Vibration-Based Grain Cart Weight Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current weight measurement systems in agriculture, particularly in grain harvesting operations, face inaccuracies due to hardware failures and insufficient algorithms, which fail to recognize weight changes accurately, especially when the threshold is reduced, and are limited to specific hardware configurations, not suitable for all storage carriers like semi-trailers or grain wagons using gravity for unloading.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a first sensor on a storage carrier to detect vibrations associated with offloading, communicating with a scale controller and a load cell on a second storage carrier to record weight measurements, initiating and ending a tare mode based on vibration signals, and using a portable housing with a magnet for easy placement, capable of detecting vibrations and weighing material accurately across different unloading apparatuses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large threshold of weight transfer is used in the weight change algorithm, then false recognition from terrain travel is reduced, but recognition of actual loading/unloading events is not initiated when the threshold is not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vibration sensors as an intermediary mechanism to detect the mechanical vibrations generated during loading and unloading operations. This mediator allows the system to identify material movement events without relying solely on weight threshold changes, thereby resolving the contradiction between using high thresholds to avoid false positives and low thresholds to detect actual events.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical weight-threshold-based detection system with a vibration-based detection system. By using accelerometers and vibration sensors to detect characteristic vibration patterns during loading and unloading, the system substitutes the mechanical weight change measurement with a dynamic vibration analysis approach, enabling accurate event detection regardless of weight threshold settings.
2Measurement precision
If PTO shaft speed recognition is used to detect unloading operations, then measurement accuracy is improved, but hardware complexity and maintenance requirements increase due to specialized hardware placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal vibration-based detection system that can identify loading and unloading events across different equipment types and configurations without requiring equipment-specific hardware. The same vibration sensors and analysis algorithms work on various grain carts, wagons, and storage carriers, eliminating the need for specialized PTO shaft sensors and reducing maintenance requirements while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the detection function from the drivetrain system (PTO shaft) and places vibration sensors on the grain cart or storage carrier itself. This separation allows the detection system to operate independently of the powertrain, eliminating the need for specialized hardware placement in the drivetrain while maintaining the ability to detect unloading operations through vibration analysis.
3Productivity
If weight change algorithms with reduced thresholds are used, then recognition of smaller loading/unloading events is improved, but false recognition from terrain travel increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes mechanical vibration analysis to distinguish between genuine loading/unloading events and false signals from terrain travel. By analyzing the frequency, amplitude, and pattern characteristics of vibrations detected by accelerometers, the system can identify the distinctive vibration signature of material movement versus the vibrations caused by vehicle movement over uneven terrain, enabling reliable detection of even small weight changes without increased false positives.
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
This system provides accurate and reliable weight measurement by initiating and ending the tare mode based on vibration detection, ensuring precise recording of weight changes and geographical location, even in systems without interconnecting parts, thus addressing the limitations of existing technologies.
Implementation Method 1
a first sensor combined to a first storage carrier for the material for detecting vibrations associated with offloading the material
Data Source
AI summary
A first sensor combined to a first storage carrier for the material for detecting vibrations associated with offloading the material and a second sensor for measuring the weight of the material expelled from the first storage carrier.