REMOTE MOISTURE SENSOR AND METHODS FOR THE SAME

• US 20140266253A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raven Industries Incorporated (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Raven Industries Incorporated (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Inventors: Acheson, John Earl, Fjelstad, Stephen Filip, Prairie, Douglas Samuel
• Granted Patent: US 9,310,329 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/664
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/1277 for measuring grain quality
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/223 for determining moisture content, e.g. humidity rain detectors on vehicle windows B60S1/0825
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food

Abstract

A system for measuring crop moisture content in a harvester elevator includes a receiver and processing node and one or more moisture sensing instruments coupled to one or more paddles of the harvested elevator, respectively. The moisture sensing instruments each include a moisture sensor and a transmitter in communication with a receiver and processing node. The moisture sensor is configured to dynamically measure the moisture content of a static harvested crop, relative to the sensor and corresponding paddle, at ascends in the harvester elevator.

Claims

1. A system for measuring crop moisture content in a harvester elevator having paddles for moving crop in an ascending segment, comprising:

a receiver and processing node;

one or more moisture sensing instruments, each of the one or more instruments including;

a moisture sensor configured for coupling with a portion of the paddle, and

a transmitter in communication with the receiver and processing node; and

wherein each moisture sensing instrument is coupled with a respective one of the paddles of the harvester elevator so that the each moisture sensing instrument moves with the respective paddle to measure a crop moisture content of a harvested crop as the harvested crop moves along the ascending segment of the harvester elevator.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the harvester elevator further comprises an elevator loop having a plurality of paddles, and the plurality of paddles are configured to move about the elevator loop in an elevator loop cycle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more moisture sensing instruments are distributed in the plurality of paddles of the elevator loop to have at least one moisture sensor in the ascending segment at any given time.

4. The system of claim 2 comprising at least two moisture sensing instruments coupled with at least two respective paddles of the plurality of paddles, and the at least two respective paddles are distributed on the elevator loop to continually measure the crop moisture content of the harvested crop ascending along the ascending segment.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more moisture sensors are configured to measure the crop moisture content of the harvested crop when a quantity of the harvested crop is static relative to the corresponding moisture sensor and ascending within the harvest elevator.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each moisture sensor of the one or more instruments is configured to measure the moisture content of a heterogeneous harvested crop.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more moisture sensing instruments includes:

a microprocessor configured to manipulate the plurality of crop moisture content measurements;

a power source configured to power the moisture sensor; and

an activation trigger configured to activate the power source and initiate sensing of the moisture sensor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more moisture sensing instruments includes:

a deactivation trigger configured to power down the moisture sensor while the corresponding paddle is moving along a descending segment of the harvester elevator; and

an activation trigger configured to power on the moisture sensor while the corresponding paddle is moving along the ascending segment of the harvester elevator.

9. The system of claim 1 comprising a measurement trigger in communication with the one or more moisture sensing instruments, the measurement trigger configured to initiate sensing with the moisture sensor in the ascending segment.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the measurement trigger includes at least one of a position sensor, a static moisture sensor, and an ascendance sensor configured for coupling with at least one of a paddle or a static portion of the harvester elevator within the ascending segment.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the measurement trigger includes near field communication.

12. A method for measuring crop moisture comprising:

engaging a plurality of paddles with a harvested crop in a trough segment of a harvester elevator;

moving the harvested crop through an ascending segment of the harvester elevator with the plurality of paddles; and

measuring a crop moisture content of the moving harvested crop in the ascending segment of the harvester elevator with one or more moisture sensing instruments, each coupled to one of the plurality of paddles, respectively.

13. The method of claim 12 comprising continuously measuring the crop moisture content of the harvested crop with at least one of the one or more moisture sensing instruments coupled to one of the plurality of paddles moving the harvested crop through the ascending segment.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of paddles of the harvester elevator are distributed in a configuration that positions at least one of the plurality paddles and one of the one or more moisture sensing instruments within the ascending segment throughout operation of the of the harvester elevator, and

wherein measuring the crop moisture content includes continuously measuring the crop moisture content of the harvested crop in the ascending segment.

15. The method of claim 12 comprising measuring the crop moisture content of the harvested crop when a quantity of the harvested crop is static relative to one of the one or more moisture sensing instruments and ascending within the harvester elevator.

16. The method of claim 12 comprising powering down at least one of the one or more moisture sensors of the moisture sensing instrument when the at least one moisture sensors is moving along a descending segment of the harvester elevator.

17. The method of claim 12 comprising triggering at least one of the one or more moisture sensing instruments to measure the crop moisture content of the harvested crop in the ascending segment.

18. The method of claim 12 comprising corresponding each of the measured crop moisture contents to a location on a field.

19. A method for measuring in-flow moisture of a harvested crop comprising:

continuously measuring a crop moisture content of a harvested crop moving within a harvester elevator of a combine, continuously measuring including;

measuring a plurality of discrete crop moisture contents in an ascending segment of the harvester elevator for a corresponding plurality of harvested crop quantities, each of the plurality of the harvested crop quantities is static relative to each of a plurality of paddles and instruments coupled with the paddles within the harvester elevator, each of the plurality of instruments include a moisture sensor, the moisture sensor configured to measure one of the discrete crop moisture contents of the harvested crop quantities;

communicating the plurality of discrete crop moisture contents to a receiver and processing node; and

generating a crop moisture content log with the plurality of measured discrete static crop moisture contents.

20. The method of claim 19 comprising generating a harvested crop moisture content map, including associating the plurality of measured discrete crop moisture contents with corresponding field locations.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein continuously measuring includes measuring with at least one moisture sensor of one of the plurality of paddles within the ascending segment at any given time during operation of the harvester elevator.

22. The method of claim 19 comprising determining an overall crop moisture content of the harvested crop from the plurality of discrete crop moisture contents.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein measuring the plurality of discrete crop moisture contents includes measuring the plurality of discrete crop moisture contents during all or a portion of travel along the ascending segment.