US-12616080-B2 - Compartment profile monitoring and control system for an agricultural system

US12616080B2US 12616080 B2US12616080 B2US 12616080B2US-12616080-B2

Abstract

A storage compartment profile monitoring and control system for an agricultural system may include at least one sensor configured to output sensor signals indicative of a corresponding series of images of particulate material within a storage compartment and at least one graduated marking on the storage compartment during a period of operation of a metering system and a controller comprising a memory and a processor. The controller is communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor and configured to receive the sensor signals from the at least one sensor to determine a series of profiles of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of images. The controller also determines a volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of profiles and control controls the metering system based on the change.

Inventors

Trevor Lawrence Kowalchuk

Assignees

CNH INDUSTRIAL CANADA, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220802

Claims (19)

1 . A storage compartment profile monitoring and control system for an agricultural system, comprising: at least one sensor configured to output a series of sensor signals indicative of a corresponding series of images of particulate material within a storage compartment and at least one graduated marking on the storage compartment at a time interval during a period of operation of a metering system configured to meter the particulate material from the storage compartment, wherein the time interval corresponds to a duration between images of the series of images; and a controller comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor, and the controller is configured to: receive the series of sensor signals at the time interval from the at least one sensor; determine a series of profiles of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of images, wherein each profile of the series of profiles is determined for a respective image of the series of images; determine a volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of profiles and the time interval; determine a particulate material distribution rate based on the volumetric rate of change; and control the metering system based on a comparison between the particulate material distribution rate and a target particulate material distribution rate.
2 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises only a single camera.
3 . The compartment monitoring and control system claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a series of average levels of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of profiles, and the controller is configured to determine the volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of average levels.
4 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one graduated marking on the storage compartment comprises a dot, a line, or both.
5 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one graduated marking comprises a decal, an applique, or a combination thereof.
6 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to: output a control signal to a display indicative of instructions to display an indication that a difference between the particulate material distribution rate and the target particulate material distribution rate is greater than a threshold value.
7 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to output an additional control signal indicative of adjusting one or more parameters of the metering system in response to determining a difference between the particulate material distribution rate and the target particulate material distribution rate.
8 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a size, a shape, a type, or a combination thereof, of at least one particle of the particulate material based on the series of sensor signals.
9 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises a plurality of cameras.
10 . A compartment monitoring system and control system for a storage compartment, comprising: at least one sensor configured to output a series of sensor signals indicative of a corresponding series of images of particulate material within the storage compartment and at least one graduated marking on the storage compartment; and a controller comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor, and the controller is configured to: receive the series of sensor signals from the at least one sensor; determine a series of profiles of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of images; determine a series of average levels of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of profiles; determine a volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of average levels; determine a particulate material distribution rate based on the volumetric rate of change; compare the particulate material distribution rate to a target particulate material distribution rate; and control a metering system based on the comparison.
11 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one graduated marking is painted or molded to an interior surface of the storage compartment.
12 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one graduated marking comprises a decal, an applique, or a combination thereof.
13 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one graduated marking comprises lines, dots, or a combination thereof.
14 . The compartment monitoring and control system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one graduated marking comprises a plurality of markings assembled non-linearly.
15 . A method, comprising: receiving, via a controller, a series of sensor signals at a time interval from at least one sensor within a storage compartment, wherein the series of sensor signals is indicative of a corresponding series of images of particulate material within the storage compartment and at least one graduated marking on the storage compartment, and the time interval corresponds to a duration between images of the series of images; determining, via the controller, a series of profiles of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of images, wherein each profile of the series of profiles is determined for a respective image of the series of images; determining, via the controller, a volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of profiles and the time interval; determining, via the controller, a particulate material distribution rate based on the volumetric rate of change; and comparing, via the controller, the particulate material distribution rate to a target particulate material distribution rate; and controlling, via the controller, a metering system based on the comparison.
16 . The method of claim 15 , comprising: outputting, via the controller, a control signal indicative of terminating an operation of the metering system in response to determining that a difference between the particulate material distribution rate and the target particulate material distribution rate is greater than a threshold value.
17 . The method of claim 15 , comprising: outputting, via the controller, a control signal indicative of adjusting one or more parameters of the metering system in response to determining that the particulate material distribution rate and the target particulate material distribution rate are different.
18 . The method of claim 15 , comprising: determining, via the controller, a series of average levels of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of profiles; and determining, via the controller, the volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of average levels.
19 . The method of claim 15 , comprising: determining, via the controller, a size and a shape of at least one particle of the particulate material based on the series of sensor signals; determining, via the controller, a type of particulate material based on the size and the shape of the at least one particle of the particulate material; and determining, via the controller, the target particulate material distribution rate based on the type of particulate material.

Description

BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates generally to a compartment profile monitoring and control system for an agricultural system. This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. Generally, agricultural seeding implements are towed behind a work vehicle, such as a tractor. Seeding implements generally contain a particulate material, such as seed, fertilizer, other agricultural product, or a combination thereof, which is distributed on or in the ground using various methods. Certain seeding implements include a storage tank, in which the particulate material is stored, and a metering system configured to meter the particulate material from the storage tank. The particulate material is distributed from the metering system to row units, which are configured to distribute the particulate material on or in the ground. As the storage tank is filled with the particulate material and/or while the particulate material flows from the storage tank to the metering system, a profile of the particulate material may be monitored. However, monitoring the profile of particulate material may be difficult because sensors (e.g., mechanical sensors, etc.) may become plugged with dust or dirt, sensors (e.g., electrical conductivity sensors, etc.) may become coated with particulate material, and the particulate material may clump with in the storage tank. An inaccurate measurement of the particulate material within the storage tank may lead to unexpected termination of the particulate material flow and/or an inconsistent flow of the particulate material to certain regions of a field. As a result, the crop yield within these regions may be reduced, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the seeding process. SUMMARY Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the disclosed subject matter are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of certain disclosed embodiments. Indeed, the present disclosure may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below. A storage compartment profile monitoring and control system for an agricultural system includes at least one sensor configured to output a series of sensor signals indicative of a corresponding series of images of particulate material within a storage compartment and at least one graduated marking on the storage compartment during a period of operation of a metering system configured to meter the particulate material from the storage compartment and a controller comprising a memory and a processor. The controller is communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor and the controller is configured to receive the series of sensor signals from the at least one sensor and determine a series of profiles of the particulate material within the storage compartment based on the series of images. The controller is also configured to determine a volumetric rate of change of the particulate material based on the series of profiles and control the metering system based on the volumetric rate of change. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of an agricultural implement coupled to an embodiment of an air cart; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a compartment monitoring and control system that may be employed within the air cart of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for monitoring and controlling particulate material distribution for an air cart; and FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for monitoring and controlling particulate material distribution for an air cart. DETAILED DESCRIPTION One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary