초록 ▼

In an agricultural harvester, a characteristic of crop material is sensed as the crop material is moved through a feed tube by an auger having flighting which terminates upstream of a sensing region. The auger flighting conveys crop material into the sensing region where it accumulates and then is p

In an agricultural harvester, a characteristic of crop material is sensed as the crop material is moved through a feed tube by an auger having flighting which terminates upstream of a sensing region. The auger flighting conveys crop material into the sensing region where it accumulates and then is pushed from the sensing region by further crop material conveyed into the region. This results in a more uniform packing density of the crop material in the sensing region where the measurement is made, provided the feed tube is oriented vertically or at a small angle relative to vertical. To obtain a uniform packing density when the feed tube is horizontal or inclined only slightly, a butterfly valve is provided downstream of the sensing region. The valve has flaps that are spring biased to a closed position to block the flow of crop material from the sensing region. When the crop material in the sensing region is packed to a sufficient density, the pressure of the crop material acting against the flaps overcomes the spring bias and the valve opens to permit flow of the crop from the sensing region.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] In a sensor apparatus having a sensor disposed at a sensing region for sensing at least one characteristic of a crop material moving in a downstream direction through a feed tube that extends along an axis through the sensing region, the improvement comprising means for maintaining

[ We claim:] [1.] In a sensor apparatus having a sensor disposed at a sensing region for sensing at least one characteristic of a crop material moving in a downstream direction through a feed tube that extends along an axis through the sensing region, the improvement comprising means for maintaining crop material entering the sensing region at a substantially constant packing density, said means comprising a variable flow controller disposed in said feed tube downstream of the sensing region, said flow controller being responsive to said crop material for variably restricting the flow of crop material from the sensing region.