On-the-go sugar sensor for determining sugar content during harvesting
First Claim
1. A device for determining sugar content of an agricultural product while being harvested, comprising:
- a sample preparation mechanism for attachment to a harvester/defoliator and for use with a received agricultural product during harvesting to create an exposed sample of the agricultural product;
an illumination chamber for radiating the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
a sensor head for receiving radiation from the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
a spectrometer, coupled to the sensor, for converting the radiation into a corresponding spectral signal; and
a computer, coupled to the spectrometer, for receiving the spectral signal and for processing the spectral signal to determine an indication of sugar content of the agricultural product.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An on-the-go sensor for determining the sugar content of an agricultural product, such as a sugar beet, during harvesting or at other times. The sensor is coupled to a harvester/defoliator and uses a knife to slice a cross-section from the crown of the sugar beet during harvesting. An illumination chamber radiates the exposed crown, and a sensor head receives the reflected radiation. A spectrometer converts the reflected radiation to a spectral signal. A computer digitizes and processes the spectral signal to produce data points relating to the sugar content of the sugar beet. The processing of the data points includes normalization, linearization, and other techniques. One of the techniques eliminates the conventional need to use the spectral signature of a separate physical standard as a reference.
9 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A device for determining sugar content of an agricultural product while being harvested, comprising:
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a sample preparation mechanism for attachment to a harvester/defoliator and for use with a received agricultural product during harvesting to create an exposed sample of the agricultural product;
an illumination chamber for radiating the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
a sensor head for receiving radiation from the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
a spectrometer, coupled to the sensor, for converting the radiation into a corresponding spectral signal; and
a computer, coupled to the spectrometer, for receiving the spectral signal and for processing the spectral signal to determine an indication of sugar content of the agricultural product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for determining sugar content of an agricultural product while being harvested, comprising:
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preparing a sample of a received agricultural product during harvesting to create an exposed sample of the agricultural product;
radiating the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
receiving radiation from the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
converting the radiation into a corresponding spectral signal; and
receiving the spectral signal and processing the spectral signal to determine an indication of sugar content of the agricultural product. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of on-the-go sampling at intervals within a field containing a plurality of agricultural products to determine sugar content among the agricultural products, comprising:
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preparing a sample of a plurality of received agricultural products at particular intervals in a field during harvesting to create an exposed sample of each of the agricultural products at particular intervals;
radiating the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
receiving radiation from the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
converting the radiation into a corresponding spectral signal;
receiving the spectral signal and processing the spectral signal to determine an indication of sugar content of the agricultural product; and
recording the determination of the sugar content for each of the plurality of agricultural products. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for processing a spectral signal to predict sugar content of an agricultural product, comprising:
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receiving a light signal from an agricultural product;
converting the light signal into a spectral signal;
digitizing the spectral signal to produce a plurality of data points; and
processing the data points using dark signal values and a reference signal value to produce a plurality of normalized data points, the normalized data points having values related to sugar content of the agricultural product, and wherein the reference signal value is related to a magnitude at one or more wavelengths of the spectral signal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for processing a spectral signal to predict sugar content of an agricultural product, comprising:
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receiving a light signal from an agricultural product;
converting the light signal into a spectral signal;
digitizing the spectral signal to produce a plurality of data points; and
processing the data points using dark signal values and a reference signal value, eliminating the use of a spectral signature of a separate physical standard, to produce a plurality of normalized data points, the normalized data points having values related to sugar content of the agricultural product.
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33. A portable apparatus for use in determining a constituent content of an agricultural product, comprising:
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a sample holder for holding a sample of the agricultural product;
an illumination chamber for radiating the sample while in the sample holder;
a sensor head for receiving reflected radiation from the sample; and
a portable housing for containing the illumination chamber and the sensor, and for accommodating the sample holder. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method for processing a spectral signal to predict sugar content of an agricultural product, comprising:
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preparing a sample of a received agricultural product during harvesting to create an exposed sample of the agricultural product;
radiating the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
receiving radiation from the exposed sample of the agricultural product;
converting the radiation into a corresponding spectral signal;
receiving the spectral signal and processing the spectral signal to determine an indication of sugar content of the agricultural product; and
associating the indication of the sugar content with a particular location of the agricultural product. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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Specification