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US 12,007,741 B2Granted
Automation system for receiving crops
AssigneeKWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA
InventorDuane Bernhardson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system analyzes crops provided by a truck on a transport device. The truck enters the transport device to transport and unload the crops. The system includes sensors to detect an identifier of the truck, detect a temperature of the crops, and determine components of the crops. A programmable-logic controller sends paired information between the detected identifier of the truck and the detected location of the crops to a non-transitory storage medium for storage. The processor also sends the detected temperature of the crops and the determined components of the crops to the non-transitory storage medium for storage.
Claims22
A system for analyzing crops provided by a truck onto a transport device, comprising:
- a non-transitory storage medium configured to store information of the crops;
- a first sensor configured to detect an identifier of the truck in real-time;
- a second sensor configured to detect a location of the crops in real-time;
- a third sensor configured to detect a temperature of the crops in real-time;
- a spectrometer device configured to determine components of the crops in real-time;
- and
- a programmable logic controller (PLC) configured to:
- receive, from the first sensor, the detected identifier of the truck;
- receive, from the second sensor, the detected location of the crops;
- send paired information between the detected identifier of the truck and the detected location of the crops to the non-transitory storage medium for storage;
- cause a sample arm to capture the crops;
- cause an actuator to weigh the crops;
- receive a weight of the crops from the actuator;
- operate a chopper to chop the crops;
- receive, from the third sensor, the detected temperature of the chopped crops;
- send the detected temperature of the chopped crops to the non-transitory storage medium for storage;
- receive, from the spectrometer device, the determined components of the chopped crops based on the weight of the crops;
- send the determined components of the chopped crops to the non-transitory storage medium for storage;
- generate, in real-time, a report comprising the paired information, the detected temperature of the chopped crops, and the determined components of the chopped crops;
- and
- transmit, in real-time, the report to an external device associated with a grower and/or a company.
18 more elements
A method for transporting and analyzing crops, comprising:
- detecting, by a programmable logic controller (PLC) in real-time, an identifier of the truck by a first sensor;
- detecting, by the PLC in real-time, a location of the crops by a second sensor;
- detecting, by the PLC in real-time, a temperature of the crops by a third sensor;
- determining, by the PLC in real-time, components of the crops by a spectrometer device;
- receiving, by the PLC, from the first sensor, the detected identifier of the truck;
- receiving, by the PLC, from the second sensor, the detected location of the crops;
- sending, by the PLC, paired information between the detected identifier of the truck and the detected location of the crops to a non-transitory storage medium for storage;
- receiving, by the PLC and from the third sensor, the detected temperature of the crops;
- sending, by the PLC, the detected temperature of the crops to the non-transitory storage medium for storage;
- receiving, by the PLC and from the spectrometer device, the determined components of the crops;
- sending, by the PLC, the determined components of the crops to the non-transitory storage medium for storage;
- generating, by the PLC and in real-time, a report comprising the paired information, the detected temperature of the crops, and the determined components of the crops;
- and
- transmitting, by the PLC and in real-time, the report to an external device associated with a grower and/or a company.
11 more elements
A method for transporting and analyzing crops, comprising:
- detecting, by a programmable logic controller (PLC) and a camera, when a truck is present,
- an identifier of the truck;
- when the crops on the truck are being offloaded from a transport device, triggering, by the PLC, a sample arm to sample the crops, and determining, by the PLC and a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) sensor, a GPS location of a piler boom in the transport device;
- determining, by the PLC, a weight of the sample arm when the sample arm is empty;
- sending, by the PLC, the determined weight of the sample arm to a programmable logic controller (PLC);
- moving, by the PLC, the sample arm to capture a sample of the crops on the transport device;
- lifting, by the PLC, the sample arm to a sample chute after the sample of the crops is captured;
- determining, by the PLC, a weight of the sample of crops when moving the sample of the crops to the sample chute;
- receiving, by the PLC, the determined weight of the sample of crops;
- causing, by the PLC, the sample arm to unload the sample of the crops at the sample chute;
- causing, a chopper to process the crops;
- detecting, by the PLC and a temperature sensor, a temperature of the sample of the crops;
- triggering, by the PLC, a spectrometer to capture electromagnetic waves of the sample of the crops;
- receiving, by the PLC, the electromagnetic waves of the sample of the crops;
- storing, by the PLC, the electromagnetic waves of the sample of the crops in a non-transitory storage medium;
- triggering, by the PLC, an Red Green Blue (RGB) camera to image the sample of the crops and predict an amount of non-crop material;
- receiving, by the PLC, a predicted amount of the non-crop material;
- upon completion of offloading the crops, receiving by the PLC, the GPS location of the piler boom and storing, by the PLC, the GPS location of the piler boom in the non-transitory storage medium;
- generating, by the PLC in real-time, a report comprising the determined weight of the sample of crops, the temperature of the sample of the crops, and the predicted amount of the non-crop material;
- and
- transmitting, by the PLC in real-time, the report to an external device associated with a grower and/or a company.
18 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.