Method and apparatus for hard object detection
US5078645A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 26, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jan 7, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 26, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S56/15
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A thin film highly directional audible sound sensor is mounted within a rotatable feed roll of a forage harvester to detect the presence of stones and other hard foreign objects in a crop material being fed past the feed roll to a cutter mechanism. Air-borne sound waves produced by the impact of foreign objects on metal parts of the harvester are detected by the sensor which produces a signal for stopping the crop feed mechanism before the foreign objects reach the cutter mechanism. The sensor is mounted on a stationary support within the rotatable feed roll. Output signals from the sensor control a stop mechanism for the crop feed mechanism via conductors extending through a stationary support shaft for the feed roll, thereby avoiding the need to commutate output signals from the detector.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.