Method and apparatus for determining an area of harvested crop

• US 6,212,862 B1
• Filed: 02/26/1999
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Caterpillar Incorporated
• Inventors: Staub, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto, Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FABIAN-KOVACS, ARPAD
• Application Number:
  US09/259,020
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 56/102.A, 56/102.R, 56/102.D, 56D/IG.15, 56D/IG.2, 56/102.C, 374/13, 374/14, 374/15, 364/564, 364/488, 460/1
• US Class Current: 56/10.20R
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 41/127 Control or measuring arrangements specially adapted for combines
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 56/15 Condition responsive

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining an area of crop being harvested by a harvesting machine having a cutter bar of a known total width. The method and apparatus includes a position determining system located on the harvesting machine, and a processor located on the harvesting machine. The processor is adapted to receive position signals from the position determining system and to determine a first position of the harvesting machine, determine a first effective cutter bar width, determine a second position of the harvesting machine, determine a second effective cutter bar width, and responsively determine an area of a polygon bounded by the first and second positions, and the first and second cutter bar widths.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for determining an area of crop being harvested by a harvesting machine having a cutter bar of a known total width, including the steps of:

determining a first position of the harvesting machine;

determining a first effective cutter bar width at the first position;

determining a second position of the harvesting machine;

determining a second effective cutter bar width at the second position; and

determining an area of a polygon bounded by the first and second positions, and the first and second effective cutter bar widths;

wherein the area of the polygon is determined by;

dividing the polygon into areas having fundamental geometric shapes;

calculating the area of each fundamental shape; and

summing the areas of the fundamental shapes.

2. A method, as set forth in claim 1, further including:

determining a third position of the harvesting machine;

determining a third effective cutter bar width at the third position; and

determining an area of a polygon bounded by the second and third positions, and the second and third effective cutter bar widths.

3. A method, as set forth in claim 2, further including storing the areas of the determined polygons in a terrain map database.

4. A method, as set forth in claim 3, further including the step of determining a yield per area of harvested crop for each determined polygon area.

5. A method, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the effective width of the cutter bar is determined by determining a width of crop being harvested at the cutter bar.

6. A method, as set forth in claim 5, wherein the width of the crop being harvested is determined from the terrain map database, the terrain map database being dynamically updated as the harvesting machine harvests the crop.

7. A method, as set forth in claim 2, wherein the distance from the first position to the second position and from the second position to the third position is determined as a function of the distance the harvesting machine travels between subsequent position determinations and of a desired size of the areas of the polygons.

8. An apparatus for determining an area of crop being harvested by a harvesting machine having a cutter bar of a known total width, comprising:

a position determining system located on the harvesting machine;

a terrain map database located on the harvesting machine; and

a processor located on the harvesting machine, the processor being adapted to receive position signals from the position determining system and data from the terrain map database, and to;

determine a first position of the harvesting machine;

determine a first effective cutter bar width at the first position;

determine a second position of the harvesting machine;

determine a second effective cutter bar width at the second position; and

responsively determine an area of a polygon bounded by the first and second positions, and the first and second cutter bar widths;

wherein, to determine the area of the polygon, the processor is further adapted to;

divide the polygon into areas having fundamental geometric shapes;

calculate the area of each fundamental shape; and

sum the areas of the fundamental shapes.

9. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 8, wherein the processor is further adapted to:

determine a third position of the harvesting machine;

determine a third effective cutter bar width at the third position; and

responsively determine an area of a polygon bounded by the second and third positions, and the second and third effective cutter bar widths.

10. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 9, wherein the processor is adapted to store the areas of the determined polygons in the terrain map database.

11. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 10, further including a yield monitor located on the harvesting machine, wherein the processor is further adapted to determine a yield per area of harvested crop for each determined polygon area.