Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
ANALYZING HARVESTER EFFICIENCY
This invention relates to the separation of a desired part-
iculate material from a mixture of materials, and more particu-
larly to method and apparatus for analyzing the efficiency of
harvesting a particulate food product.
Harvesters for grains and other particulati~ food products
include components which are adjustable in order to achieve max-
imum efficiency of product recovery. In a grain harvester, for
example, such adjustable components include platform reel, shell-
ing cylinder, straw walkers and sieves, air blower, concave to
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cylinder spacing, and others. These are adjusted selectively
while periodically determining the amount of grain returned to
the ground with the chaff, straw and other trash.
In the harvesting of grain, for example, it has been the gen-
eral practice heretofore that kernels trapped with trash either
; ~ are manually counted on the ground within a given area, or are
manually caught up and counted in a basket or other container as
they are expelled toward the ground over a given distance of trav-
` el of the harvester, and then in either case the count is conver~
ed to bushels per acre of grain 10B8~ Thîs laborious and time
consuming procedure characteristically requires as much as two
days of harvesting to reach optimum adjustment of harvester com- -
ponents to achieve minimum grain loss. By that time it frequent-
ly occurs that harvesting has reached a field of different charac-
t ter whereby the procedure must be repeated. In any event, the
` labor time and intervening loss of grain represent substantial
cost factors of production.
A grain monitor has been proposed in which the sounds of
grain falling on a sounding board are picked up by a microphone
and the resulting electric signals are amplified and applied to a
meter to give an indication of a volume of grain being lost. This
monitor requires an extensive and costly filtering system for re-
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moving unwanted electric signals due to the extraneous noises de-
veloped by straw and other debris and by the harvester itself,
and the degree of accuracy of indication of quantity of loss per
acre is less than desirable.
In its basic concept, this invention învolves the dropping
of particulate material to be counted upon a transducer capable
of converting the impac~ energy of each particle dropped upon the
transducer to an electric signal, and counting said electric sig-
nals over a period of tims.
It is by virtue of the foregoing basic concept that the pr~
- cipal objective of this invention is achieved; namely, to over-
come the aforementioned disadvantages of prior methods and ap~r^
atus for analyzing the efficiency of harvesters and other types
of separators.
Another important object of this invention is the provision
of method and apparatus for analyzing harvester efficiency by
; which there i8 obtained a direct read-out of quantity per area of
particulate harvester product lost in the separation.
A further important object of this invention is the provi~n
of method and apparatus for analyzing harvester efficiency by
means of which rapid and precise adjustments of harvester compo- -
nents are afforded with consequent significant increase in effi-
ciency in harvesting.
Still another important object of this invention is the pro-
; vision of apparatus for analyzing harvester efficiency, which ap-
- paratus is of simplified construction for economical manufactureg
- is adaptable for use with a wide variety of commercially avail-
able harvesters of various types and sizes and provides precise
and faithful operation over extended periods of time with minimum
maintenance. -
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this inva~
tion will appear from the following detailed description, taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings of a preferred embo~nt.
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Fig. 1 is a view in longitudinal section of a conventional
grain combine harvester havin~ incorporated therewith harvester
efficiency analyzing apparatus embodying the features of this in
vention.
Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation of an impact sensing
component of the analyzing apparatus,
Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of electrical circuitry for
use in the apparatus of this invention.
For purposes merely of description of this invention, Fig.
1 illustrates a conventional combine harvester which includes a
frame-supported housing 10 mounted on laterally spaced rear id~r
wheels 12 and laterally spaced front driven wheels 14, the power
~; source for which (not shown) is controlled by an operator loc-
ated in the operator's seat 16.
Projecting forwardly from the housing is a header frame 18
which is adjustable vertically, while the rotary cutter 20 and
conveyor 22 thereof are adjustable rotationally. Within the
housing adjacent the outfeed of the header conveyor is a concave
24 which is adjustable toward and away from an associated shel-
ling cylinder 26~ the rotational speed of which is also adjust-
able. The outfeed from the concave i8 delivered, by means of a
rotary deflector 28, to the infeed end of a longitudinally elon-
gated straw walker assembly 30 which is inclined upwardly toward
the rear of the housing from whenoe straw or other bulk trash is
expelled back to the ground. The straw walker assembly overlies
an auger system 32 which d~livers the grain or other particulate
food product, together with chaff or other finely divided debris
to a vibrating sieve system34 within a cleaning shoe 36. An air
blower 38, associated with ths sieve system, effectively rsmoves -~
the chaff and other fine debris therefrom and discharges it rear~
wardly from the rear end of the cleaning shoe to the ground.
