Patent Publication Number: US-2021185914-A1

Title: Self-propelled windrower with yield monitoring based on merger load

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to agricultural vehicles and, more specifically, to self-propelled windrowers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A windrower typically consists of a self-propelled tractor or similar vehicle, and a cutting mechanism which is either towed by the tractor or carried thereby. The cutting mechanism carried by a windrower is typically referred to as a header, and is supported on the windrower by forwardly projecting arms. Current practice in agriculture is to cut a relatively wide swath of the crop within a range of anywhere between 10 and 16 or more feet in width, and then consolidate the crop into a narrower, substantially continuous windrow, in which form the crop is left to dry in the field until the moisture content has been reduced to a value suitable for subsequent harvesting operations, such as baling. 
     More current practice is to combine multiple windrows together as they are being mowed. This practice eliminates a raking operation and also reduces the number of passes of subsequent harvesting operations (e.g., chopping and baling). With the advent of higher capacity forage harvesters and balers, merging windrows is become a more desirable practice. Windrow merging attachments are thus becoming more prevalent on harvesting machines. 
     While cutting the crop, it is difficult for an operator to get a real time, accurate estimation of the yield. Many estimation techniques rely on algorithms that make assumptions based on vehicle parameters, such as ground speed and header width, that do not account for variables such as crop density. 
     What is needed in the art is a self-propelled windrower that can address some of the previously described issues with known windrowers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein provide an agricultural vehicle with a controller that is configured to determine a crop yield based at least partially on a mass of crop material conveyed by a conveyor that is determined based on a mass of a merger frame supporting the conveyor. 
     In some exemplary embodiments provided according to the present disclosure, a merger system for an agricultural vehicle includes: at least one frame mount configured to couple to a chassis; a movable merger frame coupled to the at least one frame mount; a conveyor supported by the merger frame and configured to convey crop material; at least one load sensor associated with the at least one frame mount and configured to output load signals corresponding to a mass of the merger frame; and a controller operatively coupled to the at least one load sensor. The controller is configured to: determine a mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor based at least partially on the mass of the merger frame; determine a crop yield based at least partially on the determined mass of crop material; and output a yield signal corresponding to the determined crop yield. 
     In some exemplary embodiments provided according to the present disclosure, an agricultural vehicle includes: a chassis; a merger system carried by the chassis, the merger system having a movable merger frame suspended from the chassis, a conveyor supported by the merger frame and configured to convey crop material, and at least one frame mount coupling the movable frame to the chassis; at least one load sensor associated with the at least one frame mount and configured to output load signals corresponding to a mass of the merger frame; and a controller operatively coupled to the at least one load sensor. The controller is configured to: determine a mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor based at least partially on the mass of the merger frame; determine a crop yield based at least partially on the determined mass of crop material; and output a yield signal corresponding to the determined crop yield. 
     In some embodiments, a method of determining a yield of an agricultural vehicle traveling across a field is provided. The method is performed by a controller and includes: conveying collected crop material with a conveyor; determining a mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor based at least partially on a mass of a merger frame supporting the conveyor during conveying; determining a crop yield based at least partially on the determined mass of crop material; and outputting a yield signal corresponding to the determined crop yield. 
     One possible advantage that may be realized by exemplary embodiments disclosed herein is that the controller determining the mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor based on the mass of the merger frame provides a relatively easy and accurate measurement of crop material collection without interfering with crop flow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For the purpose of illustration, there are shown in the drawings certain embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements, dimensions, and instruments shown. Like numerals indicate like elements throughout the drawings. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of an exemplary embodiment of an agricultural vehicle in the form of a self-propelled windrower, provided in accordance with the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates a top view of the windrower of  FIG. 1  operating in a field to form a windrow; 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates a top view of the windrower of  FIGS. 1 and 2A  operating in a field to form a windrow that is merged with the windrow illustrated in  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a graphical user interface that may be presented on a display of the windrower of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method of determining a yield of an agricultural vehicle traveling across a field, provided in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , a side view of a typical self-propelled windrower  5  used for harvesting a crop material as it travels across the ground in the direction indicated by arrow “T.” Usually, a tractor  10  pushes a header  12  which severs the crop material from the ground, usually by a sickle-bar, rotary cutter or other functionally equivalent cutter. The tractor  10  has a chassis  11  for supporting various components of the windrower  5 , including a set of transversely spaced-apart drive wheels  14  for propelling the windrower across the ground and at least one, and typically a pair of rear wheels  16  in the form of castors which allow the windrower to turn. There is an operator cab  13  where the operator controls the windrower operation. The crop is cut by a cutter  17  in the leading edge of the header  12  and falls rearwardly into the header  12 . The crop material is urged toward the center of the header  12  where it may be conditioned prior to discharge from the header  12 . The crop is then ejected rearwardly from the header  12 , generally in the space between the drive wheels  14  whereupon it falls to the ground. Shields (not shown) are used to arrange the crop into a windrow that is formed generally along the longitudinal axis of the windrower  5 . 
