Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF T~l~ INV~NTION
This invention relates to combine harvester~ and
the like and more particularly to a device ~or monitoring
the grain loss during the harvesting o~eration.
A combine harvester or simllar machine used to
harvest grain is provided Wit}l mea~s to vary the ground
speed so that di~ferent crop conditions may be accommodated.
There are many ~actors a~ecting the harvesting o~ the crop
such as varying moisture content, varying quantity o~ grain
- 10 and straw, the height o~ the crop and *he general quality
- o~ the grain.
Each combine machine, o~ course, has an ideal
operating speed ~or any particular crop condition and thi~
speed is determined by the ~eed rate, the conveyor rate, the
co~cave width and the straw walker assembly design.
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At one particular ground speed, the combine is
capable o~ recovering the highest percentage o~ grain ~or
that particular crop condition under which it is operating
and this speed is normally determined by an operator who,
depending upon his experience, visually judges the crop con-
ditions and knows the various adjustments and capabilities
o~ his machine.
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However, it will be appreciated that crop condi-
tions can vary widely in the same ~ield so that it is neces-
sary ~or the operator to constantly vary the speed o~ his
machine in order to attempt to maintain the machine at the
mo~t e~icient gr~u~dspeed~
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One method o~ measuring the e~iciency o~ the ma-
chine under certain conditions, is to measure the amount o~
grain lost over the back oi the sieve component and over the
straw walker assembly. Such devices, however, su~er ~rom
10 the inability to distinguish grain ~rom other threshed crop
materials such as heads, cha~, s~raw and the like.
; .' ,' . SUMMARY OF T~E INVENTION
The present invention has several objects in view
; in order to enable the operator to control his machine so
. 15 that the grain loss is minimal thereby ensuring that the
.. harvesting is proceeding most ei~iciently.
One O~e the principal objects o~ the present device
is to provide a monitoring device which constantly samples a
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~ percentage oi the grain passing over the rear o~ the sieve
~ 20 and automatically translat~s this to display the total amount
o~ grain being lost at this particular location. Obviously,
it would be desirable to measure the entire quantity o~ grain
passing over the rear o~ the sieve, but this is not practical
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so that -the samplin~ method is utilized.
Another aspec-t oE the invention consists of sampling
the amount of grain passing over the straw walkers and in this
regard, a unique approach is used. The loss sensing of grain
over the straw walker assembly is more difficul-t than measur-
ing the grain passing over the rear of a sieve component
because putting a sensor into the flow of straw obstructs the
~ straw and may cause blockage to occur.
.~ As the grain-straw mixture is fed into the front
of the straw walker, separation commences. It has been found
that the majority of grain is separated at the front end of -
the straw walker assembly and as the mixture of grain and
straw proceeds to the rear end of the assembly, the amount
of grain coming out of the mixture decreases.
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This is apparent because as the mixture proceeds
- to the rear, it contains a lesser amount of grain but the
quantity of straw remains constant.
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. Tests on straw walkers have shown that the amount
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of grain lost over the end of the straw walker is approxima-
tely equal to the amount of grain separated in the last 18
inches of the straw walker. Therefore, by sensing the amount ~`
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o~ grain that is s~para-ted in the l~st 18 inches o~ th~
walker, ~n indication is ~iven o~ how much is being lost
and althou~h this 18 inches distance varies with the amount
o~ material being combined and the weight ratio o~ grain to
straw, navertheless when operating at capacity, this length
remains relatively constant and can be used to give an in-
dication o~ the grain loss over the and o~ the straw walker
without inter~ering with the ~low ~ straw thereover.
Both o~ the sensors used in the present apparatus
utilize the sound o~ grain impinging upnn a sensing device
thereby COB tantly sampling a percentage o~ thegrain passing
over the sieve componepts or being separated by the rear por-
tlon o~ the straw walker assembly. ~
Inso~ar as the sieve component is concerned, a plu-
rality sensing ~ingers depend ~rom a common support tube in
: spaced relationship and the sound o~ the grain impinging upon
these sensing ~ingers, is transmitted to the tube and through
a column of air therein, to an electrical transducer at one
end thereo~ whereupon the sounds are ampli~ied, thereby ~orm-
are
ing pulses which in turn/~ed through a band-pass ~ilter, trans-
~erred to square wave pulses and then connected to a measuring
~ circuit. At this point, the measuring circuit multiplies the
- pulses by a pre-determined ~igure in order to calculate 100%
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of the grain of which a small percentage has been sampled.