The separated grain or other particulate foo-d product passes
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through the sieve system and is de~ivered by conveyor means 40 -
to a product outlet 42.
As explained hereinbefore, a proportion of the grain or
other particulate food product is trapped with the straw and a~o
with the finer debris and is discharged therewith back to the
ground. In order to minimize this loss of particulate food pro-
duct, the operator is provided with controls by which to adjust
selectively the elevation of the header frame, the rotational
speed of the header components 20 and 22, the spacing of the con-
cave 24 relative to the shelling cylinder 26, the rotational s~eedof the shelling cylinder, the speed of reciprocation of the straw
walker assembly 30 and sieve assembly 34, the rotational speed
of the air blower 38 and, of course, the ground speed of the veh-
icle. By means of these various adjustments the operator ulti-
mately is able to achieve maximum efficiency of harvsster opera-
tion ? as represented by minimum loss of particulate food product
back to the ground.
This invention provides a method and apparatus by which the
operator is afforded a direct, continuous read-out of the quan-
tity of particulate food product discharged back to the ground
with the trash, whereby to enable the operator rapidly to make :~
the necessary adjustments to minimize th~ loss.
Thus, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of this
invention, thera is mounted at the rearward end of the straw waD~
er assembly 30 and at the rearward end of the cleaning shoe 36 a
sensing unit 44 and 44', respectively, positioned to intercept :
at least a portion of the trash and entrapped particulate food
product being discharged to the ground~ In the embodiment illus-
trated, each sensing unit comprises a hollow housing (Figs. 2 and
3) having a front wall 46, side walls 48, rea~wardly inclined
bottom wall 50 and partial rear wall 52 which terminates above :~
the rearward end of the bottom wall to provide an outlet opening
54. The housing is attached to the rearward end of the straw
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walker or cleaning shoe by such means as lateral tabs 56 provided
with openings 58 for the reception of screws or bolts.
Within the housing and spaced slightly upward from the bot-
tom wall 50 is a transducer impact plate 60. This plate slopes
downwardly toward the rear, to allow the trash and particulate
product to escape rearward through the opening 54 below the rear-
wall, and preferably is mounted resîliently within the housing as
by means of the peripheral rubber gasket 62.
Secured to the underside of the impact plate is a transducer
element 64 (the transducer element associated with sensing unit
44' being designated 64' in Fig. 4) capable of converting the im-
pact energy of each particle of grain or other particulate food
product falling upon the plate 60 to an electric alternating cur-
rent count signal. Accordingly, for purposes of this invention,
the transducer is considered to be the combination of impact
plate 60 and element 64.
; A variety of types of such transducer elements are commer-
cially available, one suitable type being the ceramic transducer
` available commercially as Astetic Model 89T. Transducers of th~
20 type provide an alternating current signal output having a fre-
quency that is characteristic of the density of the particulate
material impacted upon the plate 60. Thus, the transducer effect~
ively distînguishes the particulate material from the trash, for
subsequent analysis. Moreover, various types of particulate mat-
erials of different densities provide corresp~ndingly different -~-
transducer output frequency characteristics. Accordlngly, as
explained her~inafter, the apparatus of this invention is ad~st-
able to be responsive to a predetermined frequency, whereby to
accommodate the use of the apparatus in analyzing the separator
efficiency of operation on a wide variety of particulate mater-
ials.
Referring now primarily to Fig. 4 of the drawings, the -~
transducers 64 and 64' are connected across the prîmary windings
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of separate transformers 66 and 66', respectively, th~ secondary
windings of which are connected at one end to selPctor switches
68 and 70, respectively, by which one or both transformer outputs
may be connected to subsequent circuitry. Each transformer and
associatad transducer are shielded, as indicated by broken lines.