     Windrower  5  also includes a merger system  20  which is disposed under chassis  11  for directing crop material being discharged from header  12  to a location laterally displaced from the longitudinal centerline of the windrower  5 . In this manner, windrows of harvested crop material may be positioned for merging with the harvested crop material from a previous separate pass by the windrower  5 , usually when the windrower  5  travels in the opposite direction along an adjacent path. 
     The merger system  20  includes a movable merger frame  21  coupled to the chassis  11  by one or more frame mounts, illustrated as front frame mounts  22 A and rear frame mounts  22 B. In some embodiments, a single frame mount is provided to couple the merger frame  21  to the chassis  11 . As can be appreciated from  FIG. 1 , the merger frame  21  may be suspended from the chassis  11 . The merger frame  21  supports a conveyor  23 , which may be an endless conveyor comprising a belt, that is configured to convey crop material, as will be described further herein. 
     In some embodiments, a lift mechanism  30 , which may include an actuator, is coupled to the merger frame  21  to raise and lower the merger frame  21  to selectively position the merger system  20  in a working position for windrow merging operation, and also in a non-working position for forming windrows that trail behind generally along the windrower longitudinal centerline. 
       FIG. 2A  illustrates a field  100  of standing crop materials during performance of the harvesting operation with the windrower  5 , with the standing materials being generally indicated by the cross-hatching contained within the schematic view of the field  100 . For purposes of describing aspects of the disclosed method, the field  100  is illustrated as being divided into a plurality of “triple windrow sets”, with each triple windrow set including three adjacent sections or strips of the field  100 . As such, when the standing crop material of the three adjacent field strips of each triple windrow set is cut using the windrower  5 , the severed material may be merged or deposited together to form a triple windrow. It should be appreciated, however, that only two merged windrows are illustrated herein for exemplary purposes. For instance,  FIG. 2A  illustrates three separate triple windrow sets (i.e., a first triple windrow set  102 , a second triple windrow set  104 , and a third triple windrow set  106 ), with each triple windrow set  102 ,  104 ,  106  including a central field strip  108  and first and second side field strips  110 ,  112  disposed along either side of the central field strip  108 . As will be described in greater detail below, the central field strip  108  of a given triple windrow set  102 ,  104 ,  106  may be cut initially by the windrower  5  to create an initial deposit of severed materials along such central field strip  108 . Thereafter, following one or more intermediate cutting passes along other portions of the field  100 , the first and second side field strips  110 ,  112  may be cut and deposited onto and/or adjacent to the initial deposit of several materials to create a triple windrow along the central field strip  108 . 
     It should be appreciated that  FIG. 2A  simply illustrates a portion of the above-described field  100 . Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that, although only three triple windrow sets  102 ,  104 ,  106  are shown in  FIG. 2A  (along with the nine associated field strips  108 ,  110 ,  112 ), the field  100  may generally include any number of triple (or single or double) windrow sets and associated field strips. It should also be appreciated that each field strip  108 ,  110 ,  112  may generally define a width corresponding to a width  116  ( FIG. 2A ) of the header  12  of the windrower  5 . Thus, as the windrower  5  makes each cutting pass across the field  100  along a centerline of each field strip  108 ,  110 ,  112 , the standing materials contained within such field strip may be severed from the ground and subsequently deposited onto the ground to form a windrow. 
     When initiating the harvesting operation, the windrower  5  may make an initial or first cutting pass along the central field strip  108  of one of the triple windrow sets in a first harvesting direction (e.g., as indicated by arrow  118  in  FIG. 2A ). For instance, as shown in  FIG. 2A , the windrower  5  may be configured to initially cut the standing crop material contained within the central field strip  108  of the first triple windrow set  102 . In such instance, the header  12  of windrower  5  may be aligned with the central field strip  108  directly between the first and second side strips  110 ,  112  of the first triple windrow set  102  while the conveyor  23  of the windrower  5  may be located at its raised position to allow the severed crop material to be deposited onto the ground directly below the windrower  5  along its longitudinal centerline. Thus, as the windrower  5  moves across the central field strip  108  of the first triple windrow set  102  in the first harvesting direction  118 , the header  12  may sever the crop material from the ground and project the severed material rearwardly underneath the raised conveyor  23 . As such, the severed materials may fall onto the ground to form a first windrow or deposit of severed materials  122  extending behind the windrower  5  along the central field strip  108  of the first triple windrow set  102 . 
