Self-propelled agricultural work machine with a measuring device

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a self-propelled agricultural machine for taking in harvested crops and for processing and conveying a crop flow formed from the taken-in crops and a measuring device for this self-propelled agricultural machine.

[0002] Self-propelled agricultural machines, such as combine harvesters and forage harvesters, pick up crops from the field and process them with a variety of implements to maximize the grain yield and load it into the harvester's grain tank. These implements are controllable, and their parameters—that is, their operating parameters—can be adjusted. Depending on these parameter settings and prevailing conditions, the quality of the harvested crop can vary. Modern harvesters are typically equipped with control and regulation devices for managing these implements and adjusting their parameters, which the operator can control from the driver's cab.In combine harvesters, these working devices include, for example, the threshing unit, which regularly includes a threshing concave and a number of threshing organs, as well as a cleaning device with a blower and several sieves, which is subordinate to the threshing unit in the direction of movement of the harvested crop flow.

[0003] Depending on the type of crop being harvested, such as rapeseed, wheat, or barley, and the prevailing conditions in and around the field (including factors like moisture, crop height, and soil composition), different control and parameter settings of the harvesting equipment are required to achieve the highest possible crop quality and yield. For example, high proportions of broken kernels and impurities in the harvested crop are undesirable.

[0004] From EP 2 189 781 A2, a measuring arrangement for the spectroscopic investigation and throughput measurement of a crop flow is known. This measuring arrangement comprises a spectrometer, a light source, a window, a dispersive element, and a detector. During operation, the light source illuminates the crop flow through the window, and light reflected from the crop flow passes through the window onto the dispersive element, which deflects it in different directions onto the detector depending on the wavelength. The measuring arrangement also includes a throughput measurement device with a baffle plate that interacts with the crop flow. The window is located in the area below the maximum curvature of the baffle plate and is fixed to the baffle plate in a corresponding cutout. This window protrudes into the flow path of the crop flow and disturbs the flow, causing, for example, undesirable turbulence.Furthermore, a spectrometer cannot be used to generate an image series of the harvested crop flow.

[0005] From EP 2 401 906 A1 a self-propelled agricultural machine according to the preamble of claim 1 is known.

[0006] The present invention is based on the objective of providing an improved or at least an alternative embodiment of a measuring device for a self-propelled agricultural machine, wherein in particular the positioning and / or the design of the components of the measuring device with respect to the crop flow is provided in such a way that a more compact and / or cost-effective design of the measuring device is enabled.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0008] The present invention is based on the general idea that a camera device is arranged at least partially in and / or on a baffle plate against which the crop flow impacts during the operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine.

[0009] The self-propelled agricultural machine according to the invention for taking in harvested crops and for processing and conveying a crop flow formed from the taken-in crops can be designed as a combine harvester and a forage harvester. The self-propelled agricultural machine has a measuring device for measuring the crop flow.

[0010] The measuring device includes a camera for capturing a series of images of the crop flow and a throughput measuring device for measuring the crop flow rate. Additionally, the measuring device includes a baffle plate against which the crop flow impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine. The position of the baffle plate depends on the crop flow rate and is detected by the throughput measuring device. The measuring device can be positioned at the outlet of a grain elevator of the self-propelled agricultural machine that conveys the crop upwards from a cleaning unit.

[0011] The throughput measuring device for throughput measurement can be designed as a force measuring cell, in particular as a load cell and / or as a platform load cell.

[0012] The camera device is at least partially integrated into and / or attached to the deflector plate. This has the particular advantage that both the camera device and the deflector plate are positioned at a point relative to the crop flow where the crop stream is not segregated. This ensures that the crop presses against the camera device in such a way that optimal, especially high-contrast, images of the crop can be generated, while simultaneously positioning the deflector plate at the point where a maximum of the crop stream flows towards and is deflected. The force exerted during the deflection of the crop stream is the measure of the grain throughput and thus of the yield.

[0013] According to the invention, the throughput measuring device is connected to the impact plate via the camera device.

[0014] In other words, the throughput measuring device is connected to the camera device, while the camera device is connected to the deflector plate. This allows the force acting on the deflector plate and / or the camera device when the crop flow is deflected to be transferred via the camera device to the throughput measuring device. This results in a more compact and cost-effective design for the measuring device.

[0015] In an advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the camera device comprises an optically transparent housing element, wherein the camera device is arranged in and / or on the impact plate such that this optically transparent housing element, in addition to the impact plate, forms an impact zone against which the crop flow impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine. The impact plate can be made of an optically opaque material. The optically transparent housing element can, for example, be a disc, in particular a glass disc. The optically transparent housing element can form a lens. The optically transparent housing element can be made of a material that is sufficiently transparent to visible light. This results in a more compact and cost-effective design of the measuring device.

