Crop Throughput Measurement Calibration Under Variable Harvesting Speeds
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining crop throughput in harvesting machines suffer from inaccuracies due to varying crop properties and nonlinearities in mechanical components, leading to errors in mass and volume flow measurements.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that identify a crop stand with constant density, measure throughput at different rates of advancement and conveyance, and apply a correction value based on these measurements to improve accuracy, using sensors and electronic control devices to adapt to field conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a sensor measures throughput at a single rate of advancement and conveyance, then the measurement process is simple, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to nonlinearities and varying crop properties
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the rate of advancement and rate of conveyance to multiple different values during measurement. By varying these parameters rather than maintaining fixed values, the system captures the nonlinear relationship between sensor signals and actual throughput under different operating conditions, enabling more accurate correction factor determination
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary measurements at multiple different rates of advancement and conveyance before determining the correction factor. This preliminary action of collecting data across various operating conditions allows the system to establish an accurate correction model that compensates for nonlinearities in subsequent throughput measurements
2Productivity
If the harvesting machine operates at variable rates, then productivity increases, but the measurement reliability deteriorates due to nonlinearities in mechanical components
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from measurements taken at multiple different rates of advancement and conveyance to determine a correction factor. This correction factor is then applied to compensate for nonlinearities in subsequent measurements during variable-rate harvesting operations, maintaining measurement reliability even as productivity varies
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operating parameters (rate of advancement and rate of conveyance) to multiple different values during the measurement phase. By capturing how the sensor response varies with these parameter changes, the system develops a correction model that maintains measurement reliability across the full range of operating conditions encountered during high-productivity harvesting
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an apparatus for determining a throughput of a harvesting machine. More specifically, a harvesting machine having a throughput sensor and an electronic control device, the throughput sensor calibrated on part of a field with a crop stand of constant density to consider the influence of the rate of advancement and the rate of conveyance of the harvesting machine on the signal of the throughput sensor.