Mirrorless Forage Harvester Camera for Grain Flow Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing camera systems for forage harvesters are susceptible to assembly errors due to the use of mirrors, leading to faulty images, and require complex structures that increase the overall height and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A mirrorless camera system for forage harvesters is designed with a CMOS image sensor positioned within a housing on the discharge chute, using two light sources for uniform illumination, and a sapphire glass or diamond-coated viewing window for image capture, enabling compact and accurate image analysis of harvested material flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mirror is used to route reflected light from the harvested material flow to the camera, then the camera can be positioned at a distance from the discharge chute, but the system becomes susceptible to assembly errors and requires a more complex structure that increases overall height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the mirror component from the optical path entirely. The camera system is reconfigured to capture reflected light directly from the discharge chute surface without requiring a mirror to redirect light, thereby eliminating assembly errors related to mirror positioning and impurities while reducing structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a mirror to redirect light from the material flow to the camera, the system inverts the approach by positioning the camera to directly observe reflections on the discharge chute surface, transforming the discharge chute into the reflective element rather than requiring a separate mirror component
2Ease of operation
If a mirror is used in the camera system, then light can be redirected to the camera, but the system height and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mirror is extracted from the system, eliminating the need for additional optical components that increase height. The camera is positioned to directly capture reflections on the discharge chute, reducing the overall system height while simplifying installation by removing a critical alignment component
Solution Approach 2:
The discharge chute surface serves a dual function: it conveys the harvested material flow and simultaneously acts as the reflective surface for optical detection. This eliminates the need for a separate mirror component, reducing system height and simplifying the overall structure
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 provides accurate differentiation between grain and non-grain components, and whole and crushed grains, reducing installation errors and maintaining a compact design while meeting the requirements for image processing power.
Implementation Method 1
The harvested material components of the harvested material flow may reflect the light, which may then pass through a semi-transparent mirror to the multispectral camera
Implementation Method 2
a sapphire glass or diamond-coated viewing window for image capture
Data Source
AI summary
A forage harvester with a camera system. The camera system is configured to detect and evaluate a harvested material flow processed by working units of the forage harvester. The harvested material flow comprises whole grains, and comminuted grains as grain components and non-grain components. The camera system comprising an image sensor and an objective arranged or positioned upstream from the image sensor. The image sensor, arranged or positioned opposite the viewing window, is positioned in a housing which is arranged or positioned on a discharge chute of the forage harvester and in which a transparent viewing window is arranged or positioned, past which the harvested material flow flows. Light beams from a first light source are directed onto the harvested material flow. Further, an image analysis apparatus receives images from the image sensor of the harvested material flow for evaluation.