GB2216763A

GB2216763A - Harvested crop measuring apparatus for combine harvesters

Info

Publication number: GB2216763A
Application number: GB8905288A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hermann Garbers; Thomas Lejeune; Bernhard Wittrock
Original assignee: Claas KGaA mbH
Current assignee: Claas KGaA mbH
Priority date: 1988-03-08
Filing date: 1989-03-08
Publication date: 1989-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 2009-03-08
Also published as: DE3807492C1; FR2628286A1; FR2628286B1; GB2216763B; GB8905288D0; HU210469B; HUT49436A

Description

2216763 1 1 53821.01 Harvested crop measurinq aDDaratus for combine

harvesters The invention relates to harvested crop measuring apparatus for harvesting machines such as combine harvesters.

The problem of determining the quantity of crop harvested arises particularly nowadays in hire companies which use a combine harvester to harvest the crops for several clients, and for those farmers who wish to target fertilizers and sprays on the basis of the yield of individual fields.

It is known from DE-OS 25 58 820 to provide harvested crop measuring apparatus in which a store for the harvested crop is provided. This store is first filled with the harvested crop and then emptied again. The store is weighed when full and empty and the weights are recorded. This known method of determining the quantity of crop harvested is relatively laborious. The grain tank in the known apparatus cannot be rigidly connected to the other parts of the combine harvester in the usual way but has to be freely suspended from measuring devices, such as weighing cartridges, for example. An apparatus of this kind is sensitive and not sufficiently reliable under the rough conditions of harvesting.

In another known method, the quantity of crop harvested is determined by the degree of fullness of the containers and the specific density. However, because of the fluctuations in density which occur, this method does not achieve the required degree of accuracy.

One aim of the invention is to provide harvested crop measuring apparatus for harvesting machines such as combine harvesters which is of simple construction and can provide reliable and accurate measurement of the 2 quantity of material which has reached a receiving container. This quantity may be determined by means of a measured value 'which correlates directly with the weight.

According to the invention there is provided harvested crop measuring apparatus for harvesting machines, comprising a measuring container for receiving harvested crop therein, wherein the measuring container is rotatable and is arranged to be accelerated together with its contents, by means of a drive, in order to determine the moment of inertia and the weight of the contents which can be derived therefrom, the measuring container being arranged to be emptied after the acceleration process.

For continuous operation, it is expedient, according to a preferred feature of the invention, for two measuring containers to be provided, which can be loaded alternately.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a single measuring container is provided and a closable collecting container is arranged to be emptied into the measuring container.

In both of these embodiments, continuous measuring is possible. In both embodiments, all the harvested crop which eventually reaches the grain tank can be weighed, without any gaps. The apparatus is thus particularly suitable for accurate and continuous measurement of the weight of the harvested crop. The errors which occur with a measuring apparatus of this kind are generally very small. The apparatus has the further advantage that it is particularly capable of withstanding the stresses of combine harvester operation and these do not affect its accuracy of measurement.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a biasable spring is provided for accelerating the measuring container.

The measuring container is preferably rotatable 1 t 3 about a vertical axis.

It has also proved particularly useful for the harvested crop measuring apparatus to be provided downstream of an elevator and for the measuring container to be capable of being emptied into the grain tank, optionally via a screw conveyor for filling the grain tank.

The measuring container may have a closable base opening. For example, there may be a base flap which can be locked and unlocked.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a combine harvester provided with harvested crop measuring apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the arrangement of two measuring containers of the apparatus in the region of the head of an elevator; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of an adjusting linkage for a flap which will convey the harvested crop either to a first or to a second measuring container, as selected; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of a measuring container with an arrangement for cocking and releasing the rotary drive for this measuring container; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of the layout of the measuring and controlling means; and Figure 6 is a circuit diagram of the time measuring apparatus and the process control means for the motor drive.

Figure 1 diagrammatically shows a combine harvester. The combine harvester has an elevator 1, to which the threshed crop is fed through a horizontal screw conveyor 4. The threshed crop is conveyed by the elevator 1 to the elevator head 2 (see Figure 2) and from there is thrown into a device for measuring the 4 harvested crop. The measuring device, which will be described more fully hereinafter, has two measuring containers 7 and 8 mounted so as to be rotatable about vertical axes. The inflow of the conveyed crop into either the measuring container 7 or the measuring container 8 is controlled by means of a pivoting flap 6.

Figure 3 diagrammatically shows a side view of the actuating mechanism for the pivoting flap and the two measuring containers, whereas Figure 4 shows a plan view of part of the drive means for the measuring container 7. The pivoting flap 6 is mounted so as to be pivotable about a pivot spindle 13 between two end positions, one of which is shown in Figure 2. A pivoting lever 19 is connected at its rear end to a tension spring 20 located on the arm of a bell crank lever 21. On the pivoting lever 19 there is a roller 22 which cooperates with a support segment 24 provided on a crank pin 23. Mounted on the crank pin 23 is a connecting rod 25 which is hinged to one arm of the bell crank lever 21.