During adjustment of the harvester components, the operator
may manipulate the switches 68 and 70 for most effective monitor-
ing. Thus, during adjustment of the harvester components relat-
ing to the straw walker 30, the positions of the switches will
be as shown in Fig. 4. During adjustment of the harvester compo-
; nents associated with the cleaning shoe 36, switch 68 will be
transferred to the open position and switch 70 will be transfer-
red to the closed position. During normal operation of the har-
vester, both of the switches usually will be closed, whereby to
monitor both straw walker and cleaning shoe assemblies.
The transformer output is coupled through a bridged T active
filter, formed of a transistor 72 and the associated RC filter
network, to the input of an operational current amplifîer 74, for
example of the Norton type. The bridged T aotive network func-
tions to filter out high and low frequencies, leaving a desired -
narrow frequency band which is peaked, for example, at about 8Kh.
Further frequency selectivity is afforded by the feedback network
`~ associated with the amplifier.
The alternating current voltage output from the amplifier -
- 74 i9 applied to a calibration potentiometsr 76 which functions
to select the number of alternating current cycles to be applied
to subsequent circuitry. It i8 by this means that the width of
the impact plate 60 may be but a fraction of the total width of
the straw walker and cleaning shoe. Thus, for example, if the
width of the straw walker and cleaning shoe is five feet and the
width of the impact plate is chosen to be one foot, then the cal-
ibration potentiometer 76 is adjusted to pass the first five cyc-
les only of the alternating current voltage resulting from the
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impact of a single kernel or oth~r particle upon the plate 60.
The alternating current output is applied to a second oper-
ational amplifier 78 and thence, preferably, through a third op-
erational amplifier 80, These amplifiers, by virtue of their
associated feedback networks, function additionally as active
filters, to achieve maximum selectivity of desired frequency.
The output of the third amplifier 80 is applied to a Schmitt
trigger 82 to provide a positive square wave output.
Conveniently, the components 74, 78, 80 and 82 may b~ pro-
vided by use of integrated circuit Model LM 3900 m~nufactured byNational Semi-Conductor Corp.
The output of the Schmitt trigger is applied to an inverter
transistor 84 which performs the dual function of reducing the
voltage level to a value, for example 5 volts, suitable for use
- in subsequent circuitry, and also of inverting the square wave
signal for application as a count-up signal to the integrated c~
cuit lead read-out 86, at pin 15, for a first significant figure.
This read-out, as well as the read-out 88 for the second signi-
ficant figure, are self-contained counters, latches, seven seg-
ment decoders and seven segment drivers, and the pin designations
illustrated are those for the TIL-6 model manufactured by Texas
Instruments 9 Inc.
The maximum count output (pin 7) of integrated circuit lead
read-out 86, is connected to the count-up signal input (pin 15)
of lead read-out 88 by means of a dual inverter nand circuît 90,
92. This is illustrated in the drawing as one-half of integrated
circuit Model No. SN 7400 manufactured by Texas Instruments, Inc.
The maximum count output (pin 7) of integrated circuit lead read- ~
out 88 îs coupled to the count-up signal input thereof through a ~ ~-
signal delay circuit network formed of transistors 94, 96 and 98.
- This network functions to provide an extra input pulse to the
read-out 88, delayed in time relative to the input pulse from the
nand cîrcuit 90, 92 sufficiently to effect appropriate count with
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movement of the decimal point, when the count moves from .99 to
1Ø
The nand gates 100 and 102, which are the remaining half of
the integrated circuit containing thle nand gates 90 and 92, and
the similar nand gates 104, 106, 108 and 110 of an identical inte-
grated circuit, function to store the decimal point in its proper
position with each stored piece of information. These nand gates
are activated by control strobe pulses applied thereto through
line 112, and the resulting stored decimal point signal outputs
from the nand gates 100 and 102 are applied to the decimal point
signal inputs ~pins 13) of the read-outs 86 and 88.
The strobe pulses are generated on a time interval which is
related to the movement of the separator which, in the embodiment
illustrated, i9 the ground speed of the harvester. For this pur-
pose, a transducer 114 such as Astetic model 89T, is mounted on
the harvester. It is connected to one end of an elongated metal
probe 116 (Fig. 1) the opposite end of which is disposed in slid_
ing contact with one of the idler wheels 12 of the harvester, whe~
by noise signals generated by the sliding contact of the probe on
the idler wheel are converted into corresponding alternating cur-
rent voltage control signals.
Other types of transducers also are suitable for this pur-
pose. One such type is the magnetic sending unit Model No.7EP205W
manufactured by Motorola, Inc.
