U.S. patent application number 13/429655 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-04 for pass predictor for agricultural harvesting machines.
This patent application is currently assigned to Ag Leader Technology. Invention is credited to Roger R. Zielke.
Application Number | 20120253760 13/429655 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46928320 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120253760 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zielke; Roger R. |
October 4, 2012 |
PASS PREDICTOR FOR AGRICULTURAL HARVESTING MACHINES
Abstract
A method of predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine
can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain
tank of the harvesting machine includes determining a reference
pass, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, an
optional reference pass distance, and a reference pass spatial
location. The method further includes determining an amount of crop
in the grain tank of the harvesting machine. The method further
includes calculating a number of predicted passes from a capacity
of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of crop in
the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference pass
amount of crop and displaying the number of predicted passes.
Inventors: |
Zielke; Roger R.; (Huxley,
IA) |
Assignee: |
Ag Leader Technology
Ames
IA
|
Family ID: |
46928320 |
Appl. No.: |
13/429655 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61470258 |
Mar 31, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
703/2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01D 41/127 20130101;
A01D 41/1275 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
703/2 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/10 20060101
G06F017/10 |
Claims
1. A method of predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine
can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain
tank of the harvesting machine, the method comprising: determining
a reference pass to use, the reference pass having a reference pass
amount of crop; determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of
the harvesting machine; calculating a number of predicted passes
from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the
amount of crop within the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and
the amount of crop associated with the reference pass; and
displaying the number of predicted passes on a display associated
with the harvesting machine.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference pass further having
a reference pass distance and a reference pass spatial
location.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of calculating the number
of predicted passes uses a predicted distance.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference pass is a most
recent pass by the harvesting machine through the field.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference pass is selected by
a user of the harvesting machine.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference pass is an adjacent
harvested pass.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference pass is an adjacent
harvested pass with one or more properties the same as a next
pass.
8. The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more properties include
at least one of crop variety, fertilizer applied, pesticide
applied, and length.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining a
reference pass is determining the reference pass from a set of
stored reference passes on a machine readable storage medium.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising identifying passes and
storing the passes as stored reference passes.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of identifying the
passes comprising determining a start of each of the passes and
determining an end of each of the passes.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the determining of the start of
each of the passes and determining the end of each of the passes is
performed by using at least one of header height status changes,
GPS readings, grain flow status changes, field boundaries, and
other completed passes.
13. A method of predicting the number of passes a harvesting
machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a
grain tank of the harvesting machine, the method comprising:
determining a reference pass, the reference pass having a reference
pass amount of crop, a reference pass distance, and a reference
pass spatial location; determining an amount of crop in the grain
tank of the harvesting machine; calculating (a) a number of
predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop, (b) a
predicted distance from the number of predicted passes and the
reference pass distance, and (c) a displayed predicted passes from
a harvested distance, the predicted distance, and the number of
predicted passes; and displaying the displayed predicted passes on
a display associated with the harvesting machine.
14. A system for predicting the number of passes a harvesting
machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a
grain tank of the harvesting machine, the system comprising: an
intelligent control; a global positioning system receiver
operatively connected to the intelligent control; a memory
operatively connected to the intelligent control, the memory
adapted to store previous pass information including amount of
crop; a display operatively connected to the intelligent control;
wherein the intelligent control is configured to perform steps of
(1) determining a reference pass from the previous pass
information, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of
crop, (2) determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, (3) calculating a number of predicted passes
from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the
amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the
reference pass amount of crop; and wherein the display is
configured to display the number of predicted passes.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the intelligent control is
further configured to calculate the number of predicted passes
using a predicted distance from the number of predicted passes and
a reference pass distance.
16. The system of claim 14 wherein the reference pass is a most
recent pass by the harvesting machine through the field.
17. The system of claim 14 wherein the reference pass is selected
by a user of the harvesting machine.
18. The system of claim 14 wherein the reference pass is an
adjacent harvested pass.
19. The system of claim 14 wherein the reference pass is an
adjacent harvested pass with one or more properties the same as a
next pass.
20. The system of claim 19 wherein the one or more properties
include at least one of crop variety, fertilizer applied, pesticide
applied, and length.
21. The system of claim 14 wherein the intelligent control is
further configured for identifying reference passes and storing the
passes in the memory.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein the identifying the passes is
performed by determining a start of each of the passes and
determining an end of each of the passes.
23. The system of claim 22 wherein the determining of the start of
each of the passes and determining the end of each of the passes is
performed by using at least one of header height status changes,
GPS readings, grain flow status changes, field boundaries, and
other completed passes.
