Patents by Inventor James W. Henry

James W. Henry has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20200113121
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method for reducing an overall transport profile of a multi-section tillage implement is disclosed. The tillage implement may include a frame including a center frame section and at least one wing frame section. The tillage implement may include a plurality of ground-engaging tools pivotally mounted to the frame. The method may include pivoting each of the plurality of ground-engaging tools away from the ground surface from a ground-engaging position to a retracted position. The frame may be disposed at an initial height relative to the ground surface before pivoting. After pivoting, the frame may be lowered to a transport height relative to the ground surface. At least one wing frame section may be folded relative to the center frame section from an operating position to a transport position to reduce a width of the tillage implement in the widthwise direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventor: James W. Henry
  • Patent number: 10602653
    Abstract: A method for controlling an orientation of ground engaging elements of a harrow of an agricultural implement may include controlling an operation of an actuator such that the actuator applies an actuator force against a support arm when the harrow is disposed at an operating position. The method may also include receiving an input indicative of an instruction to move the harrow from the operating position to a raised position. Furthermore, after receiving the input, the method may include controlling the operation of the actuator such that the actuator force applied against the support arm is adjusted in a manner that reduces the biasing force being applied on the ground engaging elements. Additionally, the method may include initiating movement of the harrow from the operating position to the raised position to raise the ground engaging elements above the ground after reducing the biasing force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventor: James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20200084952
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system for determining soil roughness of a field across which an agricultural implement is being moved may include a tool configured to perform a tillage operation on soil within the field as the agricultural implement is moved across the field. The system may also include a sensor configured to detect a parameter associated with an acceleration of the tool. Furthermore, the system may include a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor, with the controller configured to determine a soil roughness characteristic of the soil based on measurement signals received from the sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2018
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventor: James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20200077567
    Abstract: A towed implement, such as a cultivator is configured between an unfolded operational position and a folded transport position in which wing sections are pivoted about a vertical axis into a forward direction where they are alongside a telescoping tool bar. Sensors on the cultivator send signals initiating the folding/unfolding sequence to send commands through the implement controller to a tractor controller having a ISOBUS class 3 configuration.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Applicant: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventors: Brice Magarity, James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20200068777
    Abstract: A system, apparatus and method for adjusting fore/aft level trim of the frame of a towed agricultural tillage implement utilize an electronic control unit that receives an input signal indicative of a desired depth of penetration of tillage tools operatively attached to the front and rear of the implement frame, and automatically computes a desired for/aft trim angle as a function of the desired depth input, and then adjusts the fore/aft trim of the implement frame by titling the frame toward the front or rear of the frame in accordance with the desired fore/aft trim angle computed from the desired depth input signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2019
    Publication date: March 5, 2020
    Inventors: Christopher Barrick, John Endsley, Timothy R. Blunier, James W. Henry, Tracey Meiners, Klint Peterson
  • Patent number: 10561052
    Abstract: A system, apparatus and method for adjusting fore/aft level trim of the frame of a towed agricultural tillage implement utilize an electronic control unit that receives an input signal indicative of a desired depth of penetration of tillage tools operatively attached to the front and rear of the implement frame, and automatically computes a desired for/aft trim angle as a function of the desired depth input, and then adjusts the fore/aft trim of the implement frame by titling the frame toward the front or rear of the frame in accordance with the desired fore/aft trim angle computed from the desired depth input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventors: Christopher Barrick, John Endsley, Timothy R. Blunier, James W. Henry, Tracey Meiners, Klint Peterson
  • Patent number: 10561056
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system for monitoring soil conditions within a field may include an implement configured to be traversed across a field. The implement may further include a plurality of ground engaging tools pivotally coupled to the frame and a plurality of sensors. Each sensor may be configured to detect a parameter indicative of a current position of one of the plurality of ground engaging tools. Additionally, the system may include a controller configured to monitor a displacement of each ground engaging tool and determine a current global ground engaging tool displacement parameter for the implement based on the monitored displacements of the plurality of ground engaging tools. Additionally, the controller may be configured to identify a soil condition for a swath of the field being traversed by the implement based on a comparison between the current global ground engaging tool displacement parameter and a predetermined global displacement threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial America LLC
    Inventors: Klint Peterson, Christopher Barrick, John Endsley, James W. Henry, Tracey Meiners
  • Patent number: 10548255
    Abstract: In one aspect, a method for reducing an overall transport profile of a multi-section tillage implement. The tillage implement includes a frame including a center frame section and at least one wing frame section. The tillage implement includes a plurality of ground-engaging tools pivotally mounted to the frame. The method includes pivoting each of the plurality of ground-engaging tools away from the ground surface from a ground-engaging position to a retracted position. The frame is disposed at an initial height relative to the ground surface before pivoting. After pivoting, the frame is lowered to a transport height relative to the ground surface. At least one wing frame section is folded relative to the center frame section from an operating position to a transport position to reduce a width of the tillage implement in the widthwise direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventor: James W. Henry
  • Patent number: 10549932
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system for removing blockages present within a delivery conduit of a seeder may include a plurality of delivery conduits, a plurality of flow blocking devices, and a plurality of blockage sensors. A controller may be configured to determine when a blockage is present within a first delivery conduit of the plurality of delivery conduits based on measurement signals received from the plurality of blockage sensors. The controller may be further configured to control the flow blocking devices to occlude the flow of air through the other delivery conduits of the plurality of delivery conduits such that an air pressure in the first delivery conduit is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventor: James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20200000009
    Abstract: An agricultural implement including a toolbar, a plurality of row units connected to the toolbar, and a pneumatic seeding system. The pneumatic seeding system includes at least one storage tank configured for storing the particulate matter, a plurality of fluid lines fluidly interconnecting the at least one storage tank with each row unit of the plurality of row units, a fan fluidly connected to the at least one storage tank and to the plurality of fluid lines, and at least one pinch valve fluidly coupled to at least one fluid line of the plurality of fluid lines for adjustably balancing a respective airstream within the at least one fluid line of the plurality of fluid lines.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Applicant: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventors: James W. Henry, Scott D. Noble
