range bound by the upper and lower thresholds, automatically generates a control signal for the controllable mechanism to modify control of the controllable mechanism in order to return the amount of tailings in the tailings conveying mechanism to a level within the range.

2. The mobile machine of claim 1 further comprising a threshing mechanism that threshes processed material and wherein the tailings conveying mechanism comprises:
a tailings elevator that conveys the tailings to the threshing mechanism for re-threshing.

3. The mobile machine of claim 2 wherein the controller generates a tailings volume metric indicative of a tailings volume in the tailings elevator relative to a volume capacity of the tailings elevator, based on the sensor signal, wherein the upper threshold is an upper volume threshold and the lower threshold is a lower volume threshold.

4. The mobile machine of claim 3 wherein the controller generates a rate-of-change metric indicative of a rate-of-change of the tailings volume metric and controls the controllable mechanism based on the tailings volume metric and the rate-of-change of the tailings volume metric.

5. The mobile machine of claim 3 wherein the controllable mechanism comprises:
a sieve that has a controllable sieve clearance, the controller controlling the sieve clearance based on the tailings volume metric.

6. The mobile machine of claim 3 wherein the controllable mechanism comprises:
a chaffer that has a controllable chaffer opening, the controller controlling the chaffer opening based on the tailings volume metric.

7. The mobile machine of claim 3 wherein the controllable mechanism comprises:
a separator fan that has a controllable fan speed, the controller controlling the fan speed based on the tailings volume metric.

8. The mobile machine of claim 2 wherein the sensor comprises:
a plurality of different sensors sensing a plurality of different parameters indicative of the amount of tailings in the tailings elevator.

9. The mobile machine of claim 2 wherein the controllable mechanism comprises:
a plurality of different controllable mechanisms, each controllable to modify the amount of tailings in the tailings elevator.

10. A method of controlling a mobile machine, comprising:
sensing a parameter indicative of an amount of tailings in a tailings conveying mechanism that conveys tailings in the mobile machine;
generating a tailings volume metric indicative of a tailings volume in the tailings conveying mechanism, based on the sensed parameter;
comparing the tailings volume metric to an upper amount threshold for the tailings conveying mechanism and to a lower amount threshold for the tailings conveying mechanism;
detecting that the sensed parameter is outside a range defined by the upper amount threshold and the lower amount threshold; and
automatically controlling a controllable mechanism to adjust the amount of tailings in the tailings conveying mechanism based on the tailings volume metric, wherein the adjustment modifies tailings volume to return the amount of tailings to an amount within the range.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the controllable mechanism includes at least one of a sieve, a chaffer and a separator fan and wherein automatically controlling the controllable mechanism comprises:
controlling at least one of sieve clearance of the sieve, chaffer clearance of the chaffer or separator fan speed of the separator fan.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein controlling the controllable mechanism comprises:
if the tailings volume metric is above the high threshold, then controlling the controllable mechanism to reduce the tailings volume in the tailings conveying mechanism.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein controlling the controllable mechanism comprises:
if the tailings volume metric is below, but within a given offset from, the upper threshold, then inhibiting adjustments to the mobile machine that would increase the volume of tailings in the tailings conveying mechanism.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein automatically controlling comprises:
generating a rate-of-change metric indicative of a rate of change of the tailings volume metric; and
controlling the controllable mechanism based on the comparison of the tailings volume metric to the threshold value and based on the rate-of-change metric.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein controlling the controllable mechanism comprises:
if the tailings volume metric is below the low threshold value, then controlling the controllable mechanism to increase the tailings volume in the tailings conveying mechanism.

16. A computing system, comprising:
a sensor sensing a parameter indicative of the amount of tailings in a tailings conveying mechanism on a mobile machine and generating a sensor signal indicative of the sensed parameter; and
a controller that receives the sensor signal, compares it to an upper amount threshold and a lower amount threshold, and controls a controllable mechanism on the mobile machine to modify the amount of tailings in the tailings conveying mechanism such that the amount of tailings is below the upper amount threshold and above the lower amount threshold.

17. The computing system of claim 16 wherein the tailings conveying mechanism comprises a tailings elevator and wherein the controller generates a tailings volume metric indicative of a volume of tailings the tailings elevator and compares the tailings volume metric to a set of threshold values and controls the controllable mechanism based on how the tailings volume metric compares to the set of threshold values.

18. The computing system of claim 17 wherein the controller generates a rate-of-change metric indicative of a rate of change of the tailings volume metric and controls the controllable mechanism based on the rate-of-change metric.

19. The computing system of claim 16 wherein the mobile machine comprises a harvesting machine and wherein the controllable mechanism comprises a sieve, a chaffer and a fan, and wherein the controller controls sieve clearance of the sieve, chaffer clearance of the chaffer and fan speed of the fan based on the sensor signal.

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Palla Bhanu Kiran Reddy
• Hageman John M

Classifications

• A01F2012/188

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• A01F12/52 Primary

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• A01F12/18

  Threshing devices · CPC title

• A01D41/127 Primary

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