24. The system of claim 14 further comprising a bin level sensor
operatively connected to the intelligent control and wherein the
intelligent control determines the amount of crop in the grain tank
of the harvesting machine using the bin level sensor.
25. The system of claim 14 further comprising a grain flow sensor
operatively connected to the intelligent control.
26. The system of claim 14 further comprising a header position
sensor operatively connected to the intelligent control.
27. The system of claim 14 further comprising user controls
operatively connected to the intelligent control and wherein the
system is configured to allow a user to select a reference pass
using the user controls.
28. A system for predicting the number of passes a harvesting
machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a
grain tank of the harvesting machine, the system comprising: an
intelligent control; a global positioning system receiver
operatively connected to the intelligent control; a memory
operatively connected to the intelligent control, the memory
adapted to store previous pass information including amount of
crop, pass distance and spatial location for each previous pass; a
display operatively connected to the intelligent control; wherein
the intelligent control is configured to perform steps of (1)
determining a reference pass from the previous pass information,
the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, a
reference pass distance, and a reference pass spatial location, (2)
determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting
machine, (3) calculating (a) a number of predicted passes from a
capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of
crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference
pass amount of crop, (b) a predicted distance from the number of
predicted passes and the reference pass distance, and (c) a
displayed predicted passes from a harvested distance, the predicted
distance, and the number of predicted passes; and wherein the
display is configured to display the displayed predicted passes.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
to provisional application Ser. No. 61/470,258 filed Mar. 31, 2011,
herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to agricultural harvesting
machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to pass
prediction for agricultural harvesting machines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The adage "time equals money" rings true for farmers at
harvest time. Bad weather alone can make a few extra days the
difference between a profit and a cash flow crunch. Farmers are
always on the look-out for ways to increase harvest efficiency.
[0004] Harvest efficiency diminishes when a full grain tank stops a
combine from harvesting; therefore, farmers try to provide enough
labor and machinery to unload combine harvesters on-the-go. FIG. 1
is an example of a grain cart unloading a combine on-the-go. FIG. 1
illustrates a field 10. Within the field 10 there is an unharvested
area 12 and a harvested area. A harvesting machine or combine 16
with a grain tank 18 is shown which is unloading grain into a grain
cart 22 being pulled by a tractor 20. One way to keep combines
harvesting is to predict the passes the combine can complete
without unloading its grain tank.
[0005] The passes a combine can complete without unloading will
vary throughout the course of harvesting a field. A combine
operator can harvest passes in the most efficient order if the
operator knows the passes that can and cannot be fully completed.
For example, if the operator knows the combine will have to be
unloaded midway through a long pass and the grain cart will not
make it back before the combine's tank fills; the operator may
choose to harvest shorter passes. Shorter passes take more time to
harvest because of frequent turns, which gives the grain cart more
time to get back to the combine. This makes better use of the
combine's time compared to waiting for the grain cart in a longer
pass.
[0006] Sometimes fields are harvested in `lands.` The combine
operator strikes through the field in certain spots so they can
harvest with their unloading auger always on the harvested side of
the field and harvesting in a counter-clock-wise motion. This
allows the grain cart to stay close to the combine allowing for
more efficient harvesting. FIG. 2 shows a combine 16 starting a new
land within a field. Notice the un-harvested crop 12 on both sides
of the machine. Combine operators need to pick a pass they know
they can make all the way through when opening a land. If the
combine gets full before the end of the pass, the combine will have
to waste time backing up to the beginning of the pass to
unload.
[0007] It is also useful for the grain cart operator to know
whether or not the combine can make it through its current pass. If
it can't, the grain cart operator knows to unload the combine
on-the-go on the current pass.
[0008] Two main factors are needed to predict passes. First, the
amount of grain that can be added to combine grain tank and second,
the amount of grain in the next pass. Various systems have been
used to indicate volume within a combine tank. For example, U.S.
Pat. No. 6,216,071 to Motz discloses a volume indicating system for
the combine tank. U.S. Pat. No. 8,032,255 to Phelan et al. also
discloses a system to monitor bin level of a combine tank. U.S.
Pat. No. 7,756,624 to Diekhans discloses a system that reconciles a
crop material quantity stored in the combine grain tank. What is
needed is a method of determining amount of grain that can be added
to combine tank.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,071 discloses a control system that
determines an expected time and location at which harvested crop
will reach a predetermined desired level in a combine tank. U.S.