  • Publication number: 20200005474
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods that measure soil roughness in a field from imagery of the field. In particular, the present subject matter is directed to systems and methods that include or otherwise leverage a machine-learned clod detection model to determine a soil roughness value for a portion of a field based at least in part on imagery of such portion of the field captured by an imaging device. For example, the imaging device can be a camera positioned in a downward-facing direction and physically coupled to a work vehicle or an implement towed by the work vehicle through the field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Publication date: January 2, 2020
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee
  • Publication number: 20190387658
    Abstract: Systems and methods for real-time, artificial intelligence control of an agricultural work vehicle and/or implement based on observed outcomes are provided. In particular, example aspects of the present subject matter are directed to systems and method that sense field conditions (also known as field “finish”) both before and after adjustable ground-engaging tools encounter the soil and that update a site-specific control model that provides control settings based on the observed anterior and posterior conditions. Thus, a control system can obtain sensor data descriptive of upcoming field conditions and can perform predictive adjustment and control of tools based the upcoming field conditions. The system can then use additional sensors to observe the outcome of the employed control settings. Based on a comparison of the observed outcome to a target outcome, the system can adjust for the next encounter of similar field conditions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2018
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventor: James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20190392269
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods that measure crop residue in a field from imagery of the field. In particular, the present subject matter is directed to systems and methods that include or otherwise leverage a machine-learned convolutional neural network to determine a level of crop residue for a portion of a field based at least in part on imagery of such portion of the field captured by an imaging device. For example, the imaging device can be a camera positioned in a downward-facing direction and physically coupled to a work vehicle or an implement towed by the work vehicle through the field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2018
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee
  • Publication number: 20190392573
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods that measure crop residue in a field from imagery of the field. In particular, the present subject matter is directed to systems and methods that include or otherwise leverage a machine-learned semantic segmentation model to determine a crop residue parameter value for a portion of a field based at least in part on imagery of such portion of the field captured by an imaging device. For example, the imaging device can be a camera positioned in a downward-facing direction and physically coupled to a work vehicle or an implement towed by the work vehicle through the field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2018
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee
  • Publication number: 20190392239
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system for illuminating a field of view of a vision-based sensor mounted on an agricultural machine may include an agricultural machine having a vision-based sensor. The system may also include a light source configured to emit supplemental light to illuminate at least a portion of the field of view of the vision-based sensor. Furthermore, the system may include a controller communicatively the light source. The controller may configured to control an operation of the light source based on an input indicative of ambient light present within the field of view of the vision-based sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2018
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, Taylor C. Bybee, Bret T. Turpin, Jeffrey L. Ferrin, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20190387659
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for adjusting the output of a field measurement system to conform to agronomy measurements. In particular, the present subject matter is directed to a calibration process and system that uses a calibration model to convert field measurement data expressed according to an automatic system metric into agronomy data that is expressed according to an agronomy metric.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2018
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee, Bret T. Turpin
  • Publication number: 20190383650
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system for adjusting a sampling rate of a sensor mounted on an agricultural machine may include an agricultural machine and a sensor mounted on the agricultural machine, with the sensor being configured to capture data at a sampling rate. The system may also include a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor. The controller may be configured to receive an input indicative of an operational parameter of the agricultural machine and adjust the sampling rate at which the sensor captures data based on the received input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2018
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee, Bret T. Turpin, Jeffrey L. Ferrin
  • Patent number: 10506757
    Abstract: A towed implement, such as a cultivator is configured between an unfolded operational position and a folded transport position in which wing sections are pivoted about a vertical axis into a forward direction where they are alongside a telescoping tool bar. Sensors on the cultivator send signals initiating the folding/unfolding sequence to send commands through the implement controller to a tractor controller having a ISOBUS class 3 configuration. The tractor is commanded to forward and rearward movement in synchronism with the folding/unfolding process to steer wing supporting wheel assemblies toward the correct position for the intended transport direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd.
    Inventors: Brice Magarity, James W. Henry
  • Publication number: 20190379847
    Abstract: In one aspect, a system for monitoring sensor performance on an agricultural machine may include a controller configured to receive a plurality of images from the vision-based sensor mounted on an agricultural machine. The controller may be configured to determine an image parameter value associated with each of a plurality of pixels contained within each of the plurality of images. For each respective pixel of the plurality of pixels, the controller may be configured to determine a variance associated with the image parameter values for the respective pixel across the plurality of images. Furthermore, when the variance associated with the image parameter values for a given pixel of the plurality of pixels falls outside of a predetermined range, the controller may be configured to identify the given pixel as being at least one of obscured or inoperative.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2018
    Publication date: December 12, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee, Bret T. Turpin
  • Publication number: 20190377986
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods that measure crop residue in a field from imagery of the field. In particular, the present subject matter is directed to systems and methods that include or otherwise leverage a machine-learned crop residue classification model to determine a crop residue parameter value for a portion of a field based at least in part on imagery of such portion of the field captured by an imaging device. For example, the imaging device can be a camera positioned in a downward-facing direction and physically coupled to a work vehicle or an implement towed by the work vehicle through the field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2018
    Publication date: December 12, 2019
    Inventors: Luca Ferrari, John H. Posselius, James W. Henry, Taylor C. Bybee