This is then ~isplayed on a convenien-t meter so that the
operator knows at all times the quantity of grain passing
over the rear of the sieve componen-t.
The transducer measuring the amount of grain sepa-
rated in the last portion of the straw walker is aLso detected
and sensed by an electrical transducer and is fed through
; similar circuitry to be displayed upon the same display means
or meter, one or the other being selected by means of a con-
venient switch.
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However, another advantage of the invention is to
' provide means whereby the amount of grain passing over the
sieve component and the amount of grain separated by the straw
walker assernbly can be added together to display a total
amount of grain being lost during the combining operation at
any one time.
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As an example, the operator can tell at all times
the total amount of grain being lost, but if it exceeds a
- pre-determined,amount, he can select the read-out from the `'
monitoring of the sieve component or the read-out giving
' the monitoring of the straw walker assembly and may thus
~' ascertain where the excess grain is being lost and make the `
necessary adjustments in order to correct the situation.
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In accordance with the present invention there is
provided a grain loss monitor for combines and the like which
include a sieve component and a straw walker assembly; said
grain loss monitor including a grain loss sensor component,
said sensor component being situa-ted within said combine
whereby a constant percentage of grain passing through said
combine impinges upon said component, said component includ-
ing a sensor tube having a column therein, and transducer means
at one end of said tube~ the sound of grain impinging upon said
sensor component being transmitted to said transducer means,
and a measuring circuit operatively connected to said trans-
ducer means.
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A further aspect of the invention consists of a method
~ of measuring the grain loss by a combine or the like comprising
: 15 the steps of constantly sampling a percentage of the grain
: passing over the rear end of the sieve component of the com-
bine, electrically detecting the said percentage of grain in
the form of pulses, calculating the total amount of grain pass- ~ .
ing over the rear end of the sieve from the percentage sample
` 20 and displaying same in a read-out device, continually sampling
a percentage of grain separated by the rear portion of the
. straw walker assembly of the combine, electrically detecting
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the said percentage of the grain in the form of pulses, cal-
culating the total amount of grain separated by the rear por-
tion of the straw walker from the said percentage sample and
displaying same in a read-out device and then adding the total
: amount of grain passing over the rear end of the sieve to the
:~ total amount of grain separated by the rear portion of
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the straw walker thereby monitoring on a con-tinuous basis,
the total amount of grain lost over the sieve component and
straw walker assembly.
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Another advantage of the invention is to provide a
device of the character herewithin described which is extre-
mely simple in construction and can be readily fitted to an
existing combine without interfering with the operation there-
of. Furthermore, the read-out device can be situated conve-
niently to the operator so that at all times he can obtain
10 information as to the grain loss situation, the sampling being
done on a continuous percentage basis.
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With the foregoing in view, and other such advanta-
: ges as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to
which this invention relates as this specification proceeds,
15 my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and con-
struction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly des-
cribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in
: which:
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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Figure 1 is a side elevation of the grain loss
monitoring device situated at the reax end of a sieve compon- -
ent which is shown schwmatically,.
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Figure 2 is an end view o~ Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged ~ront elevatlon o~ the
grain loss monitor ~or the sieve component.
Figure 4 is a schematic view o~ part oP a walker
assembly showing the grai~ loss monitor situated beneath
the walker deck.
Figure 5 is an enlarged side elevstion o~ ~the grain
: loss monitor o~ ~gure 4.
Figure 6 is an isometric view o~ Figure 5.
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10Figure 7 is a schematic side elevation o~ a typi-
cal combine with the sides broken away to show the approxi- :
mate location o~ the two grain loss monitors.
