SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING MATERIAL YIELD AND/OR LOSS FROM A HARVESTING MACHINE USING ACOUSTIC SENSORS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for acoustically detecting and quantifying bulk material, which system comprises:
- an impact sensor including a sensor case enclosing a sensor interior;
said sensor case mounting a strike plate adapted for striking by the bulk material;
said strike plate communicating acoustically with said sensor interior;
an acoustic device communicating acoustically with said sensor interior and adapted for providing an output signal in response to bulk material striking said strike plate; and
a processor connected to said acoustic device and adapted for receiving and processing said acoustic device output signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining material yield and/or loss from a harvesting machine using acoustic sensors and advanced signal processing capabilities is presented. The system consists of a sensor housing with an opening on one side of the sensor housing, a strike plate designed to fit into the opening, and an electronics module comprising a microphone and a signal processor designed to capture the sound waves created when material impacts on the strike plate, and convert them into an audio signal indicating the amount of material impacting the sensor at a given time.
34 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A system for acoustically detecting and quantifying bulk material, which system comprises:
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an impact sensor including a sensor case enclosing a sensor interior; said sensor case mounting a strike plate adapted for striking by the bulk material; said strike plate communicating acoustically with said sensor interior; an acoustic device communicating acoustically with said sensor interior and adapted for providing an output signal in response to bulk material striking said strike plate; and a processor connected to said acoustic device and adapted for receiving and processing said acoustic device output signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for acoustically detecting and quantifying grain flow in a grain-harvesting combine with a grain intake, a grain discharge and a grain flow path from the intake to the discharge, which system includes:
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an impact sensor mounted on the combine generally in the grain flow path; said impact sensor including a sensor case enclosing a sensor interior; said sensor case mounting a strike plate adapted for striking by the grain in the grain flow path; said strike plate communicating acoustically with said sensor interior; an acoustic device communicating acoustically with said sensor interior and adapted for providing an output signal in response to bulk material striking said strike plate; and a processor connected to said acoustic device and adapted for receiving and processing said acoustic device output signals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of detecting and quantifying bulk material in bulk material handling equipment with a material intake, a material discharge and a material flow path between said intake and discharge, which method comprises the steps of:
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providing an impact sensor with a sensor case enclosing a sensor interior; providing said impact sensor with a strike plate mounted on said sensor case; providing said impact sensor with an acoustic device; mounting said acoustic device in acoustic communication with said sensor interior; impacting said strike plate with bulk material and producing acoustic energy in said sensor interior; providing an output signal from said acoustic device corresponding to acoustic energy in said sensor interior; providing a digital processor connected to said acoustic device; processing said output signal and identifying bulk material impacts on said strike plate; and providing output corresponding to a characteristic of said material flow through said equipment. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification