Deere & Company

Uticor Technology, Inc.

Andrzej Kozicki

Michael L Rhodes

James Joseph Phelan

Gerald Eric Rains

Robert C Funk

Zachary W Slavens

Georg A Kormann

Thomas Herlitzius

Michael Tuchscherer

Jens Teichmann

Andi Günther

Leo C Brower

A system for presenting a crop sample to a crop property sensor is in particular suited for a harvesting machine and comprises a bypass line branching off from a crop feeding assembly, a conveyor for feeding the branched-off crop through the bypass line without damaging the crop, and a crop property sensor for sensing one or more properties of the crop in the bypass line. The bypass line is upwardly angled or extends vertical, such that the conveyor elevates the material from the crop guiding channel to the crop property sensor.

Crop sample presentation system

A grain moisture sensing system having an excitation signal source for producing an excitation signal. A sensor cell having a driven plate and a sense plate that applies to the excitation signal for captive measurement between the driven plate and the sense plate to produce a current at the sense plate. Connected to the excitation source is a first synchronous detector and connected to the sense plate is a second synchronous detector.

Multiple frequency grain moisture sensor for combines

A grain moisture sensor having a sensor cell that includes a driven plate, a sense plate proximate to and substantially parallel with the driven plate for capacitive measurement across a spacing between the driven plate and the sense plate, and a fill plate adjacent the sense plate and substantially parallel with the driven plate for sensing whether the spacing is filled with grain. The grain moisture sensor provides for measuring real and imaginary components of an excitation voltage applied to the driven plate, measuring real and imaginary components of a sense current sensed at the sense plate, calculating a complex admittance of the cell, calculating a complex admittance of a reference admittance, and calculating a grain complex permittivity.

A grain moisture sensor is disclosed having a sensor cell that includes a driven plate, a sense plate proximate to and substantially parallel with the driven plate for capacitive measurement across a spacing between the driven plate and the sense plate, and a fill plate adjacent the sense plate and substantially parallel with the driven plate for sensing whether the spacing is filled with grain. Optionally, the sensor cell includes a guard proximate to the parallel to the sense plate such that the sense plate is between the driven plate and the guard. The grain moisture sensor provides for measuring real and imaginary components of an excitation voltage applied to the driven plate, measuring real and imaginary components of a sense current sensed at the sense plate, calculating a complex admittance of the cell, calculating a complex admittance of a reference admittance, and calculating a grain complex permittivity.

A voltage regulator circuit provides an economical approach for maintaining the RMS filament voltage of vacuum fluorescent tubes within an acceptable voltage range during input supply voltage variations. The regulator circuit includes substantially identical upper and lower clipper circuits which clip the AC voltage of a step-down transformer secondary. The supply voltage is allowed to vary so that the secondary voltage is outside of the acceptable range of voltage defined by substantially identical voltage reference circuits. Each of the voltage reference circuits is coupled to its respective clipper circuit and to the center tap of the secondary winding of the transformer so that the regulator circuit and the clipped output voltage are symmetrical about the center tap. Th regulator circuit is simple and power-efficient while keeping the filament voltage within the acceptable range of voltages.

Growing community of inventors

Milan, IL, United States of America

Andrzej Kozicki