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Figur~e 8 is a schematic block diagram o~ th~ elec-
trical circuit o~ the entire monitor system.
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15Figure 9 i~ a wiring diagram o~ the rati~ computer
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circuit forming part o~ the schema-tic circuitry o~ Figure
8.
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In the drawings like characters of reference indi-
cate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
One o~ the problems in measuring grain loss over a
sieve component is that it is diffioult to determine exactly
how the grain is leaving the sieve and in what direction it
is travelling. The problem is further compounded when going
up and down hills~or on a side hill and wh~n varying combine
settings ior speed, sieve openings and the like.
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Undsr these circumstances, a conventional pad sen-
; sor can give false loss readings for the simple reason that
the percentage of the total grain that hits the pad depends
on the direction o~ the grain o~i the end o~ the sie~e and
the position of the pad sensor.
As mentioned previously, straw walker sensing is
much more di~icult because normally a sensor cannot be
placed in ~he flow of straw otherwise it causes an obstruc~
tion.
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Proceeding there~ore to describe the invention in
detail, re~erence should ~irst be mad~ to Figure 7 in which
lO illus~rates schematically a combine having an intake end
11, a straw walker assembly collectively designated 12 and
a sieve component collectively designated 13, all o~ which
are conventional.
At the rear and 14 o~ the sieve component 13 there
is provided a constant parcentage sensor device collectively
dasignated 15.
In-'this particular embodiment, it incorporates a
pick-up and support tube 16 having closed ends and extending
between the side wall supports 17 o~ the combine immsdiately
above the raar end 14 o~ the sieve. This tube 16 is pre~er-
ably made o~ a rigid plastic material and incorporates a column
o~ air therein (not illustrated),.
.
A plurality o~ vertical situated sensor ~ingers 18
are secured in spaced relationship along the length of the
tube 16 and depending downwardly there~rom. Various ways
can be used to attach the ~ingers to the wall ~ the tube 18
~ 20 and one such method is shown in Figure 3 in which collars l9
engage around the wall o~ the tube 16 and each sensing ~inger
includes a sleeve 20 e~gaged arou~d the wall o~ the tube 16
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betwecn collars 19 and these collars and 61~0ve m~y olthcr
be adhesivoly ~e~ur~d to the tubo or may ~orm par~ o~ the
tube by screw threaded connections one with the other (not
illustrated).
The sensing ~ingers 18 are also pre~erably made
~rom a rigid plastic material and it will be noted, upon
rs~erence to Figure 1, that the lower end portions 21 o~
the ~ingers curve slightly towards the rear end o~ the sieve
component 13 and are in the $orm o~ relatively ~lat strips.
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The positioning o~ these ~ingers is such that any
grain passing ~ver the end o~ the sieve 13, in the area o~
the iingers 18, impinges upon these ~ingers which are held
rigidly in position by the mountlng o~ the tube between the
supports 17 by any convenient means.
It will there~ore be appreciated that a constant
percentage sampling o~ grain is ta~ing place at this particu-
lar location.
- As an example, i~ the sleve component is 40 inches
wide and ~ur strip sensors 18 are provided with an e~ect~
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ive width of 7.2 inche~ then 1~% of the total lo~t grain
over the and o~ the sieve component is being sampled.
An electric transducer in the form of a microphone
(indicated schematically be referance character 22) i~ situa-
ted within one end of the tube 16 together with a convention-
al amplifier ~hown schematically by reference character 23 in
Figure 80
The amplifier 23 is reguired because the level of
electrical signal produced by sound transducer 22 is too low
and may be degraded by electrical pickup in the long lines
~rom the rear of the combine to the instrument which is nor-
mally situated at the front of the combine. The sound of the
grain impinging upon strips 18 is transmitted to t~e wall of
the tube and thence through the air column within the tube,
to the transducer 22 so that the total tube area or volume
is being monitored by this transducer regardles9 o~ the origin
of the sound~
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The sound transducer 22 and amplifier 23~which is
: ~ conventional) develop voltage spikes which are transmitted
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20 . from the amp:Li~ier 23 via conductor cable 24 to the electronic :~
circuitry shown in Figureq 8 and 9, and which may be situated
: within a convenient package (not illustrated) in the cab o
the combine.
