BR-102025011571-A2 - A set of sensors for detecting grains in a material stream containing grains and non-grain components in a combine harvester.

BR102025011571A2BR 102025011571 A2BR102025011571 A2BR 102025011571A2BR-102025011571-A2

Abstract

A set of sensors for detecting grains in a material flow containing grains and non-grain components in a combine harvester (10) comprising: a conveying device comprising an inlet and an outlet (74) and in which the material flow can be adjusted in a rotary motion; an electro-optical sensor disposed on the outer periphery of the conveying device and analyzing the material flow, and an electronic processing device for detecting grains in the material flow based on the signal from the electro-optical sensor, wherein the electro-optical sensor is disposed in the downstream region of the conveying device.

Inventors

Martin Unterpaintner
Marco Broschart
Martin Rittershofer

Assignees

DEERE & COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260310
Application Date: 20250606
Priority Date: 20240829

Claims (8)

1. Sensor set for detecting grains in a material flow containing grains and non-grain components in a combine harvester (10), comprising: a conveying device comprising an inlet and an outlet (74) and in which the material flow can be adjusted in a rotary motion; an electro-optical sensor disposed on the outer periphery of the conveying device and analyzing the material flow, and an electronic processing device for detecting grains in the material flow based on the signal from the electro-optical sensor, characterized in that the electro-optical sensor is disposed in the downstream region of the conveying device.
2. Sensor assembly, according to claim 1, characterized in that the material flow is fed axially to the conveying device and is discharged tangentially from the conveying device at the outlet (74).
3. Sensor assembly, according to claim 2, characterized in that the transport device comprises a rotating disc (70, 72) with conductors (78) connected thereto, with a housing (76) extending around the circumference of the disc (70, 72), in which an outlet (74) is left open, with the electro-optical sensor interacting with the flow of material transported by the disc (70, 72) through an opening in the housing (76).
4. Sensor assembly, according to claim 3, characterized in that the electro-optical sensor is disposed in the downstream half, preferably in the downstream third and even more preferably in the downstream quarter of the housing (76).
5. Sensor assembly, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electro-optical sensor is a camera (86).
6. Sensor assembly, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transport device is a crop residue distributor (68).
7. Sensor assembly, according to claim 6, characterized in that the crop residue distributor (68) is a straw distributor disposed downstream of a cleaning system (28) or an ejector fan disposed downstream of a straw cutter.
8. Combine harvester with a transport device and a sensor assembly, characterized in that it conforms to any of the preceding claims.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a set of sensors for detecting grains in a material stream containing grains and non-grain components in a combine harvester. State of the art [0002] Combine harvesters are used to harvest grains. The above-ground parts of plants, such as soybeans, corn, wheat, or oats, are cut, collected, or husked, or the fruiting parts of plants, such as corn or sunflowers, are separated and fed to a threshing and separation device to separate the fruits (the grain) from the remaining components of the harvest. After the threshing and separation process, there are still impurities in the grain, such as straw particles and husks. The mixture of grains and impurities obtained during threshing and separation is therefore fed to a cleaning system, which usually comprises an upper sieve and a lower sieve and, optionally, a pre-sieve. [0003] While the clean grain, after passing through the upper and lower sieves, is transported via an elevator to the grain tank and the material discharged at the end of the lower sieve (rejects) is subjected to a post-threshing process, the remaining material is discharged onto the field at the end of the upper sieve, either via a straw spreader or a cutting and distribution device for the non-grain material discharged by the separation device. The non-grain material that remains after the separation process and is discharged by the separation device is also generally discharged onto the field, usually by the cutting and distribution device, or is deposited in a baling aisle. [0004] Both crop residue streams discharged into the field by the top sieve and the separation device generally still contain lost grains. To optimize the configuration of the combine harvester's operating parameters, it makes sense to record the number of lost grains left in the field. Another location for using sensors to detect a grain stream in a combine harvester is in the reject (EP 1 516 522 A2). [0005] The number of grains in a material stream is usually detected in combine harvesters by impact plate sensors, which detect mechanical vibrations caused by the impact of the grains (see, for example, document DE 1 810 519 A) or changes in the electrical properties of a sensitive layer caused by the impact of the grains (EP 2 977 735 A2). [0006] In order to detect lost grains, it has also been proposed to conduct the flow of crop residue emitted by the combine harvester through a camera and detect the lost grains using image processing. For example, the camera detects material discharged from the upper sieve, which flows through the camera in free flight and identifies lost grains contained therein (US 6,119,442 A, US 2021/0088691 A1), or a sample is taken from the material flow and examined by means of the camera (WO 2024/036401 A1), or the camera is attached to the upstream half of the outer circumference of a rotating distributor for crop residues (US 2022/0394925 A1). Objective [0007] With impact plate sensors, it has been problematic to record absolute values for the number of grains with sufficient precision, since the emitted signals depend on several generally unknown parameters, such as yield and crop characteristics, such as moisture, density and grain dimensions. Therefore, these loss sensors must be calibrated from time to time in a time-consuming manner, usually by counting the grains ejected in the field (see EP 2 764 764 A1 and EP 2 742 791 A2), or by means of a separate set to collect, clean and weigh the crop residues ejected in the field by the combine harvester (DE 40 09 981 A1). [0008] When stray grains are recorded by cameras, it is also not easy to visually distinguish them from the non-grain material in which they are contained. Non-grain material includes, for example, straw particles, husks, and awns and generally has the same color and sometimes similar shapes to grains. This applies particularly to embodiments in which the material is detected in free flight (US 6 119 442 A, US 2021/0088691 A1) or a stationary or rotating sample is examined (WO 2024/036401 A1, US 2022/0394925 A1, considered generic). The problem lies in the fact that a relatively large quantity of other materials (which are not grains) passes through the points where the camera is connected, and the stray grains represent only a small proportion of the material flow. [0009] The objective of the present invention is to propose an improved sensor assembly for detecting grains in a material stream containing grains and non-grain components in a combine harvester, which does not present the aforementioned disadvantages or presents them only to a reduced extent. Solution [0010] The present invention is defined by the patent claims. [0011] A set of sensors for detecting grains in a material flow containing grains and non-granular constituents in a combine harvester comprises a conveying device, comprising an inlet and an outlet and in which the material flow can be adjusted in a rotary motion; an elec