System and method employing short range communications for interactively coordinating unloading operations between a harvester and a grain transport

• US 8,145,393 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2008
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Leaf IP Incorporated (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Original Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Inventors: Foster, Christopher A., MORSELLI, Riccardo, Vanhercke, Olivier Arnel, Wang, Guoping, Missotten, Bart M. A., Paquet, Bert Juul Frans, Posselius, John H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Carone, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Abdosh, Samir
• Application Number:
  US12/284,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 701/50, 701/200, 701/213, 460/213
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0295 by at least one leading vehicle of the fleet

Abstract

A system, and method of use thereof, that employs short distance communications signals, thereby limiting and localizing the dissemination area for such signals, for interactively coordinating crop material transfer operations between a harvester and a grain transport, including the automated conduct of an unloading operation, including commencement of the actual unloading of the grain through continuation of such unloading to termination of such unloading, which system and method of the present invention employs operating systems in the harvester and grain transport that so operate to become electronically linked to one another to thereafter operate in unison with one another to effect and control the conduct of the crop material transfer operation between the harvester and grain transport, with each of such operating systems having associated therewith a short range communications system for the transmission and receipt at close range of electronic data signals, such operating systems, when appropriately electronically linked to one another, being operable in conjunction with one another to exchange information, to maintain a communications link therebetween, and to automatedly coordinate and effect various activities of the harvester and grain transport as a crop material transfer operation is effected and proceeds.

Claims

1. A system employing short range communications for interactively coordinating and effecting crop material transfer operations between a pair of agricultural vehicles, comprising

at least one agricultural vehicle of a first vehicle type configured to have a crop material holding bin in which crop material may be retained and crop material transfer apparatus operable to effect the transfer of the retained crop material out of said crop material holding bin, said vehicle designated as a transferor type vehicle,

at least one agricultural vehicle of a second vehicle type configured to have a crop material receptor bin into which crop material may be deposited during a crop material transfer operation, said vehicle designated as a transferee type vehicle,

each of said transferor type and transferee type vehicles having an operating system that includes an operator interface portion, a sensor input portion, a master machine control portion, and an operation performance portion,

said master machine control portion operatively connected to said operator interface portion, said sensor input portion, and said operation performance portion,

said operator interface portion including operator input controls operable to provide operator input data to said master machine control portion,

said sensor input portion operable to monitor certain operational conditions and to provide sensor input data to said master machine control portion,

said output performance portion operable to effect performance of certain actions by such individual agricultural vehicle under control of said master machine control portion thereof,

each said individual agricultural vehicle also having associated therewith a communications control portion operable to transmit and receive short distance communication signals, said communications control portion operatively connected to said master machine control portion to effect the communication therefrom and thereto of communications data,

said master machine control portion responsive to said data provided thereto from said operator interface portion, said sensor portion, and said communications control portion to establish operational parameters for said individual agricultural vehicle, at least a portion of which operational parameters define a logistical data set,

said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle each being individually operable to enable vehicle to vehicle communications, designated V2V communications, thereby, each vehicle that is so operated to enable V2V communications thereby being a V2V enabled vehicle,

said V2V enabled transferor-type vehicles and said V2V enabled transferee-type vehicles when located within a given area and positioned with respect to one another to be within range of said short distance communication signals, communicating with one another to exchange data, including logistical data sets, on a point to point basis and

to negotiate and establish a linked pairing between a V2V enabled transferor-type vehicle and a V2V enabled transferee-type vehicle for the purpose of effecting a transfer of crop material from the linked transferor-type vehicle to the linked transferee-type vehicle, said linked transferor type vehicle and linked transferee type vehicle defining a linked vehicle pair having a paired short range communication link therebetween,

to establish a unified speed and positioning control for said linked vehicle pair and to effect a positioning of said linked transferee type vehicle closely adjacent to said linked transferor type vehicle suitable for transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle and the maintenance of said relative positioning therebetween, such positioning designated a transfer position,

to determine, when said linked vehicle pair are in said transfer position, the continuing viability of conditions for the transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle,

to commence, when conditions for the transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle are determined to be viable, a transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle,

said operating systems of said linked vehicle pair further interactively communicating with one another during said crop material transfer, with

said operating systems of said linked transferor type vehicle and said linked transferee type vehicle monitoring the continuing viability of conditions suitable for the transfer of crop material and to automatically terminate crop material transfer therebetween in the event of detection of non viability of conditions suitable for the continued transfer of crop material,

