Controlling a machine based on cracked kernel detection
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorsZachary T. Bonefas, Niels Dybro
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image capture device captures an image of crop after it has been processed by a kernel processing unit on a forage harvester. A size distribution indicative of the distribution of kernel fragment sizes in the harvested crop is identified from the image captured by the image capture device. A control system generates control signals to control a speed differential in the speed of rotation of kernel processing rollers based on the size distribution. Control signals can also be generated to control a size of a gap between the kernel processing rollers.
Claims20
A forage harvester comprising:
- a chopper configured to receive severed crop and to chop the received severed crop into pieces;
- a kernel processing unit that includes a first kernel processing roller and a second kernel processing roller separated from the first kernel processing roller by a gap;
- a roller position actuator configured to change a size of the gap;
- an imaging device configured to capture an image of processed crop that has been processed by the kernel processing unit, the image indicating kernel fragment radiation fluoresced by kernel fragments in the processed crop;
- an image processing system configured to identify sizes of the kernel fragments in the image based on the indication of kernel fragment radiation fluoresced by the kernel fragments;
- and
- a control system configured to generate a control signal to control the roller position actuator to change the size of the gap based on the identified sizes of the kernel fragments.
A method of controlling a forage harvester comprising:
- receiving severed crop at a kernel processing unit that includes a first kernel processing roller and a second kernel processing roller separated from the first kernel processing roller by a gap;
- capturing an image of processed crop that has been processed by the kernel processing unit, the image indicating kernel fragment radiation fluoresced by kernel fragments in the processed crop;
- identifying sizes of the kernel fragments in the image based on the indication of kernel fragment radiation fluoresced by the kernel fragments;
- and
- generating a control signal to control a size of the gap between the first kernel processing roller and the second kernel processing roller based on the identified sizes of the kernel fragments.
A forage harvester comprising:
- a controllable subsystem;
- an imaging device configured to capture an image of processed crop, the image indicating kernel fragment radiation fluoresced by kernel fragments in the processed crop;
- an image processing system configured to identify sizes of the kernel fragments in the image based on the indication of kernel fragment radiation fluoresced by the kernel fragments;
- and
- a control system configured to generate a control signal to control the controllable subsystem based on the identified sizes of the kernel fragments.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.