System and method for measuring grain cart weight
AssigneeBitstrata Systems Inc.
InventorsIan MEIER, Michael LOCKERBIE
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system of improved weighing utilizes accelerometers to compensate for measurement dynamics and non-level sensor orientation. Fill level of remote combines can be estimated by utilizing their historical harvesting performance and elapsed time or area harvested. Failure and degradation of weight sensors is detected by testing sensor half bridges. Loading and unloading weights can be tied to specific vehicles by utilizing RF beacons. Display location diversity is enhanced utilizing a mirror located as necessary while reversing the displayed image.
Claims18
A system for calculating the mass of a load in a container on a vehicle comprising:
- a weight sensor attached to the container in a fixed orientation, said weight sensor measuring the dynamic weight of the load;
- an accelerometer attached to the container in a fixed orientation and generating a correction signal for adjusting the acceleration used in computation of mass;
- and
- a controller receiving the weight signal and the correction signal, said controller programmed to apply the correction signal to the weight measurement signal to compute a more accurate mass.
A system for equipment usage tracking that determines which of a plurality of items of equipment is currently being loaded or unloaded, comprising:
- a beacon attached to each of the plurality of items of equipment, each beacon transmitting a beacon signal having a known signal strength;
- a receiver to receive the beacon signals from the beacons of at least the nearest items of equipment of the plurality of items of equipment;
- and
- a controller coupled to the receiver that:
- identifies a nearest item of equipment of the plurality of items of equipment by comparing signals from any beacons attached to the plurality of items of equipment that are close enough to be received, and determining that the nearest item of equipment is the one of the plurality of items of equipment with the strongest beacon signal, and
- tracks equipment usage based on assigning current equipment usage to the nearest item of equipment.
A method of estimating combine fill levels on a computer system, comprising;
- calculating a total fill weight for a first combine by summing fill weights for all unloading operations for a specified metric using the computer system;
- calculating an estimate of fill rate by dividing the total fill weight by the specified metric using the computer system;
- and
- calculating an estimate of a current fill level for the first combine by multiplying the fill rate for the first combine by the specified metric since last unloading for the first combine using the computer system.
A system for automatic diagnosis of weigh bridge health, comprising:
- a set of weigh bridges, each of the set of weigh bridges comprising at least four resistors organized as a Wheatstone bridge;
- and
- a set of circuits, each of the set of circuits used to excite and monitor a corresponding one of the set of weigh bridges through its terminals, each of the set of circuits comprising:
- a power source connected across the excitation terminal pair of the weigh bridge;
- a switchable current source coupled to a positive signal terminal at a mid-point of the weigh bridge;
- a switchable current source coupled to a negative signal terminal at the midpoint of the weigh bridge;
- a high-impedance buffer with input coupled to the positive signal terminal at the mid-point of the weigh bridge;
- a high-impedance buffer with input coupled to the negative signal terminal at the mid-point of the weigh bridge;
- an analog to digital converter coupled to the output of the buffer for the positive signal;
- and
- an analog to digital converter coupled to the output of the buffer for the negative signal.
A system for displaying information about the loading and unloading of a container on a vehicle to an operator of the vehicle, comprising:
- a means for automatically detecting whether the container is being loaded or unloaded;
- a means for dynamically detecting a dynamic weight of the container;
- a display for displaying dynamic loading and unloading statistics to a person in the vehicle;
- and
- a controller that receives information from the means for automatically detecting whether the container is being loaded or unloaded and from the means for dynamically detecting the dynamic weight of the container and generating the loading and unloading statistics for the display, said controller automatically reversing the display of the dynamic loading and unloading statistics between loading and unloading of the container based on information received from the means for automatically determining whether the container is being loaded or unloaded.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.