Camera-Based Fill Control for Even Grain Cart Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators of forage harvesters face challenges in maintaining efficient harvesting and optimal unloading strategies due to varying soil and crop conditions, leading to inefficiencies and material spillage when filling receiving vehicles, as current systems require significant manual control and may not adapt to different vehicle types without fiducial markings.
Innovation Solution
A camera-based automatic fill control system that captures images of receiving vehicles, identifies visual features, and applies pre-defined settings from stored maps to control the unloading spout and flaps, allowing for adaptive filling strategies without the need for fiducial markings or extensive operator input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an operator manually controls the forage harvester and unloading mechanisms, then harvesting efficiency can be maintained through real-time adjustments, but the operator's attention is heavily consumed and fill precision deteriorates due to the complexity of simultaneous controls
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic cart filling control by having the harvester system itself perform the filling operations without continuous operator intervention. The automatic control system monitors cart fill levels and adjusts unloading mechanisms autonomously, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring constant manual operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated control system that uses sensors, processors, and control algorithms. The system substitutes the operator's mechanical steering and control actions with automated mechanisms that can precisely control the unloading spout position and flap settings based on real-time cart fill status.
2Ease of operation
If the operator controls the unloading spout and flap positions manually, then some fill control is achieved, but precise fill distribution deteriorates due to the difficulty of maintaining optimal positioning under varying conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback control by monitoring cart fill levels using sensors and cameras, then using this information to automatically adjust spout position and flap settings. The feedback loop ensures that the system responds to real-time changes in cart fill status, maintaining precise fill distribution throughout the unloading process.
Solution Approach 2:
The automatic control system dynamically adjusts spout position and flap settings based on real-time conditions rather than using fixed manual controls. The system can adapt its control parameters on-the-fly to account for varying cart positions, fill levels, and harvesting conditions, maintaining optimal precision throughout the operation.
3Measurement precision
If fiducial markings are used on receiving vehicles for identification, then vehicle recognition accuracy improves, but system complexity and maintenance requirements worsen due to marking installation and database management
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving vehicles themselves serve as the identification mechanism through their inherent visual features rather than requiring additional fiducial markings. The system uses the vehicles' own characteristics - such as color, shape, size, and distinctive features - to enable recognition, allowing the vehicles to provide their own identification data without external additions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the identification function from separate fiducial markings and integrates it into the vehicle's inherent visual characteristics. By removing the need for external markers and using the vehicle's own visual features for identification, the system eliminates the complexity of marking installation and database management while maintaining identification capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables efficient and even filling of receiving vehicles, reducing spillage and operator workload by automatically adjusting the fill strategy based on vehicle type or individual identification, enhancing harvesting efficiency and adaptability.
Implementation Method 1
A camera captures an image of a portion of a cart and accesses stored maps that map visual features of carts to a set of settings
Data Source
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AI summary
A camera (106) captures an image of a portion of a cart (102) and accesses stored maps that map visual features of carts to a set of settings that are applied to an automatic fill control system. A map that matches visual features of the cart (102), in the captured image, is identified and the settings in that map are applied to the automatic fill control system.