Patent ID: 6282967
Filing Date: 2001-09-04
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
In a conveyer for harvested crops having an apparatus for measuring the throughput of material being conveyed through the conveyer, conveyer blades for carrying the material, means for continuously moving the blades in a conveyer shaft, a first photoelectric device mounted so that its light beam is aligned substantially parallel to the surfaces of the blades, and a processor for determining the distance between the top edge of the material and the passing blade carrying the material from the light-dark periods of the signals, said processor taking into account the spacing of the blades and thickness of the blades and determining the apparent volume of the material on each blade from said distance and the cross-sectional area of the shaft; the improvement comprising:sensing means for emitting a photoelectric beam for sensing the orientation and position of the surface of the material on a conveyor blade relative to the light beam and for sending the same to the processor, and the processor being operative to determine the inclination and shape of the surface of the material on a conveyor blade and the volume of the material being conveyed.