Patent Description:
Self-propelled agricultural harvesters are well known and include, by way of example, combine harvesters, windrowers, and forage harvesters, all of which typically include a frame or chassis, an operator cab, an engine, and ground-engaging wheels or tracks. A cutting or pick-up header is often carried by the harvester, the header typically being considerably wider than the harvester and mounted to the front side of a feederhouse.

Crop material collected by the header is conveyed into the feederhouse before being conveyed in a generally rearward direction to crop-processing apparatus. In the case of a combine harvester, the processing apparatus serves to thresh the crop material and separate grain therefrom, whereas, in the case of a forage harvester or windrower, the crop material is typically passed through conditioning rollers.

Headers typically include a pair of crop dividers on opposite ends of a crop-gathering mechanism. The dividers divide and lift the crop, and guide it inwardly toward the crop-gathering mechanism, where it may be harvested by one or more harvesting tools, such as a set of oscillating blades. Dividers may carry divider points, which may extend forward or upward from the front of the divider. Harvesting headers may contact the ground in certain terrain (e.g., hilly, rough, etc.). Contact between the header and the ground may cause damage to the header and/or the ground.

<CIT> discloses a tomato harvester with an automatic header adjustment system having a tined control wheel mounted forward of a leading edge. A control mechanism is actuated by relative vertical movements of the control wheel for raising and lowering the leading edge of the elevator in response to ground surface irregularities sensed by the wheel.

A harvesting header for use with a crop-harvesting machine includes a header frame structured to be coupled to a front of the crop-harvesting machine, at least one harvesting tool carried by the header frame and configured to cut crop material, a rotatable arm coupled to the header frame at a pivot point and extending forward of the at least one harvesting tool when the harvesting header is used to cut crop material, a wheel coupled to the rotatable arm and configured to roll along a soil surface leading the at least one harvesting tool when the harvesting header is used to cut crop material in an agricultural field, and a sensor coupled to the header frame at the pivot point and configured to provide a signal to the crop-harvesting machine, the signal correlated to the angle of the rotatable arm with respect to the header frame.

An agricultural harvester includes a chassis, a feederhouse carried by the chassis, a processing system carried by the chassis and structured to receive crop material from the feederhouse, a grain bin carried by the chassis and structured to receive processed grain from the processing system, a harvesting header coupled to the feederhouse and configured to cut grain, and a control system configured to adjust a position of the harvesting header relative to the agricultural harvester.

A method of operating an agricultural harvester includes propelling the agricultural harvester through an agricultural field, sensing a contour of a soil surface leading at least one harvesting tool carried by a harvesting header, and adjusting a height of the harvesting header based on the sensed contour.

The illustrations presented herein are not actual views of any header or portion thereof, but are merely idealized representations that are employed to describe example embodiments of the present disclosure. Additionally, elements common between figures may retain the same numerical designation.

<FIG> illustrates an example agricultural harvester embodied as a combine harvester <NUM>. In the context of the present disclosure, the example combine harvester <NUM> is merely illustrative, and other machines and/or implements with like functionality may deploy certain embodiments disclosed herein, such as windrowers, forage harvesters, etc. The example combine harvester <NUM> is shown in <FIG> without a header attached, and includes a feederhouse <NUM> carried by a chassis <NUM> supported by wheels <NUM>. An operator cab <NUM> is mounted to the chassis <NUM>. In some embodiments, other or additional forms of travel may be used, such as tracks. Hydraulic cylinders <NUM> are shown affixed to the underside of the feederhouse <NUM> on one end and to the chassis <NUM> on the other end. The feederhouse <NUM> may move (e.g., up and down, pitch, tilt, etc.) based on actuation of the hydraulic cylinders <NUM>, which causes a detachably coupled header to also be raised, lowered, pitched, and/or tilted. A rotating shaft <NUM> may be configured to provide mechanical power to a header during operation of the combine harvester <NUM>. The rotating shaft <NUM> may be configured to operate at various speeds, as described in, for example, <CIT>.

