Crop sensing system and method with immediate gap detection
AssigneeDeere & Company
InventorTyler D. Schleicher
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An agricultural machine includes a crop row sensor which has a movable paddle which interacts with plants in the crop row, and which periodically generates a sensor signal representing a position of the paddle. A signal processing system includes a memory which stores a plurality of sensor signals. The system determines a minimum magnitude of the stored sensor signals, and generates a drop rate signal representing a change in the sensor signal in a period of time. A gap detection unit generates the gap signal if the minimum signal is less than a threshold and if the drop rate is greater than a drop rate threshold. Thus, the system generates a gap signal when the paddle encounters a gap in the crop row.
Claims16
In an agricultural machine having a crop row sensor, the crop row sensor having a movable paddle which interacts with plants in the crop row, the sensor periodically generating a sensor signal with a parameter representing a position of the paddle, a signal processing system comprising:
- a memory which stores a plurality of sensor signals;
- a minimum signal measuring unit which determines a minimum magnitude of the sensor signals stored in the memory;
- and
- a comparison unit which compares the minimum magnitude to a threshold, the comparison unit generating a gap signal representing an absence of plants in the crop row if the minimum signal is less than the threshold.
In an agricultural machine having left and right crop row sensors, each crop row sensor having a corresponding left and right movable paddle which interacts with plants in the crop row, each sensor periodically generating a corresponding left and right sensor signal with a parameter representing a position of the corresponding paddle, a signal processing system comprising:
- a left memory which stores a plurality of the left sensor signals;
- a left minimum signal measuring unit which determines a left minimum magnitude of the left sensor signals stored in the left memory;
- a left error unit which generates a left row error signal as a function of the left sensor signal;
- a left comparison unit which compares the left minimum magnitude to a threshold, the left comparison unit generating a left gap signal representing an absence of plants in the left crop row if the left minimum signal is less than the threshold;
- a right memory which stores a plurality of right sensor signals;
- a right minimum signal measuring unit which determines a right minimum magnitude of the right sensor signals stored in the right memory;
- a right error unit which generates a right row error signal as a function of the right sensor signal;
- a right comparison unit which compares the right minimum magnitude to the threshold, the right comparison unit generating a right gap signal representing an absence of plants in the right crop row if the right minimum signal is less than the threshold;
- and
- a fusion/arbitration unit which generates a selected steering error signal as a function of the left and right row error signals and the left gap signal and the right gap signal.
In an agricultural machine having a crop row sensor, the crop row sensor having a movable paddle which interacts with plants in the crop row, the sensor periodically generating a sensor signal with a parameter representing a position of the paddle, a signal processing method comprising:
- storing a plurality of sensor signals in a memory;
- determining a minimum magnitude of the sensor signals stored in the memory;
- and
- comparing the minimum magnitude to a threshold, and generating a gap signal representing an absence of plants in the crop row if the minimum signal is less than the threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.