Pass predictor for agricultural harvesting machines

Abstract

A method of predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine includes determining a reference pass, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, an optional reference pass distance, and a reference pass spatial location. The method further includes determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine. The method further includes calculating a number of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop and displaying the number of predicted passes.

1 . A method of predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine, the method comprising:
 determining a reference pass to use, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop;   determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine;   calculating a number of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of crop within the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the amount of crop associated with the reference pass; and   displaying the number of predicted passes on a display associated with the harvesting machine.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the reference pass further having a reference pass distance and a reference pass spatial location. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the step of calculating the number of predicted passes uses a predicted distance. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the reference pass is a most recent pass by the harvesting machine through the field. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the reference pass is selected by a user of the harvesting machine. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the reference pass is an adjacent harvested pass. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the reference pass is an adjacent harvested pass with one or more properties the same as a next pass. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the one or more properties include at least one of crop variety, fertilizer applied, pesticide applied, and length. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the step of determining a reference pass is determining the reference pass from a set of stored reference passes on a machine readable storage medium. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  further comprising identifying passes and storing the passes as stored reference passes. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the step of identifying the passes comprising determining a start of each of the passes and determining an end of each of the passes. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the determining of the start of each of the passes and determining the end of each of the passes is performed by using at least one of header height status changes, GPS readings, grain flow status changes, field boundaries, and other completed passes. 
     
     
         13 . A method of predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine, the method comprising:
 determining a reference pass, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, a reference pass distance, and a reference pass spatial location;   determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine;   calculating (a) a number of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop, (b) a predicted distance from the number of predicted passes and the reference pass distance, and (c) a displayed predicted passes from a harvested distance, the predicted distance, and the number of predicted passes; and   displaying the displayed predicted passes on a display associated with the harvesting machine.   
     
     
         14 . A system for predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine, the system comprising:
 an intelligent control;   a global positioning system receiver operatively connected to the intelligent control;   a memory operatively connected to the intelligent control, the memory adapted to store previous pass information including amount of crop;   a display operatively connected to the intelligent control;   wherein the intelligent control is configured to perform steps of (1) determining a reference pass from the previous pass information, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, (2) determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, (3) calculating a number of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop; and   wherein the display is configured to display the number of predicted passes.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the intelligent control is further configured to calculate the number of predicted passes using a predicted distance from the number of predicted passes and a reference pass distance. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the reference pass is a most recent pass by the harvesting machine through the field. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the reference pass is selected by a user of the harvesting machine. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the reference pass is an adjacent harvested pass. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the reference pass is an adjacent harvested pass with one or more properties the same as a next pass. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the one or more properties include at least one of crop variety, fertilizer applied, pesticide applied, and length. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 14  wherein the intelligent control is further configured for identifying reference passes and storing the passes in the memory. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21  wherein the identifying the passes is performed by determining a start of each of the passes and determining an end of each of the passes. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22  wherein the determining of the start of each of the passes and determining the end of each of the passes is performed by using at least one of header height status changes, GPS readings, grain flow status changes, field boundaries, and other completed passes. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 14  further comprising a bin level sensor operatively connected to the intelligent control and wherein the intelligent control determines the amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine using the bin level sensor. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 14  further comprising a grain flow sensor operatively connected to the intelligent control. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 14  further comprising a header position sensor operatively connected to the intelligent control. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 14  further comprising user controls operatively connected to the intelligent control and wherein the system is configured to allow a user to select a reference pass using the user controls. 
     
     
         28 . A system for predicting the number of passes a harvesting machine can complete within a field without unloading grain from a grain tank of the harvesting machine, the system comprising:
 an intelligent control;   a global positioning system receiver operatively connected to the intelligent control;   a memory operatively connected to the intelligent control, the memory adapted to store previous pass information including amount of crop, pass distance and spatial location for each previous pass;   a display operatively connected to the intelligent control;   wherein the intelligent control is configured to perform steps of (1) determining a reference pass from the previous pass information, the reference pass having a reference pass amount of crop, a reference pass distance, and a reference pass spatial location, (2) determining an amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, (3) calculating (a) a number of predicted passes from a capacity of the grain tank of the harvesting machine, the amount of crop in the grain tank of the harvesting machine, and the reference pass amount of crop, (b) a predicted distance from the number of predicted passes and the reference pass distance, and (c) a displayed predicted passes from a harvested distance, the predicted distance, and the number of predicted passes; and   wherein the display is configured to display the displayed predicted passes.