CNH Industrial Belgium Patente

The present invention provides a crop cutting device (1) comprising a crop guiding surface (3), a plurality of knives (5) arranged side-by-side, wherein each knife (5) is pivotable about a knife axis (7) between a retracted inoperative position. The crop cutting device further comprises a plurality of operating units (11) in parallel to the plurality of knives (5). The crop cutting device comprises a selector mechanism (13) configured to selectively engage one or more of the plurality of operating units (11), wherein the selector mechanism (13) includes a rotatable shaft (17) comprising a plurality of engagement elements (19) configured to engage with the respective operating unit (11). The operating units (11) are movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position by a lifting mechanism (23) comprising an elongate element extending between a first side and a second side of a main frame (21).

In an agricultural implement, a pick-up assembly (1) is coupled to the frame (3) of the implement though at least one hydraulic actuator (15). The actuator comprises a cylinder (20), a first piston (23) and a rod (24) attached to the first piston. The cylinder (20) and the rod (24) are pivotably connected to the pick-up assembly (1) and to the frame (3) or vice versa, so that the actuator enables pivoting at least part of the pick-up assembly about a horizontal pivot axis (6), thereby lifting or lowering the assembly relative to a ground level (2). The cylinder (20) comprises an inlet port (27) positioned so that lifting the pick-up is enabled through the supply of hydraulic fluid to the inlet port. According to the invention, a second piston (25) is arranged in the cylinder, between the inlet port (27) and the first cylinder (23), and the rod (24) comprises an internal channel (24) that provides access to an interior space (33) of the cylinder, situated between the two pistons. This configuration enables setting a fixed stop position by supplying a given volume of hydraulic fluid between the pistons (23,25) or between the second piston (25) and the inlet port (27) of the cylinder, and maintaining said volume in the thus created space.

A gauge wheel system for an agricultural header includes a gauge wheel arm assembly configured to rotatably support a gauge wheel and pivotally couple to a header frame of the agricultural header. The gauge wheel system also includes a bell crank configured to pivotally couple to the header frame and a damper pivotally coupled to the gauge wheel arm assembly and the bell crank. The damper is configured to urge the gauge wheel arm assembly to pivot downwardly relative to the header frame while the gauge wheel arm assembly is in a ground-engaging position. The gauge wheel system also includes an actuator coupled to the bell crank and configured to couple to the header frame. The actuator is configured to drive the bell crank to rotate to move the gauge wheel arm assembly between a ground-engaging position and a storage position.

A forage harvester system comprising: a forage harvester configured to harvest crop and process the crop to form crop silage; and one or more processors configured to: receive image data from a mobile device, wherein the image data corresponds to an image of a sample of the crop silage captured by the mobile device; process the image data to determine a kernel processing score; and set one or more machine parameters of the forage harvester based on the kernel processing score.

The present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method of detecting a foreign object inside an agricultural harvester machine (10), the method comprising: harvesting a plurality of crops (40) using the agricultural harvester machine (10); capturing an input image of the plurality of harvested crops (26); reproducing the input image as an output image (58) using a computer algorithm trained on images of crops (62) with no foreign objects; determining a degree of difference between the input image and the output image (58); and determining if a foreign object is present in the input image (56) based on the degree of difference between the input image (56) and the output image (58).

There is provided a crop processing unit for an agricultural machine (10), the crop processing unit comprising a horizontal shaft (120), a plurality of processing elements (130), an opposing element (140), a first vibration sensor (210), and a controller (230). The horizontal shaft (120) is supported by a first and a second bearing for rotation around a rotational axis. The processing elements (130) are mounted to the horizontal shaft (120) for rotation therewith and configured to rotate past the opposing element (140) for cooperation therewith. The first vibration sensor (210) is positioned at the first bearing and configured to provide a first vibration signal. The controller (230) is configured to receive the first vibration signal and to determine a condition of the processing elements (130) based on the first vibration signal.

A method (200) for determining plant types in a field in front of an agricultural harvester, the method comprising: receiving (210) a radar signal, the radar signal being a reflection of a radio wave from plant material in the field in front of the agricultural harvester; based on the radar signal, distinguishing (220) a first plant type and a second plant type in the plant material; and determining (230) a first plant height for the first plant type and a second plant height for the second plant type, the second plant height being different from the first plant height.

A belt drive system (200) for a functional unit of an agricultural machine comprises a driven pulley (210) and a driving pulley (220), a drive belt (230), a tensioner system (240) for tensioning the drive belt (230), and a vibration sensor (250). The drive belt (230) interconnects the driven pulley (210) with the driving pulley (220). The vibration sensor (250) is positioned on the tensioner system (240) and configured to provide a vibration signal.

A computer-implemented method for detecting components in a crop flow of a harvesting machine, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of images of a first crop flow captured by a first image sensor; receiving a plurality of images of a second crop flow captured by a second image sensor, wherein the second image sensor is in a different location of the harvesting machine than the first image sensor; preparing a first training data set comprising the images of the first crop flow; fine-tuning a first machine learning model using the first training data set wherein fine-tuning comprises: identifying a first component in the first training data set; and identifying a first set of features associated with the first component; and applying the fine-tuned machine learning model to the images of the second crop flow to recognise the first component using the first set of features.

Control system (12) including a blower (42) configured to output an airflow (46) via a blower output flow passage (60), a heating system (40) configured to receive the airflow (46) from the blower (42), a heating system valve (80) positioned between the heating system (40) and the blower (42), a computing system (84) communicatively coupled to the blower (42), the heating system (40), and the heating system valve (80), and configured to receive an input, and when the input is related to a change in state of the blower (42), to delay actuation of the blower (42) for a first time period, to alter a blower (42) state during a second time period, to maintain the heating system valve (80) in the target position during the second time period, and to alter a position of the heating system valve (80) to an operation position after an expiration of the second time period.

