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US 2012/0237325 A1Published application
Harvester grain tank having active conveying system
AssigneeCNH America LLC
InventorsWayne T. FLICKINGER, Nathan E. ISAAC
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A grain tank includes a generally flat bottom that is oriented at a position that is less than the angle of repose of the grain. A conveyor mechanism conveys grain along the bottom to a cross auger for unloading. One or more sensors may be placed in the grain tank to determine a state of the grain to further determine if the conveyor mechanism should be operated to unload grain from the grain tank.
Claims16
A tank for storing grain in a combine harvester comprising:
- a plurality of sidewalls;
- a bottom between and connecting the sidewalls, wherein the bottom is generally flat and the orientation is such that the orientation is less than the angle of repose of the grain;
- a first auger for unloading grain from the grain tank to a discharge conveyor by conveying the grain in a first direction;
- and
- a conveyor that conveys grain along the bottom in a second direction to the first auger.
2 more elements
A method for unloading grain from a grain tank comprising:
- detecting, via one or more sensors, a first state of the grain in the grain tank;
- determining if the first state of the grain in the grain tank is less than a first threshold;
- operating, in response to the determining step, a conveyor mechanism that conveys grain along a bottom of the grain tank to a cross auger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.