The alternating current control signals from the transducer
114 are put through a diode window formed of the diodes 116 and
118 to provide a constant amplitude voltage. This voltage is ap^
plied to transistor 120 the amplification of which is dependent
upon the spacing of the noise pulses. Further amplification is
afforded by transistor 122 and then the control signals are passed
through a diode 124 for rectification. A portion of the rectified
sigaalj se}ected by adjustment of the calibration potentiometer
~ 126 to represent a desired ground speed, then is amplified by dir-
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ect current amplifier transistor 128 and applied (pin 5) to th~
integrated circuit time base pulse generator 130. In the e~bodi-
ment illustrated, th_ pin designations conform to those of a neg-
ative triggered timer provided by integrated circuit Model NE555
manufactures by Signetics, Inc.
The amplified direct current output from transistor 128 func-
tions to modulate the timer 130. Thus, as the ground speed of the
harvester incrPases, more nois~ pulses are generated and hence the
increase in direct current voltage increases the modulation volt-
age, resulting in an increase in pulse rate from the timer output(pin 3).
The output pulses from the timer 130 are amplified and in-
verted at transistor 132 and supplied through the line 112 to the
decimal point storage gates described hereinbefore.
The strobe pulses from transistor 132 also are applied thrcugh
a delay network, formed of transistors 134, 136 and 138, to read- ~ -
out circuits 86 and 88 (pins 12) and the nand gate 108, to prov~
clear pulses. These clear pulses clear the strobe pulses in the
counter and the latch, but do not clear the read-out circuit.
Thus, the strobe pulses transfer the information from storage to
read-out, and then the delayed clear pulses clear the storage sys-
; tem in the counter so that the counting sequence can be repeated
on a timed cycle corrPsponding to the ground speed of the harves-
ter.
For example, at about one mile per hour ground speed, the
clear pulses rate is approximately 0.9 second, whereas at about
6 miles per hour the pulse rate is approximately 0.3 second.
These times represent a complete cycle of read-out.
The integrated circuit read-outs 86 and 88, and the associa- ~ -
ted circuitry illustrated in Fig. 4, is contained in a housing 140(Fig. 1) which is positioned for convenient viewing by the opera-
tor in the seat 16.
In the illustrated embodiment, wherein the apparatus is uti- ~-
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lized to analyze the efficiency of the harvester, the di~italread-out provided by the integrated circuits 86 and 88 is render-
ed substantially continuously (on a repeat cycl~ of less than one
second), and preferably in terms of bushPls per acre of grain
trapped with the straw and other debris and returned back to the
ground. Thus, the operator may adjust the various operating com-
ponents of the harvester selectively with the view toward reduc-
ing the magnitude of the digital read-out to a minimum. It has
; been found in actual practice that such minimum read-out, and
hence minimum loss of grain back to the ground, can be achieved
by harvester adjustments completed within the time span of travel
of the harvester over about 100 yards, as compared wlth up to
about two days under prior procedures.
Further 9 because of the speed with which harvester components
may be adjusted to achieve minimum grain loss, the ground speed
of the harvester may be increased by a factor of three or four
times normal harvester speed. Thus, whereas harvester ground
speed heretofore has been limited to a maximum of about 1.5 miles
per hour, the apparatus of this invention accommodates harvester
ground speeds in excess of five miles per hour. Accordingly, t~s
invention contributes significantly to increased harvesting rates
as well as harvesting efficiency.
It will be apprsciated that the method and apparatus of this
invention is adaptable for use in analyzing the ~fficiency of a
wide variety of types of separators in which a particulate mater- -
ial of a given density is to be separated from other materials of
different densities. For example, if the mixture of materials is ~-
conveyed to a separator on a moving conveyor, the control trans-
ducer 114 may be mounted for engagement with the conveyor to pro-
vide control strobe and clear pulses representative of the speed
of movement of the conveyor.
Further, the method and apparatus of this invention is adapt-
able for use in counting particules of particulate material in the
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absence of other material. Thus, for example, the invention may
be employed to count seeds as they arz delivered ~or planting in
the ground.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
changes may be made in the method steps and in the SiZ2, type,
number and arrangem~nt of parts of the apparatus described herein-
before, without departing from the spirit of this invention.
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