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US 4,527,243 AGranted
Crop shear control
OwnerPeter W. Looseinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to electronic control of a crop shear for trimming the head and tail of a bar. The bar is scanned longitudinally by a camera to monitor its progress towards the crop shear. The bar is also scanned transversely by a second camera connected to a processor which analyses the shape of the bar to determine the optimum point for cropping. The method is also described for distinguishing between the outline of a bar and surface anomalies such as may be caused by water or scale on the bar.
Claims11
Apparatus for controlling a flying crop shear comprising,
- first electronic camera means positioned to scan in the direction of motion a moving bar to be cropped and to produce first video data in response to said scan,
- first means for analysing said first video data to determine the speed and position of said bar relative to said crop shear,
- means for controlling the motion of said crop shear to crop said bar at a desired point of crop,
- second electronic camera means positioned to scan the width of said bar and to produce second video data in response to said scan, and
- second means for analysing said second video data to determine said desired point of crop as a function of the shape of the end of said bar.
2 more elements
Crop shear apparatus comprising:
- a pair of blades operative to meet at a predetermined position, a motor for driving the blades, a position transducer for sensing the position of the blades at spaced time intervals, first computing means responsive to the position transducer to evaluate from the position of the blades an expected time of arrival of the blades at said predetermined position, a first camera for scanning a bar to be cropped while approaching the crop shear, first processing means responsive to the first camera to determine the position of the edge of the bar at spaced time intervals, a second camera for scanning the width of the bar to be cropped, second processing means responsive to the second camera to determine a desired line of crop on the bar, second computing means responsive to the first and second processing means for ascertaining the expected time of arrival of the desired line of crop on the bar at said predetermined position from the sensed positions of the edge of the bar and third computing means for controlling said motor as a function of the difference between the said expected time of arrival of said blades and said expected time of arrival of said line of crop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.