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A ~urther ampli~ier 25 modi~ies tho pulses and a
lov~l d~toc~r 26, screons out ~n~anted pulses by m~ans o~
band-pass ~ilters and includes a~ pulse ~enerating circuit
responsive to the detected voltage spikes, to generate square
wa~e pulses. All o~ this electrical circuitry is convention-
al and it is not believed necessary to describe same ~urther.
A ratio computer 27 is provided and shown in de-
tail in Figure 9`which will hereina~ter be described,
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Situated below the deck 28 of the straw walker as-
sembly 12, is a straw walker sensor collectively designa-
ted 29. This extends longitudinally under approximately the
last 18 inches o~ the deck and is pre~erably positioned cen-
trally between the two sides. It includes a ~lat strip-like
portion 30 upon one end o~ which is iormed a substantially
- 15 cylindrical portion 31 and a sound transducer 22A is situated
within this portion 31 together with an ampli~ier 23A, both
; og which are similar to components 22 and 23 hereinbe~ore
described.
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This sensor 29 is also hollow and operates in a
manner similar t~ sensor 15. It is pre~erably manu~actured
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~rom a rigid plastic material and grain impinging upon the
upper sur~ace 32, is transmitted via the air column therein,
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~o the transducor 22A ~nd ampli~led by the ~mpli~ler 23~,
it bein~ understood that the sensor 29 is closod ended.
A cable or conductor 24A conveys the generated
- pulses to the electronic section and ampli~ier 25A is pro-
vided to am~ y the pulses at this point. A level detcctor
26A similar to level detector 26, is also provided together
with a ratio computer 27A, all o~ which act in a similar
manner to the components hereinbe~ore described.
~ A selector switch 33 is provided enabling either
- 10the square wave pulses ~rom the sieve sensor 15 or the square
- wave pulses ~rom the straw walker sensor 29, to be ged to a
; further ampli~ier 34. The switch 33 also permits the ~eeds
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~rom both sensors t~ be added together by means o~ summation
circuitry 34A. The signals are fed to ampli~ier 35 and
-` 15thence to a read-out device 36 which may take the ~orm o~
a meter suitably calibrated.
Summarizing, there~ore, sensors 15 and 29 monitQr
a constant percentage readi~g o~ the total loss at the loca~
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tions o~ the sensors. The electronics then determine what
percentage o~ th e total loss is being mo~itored and multiply
the outputs ~rom the s~eve and walker sensors by the correct
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factor and displ~ys -this total 105s on the meter or read-out
device ~6. Switch 33 ~llows the operator to monitor the
loss ~rom the walher~ and the sieve separately to accurately
determine the location and amount o~ the loss.
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As mentioned previously, the ratio computer cir-
cuitry is shown in Figure 9 which includes capacit~rs Cl and
C2 receiving the ~eeds ~rom ampli~iers 25 and 25A. The
amount o~ charge in capacitor Cl and C2 is proportional to
the capacitors' value. There~ore, selecting the capacitors
Cl and C2 in the correct ratio, determines what contribution
each will have to the voltage on capacitor C3 ~or a certain
input frequency. This, there~ore, takes lnto account tho
sampling percentage o~ each o~ the sensors.
Re~erence characters 37 and 37A in ~igure 9 indi-
cate schematically, typical square wave pulses which might
be received in both o~ the circuits.
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Re~erring back to theselector switch 33, this
switch is usually in the position to connect both ~eeds to
the summation circuitry 34A, but i~ one or the other sensors
: ~O is required, then the selector switch 33 shorts out the sen-
: sor not required thus letting the other signal pass through
to the read-out or meter 36,
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Since various modi~ications can be made in ~.~r
lnvention as hereinabove described, and m~ny apparently
: widely di~erent embodiments o~ same made wlthin the spirit
and scope o~ the claims without departing ~rom such spirit
and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the
accompanying speci~ication shall be interpreted as illustra-
tive only and not in a limiting senseO
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