System for analyzing spatially-variable harvest data by pass

• US 5,995,894 A
• Filed: 05/27/1997
• Issued: 11/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Blue Leaf IP Incorporated (CNH Industrial N.V.), CNH America Llc (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Case Corporation (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Inventors: Wendte, Keith W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US08/863,544
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 701/50, 701/1, 701/201, 701/208, 701/202, 705/4
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/127 Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45003 Harvester
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

An apparatus is provided which analyzes spatially-variable harvest data for one of the passes made by an agricultural harvesting vehicle through an agricultural field. The harvesting vehicle supports an implement for harvesting crop during each pass through the field. The apparatus includes a digital memory, an electronic display, a processor circuit and an operator-actuatable input device. The digital memory stores a geo-referenced map of the field including harvest data representative of at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop and pass data representative of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle through the field. The processor circuit is configured to read the geo-referenced map of the field from the memory and to generate a display signal therefrom which, when applied to the electronic display, generates visible indicia of at least a portion of the field and at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop. The operator-actuatable input device is coupled to the processor circuit and configured to generate an input signal which identifies one of the passes of the harvesting vehicle. The processor circuit analyzes the harvest data representative of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop that was harvested by the implement during the identified pass of the vehicle, and generates the display signal to cause the electronic display to display a result of the analysis in association with the identified pass of the vehicle.

Claims

1. An apparatus for analyzing spatially-variable harvest data for one of a plurality of passes made by an agricultural harvesting vehicle through an agricultural field, the harvesting vehicle supporting an implement for harvesting crop during each pass through the field, the apparatus comprising:

a digital memory which stores a geo-referenced map of the field including harvest data representative of at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop and pass data representative of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle through the field;

an electronic display;

a processor circuit coupled to the memory and the electronic display, the processor circuit configured to read the geo-referenced map of the field from the memory and to generate a display signal therefrom which, when applied to the electronic display, generates visible indicia of at least a portion of the field and the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop; and

an operator-actuatable input device coupled to the processor circuit and configured to generate an input signal which identifies one of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle;

wherein the processor circuit is further configured to analyze the harvest data representative of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop that was harvested by the implement during the identified pass of the vehicle, and to generate the display signal to cause the electronic display to display a result of the analysis in association with the identified pass of the vehicle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor circuit calculates an average value of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop that was harvested by the implement during the identified pass.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the average value includes an average yield for the identified pass.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor circuit calculates the total area harvested during the identified pass.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital memory includes a removable memory card.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the harvest data is selected from the group consisting of yield data and moisture content data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pass data includes a pass indicia identifying each pass through the field.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the input signal is representative of the pass indicia of the identified pass.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pass data includes data indicative of whether the implement was harvesting crop.

10. A method of analyzing spatially-variable harvest data for one of a plurality of passes made by an agricultural harvesting vehicle through an agricultural field, the harvesting vehicle supporting an implement for harvesting crop during each pass through the field, the method comprising the steps of:

providing in a digital memory a geo-referenced map of the field including harvest data representative of at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop and pass data representative of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle through the field;

displaying a visual map of at least a portion of the field on an electronic display, the visual map including a visual representation of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop;

identifying one of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle;

analyzing the harvest data representative of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop that was harvested by the implement during the identified pass of the vehicle; and

displaying a result of the analysis on the electronic display in association with the identified pass of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the harvest data is selected from the group consisting of yield data and moisture content data.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the pass data includes a pass indicia identifying each pass through the field.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of identifying one of the plurality of passes includes the step of selecting the pass indicia associated with the identified pass.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of analyzing the harvest data comprises the steps of:

reading the geo-referenced map of the field;

identifying the harvest data associated with the identified pass; and

calculating the result of the analysis of the harvest data associated with the identified pass.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of calculating the result includes calculating an average value of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop that was harvested by the implement during the identified pass.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the average value includes an average yield for the identified pass.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of calculating the results includes calculating the total area harvested during the identified pass.

18. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer-readable medium having computer program code stored therein for causing a computer system to analyze spatially-variable harvest data for one of a plurality of passes made by an agricultural harvesting vehicle through an agricultural field, by performing the steps of;

reading a geo-referenced map of the field including harvest data representative of at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop and pass data representative of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle through the field, the geo-referenced map being stored in a digital memory;

generating a map display signal to display a visual map of at least a portion of the field on an electronic display, the visual map including a visual representation of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop;

processing an input signal which identifies one of the plurality of passes of the harvesting vehicle;

analyzing the harvest data representative of the at least one sensed parameter of the harvested crop that was harvested by the implement during the identified pass of the vehicle; and

generating a result display signal to display a result of the analysis on the electronic display in association with the identified pass of the vehicle.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 18, wherein the step of analyzing the harvest data further comprises the steps of:

reading the geo-referenced map of the field;

identifying the harvest data associated with the identified pass; and

calculating the result of the analysis of the harvest data associated with the identified pass.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the step of calculating the result includes calculating an average value of the at least one sensed parameter.