Pat. No. 7,756,624 discloses using expected crop material yield to
determine the expected unloading point or unloading point in time
or remaining distance at which the crop material quantity must be
unloaded from the combine. What is needed is a method for
determining expected crop yield or how to predict which passes the
combine can harvest without unloading. Knowing remaining distance
and expected time is useful to a combine operator but it does not
resolve the problem of which passes can be completed without
unloading.
[0010] What is needed is a method and system for predicting the
number of passes that can be harvested before the combine tank
becomes full and needs unloading.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Therefore it is a primary object, feature, or advantage to
improve over the state of the art.
[0012] It is a further object, feature, or advantage to predict the
number of passes that can be harvested until the harvester tank
becomes full.
[0013] It is a still further object, feature, or advantage to
display the number of passes that can be harvested until the
harvester tank becomes full to an operator.
[0014] A further object, feature, or advantage is to determine
whether a particular pass within a field can be completed before
the combine tank becomes full and needs unloading.
[0015] A still further object, feature, or advantage of the present
invention is to determine where a pass begins and ends.
[0016] One or more of these and/or other objects, features, or
advantages will become apparent from the description and claims
that follow. No single embodiment need meet all objects, features,
or advantages.
[0017] According to one aspect, a method of predicting the number
of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without
unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine is
provided. The method includes determining a reference pass to use,
the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop and
determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting
machine. The method further includes calculating a number of
predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, the amount of crop within the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, and the amount of crop associated with the
reference pass. The method further includes displaying the number
of predicted passes on a display associated with the harvesting
machine.
[0018] According to another aspect, a system for predicting the
number of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field
without unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine
is provided. The system includes an intelligent control, a global
positioning system receiver operatively connected to the
intelligent control, a memory operatively connected to the
intelligent control, the memory adapted to store previous pass
information including amount of crop, and a display operatively
connected to the intelligent control. The intelligent control is
configured to perform steps of (1) determining a reference pass
from the previous pass information, the reference pass having a
reference pass amount of crop, (2) determining an amount of crop in
the grain tank of the harvesting machine, (3) calculating a number
of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop. The
display is configured to display the number of predicted
passes.
[0019] According to one aspect, a method of predicting the number
of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without
unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine is
provided. The method includes determining a reference pass, the
reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, a reference
pass distance, and a reference pass spatial location. The method
further includes determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of
the harvesting machine. The method further includes calculating (a)
a number of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of
the harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the
harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop, (b) a
predicted distance from the number of predicted passes and the
reference pass distance, and (c) a displayed predicted passes from
a harvested distance, the predicted distance, and the number of
predicted passes. The method also provides for displaying the
displayed predicted passes on a display associated with the
harvesting machine.
[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
system for predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine can
complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain tank
of the harvesting machine is provided. The system includes an
intelligent control, a global positioning system receiver
operatively connected to the intelligent control, a memory
operatively connected to the intelligent control, the memory
adapted to store previous pass information including amount of
crop, pass distance and spatial location for each previous pass,
and a display operatively connected to the intelligent control. The
intelligent control is configured to perform steps of (1)
determining a reference pass from the previous pass information,
the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, a
reference pass distance, and a reference pass spatial location, (2)
determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting
machine, (3) calculating (a) a number of predicted passes from a
capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of
crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference
pass amount of crop, (b) a predicted distance from the number of
predicted passes and the reference pass distance, and (c) a
displayed predicted passes from a harvested distance, the predicted
distance, and the number of predicted passes. The display is
configured to display the displayed predicted passes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a harvesting machine unloading into a
grain cart in a field.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a harvesting machine cutting a land in a
field.
[0023] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating one example of a
method for predicting the number of passes that can be harvested
before a harvester tank becomes full.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a harvesting machine
traveling through a field.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram of one example of a system for
performing pass prediction.
[0026] FIG. 6 is one example of a screen display for conveying
predicted pass information to a user.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The present invention provides for predicting the number of
passes that can be harvested before a harvester tank (or grain
tank) becomes full, or whether a particular pass can be completed
before harvester tank must be unloaded.
[0028] The number of predicted passes can be calculated based on
the capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the
amount of crop within the grain tank, and the amount of crop
associated with a reference pass.
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a method used for
predicting the number of passes that can be harvested before a
harvester tank becomes full. In step 30 the number of predicted
passes is determined by:
PREDICTED PASSES=(TOTAL AMOUNT OF CROP THAT HARVESTER TANK
HOLDS-CURRENT AMOUNT OF CROP IN HARVESTER TANK)/AMOUNT OF CROP IN
REFERENCE PASS
[0030] At this point, now that the number of predicted passes has
been calculated, this result may be displayed to a user to indicate
a number of predicted passes. However, additional steps 32, 34, 36
may be performed.
