Harvester Fill Profile Control for Accurate Grain Cart Unloading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural harvesters face challenges in accurately determining the fill level of harvested material in receiving containers, leading to inefficiencies such as underfilling or overfilling, which results in waste and spillage during the unloading process.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing sensors and processors to determine a simulated and measured fill profile, applying confidence values to adjust these profiles, and generating control signals for optimal discharge into receiving containers based on geometry, discharge rates, and sensor data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the tractor operator manually determines the amount of harvested material to be unloaded, then the operation is simple to operate, but the fill level accuracy deteriorates leading to underfilling or overfilling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical determination of fill level with an automated sensor-based measurement system. Sensors (optical, radar, ultrasonic, or weight-based) automatically measure the height and weight of harvested material in the receiving container, eliminating the need for manual estimation while providing precise fill level data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the actual fill level using sensors and compares it with the target fill level. Based on this feedback, the control system automatically adjusts the discharge rate of the auger to achieve the desired fill level, ensuring both accuracy and operational simplicity.
2Productivity
If the auger discharge rate is increased to reduce unloading time, then the productivity improves, but the fill level precision deteriorates causing spillage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adjustment of the auger discharge rate based on real-time fill level measurements. The control system continuously modifies the auger rotation speed and discharge characteristics to match the changing conditions in the receiving container, allowing high productivity while maintaining precision through adaptive control rather than fixed parameters.
Solution Approach 2:
Real-time sensor feedback on actual fill level enables the control system to automatically modulate the auger discharge rate. When the container approaches the target fill level, the system reduces the discharge rate to prevent overfilling and spillage, while maintaining high overall unloading speed through continuous optimization.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used to improve measurement accuracy, then the fill level detection precision improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensor types (optical, radar, ultrasonic, or weight-based sensors) into an integrated measurement system. These sensors work together to measure different aspects of the harvested material (height, volume, weight) and provide complementary information that improves overall fill level detection accuracy while being managed as a unified control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system is designed with multi-functionality, where the same sensor array can measure various parameters (fill height, material density, container position) and adapt to different harvesting scenarios. This universal approach improves measurement precision across multiple parameters while avoiding the need for separate dedicated systems for each measurement type.
Data Source
AI summary
A fill detection system for controlling and optimizing a discharge of a commodity into a receiving container from a supply container. The system can determine a measured fill profile for the commodity in the receiving container that can be at least partially based on information from one or more height sensing sensors. The system can also determine one or more confidence levels, including with respect to information provided by the height sensing sensors. The system can further utilize an algorithm or model to determine a simulated fill profile. The measured and/or simulated fill profiles can be adjusted, including weighted, based on the confidence value(s) in connection with determining an estimated fill profile. The estimated fill profile can be compared to a desired fill profile in connection with determining whether to continue discharging commodity and/or adjust a location at which commodity is being discharged into the receiving container.