Grain quality sensor
First Claim
1. A grain quality sensor comprising:
- a photosite array;
an illumination source configured for directing light onto a crop sample;
a filter configured for placement between said crop sample and said photosite array;
wherein said filter is configured for limiting passage of light into different parts of said photosite array such that certain locations on said photosite array only receive certain wavelengths of light from said crop sample;
an electronics module electrically connected to said photosite array and configured for analyzing optical data received by said photosite array; and
wherein said analysis of said optical data includes splitting said optical data into subsets;
transforming said optical data into a color space;
determining distributions of light pixels in each subset in each dimension of said color space;
ranking said subsets from the narrowest distribution of light pixels to the widest distribution of light pixels; and
using said ranked distributions to distinguish between characteristics of said crop sample.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A grain quality sensor comprising a photosite array, an illumination source, a filter, and an electronics module, wherein the illumination source directs light onto a crop sample, wherein the filter limits passage of light into different parts of the photosite array such that certain locations on the photosite array only receive certain wavelengths of light reflected or fluoresced by the crop sample, wherein an electronics module is electrically connected to the photosite array and capable of determining which parts of the photosite array received light and the wavelengths of the light received, wherein the electronics module can analyze the optical data received by the photosite array, and wherein the analysis of the optical data is used to determine the composition of the crop sample.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A grain quality sensor comprising:
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a photosite array; an illumination source configured for directing light onto a crop sample; a filter configured for placement between said crop sample and said photosite array; wherein said filter is configured for limiting passage of light into different parts of said photosite array such that certain locations on said photosite array only receive certain wavelengths of light from said crop sample; an electronics module electrically connected to said photosite array and configured for analyzing optical data received by said photosite array; and wherein said analysis of said optical data includes splitting said optical data into subsets;
transforming said optical data into a color space;
determining distributions of light pixels in each subset in each dimension of said color space;
ranking said subsets from the narrowest distribution of light pixels to the widest distribution of light pixels; and
using said ranked distributions to distinguish between characteristics of said crop sample. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A grain quality system for a harvesting machine having a flow path for harvested grain material, which system comprises:
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a computer associated with said harvesting machine and including a processor, an input, and an output; said grain material flow path including a grain conveyor located internally within said harvesting machine; an illumination source configured for placement within said harvesting machine adjacent to said grain material flow path and configured for illuminating grain material in said flow path; an optical data capture sensor mounted within said harvesting machine and including a photosite array configured to be oriented towards said grain flow path and an electronics module connected to said photosite array; wherein said electronics module is configured for providing an output to said computer input representing a visual characteristic of grain material in said flow path; wherein said processor is configured for providing an output representing characteristics of said grain material in said flow path; a filter configured for placement between said grain material and said photosite array; wherein said illumination source is configured for directing light onto said grain material; and wherein said filter is configured for limiting passage of light into different parts of said photosite array such that certain locations on said photosite array only receive certain wavelengths of light from said grain material. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of determining grain quality using a grain quality sensor including a photosite array;
- an illumination source configured for directing light onto a crop sample;
a filter configured for placement between the crop sample and the photosite array; and
an electronics module electrically connected to the photosite array, the method comprising the steps of;said illumination source directing light onto said crop sample; said filter limiting passage of light into different parts of said photosite array such that certain locations only receive certain wavelengths of light from said crop sample; said electronics module receiving crop sample optical data from said photosite array; said electronics module splitting said optical data into subsets; said electronics module transforming said optical data into a color space; said electronics module determining distributions of light pixels in each subset in each dimension of said color space; said electronics module ranking said subsets from the narrowest distribution of light pixels to the widest distribution of light pixels; and said electronics module using said ranked distributions to distinguish between characteristics of said crop sample.
- an illumination source configured for directing light onto a crop sample;
Specification