Agricultural harvester

• US 9,408,347 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2014
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Krone Agriculture Se
• Original Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Bernard Krone GmbH (Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Menke, Stefan, Schniederbruns, Bernd, Ambrosy, Lars, Hory, Rainer
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Truc M
• Application Number:
  US14/535,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 43/073 with controllable discharge spout
• CPC Class Codes: A01D 43/087 with controllable discharge spout
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0242 Control or determination of height or angle information of sensors or receivers; Goniophotometry
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/0403 Mechanical elements; Supports for optical elements; Scanning arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/101 with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129

Abstract

An agricultural harvester is provided with a pivotable discharge elbow that conveys picked-up and processed crop into a transport container of a transport vehicle. An electro-optical device is correlated with the discharge elbow. An electronic evaluation and control processing unit is connected to the electro-optical device and processes signals received from the electro-optical device to effect an automatic targeted control of the crop stream into the transport container based on the processed signals. The electro-optical device is a 3D laser scanner provided with a 2D laser scanner and a pivot unit that pivots the 2D laser scanner about an approximately horizontal axis.

Claims

1. An agricultural harvester comprising:

a pivotable discharge elbow configured to convey picked-up and processed crop into a transport container of a transport vehicle;

an electro-optical device correlated with the discharge elbow;

an electronic evaluation and control processing unit connected to the electro-optical device, wherein the electronic evaluation and control processing unit is configured to process signals received from the electro-optical device and effect an automatic targeted control of the crop stream into the transport container based on the processed signals;

the electro-optical device embodied as a 3D laser scanner comprised of a 2D laser scanner and a pivot unit configured to pivot the 2D laser scanner about an at least approximately horizontal axis;

wherein the 3D laser scanner in a first operating phase is configured to scan a maximum detection range for detecting objects;

wherein the 3D laser scanner is configured to reduce the maximum detection range during a second operating phase to a reduced detection range;

wherein the reduced detection range of the 3D laser scanner in the second operating phase is realized by limiting a pivot angle of the pivot unit.

2. The agricultural harvester according to claim 1, wherein the pivot angle of the pivot unit is dynamically adjusted as a function of a distance and an orientation of a detected transport container relative to the 3D laser scanner.

3. The agricultural harvester according to claim 2, wherein the pivot angle of the pivot unit is adjustable dynamically to scan only a front wall of the detected transport container that is closest to the 3D laser scanner and to reduce a pivot duration of the pivot unit.

4. The agricultural harvester according to claim 1, wherein the electronic evaluation and control processing unit is configured to evaluate data of individual line scans of the 3D laser scanner to determine a relative position of a transport container so that, due to a much reduced data volume of computations performed in the electronic evaluation and control processing unit compared to processing a point cloud of a complete 3D scan, the pivot angle of the pivot unit is adjustable much faster to a new relative pivot angle.

5. The agricultural harvester according to claim 1, wherein the 3D laser scanner is arranged on the discharge elbow and is pivoted together with the discharge elbow.