     Upon completion of the first cutting pass, the windrower  5  may be turned around to allow a second cutting pass to be made across the field  100  in the first harvesting direction  118 . In some embodiments, the second cutting pass may be made across one of the side field strips  110 ,  112  of the first triple windrow set  102  (e.g., depending on which side of the windrower  5  that the conveyor  23  is configured to deposit materials). For example, as shown in  FIG. 2B , the second cutting pass is being made across the second side field strip  112  of the first triple windrow set  102  due to the conveyor  23  being configured to laterally deposit several crop material along the right side of the windrower  5 . However, if the conveyor  23  was, instead, configured to laterally deposit severed crop material along the left side of the windrower  5 , the second cutting pass may, for example, be made across the first side field strip  110  of the first triple windrow set  102 . Regardless, when making the second cutting pass, the conveyor  23  may be moved to its lowered or working position. Thus, as the windrower  5  moves across the side field strip  112  of the first triple windrow set  102  in the first harvesting direction  118 , the header  12  may sever the crop material from the ground and project the severed material rearwardly onto the conveyer  23  of the merger system  20 . As shown in  FIG. 2B , the severed crop material may then be conveyed laterally to the side of the windrower  5  via the conveyer  23  and deposited into the central field strip  108  of the first triple windrow set  102 , thereby creating a second windrow or deposit of severed materials  124  within the central field strip  108  of the first triple windrow set  102  that is located on top of and/or adjacent to the first deposit of severed materials  122 . 
     In known windrowers, it is difficult to reliably measure a crop yield during operation. This is due to a variety of factors, including non-homogeneity of crop density in the field, differing speeds of operation across the field, etc. While some solutions have been tried for predicting crop yield, many of the solutions are inaccurate because they rely on algorithms that make many assumptions or are cumbersome because they interfere with crop material collection. For these reasons, accurate crop yield measurements are typically not obtained until all of the crop is cut, collected, and weighed. 
     To address some of the previously described issues with known windrowers, and referring again to  FIG. 1 , the merger system  20  provided according to the present disclosure has one or more load sensors, illustrated as a front load sensor  24  and a rear load sensor  25 , associated with the one or more frame mounts  22 A,  22 B coupling the merger frame  21  to the chassis  11 . Each of the load sensors  24 ,  25  is configured to output load signals that correspond to a mass of the merger frame  21 . The load sensor(s)  24 ,  25  may be any type of sensor that is capable of measuring a load at the frame mount(s)  22 A,  22 B to measure the mass of the merger frame  21 , with many such sensors being known. In some embodiments, each of the frame mounts  22 A,  22 B may have a respectively associated load sensor  24 ,  25  so the load sensors  24 ,  25  can sense the load at each frame mount  22 A,  22 B. 
     The load sensor(s)  24 ,  25  are operatively coupled to a controller  40 . The controller  40  may be, for example, a central tractor controller that controls various functions of the tractor  10  or, alternatively, an application specific controller that controls the merger system  20 . In some embodiments, the controller  40  is also operatively coupled to the conveyor  23 , as will be described further herein. The controller  40  includes a memory  41  that can store machine code that is used by the controller  40  to control various functions. The controller  40  is configured to determine a mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  based at least partially on the mass of the merger frame  21 , determine a crop yield based at least partially on the determined mass of crop material, and output a yield signal corresponding to the determined crop yield. 
     The controller  40  is configured to determine a mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  based at least partially on the mass of the merger frame  21 . The controller  40  can determine the mass of crop material based on received signals from the load sensor(s)  24 ,  25 , which correspond to the mass of the merger frame  21 . In some embodiments, the controller  40  is configured to “zero” the determined mass to account for the mass of the merger frame  21  and the conveyor  23  being suspended from the chassis  11 , so the controller  40  determines only the mass of crop material being conveyed by the conveyor  23 . Various ways of zeroing the mass of load sensors are known, so further description is omitted for brevity. When multiple load sensors  24 ,  25  are included, the controller  40  can be configured to determine the mass at each load sensor  24 ,  25 , which can correspond to the mass supported by each frame mount  22 A,  22 B, and determine the sum of the determined masses to determine the mass of the merger frame  21 . 