[0016] In an advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the impact plate has a curved impact surface against which the crop flow impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine, and the transparent housing of the camera device also has a curved housing surface against which the crop flow impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine. The curved housing surface can form the transparent housing as a lens of the camera device.

[0017] In an advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the curved housing surface and the curved impact surface are each concavely curved. Here, the curved housing surface and the curved impact surface can each be concavely curved when viewed from the direction of the crop flow and / or from a sprocket of a grain elevator of the self-propelled agricultural machine.

[0018] In an advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the transparent housing and the baffle plate are designed, in particular shaped, aligned, and / or positioned, such that the housing surface is neither projecting forward nor recessed relative to the baffle surface. Such an arrangement has the advantage that the transparent housing of the camera device can not only be positioned particularly close to the crop flow and its presence has minimal impact on the guidance of the crop flow along the transport path, but it also ensures that the components of the crop flow themselves clean the transparent housing by impacting it. This effectively prevents dust accumulation.

[0019] In an advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the camera device comprises at least one image sensor for capturing two-dimensional images of the crop flow. Such a two-dimensional image of the crop flow forms a two-dimensional picture, in particular a digital two-dimensional image, of the crop flow. Broken grains and non-grains in the crop flow can be identified using such a two-dimensional image.

[0020] In an advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the measuring device for measuring the crop flow is arranged at the upper end of a grain elevator of the self-propelled agricultural machine. The measuring device can be arranged at the outlet of the grain elevator, in particular at the outlet of the upward-conveying grain elevator.

[0021] In an advantageous further development of the solution according to the invention, it is provided that the measuring device has a moisture sensor for measuring the moisture content of the harvested crop flow.

[0022] In an advantageous further development of the solution according to the invention, it is provided that the moisture sensor is arranged on and / or in the impact plate.

[0023] In an advantageous further development of the solution according to the invention, it is provided that the self-propelled agricultural machine has an evaluation device for determining the crop parameter "broken grain fraction" (BKA) of the crop flow and / or the crop parameter "non-grain fraction" (NKA) of the crop flow based on an image analysis of the recorded image series.

[0024] The terms "broken kernel percentage" and "non-kernel percentage" refer, on the one hand, to the proportion of broken kernels among all kernels in the crop flow, and, on the other hand, to the proportion of material in the crop flow that is not a kernel in the sense of the harvested crop. Thus, the non-kernel percentage can also include material that, while technically kernels, is not part of the currently harvested crop. This broken kernel or non-kernel percentage can refer to the area of ​​the image currently captured by the corresponding image series or to a specific, just-captured partial volume of the crop flow. Preferably, however, the broken kernel percentage and / or the non-kernel percentage is related to the throughput of the main crop flow, i.e., the entirety of the main crop flow as it passes through the harvesting machine, and specifically the combine harvester.

[0025] The determined fraction of broken grains and / or non-grain particles can be based on a single image from the image series, on the entire image series, or on a specific selection of one or more images from the image series. One or more images from the image series can be selected that represent the best image according to a quality criterion. Such a quality criterion could be a particularly suitable brightness, contour, or contrast distribution. The evaluation device essentially performs an image analysis of the image series or a portion thereof, in which broken grains and non-grain particles are preferably first identified in the image using suitable algorithms. The area occupied by the broken grains and non-grain particles on the two-dimensional image is then calculated as an area ratio, and this area ratio is extrapolated to a volume fraction using a suitable extrapolation function.

[0026] Furthermore, the invention relates to the measuring device for a self-propelled agricultural machine, with reference being made to the preceding and following explanations regarding the measuring device with regard to the design of the measuring device.

[0027] Further important features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the drawings and the associated description of the figures based on the drawings.

[0028] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those to be explained below can be used not only in the combinations specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, without leaving the scope of the present invention.

[0029] Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description, wherein identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar or functionally identical components.

[0030] They show, schematically, Fig. 1 is a side view of a self-propelled agricultural machine, and Fig. 2 is a side view of a grain elevator of the self-propelled agricultural machine. Fig. 1 .

[0031] The Fig. 1 Figure 1 shows a self-propelled agricultural machine 1 for taking in crops 2 and for processing and conveying a crop stream 3 formed from the taken-in crops 2, wherein the crop stream 3 is in the Fig. 2 is shown.

[0032] During operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1, a driver, located in a driver's cab 22, drives the self-propelled agricultural machine 1 through a crop and picks up the crop 2 with a cutting unit 24. This crop 2 is conveyed to the threshing unit, which has threshing elements 27 and threshing concaves 26, by means of an inclined conveyor 25.

