Granted Patent B2

US 12,653,100 · App. 17/664,211 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Inventors: Martin Peter Christiansen (Randers, DK); Ramon Buchaca Tarragona (Randers, DK); Morten Stigaard Laursen (Randers, DK); Kenneth Düring Jensen (Randers, DK); Thomas Smed Bojsen (Randers, DK)

Assignee: AGCO International GmbH

A01D41/127A01D41/1243G01S17/88G05B19/4155G05B2219/31376

Abstract

Claims (34)

1 . A system for monitoring the distribution of residue material from a spreader tool of an agricultural machine, the system comprising:

a first LIDAR sensor having a two-dimensional sensing region defining a first two-dimensional sensing boundary corresponding to a first direction with respect to the agricultural machine, the first two-dimensional sensing boundary comprising a first vertical plane relative to a ground surface;

a second LIDAR sensor having a two-dimensional sensing region defining a second two-dimensional sensing boundary corresponding to a second direction with respect to the agricultural machine, the second two-dimensional sensing boundary comprising a second vertical plane relative to the ground surface; and

at least one controller, configured to:

receive data from the first LIDAR sensor indicative of a measure of residue material crossing the first sensing boundary;

receive data from the second LIDAR sensor indicative of a measure of residue material crossing the second sensing boundary;

determine, from the data received from the first and second LIDAR sensors, a distribution of residue material associated with the spreader tool; and

output at least one control signal for controlling at least one operational system of the agricultural machine in dependence on the determined distribution.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first sensing boundary or the second sensing boundary is parallel to the direction of travel of the agricultural machine, in use.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the first sensing boundary corresponds to a left hand edge of the agricultural machine, and the second sensing boundary corresponds to a right hand edge of the agricultural machine.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first sensing boundary or the second sensing boundary is angled with respect to the direction of travel of the agricultural machine, with the first and second sensing boundaries intersecting at a point or line of intersection positioned centrally with respect to a lateral axis of the agricultural machine.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the first sensing boundary corresponds to a left hand side of the agricultural machine;

the second sensing boundary corresponds to a right hand side of the agricultural machine; and

the system monitors a relative distribution of residue from the spreader tool.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the relative distribution is determined from the measure of residue material crossing the first and second sensing boundaries, comprising:

measuring a volume of residue material crossing the sensing boundaries; or

counting individual crossings of residue material crossing the sensing boundaries.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to:

determine a location of at least one of the first sensing boundary or the second sensing boundaries at which residue material has crossed the boundary; and

based upon the determined location, determine a location within an operating environment of the agricultural machine of the residue material following the spreading operation.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one operational system of the agricultural machine, controllable by the system comprises a user interface for providing information corresponding to an observed distribution of residue material.

9 . The system of claim 1 , operable to control at least one operating parameter of the agricultural machine based on an observed distribution of residue material, wherein the at least one operating parameter comprises an operating parameter of the spreader tool.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the spreader tool comprises a steering mechanism, and the system is operable to control at least one operating parameter of the steering mechanism to control the distribution of residue material from the spreader tool.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the steering mechanism comprises:

a first steering unit comprising a first rotor for controlling movement of residue material through and out of the steering mechanism in the first direction; and

a second steering unit comprising a second rotor for controlling movement of residue material through and out of the steering mechanism in the second direction,

wherein the system controls operation of at least one of the first rotor or the second rotor to control the distribution of residue material in the first or second directions based on the observed distribution of residue material.

12 . An agricultural machine comprising the system of claim 1 .

13 . A method of monitoring the distribution of residue material from a spreader tool of an agricultural machine, comprising:

receiving data from a first LIDAR sensor indicative of a measure of residue material crossing a first two-dimensional sensing boundary associated with the first LIDAR sensor, the first two-dimensional sensing boundary comprising a first vertical plane relative to a ground surface;

receiving data from a second LIDAR sensor indicative of a measure of residue material crossing a second two-dimensional sensing boundary associated with the second LIDAR sensor, the second two-dimensional sensing boundary comprising a second vertical plane relative to the ground surface;

determining, a distribution of residue material associated with the spreader tool, based on the received data; and

controlling operation of at least one system of the agricultural machine based on the determined distribution.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (9)