In general, the combine harvester <NUM> cuts crop materials (e.g., using the header), and the cut crop materials are delivered to the front end of the feederhouse assembly <NUM>. Such crop materials are moved upwardly and rearwardly within and beyond the feederhouse <NUM> (e.g., by a conveyer) until reaching a processing system <NUM> that includes a thresher rotor. In one embodiment, the thresher rotor may comprise a single, transverse rotor, such as that found in a Gleaner® Super Series Combine by AGCO. Other designs may be used, such as axial-based, twin rotor, or hybrid designs. The thresher rotor processes the crop materials in known manner and passes a portion of the crop material (e.g., heavier chaff, corn stalks, etc.) toward the rear of the combine harvester <NUM> and another portion (e.g., grain and possibly light chaff) through a cleaning process. In the processing system <NUM>, the crop materials undergo threshing and separating operations. In other words, the crop materials are threshed and separated by the thresher rotor operating in cooperation with well-known foraminous processing members in the form of threshing concave assemblies and separator grate assemblies, with the grain (and possibly light chaff) escaping through the concave assemblies and the grate assemblies and to a cleaning system beneath the processor to facilitate the cleaning of the heavier crop material. Bulkier stalk and leaf materials are generally retained by the concave assemblies and the grate assemblies and are discharged out from the processing system <NUM> and ultimately out of the rear of the combine harvester <NUM>. The cleaned grain that drops to the bottom of the cleaning system is delivered by a conveying mechanism that transports the grain to an elevator, which conveys the grain to a grain bin <NUM> located at the top of the combine harvester <NUM>. Any remaining chaff and partially or unthreshed grain is recirculated through the processing system <NUM> via a tailings return conveying mechanism. Because combine processing is known to those having ordinary skill in the art, further discussion thereof is omitted here for brevity. In embodiments in which the agricultural harvester is a windrower or forage harvester, the processing system <NUM> may include conditioning rollers rather than separation devices.

<FIG> is a simplified view of a header <NUM> that may be attached to the feederhouse <NUM> of the combine harvester <NUM> (<FIG>) and used to harvest a crop. The header <NUM> includes a header frame <NUM>, at least one harvesting tool <NUM>, and dividers <NUM> at either end of the header <NUM>. The harvesting tool <NUM> is depicted as an oscillating blade, but may be any other tool used for harvesting crops that come into contact with the harvesting tool <NUM>. The dividers <NUM> may serve to define boundaries between crop material being harvested and standing crop (typically, material to be harvested in a subsequent pass through the agricultural field) by directing crop material on one side of the divider <NUM> toward the harvesting tool <NUM> and crop material on the other side of the divider <NUM> away from the harvesting tool <NUM>.

The header <NUM> may also include side drapers <NUM>, a center draper <NUM>, and/or a collecting auger <NUM> that together may transport cut crop material toward the feederhouse <NUM> of the combine harvester <NUM>. Headers are described in more detail in, for example, <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>.

<FIG> is a simplified side view of an agricultural harvester <NUM> that includes the header <NUM> (<FIG>) coupled to the combine harvester <NUM> (<FIG>). In addition to those elements illustrated in <FIG>, the header <NUM> may also include reel <NUM> configured to direct crop material toward the harvesting tool <NUM> (<FIG>) and a wheel <NUM> configured to lead the harvesting tool <NUM> when the header <NUM> is carried by the combine harvester <NUM> through an agricultural field.

The wheel <NUM> may be connected to an arm <NUM> and operable to rotate along a soil surface ahead of the harvesting tool <NUM>. The arm <NUM> may in turn be attached to the header <NUM> at a pivot point <NUM>. The arm <NUM> is configured to rotate about the pivot point <NUM>, so that the wheel <NUM> can remain in contact with the ground <NUM> (i.e., the soil surface) even when the ground <NUM> is not flat.

<FIG> shows the header <NUM> in more detail. As shown, an angle sensor <NUM> may be coupled to the arm <NUM> and configured to detect an angular orientation of the arm <NUM>. The angle sensor <NUM> may include a transmitter <NUM> configured to generate a signal correlated to the angular orientation of the arm <NUM> or the minimum distance from the ground <NUM> to the harvesting tool <NUM>. The signal may be transmitted to a control system associated with the combine harvester <NUM> (e.g., a computer having a user interface in the operator cab <NUM>).

The arm <NUM> may be pushed downward against the ground <NUM> (<FIG>) by a biasing member <NUM>, such as a spring. For example, the biasing member <NUM> may be a torsion spring, a coil spring, an air spring, etc. In certain embodiments, the biasing member <NUM> may be omitted, and the weight of the wheel <NUM> and arm <NUM> may provide downward force to keep the wheel <NUM> in contact with the ground <NUM>.

<FIG> is a simplified side view illustrating the agricultural harvester <NUM> encountering a change in topography (depicted as a hill, a ridge, etc.). As shown, the wheel <NUM> reaches the hill ahead of the harvesting tool <NUM> (<FIG>). The arm <NUM> rotates upward, pushed by the wheel <NUM>. The angle sensor <NUM> (<FIG>) detects a change in the angle of the arm <NUM>, and the transmitter <NUM> (<FIG>) transmits a signal to the control system. The control system may then adjust a height of the header <NUM> based on the detected topography that the harvesting tool <NUM> is about to encounter.