at least one of said operating systems of said linked transferor type vehicle and said linked transferee type vehicle also automatically effecting a termination of crop material transfer therebetween in response to at least one sensor input indicative of a crop material transfer completion condition, and

said linked transferor type vehicle and said linked transferee type vehicle additionally being responsive to vehicle operator inputs to effect a termination of crop material transfer therebetween,

whereby crop material may be transferred between a pair of agricultural vehicles that employ short range communications therebetween to interactively exchange data to coordinate the crop material transfer.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said transferor type vehicles and said transferee type vehicles are operable to perform different agricultural actions.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said transferor type vehicles include combine harvesters and said transferee type vehicles include grain transports.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein

said crop material holding bins of said transferor type vehicles include bin fill level sensors,

the fill level of said crop material holding bins is included within said logistical data set for said transferor type vehicles,

a sensed empty fill level of crop material within said crop material holding bins of said linked transferor type vehicle during crop transfer is considered a crop material transfer completion condition.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein

said crop material receptor bin of said linked transferee type vehicle includes a bin fill level sensor,

the fill level of said crop material receptor bin is included within said logistical data set for said linked transferee type vehicle,

a sensed empty full level of crop material within said crop material receptor bin of said linked transferee type vehicle during crop transfer is considered a crop material transfer completion condition.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said transferor type vehicles and said transferee type vehicles each include as part of said sensor input portions position determination systems for determining the position of said individual agricultural vehicle and said position is included within said logistical data set for said individual agricultural vehicle.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein upon determining a loss of position data of an agricultural vehicle of said linked vehicle pair at least one of said operating systems establishing a non-viable condition for crop transfer.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein upon determining a loss of said paired short range communications link at least one of said operating systems establishing a non-viable condition for crop transfer.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein

said master machine control includes a processor and a control program therefor, and

said operating system includes, associated with and distributed among said master machine control portion and said communications control portion, a communicator module and a communications conditioning module,

said communicator module being operable to control the transmission and reception of wireless communications signals by said communications control portion,

said communications conditioning module being operable to condition and link control and data signals provided from said master machine control portion of said operating system to said communicator portion of said communications control portion and to link and decipher control and data signals received by said master machine control portion from said communicator portion.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said communicator portion of said communications control portion includes a baseband control portion, a link manager portion, a host controller interface portion, and a transport portion.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said communications conditioning module includes a transport layer associatable with the transport portion of said communicator portion, a host controller interface driver portion associatable with the host controller interface portion of said communicator portion, and a high level driver portion that serves as a link between the control program for said processor and said host controller interface driver portion and said transport layer portion.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said communications control portion includes said communicator module and said master machine control portion includes said communications conditioning module.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein said short distance communications signals are microwave signals.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said microwave signals are associated with frequencies in the low gigahertz range.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein said communications control portion is configurable by a user to limit the broadcast range of said short distance communications signals.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein said operator interface portion is operable by an operator of said agricultural vehicle to enable and disable V2V communications by such agricultural vehicle.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein upon disabling of V2V communications for a given agricultural vehicle the operating system effecting a termination of any linked pairing of said given agricultural vehicle with other agricultural vehicles and any in-process unified actions by said given agricultural vehicle with any other agricultural vehicle with which said given agricultural vehicle had been paired.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein said operator interface portion is operable by an operator of said transferor-type vehicle to effect transmission of a crop material transfer request and said negotiation between said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle towards establishment of said linked pairing between said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle is responsive to said crop material transfer request.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein said communications control portion is operable to also selectively transmit to and receive from other equipment longer distance communication signals for given purposes.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said transferor type vehicles and said transferee type vehicles each include as part of said sensor input portions GPS position determination systems for determining the GPS position of said individual agricultural vehicle and said longer distance communications signals are utilized with said GPS determination systems.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein said operator interface portion is operable by an operator of said agricultural vehicle to abort an in-process crop material transfer, said abortion of said in-process crop material transfer effecting a termination of said linked pairing of said linked transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle and in-process unified actions thereof.