[0033] The harvested material flows via a deflection drum 34 into the separating device 33, designed here as a separating rotor, in which freely moving grains of the harvested material are separated into a lower section. From here, the harvested material flows via the return floor 32 to a cleaning device 30, which, as shown here, consists of several sieve levels 31 and a blower 28. From here, a grain elevator 13 finally conveys the harvested material to the grain tank 35.

[0034] The components of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1 mentioned so far represent controllable implements 29 of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1, which can be controlled and / or regulated by means of an evaluation device 14 and / or a control device 23. For this control and / or regulation, the evaluation device 14 and / or a control device 23 can access information from a measuring device 4, which is located in the Fig. 2 is shown.

[0035] The measuring device 4 for measuring the crop flow 3 is arranged at the upper end of a grain elevator 13 of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1. The grain elevator 13 has a conveyor chain 15 on which conveying elements 16 for conveying the crop 2 are formed, the conveyor chain 15 being driven by at least one sprocket 17. The grain elevator 13 has a cover section 18 and a guide section 19 detachably attached thereto, with a guide surface 20, the measuring device 4 being detachably attached to the guide section 19 by means of a bracket 21. The measuring device 4 is arranged at the outlet of the upward-conveying grain elevator 13.

[0036] The measuring device 4 comprises a camera device 5 for recording a series of images of the crop flow 3 and a throughput measuring device 6 for measuring the throughput of the crop flow 3. Additionally, the measuring device 4 includes a deflector plate 7 against which the crop flow 3 impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1. The position of the deflector plate 7 depends on the throughput of the crop flow 3 and is detected by the throughput measuring device 6. The throughput measuring device 6 can be configured as a force measuring cell, in particular as a load cell and / or as a platform load cell.

[0037] The camera device 5 is at least partially arranged in and / or on the deflector plate 7. This has the particular advantage that both the camera device 5 and the deflector plate 7 are positioned at a point relative to the crop flow 3 where the crop 2 of the crop flow 3 is not segregated. This ensures that the crop 2 rests against the camera device 5 in such a way that optimal, especially high-contrast, images of the crop 2 can be generated, and at the same time the deflector plate 7 is positioned at the point where a maximum of the crop 2 of the crop flow 3 flows towards and is deflected. The force during the deflection of the crop 2 of the crop flow 3 is the measure of the grain throughput and thus of the yield.

[0038] The throughput measuring device 6 is connected to the deflector plate 7 via the camera device 5. In other words, the throughput measuring device 6 is connected to the camera device 5, while the camera device 5 is connected to the deflector plate 7. This allows the force acting on the deflector plate 7 and / or the camera device 5 when the crop flow 3 is deflected to be transmitted to the throughput measuring device 6 via the camera device 5.

[0039] The camera device 5 has an optically transparent housing element 8, wherein the camera device 5 is arranged in and / or on the impact plate 7 such that this optically transparent housing element 8 forms an impact zone in addition to the impact plate 7, against which the crop flow 3 impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1. The optically transparent housing element 8 can, for example, be a disc, in particular a glass disc, and may, for example, form an optical lens.

[0040] The impact plate 7 has a curved impact surface 9 against which the crop flow 3 impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1, and the transparent housing 8 of the camera device also has a curved housing surface 10 against which the crop flow 3 impacts during operation of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1. The curved housing surface 10 can form the transparent housing 8 into a lens of the camera device 5.

[0041] The curved housing surface 10 and the curved impact surface 9 are each concavely curved. The curved housing surface 10 and the curved impact surface 9 can each be concavely curved when viewed from the perspective of the crop flow 3 and / or from the sprocket 17 of the grain elevator 13 of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1.

[0042] The transparent housing piece 8 and the baffle plate 7 are designed, in particular shaped, aligned, and / or positioned, such that the housing surface 10 is neither projecting in front of nor recessed from the baffle surface 9. This arrangement has the advantage that the transparent housing piece 8 of the camera device 5 can not only be positioned particularly close to the crop flow 3, and its presence has minimal impact on the guidance of the crop flow 3 along the crop transport path, but it also ensures that the components of the crop flow 3 themselves clean the transparent housing piece 8 by impacting it. This effectively prevents dust accumulation.

[0043] The camera device 5 has an image sensor 11 for capturing two-dimensional images of the crop flow 3. Such a two-dimensional image of the crop flow 3 forms a two-dimensional picture, in particular a digital two-dimensional image, of the crop flow 3. Broken grains and non-grains in the crop flow 3 can be identified using such a two-dimensional image. Furthermore, the camera device 5 has at least one lighting device 12.

[0044] Furthermore, measuring device 4 can include a moisture sensor (not shown) for measuring the moisture content of the crop flow 3. This moisture sensor can be arranged on and / or in the baffle plate 7.

