Harvester grain tank having active conveying system

摘要

A grain tank includes a generally flat bottom that is oriented at a position that is less than the angle of repose of the grain. A conveyor mechanism conveys grain along the bottom to a cross auger for unloading. One or more sensors may be placed in the grain tank to determine a state of the grain to further determine if the conveyor mechanism should be operated to unload grain from the grain tank.

主权项

1. A tank having a forward and rearward end for storing grain in a combine harvester having a forward and rearward end direction, said tank comprising:
a plurality of vertical sidewalls that form an interior of the tank, each of the plurality of sidewalls extending vertically starting from a bottom surface of the tank to a top of the tank; the bottom surface positioned between the plurality of sidewalls; an unloading auger that unloads grain from the grain tank along the bottom surface to a discharge auger, by conveying grain in a first direction; a conveyor that conveys grain along the bottom surface to the unloading auger in a second direction relative to said first auger, said bottom surface being inclined so that said unloading auger is lower than said conveyer; a programmed controller connected to at least one sensor and operatively connected to a drive mechanism of the conveyor for controlling the operation of the conveyor; the at least one sensor configured to detect a state of grain in at least a portion of the grain tank and transmit a signal representative of the state of grain to the programmed controller, wherein the state of grain sensed is representative of at least one of a level and amount of grain in at least a portion of the grain tank, wherein the programmed controller is configured to compare the state of grain to a predetermined threshold value and to control the drive mechanism to at least one of initiate movement or increase speed of movement of the conveyer in a direction to transfer the grain toward the unloading auger when the programmed controller determines the sensed state of grain is below the predetermined threshold.