Deere & Company

Peter A Johnson

John A Dighton

Bryan E Dugas

Rahul Gunda

Alexander C Reiners

Mark Leonard Pearson

Paul I Craig

Matthew J Hansen

Nikhil Chavan

A harvester including an inlet configured to receive a crop including a stalk, a blade configured to cut the crop into a billet, a sensor configured to detect a three-dimensional appearance of at least a portion of the billet and generate a signal associated with the three-dimensional appearance of the at least a portion of the billet, and a control system having a processor, a memory, and a human-machine interface. The control system is configured to receive the signal from the sensor and programmed to 1) analyze the three-dimensional appearance of the at least a portion of the billet, 2) classify the three-dimensional appearance using an indicator of cut quality and 3) index the indicator of cut quality into the memory.

Cut quality detection and reporting system for a harvester

A control system for a harvester includes a plurality of actuators, each of which moves of one of the following: a knockdown roller for pressing crops down, a side knife for cutting crops along a substantially vertical plane, a base cutter for cutting crops along a substantially horizontal plane, and a crop divider configured to separate crops into rows. The control system also includes a controller in electrical communication with each actuator of the plurality of actuators. The controller receives a signal indicative of an operational position of at least one actuator of the plurality of actuators, and sends a signal to the at least one actuator of the plurality of actuators to initiate movement of the at least one actuator of the plurality of actuators in response to the received signal.

Automatic product harvesting control system

A harvester including a mono-camera having a first field of view, where the camera outputs a first image representative of the first field of view, and where the first image is a two-dimensional representation of the first field of view. The harvester also includes a controller in operable communication with the mono-camera, where the controller establishes a second two-dimensional reference frame fixed relative to the first field of view, where the controller identifies a reference point within the first image, where the controller locates the reference point within the second two-dimensional reference frame, and where the controller calculates the location of the reference point relative to the first, three-dimensional reference frame based on the position of the reference point within the second two-dimensional reference frame.

Monitor system for a harvester

Systems and methods for determining a pre-charge gas pressure in a gas-charged hydraulic accumulator are disclosed. For example, systems and methods for determining pre-charged gas pressure of a gas-charged hydraulic accumulator included as part of a vehicle are disclosed. Further, the present disclosure provides for determining a pre-charge gas pressure of a gas-charged hydraulic accumulator using a position sensor. The accumulator may form part of a hydraulic system used to move one part of the vehicle relative to another.

Accumulator pre-charge monitoring using position sensor

An exemplary method generally includes charging hydraulic fluid into or out of a cavity of an accumulator at a controlled flowrate, detecting movement of a machine component from a first position toward a second position, determining an idle time spanning from a start of the charging to detection of the movement of the machine component, and determining a pre-charge of the accumulator based upon the idle time and a flowrate value of the controlled flowrate.

Accumulator pre-charge determination

A harvester including a frame supported by a drive assembly for movement along a support surface, a head unit coupled to the harvester and configured to selectively harvest crop material, a camera coupled to the frame and configured to generate one or more images of a field of view, and a controller in operable communication with the camera and the head unit, where the controller is configured to determine one or more crop attributes based at least in part on the one or more images produced by the camera.

Monitor and control system for a harvester

A method of moving a component of a harvester that includes a topper for cutting top portions of crops, a conveyor for transporting the cut stalks of the crops, a primary hood, and a secondary hood, each of the primary and secondary hoods operable to direct the cut top portions of the crops away from the conveyor. The method includes selecting a cutting mode of operation from the following modes of operation: circular cutting mode and face cutting mode; selecting a crop position from the following crop positions: crop at right and crop at left; selecting at least one component from the following components: the conveyor, the primary hood, or the secondary hood; and in response to selecting at least one component, automatically moving the selected at least one component to one of a first operational position or a second operational position.

Automatic product harvesting method and control system

A method of collecting material with a harvester when a storage vehicle is spaced from the harvester includes moving material from the field into the basket, actuating the conveyor for a first time period when the sensed parameter is above the set amount, transporting a first portion of the material a first distance with the actuated conveyor, after the first time period has elapsed, stopping the conveyor to store the first portion of the material on the conveyor, after the first time period has elapsed, if the conveyor can store more material, actuating the conveyor for a second time period, transporting a second portion of the material a second distance with the actuated conveyor and transporting the first portion of the material a third distance with the actuated conveyor, and if the conveyor cannot store more material, alerting an operator that the conveyor is full.

Automatic product fill method and control system

A control system for a harvester having a primary crop cleaner for cleaning a cut crop, and a secondary cleaner for cleaning the cut crop downstream of the primary crop cleaner. The control system includes a processor, a memory, and a human-machine interface. The processor is configured to receive an input corresponding to a desired cleaning level of the crop, monitor an actual cleaning level, control the primary crop cleaner based at least in part on feedback from monitoring the actual cleaning level and including adjusting a speed of the primary crop cleaner to move the actual cleaning level of the crop during harvester operation towards the desired cleaning level of the crop, monitor an error between the desired cleaning level and the actual cleaning level during control of the primary crop cleaner, and control the secondary crop cleaner based at least in part on the error.

System and method for controlled cleaning in a cane harvester

A control system for a harvester having a crop cleaner for cleaning a cut crop. The control system includes a processor, a memory, and a human-machine interface. The processor is configured to receive an input corresponding to a desired cleaning level of the crop, monitor the actual cleaning level, and control the crop cleaner based on feedback from monitoring the actual cleaning level to move the cleaning level of the crop towards the desired cleaning level of the crop.

A chopper and wide-spread impeller spreader that feeds crop residue from the chopper into the spreader at a specific upward angle to more fully utilize the momentum the crop residue achieves in the chopper. The spreader incorporates air intake holes and air fins above the impellers to keep crop residue moving through the impellers without plugging of discharge material. The chopper propels the residue upwardly into the spreader resulting in a wide-spread broadcast, while preventing crop residue from plugging the spreader.

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Thibodaux, LA, United States of America

Peter A Johnson