     In some embodiments, the controller  40  is configured to determine the mass of crop material at a defined frequency. Determining the mass of crop material at a defined frequency, rather than continuously, can reduce the amount of computing power used to determine the mass. For example, the controller  40  may be operatively coupled to the conveyor  23  and configured to set a conveyance speed of the conveyor  23 . The conveyance speed defines a time period for performing an unload cycle, i.e., how long it takes for the conveyor  23  to unload an entire conveyor&#39;s worth of crop. The time period may correspond to, in the case of an endless belt conveyor, how long it takes for the conveyor  23  to rotate half of the belt. If, for example, it takes the conveyor  23  five seconds to unload an entire load of the crop material that is delivered to the conveyor  23 , the controller  40  can set the time period to be five seconds. The defined frequency can also be equal to the set time period (five seconds) so the controller  40  determines the mass of crop material every five seconds. By determining the mass at a frequency of the defined time period, the controller  40  determines the mass of the merger frame  21  as crop material is re-supplied to the conveyor  23 , which can maintain the accuracy of the determination while reducing the computing power needed. 
     After determining the mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23 , the controller  40  determines a crop yield based at least partially on the determined mass of crop material that is conveyed. Since any crop material that is conveyed by the conveyor  23  originates from the field, the mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  corresponds to the mass of crop material collected by the windrower  5  while the conveyor  23  is in the working position. In some embodiments, the controller  40  is configured to account for harvesting when the conveyor  23  is not in the working position, as will be described further herein. 
     The controller  40  can be configured to determine the crop yield in a variety of ways. For example, the controller  40  can be configured to determine the total mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  and divide that amount by a known area, which may be input to the controller  40  by an operator or determined by the controller  40  based on various parameters. If, for example, the operator inputs to the controller  40  that the harvested acreage is 2000 acres and the total mass of the crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  is 5000 tons, the controller  40  can determine that the crop yield is approximately 2.5 tons per acre. It should be appreciated that the controller  40  can determine the crop yield as a variety of units, including tons per acre, bushels per acre, etc. 
     The previous calculation assumes that the conveyor  23  is in the working position during the entirety of the collection. The controller  40  can be configured to determine, for example, when the conveyor  23  is not in the working position and take this into account when determining the crop yield. For example, when the windrower  5  is being used to form double windrows, the controller  40  may be configured to account for the conveyor  23  only being in the working position for half of the collection by either using half of the harvested acreage or doubling the determined mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23 . For triple windrows, the controller  23  can be similarly configured to use two-thirds of the harvested acreage or multiply the determined mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  by three-halves to account for the conveyor  23  being in the working position for two windrows to each windrow when the conveyor  23  is not in the working position. Thus, it should be appreciated that the controller  40  can be configured in a variety of ways to account for times when the conveyor  23  is not in the working position. 
     Alternatively or in addition to using the area based on operator input, the controller  40  can be configured to determine an area harvested to assist in determining the cut field. For example, the controller  40  may receive input from an operatively coupled speed sensor  60  to determine the ground speed of the windrower  5 , which corresponds to a ground speed of the merger frame  21 , and determine the area based on the ground speed. The controller  40  can also be configured to determine the area harvested based at least partially on a working width  116  of the header  12  and/or a conveyance speed of the conveyor  23 . It should thus be appreciated that the controller  40  may take into account different variables, in addition to the mass of the merger frame  21 , to determine the crop yield. 
     After determining the crop yield, the controller  40  outputs a yield signal corresponding to the determined crop yield. The controller  40  may output the yield signal to, for example, a display  50  placed in the operator cab  13  that causes the display  50  to display the determined crop yield, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In some embodiments, the controller  40  is configured to determine the crop yield for each individual row or strip  108 ,  110 ,  112  of the field  100  and output a corresponding yield signal to the display  50  so the display  50  displays a row crop yield icon  301  with the determined crop yield for each row. In addition, the controller  40  may be configured to determine the crop yield as a running average for the entire field  100  and output a corresponding yield signal to the display  50  so the display  50  displays a field crop yield icon  302  with the determined crop yield running average. It should thus be appreciated that the controller  40  can output various types of yield signals, depending on the determined crop yield, to provide an operator with real-time data concerning the crop yield. 
