Stereo Camera Transferring Device for Agricultural Vehicles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current automated systems for transferring harvested material from a harvester to a transport container face challenges in achieving high-quality image-assisted control, particularly when the target area is delimited by side walls with upper edges not parallel to the camera's view direction, leading to noise and reduced image quality.
Innovation Solution
A transferring device equipped with a stereo camera having tilted axes of view and a floodlight projector system with strategically positioned light sources to minimize noise and enhance image quality, allowing for depth information and improved control precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a camera is used to assist control of the goods carrier, then automation of the transferring process is improved, but image quality deteriorates when the target area is delimited by side walls with upper edges not parallel to the camera's view direction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single 2D camera view to a stereo camera system providing 3D depth information through disparity images. This dimensional enhancement allows the control system to accurately identify target areas even when viewed from angles where the upper edges of side walls are not parallel to the view direction, thereby maintaining image quality while enabling automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the viewing parameters by positioning the stereo camera at a specific distance and angle from the ejecting spout. The camera is mounted on the lower side of the spout at a distance from its ejecting end, with the objective lenses directed at the target area. This parameter optimization ensures that the disparity images provide sufficient depth information for accurate control while avoiding poor image quality caused by unfavorable viewing angles.
2Illumination intensity
If floodlights are used to illuminate the target area for night work, then working capability at night is improved, but image noise increases due to illumination of dust and debris in the air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selectively illuminating only the target area (the open top of the container) with floodlights mounted on the ejecting spout, while leaving the area in front of the camera unilluminated. This localized illumination approach provides sufficient light for night operation and target identification without illuminating dust and debris in the camera's field of view, thereby avoiding image noise.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the ejecting spout structure itself as an intermediary to mount the floodlights, positioning them at the outer end of the spout. This intermediary positioning allows the lights to illuminate the target area from a location that does not directly illuminate the camera's field of view, thus solving the contradiction between night working capability and image quality.
3Device complexity
If a single camera is used for viewing the target area, then device complexity is reduced, but depth information and control precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a stereo camera system with two objective lenses that capture images from slightly different positions, creating disparity images that encode depth information. This dimensional enhancement from 2D to 3D provides the control system with accurate depth data necessary for precise control of the goods carrier, justifying the increased device complexity through significant gains in measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The stereo camera system creates a copied view of the target area from a second perspective (the second objective lens). By processing the disparity between these two copied images, the system extracts depth information that would be unavailable from a single camera view, thereby improving control precision while maintaining relatively simple device architecture.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 2~3
AI summary
A transferring device comprises a controllable goods carrier such as an ejecting spout (9) for conveying goods to a target area (19), a stereo camera (29) for providing images of the target area, and a control system (46) for deriving information from the images and controlling the goods carrier (9) taking into account the information derived from the images. The stereo camera (29) has objective lenses (36a, 36b) defining a base line (43) with a tilt angle relative to horizontal (45), Preferably the base line is placed in a vertical plane. The transfer devise has floodlight projectors (31, 33) pieced at lease 0,5 m from the stereo camera (29).