Unloading automation system for unloading crop
First Claim
1. An unloading automation system for unloading harvested crop from an agricultural vehicle into a container, wherein the agricultural vehicle is equipped with a discharge, the unloading automation system comprising:
- a filling degree measurement system adapted to, during the unloading, determine a level of harvested crop at at least one position within the container, the filling degree measurement system comprising at least one first ultra wideband tag and at least one first ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag is arranged to communicate with the at least one first ultra wideband base station via a wireless communication path, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag and the at least one first ultra wideband base station are positioned such that their wireless communication path gets distorted as the container is filled, resulting in a weakened ultra wideband pulse received by the at least one first ultra wideband base station;
a position measurement system adapted to determine a position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container, the position measurement system comprising at least one second ultra wideband tag and at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one second ultra wideband tag is adapted to generate a ultra wideband pulse and arranged to communicate with the at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one second ultra wideband tag is fixed in a known position relative to one of the agricultural harvester or the container and the at least one second ultra wideband base station is fixed in a known position relative to the Other of the agricultural harvester or the container, wherein the position measurement system is further adapted to;
obtain a distance of the at least one second ultra wideband tag to the at least one second ultra wideband base station from a communication between the at least one second ultra wideband tag and the at least one second ultra wideband base station; and
obtain a position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container from the distance of the at least one second ultra wideband tag to the at least one second ultra wideband base station,wherein at least one of the ultra wideband base stations or ultra wideband tags is a common ultra wideband base station or a common ultra wideband tag that is in the filing degree measurement system as well as in the position measurement system, andwherein the filling degree measurement system and the position measurement system are adapted to respectively determine the position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container and the level of the harvested crop at the at least one position within the container based on an ultra wideband pulse which is received or transmitted by the common ultra wideband base station or the common ultra wideband tag.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An unloading automation system for unloading of harvested crop from an agricultural vehicle, such as a combine harvester, into a container. The container may be part of a vehicle container combination that is arranged to maneuver next to the agricultural vehicle in the field. The unloading automation system includes a filling degree measurement system and position measurement system, wherein the position measurement is based on UWB technology. This non-optical technology improves measurement results in dusty environments. The filing degree measurement system and the position measurement system have at least one UWB tag or base station in common.
44 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An unloading automation system for unloading harvested crop from an agricultural vehicle into a container, wherein the agricultural vehicle is equipped with a discharge, the unloading automation system comprising:
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a filling degree measurement system adapted to, during the unloading, determine a level of harvested crop at at least one position within the container, the filling degree measurement system comprising at least one first ultra wideband tag and at least one first ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag is arranged to communicate with the at least one first ultra wideband base station via a wireless communication path, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag and the at least one first ultra wideband base station are positioned such that their wireless communication path gets distorted as the container is filled, resulting in a weakened ultra wideband pulse received by the at least one first ultra wideband base station; a position measurement system adapted to determine a position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container, the position measurement system comprising at least one second ultra wideband tag and at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one second ultra wideband tag is adapted to generate a ultra wideband pulse and arranged to communicate with the at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one second ultra wideband tag is fixed in a known position relative to one of the agricultural harvester or the container and the at least one second ultra wideband base station is fixed in a known position relative to the Other of the agricultural harvester or the container, wherein the position measurement system is further adapted to; obtain a distance of the at least one second ultra wideband tag to the at least one second ultra wideband base station from a communication between the at least one second ultra wideband tag and the at least one second ultra wideband base station; and obtain a position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container from the distance of the at least one second ultra wideband tag to the at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein at least one of the ultra wideband base stations or ultra wideband tags is a common ultra wideband base station or a common ultra wideband tag that is in the filing degree measurement system as well as in the position measurement system, and wherein the filling degree measurement system and the position measurement system are adapted to respectively determine the position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container and the level of the harvested crop at the at least one position within the container based on an ultra wideband pulse which is received or transmitted by the common ultra wideband base station or the common ultra wideband tag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13)
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12. A method for unloading crop from an agricultural vehicle into a container, using an unloading automation system for unloading harvested crop into a container, the unloading automation system comprising:
- a filling degree measurement system adapted to, during the unloading, determine a level of harvested crop at at least one position within the container, the filling degree measurement system comprising at least one first ultra wideband tag and at least one first ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag is arranged to communicate with the at least one first ultra wideband base station via a wireless communication path, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag and the at least one first ultra wideband base station are positioned such that their wireless communication path gets distorted as the container is filled, resulting in a weakened ultra wideband pulse received by the at least one first ultra wideband base station;
a position measurement system adapted to determine a position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container, the position measurement system comprising at least one second ultra wideband tag and at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one second ultra wideband tag is adapted to generate a ultra wideband pulse and arranged to communicate with the at least one second ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one second ultra wideband tag is fixed in a known position relative to one of the agricultural harvester or the container and the at least one second ultra wideband base station is fixed in a known position relative to the other of the agricultural harvester or the container, wherein the position measurement system is further adapted to;
obtain a distance of the at least one second ultra wideband tag to the at least one second ultra wideband base station from a communication between the at least one second ultra wideband tag and the at least one second ultra wideband base station; and
obtain a position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container from the distance of the at least one second ultra wideband tag to the at least one second ultra wideband base station;
wherein at least one of the ultra wideband base stations or ultra wideband tags is a common ultra wideband base station or a common ultra wideband tag that is in the filing degree measurement system as well as in the position measurement system; and
wherein the filling degree measurement system and the position measurement system are adapted to respectively determine the position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container and the level of the harvested crop at the at least one position within the container based on an ultra wideband pulse which is received or transmitted by the common ultra wideband base station or the common ultra wideband tag;the method comprising the steps of; measuring the level of harvested crop at the at least one position within the container; and measuring the position of the agricultural vehicle relative to the container.
- a filling degree measurement system adapted to, during the unloading, determine a level of harvested crop at at least one position within the container, the filling degree measurement system comprising at least one first ultra wideband tag and at least one first ultra wideband base station, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag is arranged to communicate with the at least one first ultra wideband base station via a wireless communication path, wherein the at least one first ultra wideband tag and the at least one first ultra wideband base station are positioned such that their wireless communication path gets distorted as the container is filled, resulting in a weakened ultra wideband pulse received by the at least one first ultra wideband base station;
Specification