     From the foregoing, it should be appreciated that the merger system  20  provided according to the present disclosure allows for accurate, real-time monitoring of the crop yield that does not interfere with crop collection. Accurate mass measurements of the collected crop material may be determined by determining the mass of the merger frame  21 , which supports the conveyor  23  that conveys the collected crop material. Due to the placement of the load sensor(s)  24 ,  25  at the frame mount(s)  22 A,  22 B, the mass measurement of the merger frame  21  does not interfere with crop collection. Measuring the mass of the merger frame  21  also provides an actual measurement of the crop material that is collected, rather than utilizing an algorithm based on header width and ground speed, which may be inaccurate in instances where an entire width of the header is not cutting crop material. Therefore, the merger system  20  provided according to the present disclosure can accurately monitor crop yields in real time while avoiding many of the issues that are present in known systems. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary embodiment of a method  400  of determining a yield of an agricultural vehicle  5  traveling across a field  100  provided according to the present disclosure is illustrated. The method  400  is performed by a controller, such as the previously described controller  40 , and includes conveying  401  collected crop material with a conveyor  23 , determining  402  a mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23  based at least partially on a mass of a merger frame  21  supporting the conveyor  23  during conveying  401 , determining  403  a crop yield based at least partially on the determined mass of crop material, and outputting  404  a yield signal corresponding to the determined cut yield. The vehicle  5  may comprise, for example, a plurality of frame mounts  22 A,  22 B coupling the merger frame  21  to a chassis  11  of the vehicle  5  and a plurality of load sensors  24 ,  25  operatively coupled to the controller  40 . Each of the load sensors  24 ,  25  may be associated with a respective one of the frame mounts  22 A,  22 B so the load sensors  24 ,  25  output load signals corresponding to a load experienced at each mounting point of the frame mounts  22 A,  22 B to the chassis  11 , which may be used by the controller  40  to determine  402  the mass of crop material conveyed by the conveyor  23 . 
     In some embodiments, the crop yield is determined  403  based on the determined mass of crop material as well as other inputs. The additional inputs may be, but are not limited to, a ground speed of the merger frame  21 , which corresponds to a ground speed of the vehicle  5 , a conveyance speed of the conveyor  23 , and/or a working width  116  of a header  12  of the vehicle  5 . Alternatively, the crop yield may be determined  403  based on the determined mass of crop material as well as an operator input, such as a harvested acreage, that the controller  40  uses to determine the crop yield. The crop yield may be determined  403  in tons per acre, as previously described, or in other units, such as bushels per acre. 
     In some embodiments, the yield signal is output  404  to a display  50  that is disposed in an operator cab  13  of the vehicle  5 . Once the yield signal is output  404  to the display  50 , the display can present information about the crop yield that an operator can see during operation. The presented crop yield may be in the form a crop yield for each individual strip  108 ,  110 ,  112  of harvested crop and/or a crop yield running average for an entirety of a field  100 . 
     In some embodiments, the method  400  further includes setting  405  a conveyance speed of the conveyor  23  defining a time period for performing an unload cycle. Determining  402  the mass of crop material may occur at a defined frequency that is equal to the set time period to reduce the computing power needed to determine  402  the mass of crop material, as previously described. It should be appreciated that the frequency of determining  402  the mass of crop material may be varied to be different from the time period for the conveyor  23  performing an unload cycle. 
     It is to be understood that the steps of the method  400  are performed by the controller  40  upon loading and executing software code or instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computer readable medium, such as on a magnetic medium, e.g., a computer hard drive, an optical medium, e.g., an optical disc, solid-state memory, e.g., flash memory, or other storage media known in the art. Thus, any of the functionality performed by the controller  40  described herein, such as the method  400 , is implemented in software code or instructions which are tangibly stored on a tangible computer readable medium. The controller  40  loads the software code or instructions via a direct interface with the computer readable medium or via a wired and/or wireless network. Upon loading and executing such software code or instructions by the controller  40 , the controller  40  may perform any of the functionality of the controller  40  described herein, including any steps of the method  400  described herein. 
     The term “software code” or “code” used herein refers to any instructions or set of instructions that influence the operation of a computer or controller. They may exist in a computer-executable form, such as machine code, which is the set of instructions and data directly executed by a computer&#39;s central processing unit or by a controller, a human-understandable form, such as source code, which may be compiled in order to be executed by a computer&#39;s central processing unit or by a controller, or an intermediate form, such as object code, which is produced by a compiler. As used herein, the term “software code” or “code” also includes any human-understandable computer instructions or set of instructions, e.g., a script, that may be executed on the fly with the aid of an interpreter executed by a computer&#39;s central processing unit or by a controller. 
     These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Accordingly, it is to be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is intended to include all changes and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention.