Patents by Inventor William D. Todd
William D. Todd 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).
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Patent number: 11818982Abstract: A grain tailings elevator for a combine harvester includes a an elevator housing having an interior containing a conveyor arrangement configured to transport grain tailings through the elevator housing to a discharge outlet. The elevator housing has a side wall with a window to the interior of the elevator housing. A camera having a camera housing containing an image sensor is mounted to the side wall of the elevator housing over the window with the image sensor in registration with the window. The image sensor is trained on the conveyor arrangement and configured to image the grain tailings transported by the conveyor arrangement through the elevator housing.Type: GrantFiled: August 14, 2019Date of Patent: November 21, 2023Assignees: DEERE & COMPANY, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITYInventors: Stephen R. Corban, Scott Miller, William D. Todd, Herman Herman, Zachary Pezzementi, Trenton Tabor, Jonathan Chang
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Patent number: 11016049Abstract: An agricultural permittivity sensor has a drive electrode and a separate sense electrode. Both electrodes have surfaces that face the sensed material and the surfaces are co-planar. The drive electrode receives an excitation signal and generates an electric field that produces a current in the sense electrode. The current is indicative of a test weight of the sensed material.Type: GrantFiled: April 17, 2019Date of Patent: May 25, 2021Assignee: Deere & CompanyInventors: Andrew C. Locken, Brian J. Booth, William D. Todd
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Patent number: 10871458Abstract: Transmit patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to the transmitter via the signal splitter. The receive patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to one or more receivers to receive a radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field) associated with the transmitted signal of one or more adjacent corresponding transmit patches. A detector is associated with one or more respective receivers for determining or estimating an attenuation of the radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field). An electronic data processor is arranged for evaluating the estimated attenuation to estimate the grain loss content and material other than grain content of the agricultural material.Type: GrantFiled: October 19, 2018Date of Patent: December 22, 2020Assignee: DEERE & COMPANYInventors: William D. Todd, Gurmukh H. Advani, Noel W. Anderson
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Patent number: 10863672Abstract: Transmit patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to the transmitter via the signal splitter. The receive patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to one or more receivers to receive a radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field) associated with the transmitted signal of one or more adjacent corresponding transmit patches. A detector is associated with one or more respective receivers for determining or estimating an attenuation of the radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field). An electronic data processor is arranged for evaluating the estimated attenuation to estimate the amount, volume, mass or flow (e.g., yield) of harvested agricultural material and/or other than grain content of the agricultural material.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2018Date of Patent: December 15, 2020Assignee: DEERE & COMPANYInventors: William D. Todd, Gurmukh H. Advani, Noel W. Anderson
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Publication number: 20200375104Abstract: Systems and methods are described for a virtual sensor that determines an amount of grain loss during operation of a combine harvester without any direct measurement of grain loss. An electronic controller is configured to determine values for a set of operating conditions including a plurality of sensor values and actuator settings. The electronic controller then applies an artificial neural network that is configure to receive as inputs the values for the set of operating conditions and to produce as an output a value indicative of an estimate amount of grain loss.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 31, 2019Publication date: December 3, 2020Inventors: Wentao Yu, Volker Fuchs, William D. Todd
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Publication number: 20200333278Abstract: An agricultural permittivity sensor has a drive electrode and a separate sense electrode. Both electrodes have surfaces that face the sensed material and the surfaces are co-planar. The drive electrode receives an excitation signal and generates an electric field that produces a current in the sense electrode. The current is indicative of a test weight of the sensed material.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 17, 2019Publication date: October 22, 2020Inventors: Andrew C. LOCKEN, Brian J. BOOTH, William D. TODD
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Patent number: 10660268Abstract: A harvester may include a grain processing unit and a material flow sensor to form an yes electromagnetic plane or field through which crop material passes while being sensed.Type: GrantFiled: December 16, 2017Date of Patent: May 26, 2020Assignee: Deere & CompanyInventors: Niels Dybro, William D. Todd, Gurmukh H. Advani, Noel W. Anderson, Nathan R. Vandike, Bhanu Kiran Palla