The crank pin 23 is located on a drive shaft 26 driven by a motor (not shown), said shaft 26 being rotatably mounted. This drive shaft carries two cams 9 and 10 arranged at a spacing from each other. The action of the two cams is explained with reference to the cam 9 only, which cooperates with the measuring container 7. The cam 10 cooperates with the measuring container 8 (not shown in Figure 3) in exactly the same way.

Rotation of the drive shaft results in pivoting of the cam 9 in the direction of the arrow 27 as shown in Figure 4. The roller 15 of a positioning lever 14 fixedly connected to the container 7 runs over the outer surface of the cam, with the result that the positioning lever 14 is pivoted out of its position of abutment at ga into its end position at 9b, counter to the force of the biased spring 11. The spring 11 is hinged at one end to a fixed point and at the other end to the 1\ measuring container 7. In the outermost cocking position as shown in Figure 4, the measuring container 7 is held in place as the cam 9 continues to rotate. After the holder has been released, the filled measuring container 7 mounted with low friction on the vertical spindle 12 is accelerated by means of the biased spring 11, in such a way that there is no relative movement between the inner wall of the container and the material filling it. The rotation of the measuring container 7 which takes place under the influence of the spring 11 is restricted to a relatively small angle of about 20 to 400. At the same time as the retaining mechanism is released, a timer is set in operation, to determine the time taken to accelerate the measuring container at a point shortly after the start of acceleration up to just before deceleration. The time taken for the acceleration is directly proportional to the contents of the container. Two optical couplings 17 and 18 are provided which detect the position of rotation of the measuring container at the two different measuring points in order to determine the pivoting time between the two measuring points.

The process described in connection with measuring container 7 is also carried out for the measuring container 8 in the same way. The corresponding positioning lever thereof is pivoted by the cam 10 shown in Figure 3.

However, the drive shaft 26 rotated by a drive motor (not shown) serves not only to actuate the cams 9 and 10 but also to move the pivoting flap 6 into one of the two pivot positions. The support segment 24 cooperates with the roller 22. The connecting rod 25 pivots the bell crank lever 21. Depending on the pivot position of the crank pin 23, under the influence of the spring, the pivot lever 19 is pushed into one or other of the end positions, with the result that the pivoting flap is located in one of the two end positions. In 6 each of the two end positions, the pivoting flap 6 allows the stream of material to flow into one of the two measuring containers.

Figure 5 shows a diagram of the measuring and control means for determining the throughput. The throughput determining means consist of two blocks connected to one another, namely the measuring control block and the drive control block. -Both blocks are supplied with energy from the power supply of the vehicle.

The measuring block consists of the two measuring containers 7 and 8, two capacitive level indicators 16 and 27, a pair of optical couplers 17 and 18 for the measuring container 7, and a pair of optical couplers 28 and 29 for the measuring container 8, both of such pairs permitting detection of the direction, and also the electronics 30 for the timing, evaluation, storage and indicators. These electronics include two independent counters 31 and 32. The counter 31 indicates the throughput at any one time, whilst the counter 32 indicates the totalled throughput, i.e. the throughput which has occurred up to the time of the reading.

The drive control block is made up of a start/stop control 33 for the electric motor M and the signal preparation and process control means required for this, in the unit designated 34.

The throughput is detected by filling an empty measuring container with cereal until the associated capacitive level indicator 16 or 27 sends a signal to the unit 34 to start the electric motor M. After the electric motor M has started up, the supply of cereal to the measuring container 7 or 8 which has just been filled is interrupted immediately and the cereal is then conveyed into the other empty container.

The starting up of the electric motor M also has the effect of unlocking the filled measuring container which is then rotated under the influence of the biased 1 7 tension spring. The full measuring container releases two pulses, at staggered intervals, to the optical couplers 17 and 18 or 28 and 29. The two-channel timing means in the electronics 30 calculate, with the aid of calibration curves already programmed in for the containers, the throughput at that moment corresponding to the level of fullness and displays this on the counter 31.

The electronics store and add up the throughput values simultaneously, so that the total throughput can also be indicated on the counter 32.

The motor control, consisting of the means 33 and 34, are essentially based on the fact that the capacitive level indicator 16 or 27 sends a start command to the start/stop control 33 for the electric motor M after the preparation of the signal in the unit 34. A switch integrated in the process control unit 34 stops the electric motor M by means of the control 33 at a given time.

All the electronic systems are supplied with energy from the power supply of the vehicle. An operating voltage of 5V is generated for all the electronic systems by means of the constant voltage part 35 of the power supply. The motor M receives its operating voltage directly from the power supply and not through the constant voltage part 35.

