Load fill sensor system for grain storage vessels

• US 9,580,192 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S7 IP Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: S7 IP Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Gengerke, Shawn L.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUNNINGS, TRAVIS R
• Application Number:
  US14/700,602
• Publication Number:
  US 20150259084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 670 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/30 Devices or methods for controlling or determining the quantity or quality or the material fed or filled
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/32 by weighing check-weighing of filled containers or receptacles B65B1/46
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/48 Checking volume of filled material
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 7/00 Indicating measured values
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/2921 for discrete levels
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/802 Particular electronic circuits for digital processing equipment

Abstract

A system for remotely indicating the level of grain being loaded into a grain trailer. Plural vertically oriented sensing strips are affixed to a trailer'"'"'s hopper(s) sidewall of the trailer'"'"'s hopper(s) at spaced locations. Signals from transducer elements on the strips are delivered to an electronics module on the trailer'"'"'s forward wall. The electronics module includes a multiplexer for sampling the state of the strip transducers and a wireless transmitter for relaying the state data to a receiver and microprocessor in the cab of a towing vehicle. The microprocessor presents a visual display of height reached by the grain in a hopper as loading continues. Following system calibration where a pixel count of the load being displayed and a measured net weight of the load are determined using a scale, a calibration factor corresponding to the weight-per-pixel is stored for use in computing the weight and volume of subsequent loads.

Claims

1. A method of determining the weight of a load of grain being loaded into a transport trailer comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of elongated sensing strips, each having a plurality of regularly, longitudinally spaced transducers thereon;

(b) affixing said sensing strips vertically to a wall of the transport trailer at laterally spaced locations;

(c) providing an electronic module including a multiplexer connected to the transducers on the plurality of sensing strips and a wireless transmitter for transmitting transducer state data to a remote location;

(d) providing at the remote location a computer having a wireless receiver and a graphics display panel;

(e) presenting on the graphics display panel an image of the level of grain in the transport trailer based on the transducer state data;

(f) counting the number of pixels in said image;

(g) obtaining a calibration factor by weighing gross and tare weights of the transport trailer to obtain a net load weight and dividing the net load weight by the pixel count to obtain a weight-per-pixel value; and

(h) thereafter using the calibration factor and a pixel count for subsequent trailer loads to determine the weight of the subsequent loads.

2. The method of claim 1 and further including the step of computing the volume of the subsequent trailer loads by dividing the weight of the subsequent loads by a known weight-per-bushel of the grain involved.

3. The method of claim 1 and further including the step of maintaining a running log of the amount of grain transported from a field during predetermined time periods in the computer.