For example, and as shown in <FIG>, the control system may cause the feederhouse <NUM> to raise the header <NUM> to match the contour of the ground <NUM>, such that the harvesting tool <NUM> does not touch the ground <NUM>. The wheel <NUM> may enable the operator to set the desired minimum distance from the harvesting tool <NUM> to the ground <NUM> lower than is desired for conventional harvesting headers because the wheel <NUM> (in combination with the control system) may protect the harvesting tool <NUM> from damage. That is, by moving the header <NUM> when a change in the elevation of the ground <NUM> is detected, the agricultural harvester <NUM> may avoid contacting the harvesting tool <NUM> with the ground <NUM>. Furthermore, by automating the process of adjusting the height of the header <NUM>, the operator may harvest an agricultural field faster and more safely than with conventional equipment, because adjustments may be made while the operator remains in the operator cab <NUM>.

<FIG> is a simplified side view showing a header <NUM> having a non-contact sensor <NUM>. The non-contact sensor <NUM> may be, for example, a transducer configured to transmit and receive energy to and from the ground <NUM>. For example, the non-contact sensor <NUM> may transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, electromagnetic radiation (e.g., a laser), etc. The received energy may be reflected from the surface of the ground <NUM>. The non-contact sensor <NUM> may generate a signal corresponding to a distance from the non-contact sensor <NUM> to the ground <NUM>, and may send the signal to a control system associated with the combine harvester <NUM>, as discussed above. Non-contact sensors are described in more detail in, for example, <CIT>; <CIT>; and <CIT>.

<FIG> is a simplified flow chart illustrating a method <NUM> in which the header <NUM> or header <NUM> may be used for harvesting an agricultural field. In block <NUM>, the agricultural harvester is propelled through an agricultural field.

In block <NUM>, a contour of a soil surface leading the at least one harvesting tool is sensed. For example, the contour may be sensed by measuring an angle at which an arm leading the harvesting tool is oriented on a header frame. In other examples not according to the invention, the contour may be sensed with a non-contact sensor by transmitting energy toward the soil surface and receiving energy reflected by the soil surface.

In block <NUM>, a height of the harvesting header is adjusted based on the sensed contour. The height may be adjusted to avoid contacting the soil surface with the harvesting tool, or to maintain a selected height of the harvesting tool with respect to the soil surface.

Still other embodiments involve a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium) having processor-executable instructions configured to implement one or more of the techniques presented herein. An example computer-readable medium that may be devised is illustrated in <FIG>, wherein an implementation <NUM> includes a computer-readable storage medium <NUM> (e.g., a flash drive, CD-R, DVD-R, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a platter of a hard disk drive, etc.), on which is computer-readable data <NUM>. This computer-readable data <NUM> in turn includes a set of processor-executable instructions <NUM> configured to operate according to one or more of the principles set forth herein. In some embodiments, the processor-executable instructions <NUM> may be configured to cause a computer associated with the combine harvester <NUM> (<FIG>) to perform operations <NUM> when executed via a processing unit, such as at least some of the example method <NUM> depicted in <FIG>. In other embodiments, the processor-executable instructions <NUM> may be configured to implement a system, such as at least some of the example header <NUM> and combine harvester <NUM>. Many such computer-readable media may be devised by those of ordinary skill in the art that are configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the techniques presented herein.

The sensors disclosed herein may be used to direct a control system to move the harvesting header to prevent contact with the ground and to keep the harvesting header at a selected height for harvesting. Typically, if a harvesting tool contacts the ground, the harvesting tool may be damaged. Furthermore, rocks and other debris can damage harvesting tools. To avoid these problems, the height of a conventional harvesting header may typically be set high enough to avoid ground contact and debris. However, this height may be greater than is ideal for certain crops. Thus, the sensors disclosed herein may enable the operator to set the height of the harvesting header lower than would be possible with conventional harvesting headers, yet the sensors may help avoid damage caused by terrain variations.

Though one sensor is depicted on a harvesting header, multiple sensors may be placed on a single harvesting header. For example, one sensor may be mounted to each divider <NUM> to provide contour information at two points. In some embodiments, additional sensors may be located on appropriate mounts between the dividers <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A harvesting header for use with a crop-harvesting machine, the harvesting header comprising:
a header frame (<NUM>) structured to be coupled to a front of the crop-harvesting machine;
at least one harvesting tool (<NUM>) carried by the header frame and configured to cut crop material;
a rotatable arm (<NUM>) coupled to the header frame (<NUM>) at a pivot point (<NUM>) and extending forward of the at least one harvesting tool (<NUM>) when the harvesting header is used to cut crop material;
a wheel (<NUM>) coupled to the rotatable arm (<NUM>) and configured to roll along a soil surface leading the at least one harvesting tool (<NUM>) when the harvesting header is used to cut crop material in an agricultural field; and
a sensor (<NUM>) coupled to the header frame (<NUM>) at the pivot point (<NUM>), characterized in that the sensor (<NUM>) is configured to provide a signal to the crop-harvesting machine, the signal correlated to the angle of the rotatable arm (<NUM>) with respect to the header frame (<NUM>).