[0031] In step 32 a predicted distance of travel is determined
by:
PREDICTED DISTANCE=PREDICTED PASSES.times.DISTANCE OF REFERENCE
PASS
[0032] In step 34 the harvested distance is set to zero.
[0033] In step 36 the number of predicted passes which may be
displayed is calculated. The displayed predicted passes may be
determined as follows:
DISPLAYED PREDICTED PASSES=(1-HARVESTED DISTANCE/PREDICTED
DISTANCE).times.PREDICTED PASSES
[0034] After the number of displayed predicted passes has been
calculated in step 38 a determination is made as to whether crop is
unloaded from the harvester tank. If it is, then the process
returns to step 30 and the number of predicted passes is
re-calculated. If not, then in step 40, a determination is made as
to whether a different reference pass is selected. If it is, then
the process returns to step 30 and the number of predicted passes
is re-calculated. If not, the process returns to step 36 and the
displayed predicted passes is recalculated.
[0035] Steps 32, 34, and 36 are optional. These steps allow the
system to factor out variation in yield throughout the pass as the
combine harvests. Including these steps eliminates inflated or
deflated pass prediction while harvesting higher or lower yielding
parts of the pass.
[0036] To assist in performing the method, note that a reference
pass may be used. The system may store the total amount of crop,
total distance, and spatial location of every harvested pass within
the field. This information may be used in predicting whether other
passes may be completed without unloading the harvester tank.
[0037] FIG. 4 illustrates one example of a harvesting machine 16 as
it is making a pass through a field. Note that the field shown
includes a harvested area 14 and unharvested area 12.
[0038] FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a system that predicts the
number of passes that can be harvested until the harvester tank
becomes full. As shown in FIG. 5 an intelligent control 52 is shown
which may be a microcontroller, microprocessor, or other type of
intelligent control. A memory 54 is operatively connected to the
intelligent control 52. The memory 54 is a machine readable storage
medium on which information such as the total amount of crop, total
distance and spatial location of every harvested pass within the
field may be stored.
[0039] A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver may be
operatively connected to the intelligent control 52 to provide
spatial location information which may be used in defining or
recording the position of a pass or its start and end points within
a field. User controls 58 are also operatively connected to the
intelligent control 52. The user controls 58 may include buttons, a
touch screen interface, or other types of user controls. The user
controls 58 may be used by a user to select a harvested pass to use
as a reference pass.
[0040] Header position sensor(s) 62, bin level sensor 66, and grain
flow sensor(s) 64 may also be operatively connected to the
intelligent control 52. The bin level sensor 66 may be used to
determine the amount of crop in the harvest tank of the harvesting
machine. The grain flow sensors and/or the header position sensors
may be used to assist in determining the start point and end point
for a pass through a field. Where the header position is raised and
the grain flow sensors indicate no grain is flowing may indicate
that one pass is over. This information may also be combined with
position information or heading information from the GPS receiver
56 to assist the intelligent control in determining the start point
and the end point of a pass through the field. In addition, field
boundaries, and information about other passes may be used in
determining pass start points and end points.
[0041] A display 60 is also operatively connected to the
intelligent control 52. The display may be used to display
predicted pass information as well as other information which is
conventionally associated with a yield monitor of a harvesting
machine. FIG. 6 illustrates one example of a screen display 70
which may be displayed on the display 60. As shown in FIG. 6, the
number of predicted passes which may be harvested before unloading
is shown. It should further be appreciated that other information
may be present on the display at the same time. This may include
yield monitoring information, field mapping, or other information.
In addition to the number of predicted passes, the level of the bin
or tank may be displayed or other related information.
[0042] Returning to the system 50 of FIG. 5, the system may be used
to store the total amount if crop, total distance, and spatial
location information for every harvested pass within the field. The
information on each may be used as reference passes. The reference
passes may be selected by any of a number of different methods. A
reference pass may be determined manually or automatically. One
method of automatically selecting a reference pass is to use the
last pass harvested. Another method to automatically select a
reference pass is to use an adjacent harvested pass nearest to the
selected (unharvested) next pass. Another method of automatically
selecting the reference pass is to select the nearest adjacent pass
that has one or more properties in common with the selected next
pass. This may include the same variety or type of seed, the same
fertilizer, the same pesticide, the same length or other
properties.
* * * * *