22. A method for interactively coordinating and effecting crop material transfer operations between a pair of agricultural vehicles, comprising

providing at least one agricultural vehicle of a first vehicle type configured to have a crop material holding bin in which crop material may be retained and crop material transfer apparatus operable to effect the transfer of the retained crop material out of said crop material holding bin, said vehicle designated as a transferor type vehicle,

providing at least one agricultural vehicle of a second vehicle type configured to have a crop material receptor bin into which crop material may be deposited during a crop material transfer operation, said vehicle designated as a transferee type vehicle,

each of said transferor type and transferee type vehicles having an operating system that includes an operator interface portion, a sensor input portion, a master machine control portion, and an operation performance portion,

said master machine control portion operatively connected to said operator interface portion, said sensor input portion, and said operation performance portion,

said operator interface portion including operator input controls operable to provide operator input data to said master machine control portion,

said sensor input portion operable to monitor certain operational conditions and to provide sensor input data to said master machine control portion,

said output performance portion operable to effect performance of certain actions by such individual agricultural vehicle under control of said master machine control portion thereof,

each said individual agricultural vehicle also having associated therewith a communications control portion operable to transmit and receive short distance communication signals, said communications control portion operatively connected to said master machine control portion to effect the communication therefrom and thereto of communications data,

said master machine control portion responsive to said data provided thereto from said operator interface portion, said sensor portion, and said communications control portion to establish operational parameters for said individual agricultural vehicle, at least a portion of which operational parameters define a logistical data set,

said transferor type vehicle and said transferee type vehicle each being individually operable to enable vehicle to vehicle communications, designated V2V communications, thereby, each vehicle that is so operated to enable V2V Communications thereby being a V2V enabled vehicle,

said V2V enabled transferor type vehicles and said V2V enabled transferee type vehicles operable, when located within a given area and positioned with respect to one another to be within range of said short distance communication signals, to communicate with one another,

enabling a transferor type vehicle and a transferee type vehicle for V2V communications,

positioning said V2V enabled transferor-type vehicle and said V2V enabled transferee type vehicle within range of said short distance communications signals,

operating said operator interface portion of said V2V enabled transferor type vehicle to effect transmission as a short distance communication signal of a crop material transfer request by said transferor type vehicle,

operating said V2V enabled transferor-type vehicle and said V2V enabled transferee-type vehicle to communicate and exchange data, including logistical data sets, therebetween in order to negotiate and establish a linked pairing between said V2V enabled transferor-type vehicle and said V2V enabled transferee-type vehicle for the purpose of effecting a transfer of crop material from the linked transferor type vehicle to the linked transferee-type vehicle, said linked transferor type vehicle and linked transferee type vehicle defining a linked vehicle pair having a paired short range communication link therebetween,

further operating said V2V enabled transferor type vehicle and said V2V enabled transferee type vehicle, when in said linked pairing, to communicate and exchange data between said linked vehicle pair,

to establish a unified speed and positioning control for said linked vehicle pair and to effect a positioning of said linked transferee type vehicle closely adjacent to said linked transferor type vehicle suitable for transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle and the maintenance of said relative positioning therebetween, such closely adjacent positioning designated a transfer position,

to determine, when said linked vehicle pair are in said transfer position, the continuing viability of conditions for the transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle,

to commence, when conditions for the transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle are determined to be viable, a transfer of crop material from said linked transferor type vehicle to said linked transferee type vehicle,

to communicate and exchange data between said linked vehicle pair during said crop material transfer, with said linked transferor type vehicle and said linked transferee type vehicle being operable to monitor the continuing viability of conditions suitable for the transfer, of crop material and to effect a termination of crop material transfer therebetween in the event of detection of non viability of conditions suitable for the continued transfer of crop material,

said linked transferor type vehicle and said linked transferee type vehicle also being responsive to sensor inputs indicative of a crop material transfer completion condition to effect a termination of crop material transfer therebetween, and

said linked transferor type vehicle and said linked transferee type vehicle additionally being responsive to vehicle operator inputs to effect a termination of crop material transfer therebetween,

whereby crop material is transferable between a pair of agricultural vehicles that employ short range communications therebetween to interactively exchange data to coordinate the crop material transfer.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said operating systems of said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle operate in conjunction with one another when in a linked pairing relationship.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle are automatedly operable, upon termination of said crop material transfer, to dissolve said linked pairing between said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein said linked vehicle pair is automatedly operable, if continuing viability of conditions for the transfer of crop material is determined to no longer exist, to effect a termination of any in process unified actions by said linked vehicle pair and dissolution of said linked pairing of said transferor-type vehicle and said transferee-type vehicle.