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Publication number: 20200084967Abstract: A grain tailings elevator for a combine harvester includes a an elevator housing having an interior containing a conveyor arrangement configured to transport grain tailings through the elevator housing to a discharge outlet. The elevator housing has a side wall with a window to the interior of the elevator housing. A camera having a camera housing containing an image sensor is mounted to the side wall of the elevator housing over the window with the image sensor in registration with the window. The image sensor is trained on the conveyor arrangement and configured to image the grain tailings transported by the conveyor arrangement through the elevator housing.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 14, 2019Publication date: March 19, 2020Inventors: Stephen R. Corban, Scott Miller, William D. Todd, Herman Herman, Zachary Pezzementi, Trenton Tabor, Jonathan Chang
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Publication number: 20190183047Abstract: A harvester may include a grain processing unit and a material flow sensor to form an yes electromagnetic plane or field through which crop material passes while being sensed.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 16, 2017Publication date: June 20, 2019Inventors: Niels Dybro, William D. Todd, Gurmukh H. Advani, Noel W. Anderson, Nathan R. Vandike, Bhanu Kiran Palla
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Publication number: 20190133037Abstract: Transmit patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to the transmitter via the signal splitter. The receive patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to one or more receivers to receive a radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field) associated with the transmitted signal of one or more adjacent corresponding transmit patches. A detector is associated with one or more respective receivers for determining or estimating an attenuation of the radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field). An electronic data processor is arranged for evaluating the estimated attenuation to estimate the amount, volume, mass or flow (e.g., yield) of harvested agricultural material and/or other than grain content of the agricultural material.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 31, 2018Publication date: May 9, 2019Inventors: WILLIAM D. TODD, GURMUKH H. ADVANI, NOEL W. ANDERSON
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Publication number: 20190137416Abstract: Transmit patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to the transmitter via the signal splitter. The receive patches lie on the outer set of conductive patches that are coupled to one or more receivers to receive a radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field) associated with the transmitted signal of one or more adjacent corresponding transmit patches. A detector is associated with one or more respective receivers for determining or estimating an attenuation of the radio frequency field (e.g., fringing field). An electronic data processor is arranged for evaluating the estimated attenuation to estimate the grain loss content and material other than grain content of the agricultural material.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 19, 2018Publication date: May 9, 2019Inventors: William D. Todd, Gurmukh H. Advani, Noel W. Anderson
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Patent number: 10051787Abstract: A harvesting head yield monitor comprises two sensing elements (328, 330) respectively disposed in two adjacent row unit covers (114). A driver circuit (400) drives one of these sensing elements (328) to produce a high radio frequency signal. The other sensing element (330) receives the signal. A signal conditioning circuit (402) receives the signal from the other sensing element. A controller (404) coupled to the signal conditioning circuit converts the received signal into a signal that indicates the crop yield of the row unit that is disposed underneath the two adjacent row unit covers.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 2016Date of Patent: August 21, 2018Assignee: Deere & CompanyInventors: William D. Todd, Bhanu Kiran Palla
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Patent number: 9894439Abstract: A computing device includes a first housing and a second housing attached by a hinge. The first housing includes a first microphone and the second housing includes a second microphone. After determining that an angle between the first and second housing has changed to a current angle, the computing device may determine a distance between the first microphone and the second microphone based on the current angle. A first audio signal from the first microphone and a second audio signal from the second microphone may each be modified (e.g., using a beamforming algorithm) to create first and second modified audio signals. The first and second modified audio signals may include less noise than the first and second audio signals. The first and second modified audio signals may be sent to an output jack or to an audio application.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2017Date of Patent: February 13, 2018Assignee: Dell Products L.P.Inventors: Douglas J. Peeler, Lawrence E. Knepper, William D. Todd Nix
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Publication number: 20170332551Abstract: A harvesting head yield monitor comprises two sensing elements (328, 330) respectively disposed in two adjacent row unit covers (114). A driver circuit (400) drives one of these sensing elements (328) to produce a high radio frequency signal. The other sensing element (330) receives the signal. A signal conditioning circuit (402) receives the signal from the other sensing element. A controller (404) coupled to the signal conditioning circuit converts the received signal into a signal that indicates the crop yield of the row unit that is disposed underneath the two adjacent row unit covers.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 17, 2016Publication date: November 23, 2017Inventors: William D. Todd, Bhanu Kiran Palla