[0045] The evaluation device 14 of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1 is designed and / or programmed to determine the crop parameter "broken grain fraction" (BKA) of the crop flow and / or the crop parameter "non-grain fraction" (NKA) of the crop flow based on an image analysis of the recorded image series.

[0046] The determined fraction of broken grains and / or non-grain particles can be based on a single image from the image series, on the entire image series, or on a specific selection of one or more images from the image series. One or more images from the image series can be selected that represent the best image according to a quality criterion. Such a quality criterion could be a particularly suitable brightness, contour, or contrast distribution. The evaluation device 14 performs an image analysis of the image series or a portion thereof, preferably first identifying broken grains and non-grain particles in the image using suitable algorithms. The area occupied by the broken grains and non-grain particles on the two-dimensional image is then calculated as an area ratio, and this area ratio is extrapolated to a volume fraction using a suitable extrapolation function.

[0047] The control device 23 can receive evaluation data from the evaluation device 14 and / or throughput measurements from the throughput measuring device 6 and control and / or regulate the controllable implements 29 of the self-propelled agricultural machine 1 based on this evaluation data and / or throughput measurements. The control device 23 can be communicatively connected to the evaluation device 14 and / or to the measuring device 4. The evaluation device 14 can be communicatively connected to the measuring device 4. Reference symbol list

[0048] 1 Self-propelled agricultural work machine 33 Separating device 34 Deflection drum 2 Harvested crops 35 grain tank 3 Harvested crop power 4 Measuring device 5 camera device 6 Throughput measuring device 7 Impact plate 8 transparent housing piece 9 curved impact surface 10 curved housing surface 11 Image sensor 12 Lighting device 13 Corn elevator 14 Evaluation device 15 Conveyor chain 16 Conveyor element 17 sprocket 18 Cover section 19 Guided section 20 Guide surface 21 bracket 22 Driver's cab 23 Control device 24 Cutting unit 25 inclined conveyor 26 threshing basket 27 Threshing organs 28 fan 29 controllable devices 30 Cleaning device 31 Sieve level 32 Return floor

Claims

1. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) for picking up harvested crop (2) and for processing and conveying a harvested crop flow (3) formed from the picked-up harvested crop (2); - having a measuring device (4) for measuring the harvested crop flow (3), - wherein the measuring device (4) has a camera device (5) for receiving a series of images of the harvested crop flow (3), - wherein the measuring device (4) has a throughput-measuring device (6) for measuring the throughput of the harvested crop flow (3), - wherein the measuring device (4) has a baffle plate (7) against which the harvested crop flow (3) impacts during the operation of the self-propelled agricultural working machine (1), - wherein the camera device (5) is at least partially arranged in and / or on the baffle plate (7), characterized - in that the throughput-measuring device (6) is connected to the baffle plate (7) via the camera device (5).

2. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to Claim 1, characterized - in that the camera device (5) has an optically transparent housing piece (8), - wherein the camera device (5) is arranged in and / or on the baffle plate (7) in such a way that, in addition to the baffle plate (7), said optically transparent housing piece (8) forms an impact region against which the harvested crop flow (3) impacts during the operation of the self-propelled agricultural working machine (1).

3. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to Claim 2, characterized - in that the baffle plate (7) has a curved impact surface (9) against which the harvested crop flow (3) impacts during the operation of the self-propelled agricultural working machine (1), - wherein the transparent housing piece (8) of the camera device (5) has a curved housing-piece surface (10) against which the harvested crop flow (3) impacts during the operation of the self-propelled agricultural working machine (1).

4. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the curved housing-piece surface (10) and the curved impact surface (9) are each concavely curved.

5. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the curved housing-piece surface (10) and the curved impact surface (9) have an identical radius of curvature.

6. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to any one of Claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the transparent housing piece (8) and the baffle plate (7) are designed in such a way, in particular are shaped and / or aligned and / or positioned in such a way, that the housing-piece surface (10) is neither set in front nor set back with respect to the impact surface (9).

7. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the camera device (5) has at least one image sensor (11) for recording two-dimensional images of the harvested crop flow (3).

8. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the measuring device (4) for measuring the harvested crop flow (3) is arranged at the upper end of a grain elevator (13) of the self-propelled agricultural working machine (1).

9. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the measuring device (4) has a moisture sensor.

10. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to Claim 9, characterized in that the moisture sensor is arranged on and / or in the baffle plate (7).

11. Self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the self-propelled agricultural working machine (1) has an evaluation device (14) for determining the harvested crop parameter "broken grain fraction" (BKA) of the harvested crop flow (3) and / or the harvested crop parameter "non-grain fraction" (NKA) of the harvested crop flow (3) on the basis of an image analysis of the recorded series of images.