Figure 6 shows an electric circuit diagram of the measurement of time and the process control for the motor drive:

The energy supply to the time measuring circuit is effected by means of the fixed voltage part of the power supply VRI and the equalising capacitors Cl and C2 and the main switches S1 and S2. The resistors are Rl to R4 serve to limit the voltage for the operation amplifiers OP1 and OP2. The resistor R5 forms, with the capacitor C3, a noise suppressor at the NAND cutting trigger IC 1. The IC 2 forms, with R6, the time base for the 8 measurement and also the on/off switch. IC 3 consists of a counting unit with counter and reset inputs. The output of the IC 3 is a four-position LCD indicator drive.

From OPI a start pulse a is emitted, which initially sets the counter of IC 3 to zero via the reset input b. At the same time the inputs and outputs of IC 1 and the IC 2 are activated so that, via the pulse output c at IC 1, the counter input d of IC 3 is started 300 ns later. If a pulse e is emitted via the operation amplifier OP 2, it passes through the IC 1 and sets the output of IC 2 to zero. This in turn stops the counter input d of IC 3, via the output c, with a delay of 300 ns.

The indicator drives f of IC 3 then indicate the length of time which has elapsed between the two pulses of OP 1 and OP 2 in fractions of milliseconds, normally less than 1/10th of a millisecond.

The process control for the motor drive is constructed as follows:

The switch S1 ensures a supply of energy to the circuit and to the electric motor M connected thereto. The diodes D3 and D4 serve as a disconnection freewheel for the relay coil REL1 and REL2. The voltage limiting resistor R7 and the light emitting diode D2 indicate the operational readiness of the circuit. The basic resistor R8 switches the transistor T1 to llconductingll, when a voltage is present, whilst R9 is used as a deflecting resistor. The reed switch S3 operates as an opener with the function of stopping the conductivity of T1.

The varistor V1 is intended to divert the induction voltages after an interruption in current. The diode D1 has the effect of causing the circuit to go into self- holding after the button T has been pressed.

After short pressure on the button T, the relays REL1 and REL2 go into self-holding via the inductive 1 1 9 switch S3, the basic resistor R8 and the transistor T1 which is consequently conductive. At the same time, the electric motor M starts up and the light emitting diode D2 is extinguished. If the magnetic field is interrupted by the switch S3, the transistor Ti loses its conductivity. The relays REL1 and REL2 drop away and the light emitting diode D2 lights up. The electric motor then stops immediately owing to the short circuiting of its lead at the relay REL1.

Modifications of the invention, both in its broad aspects and its specific embodiments, may be apparent to a person skilled in the art and it is intended that such modifications are included within the scope of this disclosure.

1

Claims

1. Harvested crop measuring apparatus for harvesting machines, comprising a measuring container for receiving harvested crop therein, wherein the measuring container is rotatable and is arranged to be accelerated together with its contents, by means of a drive, in order to determine the moment of inertia and the weight of the contents which can be derived therefrom, the measuring container being arranged to be emptied after the acceleration process.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein two measuring containers are provided which can be loaded alternately.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein a stream of harvested crop can be fed alternately to the first measuring container and the second measuring container 20 by means of a pivotable flap.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein a drive motor is provided for operating both the drive for the measuring container and the pivotable flap.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a single measuring container is provided and a closable collecting container is arranged to be emptied into the measuring container.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a biasable spring is provided for accelerating the measuring container.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the measuring container is rotatable about a vertical spindle.

C 1 i i i 1 i i i i i i I i 11

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, provided downstream of an elevator, and wherein the measuring container is arranged to be emptied into a 5 tank for the harvested crop.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein a screw conveyor is provided downstream of the apparatus for feeding the harvested crop to the tank.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the measuring container has a positioning lever fixedly connected thereto and pivotable therewith, the free end of the lever being constructed to run over a cam which is arranged to be rotationally driven, the radius of said cam increasing continuously from an initial radius to a final radius, and there being a spring arranged to be cocked as the lever runs over the cam.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the measuring container has a closable base opening.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the measuring container has a base flap which can be locked and unlocked.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the drive for the measuring container comprises a spring, and wherein the measuring container is arranged to be held, by means of a releasable barrier, in a position of rotation in which the spring is fully cocked.

14. Aparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the measuring container has a level switch.

1 9 12

15. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein two optical couplers are provided to detect the position of rotation of the measuring container at two different measuring points in order to determine the time taken to pivot between the two measuring points.

16. Harvested crop measuring apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Published 1989 at The Patent Office. State House, 6,&'71 High Holborn,, London WCIR 4TP. Further copies maybe obtained from The Patent 0111M. Sales Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BR,5 3RD. Printed by Multiplex techniques ltd, St MaryOraY, Kent, C03OL- 1/87 i i 1 f i i 1 1 1 i j i i i i