In an agricultural implement according to the invention, for example a combine harvester, a hinged door (6) provides access to an aperture (12) in a wall (2) of a walled compartment (1). A camera may be attached to said door, for monitoring the interior of the compartment. The door (6) is configured to be locked and unlocked by an overcenter mechanism (7) characterized in that it requires an auxiliary tool for locking and unlocking the mechanism. In particular, the mechanism comprises a pivotable rod (14) pivotable about a first pivot axis (15) relative to the door, and an overcenter arm (21) that is pivotable at one end relative to a lever (20) fixed to or integral with the rod (14). The other end of the overcenter arm is attachable to the wall (2) comprising the aperture (12) covered by the door. The overall dimensions of the mechanism are such that pivoting the rod (14) to thereby lock or unlock the mechanism requires an auxiliary tool. The rod could for example be provided with a polygonal cross-section, necessitating the use of a wrench (35) or similar gripping tool for pivoting the rod.

The implement, for example a combine harvester, comprises at least one walled compartment (1) with a monitoring aperture (21) in one of the walls of the compartment. A door (6) is configured to cover or uncover the aperture, the door comprising a light-sensitive sensing device, so as to be able to detect light originating from the interior of the compartment when the door is closed. The sensing device may for example be a camera mounted in a camera housing (6) that hinges about a hinge axis (10) to enable the camera housing to cover or uncover the aperture (21). A control unit (7) is furthermore provided, configured to receive a signal from the sensing device and to derive from said signal an indication regarding the position of the door (6) relative to the aperture (21). The door is preferably provided with a locking mechanism (11) configured so that the signals obtained from the sensing device enable the control unit (7) to derive whether the door is locked by the locking mechanism.

A crop loss monitoring system (300) for an agricultural harvester (100) includes a controller (302) configured to receive a left sensor signal from a left sensor (316) indicative of crop particle impacts on a left side of a row unit (208) and to receive a right sensor signal from a right sensor (318) indicative of crop particle impacts on a right side of the row unit (208). Furthermore, the controller (302) is configured to determine whether the row unit (208) is misaligned to a left side of a row of agricultural crops or to a right side of the row of agricultural crops. The controller (302) is configured to determine crop loss based on feedback from the left sensor (316) alone in response to determining the row unit (208) is misaligned to the left side, and to determine the crop loss based on feedback from the right sensor (318) alone in response to determining the row unit (208) is misaligned to the right side.

An agricultural harvester (10), comprising a header (18), a feedback sensor (82) for generating a feedback signal representative of a current feed rate of crop through the harvester (10), a feed forward sensor (84) for generating a feed forward signal representative of a biomass of crop ahead of the header (18), and a controller (100) operably coupled to the feedback sensor (82) and the feed forward sensor (84). The controller (100) determines a predicted feed rate of crop through the harvester (10) based on the feed forward signal and an actual feed rate of crop through the harvester (10) based on the feedback signal. The controller (100) controls an operational setting of the agricultural harvester (10) in dependence of a discrepancy between the predicted feed rate and the actual feed rate.

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A header (2) for an agricultural vehicle (1) includes: a header frame (200); a windguard assembly (20) carried by the header frame (200), the windguard assembly (20) including a windguard roller (21) coupled to a windguard arm (23) that is pivotably coupled to the header frame (200); and a tracking wheel assembly (210) carried by the header frame (200) and including a tracking wheel (211) coupled to a tracking fork (212). The tracking fork (212) is pivotable from a first position to a second position and includes a projection (213) that contacts the windguard arm (23) as the tracking fork (212) pivots from the first position to the second position such that contact of the projection (213) with the windguard arm (23) causes the tracking wheel (211) to rotate to an orientation where the tracking fork (212) abuts against the windguard arm (23) to inhibit rotation of the tracking wheel (211) when the tracking fork (212) is in the second position.

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A pickup assembly (10) for an agricultural vehicle (1) includes: a frame (200); a pickup drum (210) carried by the frame (200) and carrying a plurality of tines (211); and a windguard assembly (220) carried by the frame (200) and comprising a first roller (221) and a second roller (222) carried in front of the pickup drum (210), the first roller (221) and the second roller (222) each being pivotable relative to the frame (200) to adjust a respective relative position to the pickup drum (210). The first roller (221) is pivotable about a first pivot (223) defining a first pivot axis (FPA) that is coaxial with an axis of rotation (SAR) of the second roller (222) when the second roller (222) is at a position closest to the pickup drum (210) such that the relative position of the first roller (221) is adjustable without adjusting the relative position of the second roller (222) when the second roller (222) is at the position closest to the pickup drum (210).

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The chopper assembly comprises a rotatable chopper drum (21), comprising a plurality of knives (31), mounted between two sidewalls (40) and configured to cut larger plant material into smaller particles through the interaction of the knives (31)and a set of counterknives (22). According to the invention, a guide surface (42) is mounted on at least one of the sidewalls (40), preferably on both sidewalls, and in the path of a stream of crop material advancing towards the chopper assembly. The guide surface (42) extends between an upstream edge (53,55;66) lying essentially in the plane of the sidewall and a downstream edge (55,57;67) removed from the sidewall. The guide surface is furthermore inclined relative to the sidewall, so as to guide plant material away from the sidewall and in the direction of the knives (31a) located closest to the sidewall. The guide surface thereby prevents plant material from passing between the knives and the sidewall without being cut.

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