Patents by Inventor ZACHARY T. BONEFAS

ZACHARY T. BONEFAS 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: 20230363311
    Abstract: A camera captures an image of a portion of a cart and accesses stored maps that map visual features of carts to a set of settings that are applied to an automatic fill control system. A map that matches visual features of the cart, in the captured image, is identified and the settings in that map are applied to the automatic fill control system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2023
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: Kellen O'Connor, Scott MILLER, Jeremy J. FAUST, Zachary T. BONEFAS
  • Patent number: 11684011
    Abstract: A camera captures an image of a portion of a cart and accesses stored maps that map visual features of carts to a set of settings that are applied to an automatic fill control system. A map that matches visual features of the cart, in the captured image, is identified and the settings in that map are applied to the automatic fill control system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Kellen O'Connor, Scott Miller, Jeremy J. Faust, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Patent number: 11674288
    Abstract: In accordance with an example embodiment, a system and method for obscurant mitigation is disclosed. The system comprises an obscurant assessor configured to characterize one or more characteristics of a detected obscurant and generate an obscurant model; an obscurant mitigator configured to perform one or more mitigation operations; and a controller communicatively coupled to each of the obscurant assessor and the obscurant mitigator. The controller is configured to receive an output signal from a vehicle sensor corresponding to a detected obscurant level and determine if the detected obscurant level exceeds a predetermined threshold. The controller generates an obscurant mitigation plan if the detected obscurant level exceeds the predetermined threshold based on the obscurant model generated by the obscurant assessor; and controls operations of an obscurant mitigator based on the obscurant mitigation plan to reduce the detected obscurant level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Noel W. Anderson, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Publication number: 20230133909
    Abstract: An image capture device captures an image of crop after it has been processed by a kernel processing unit on a forage harvester. A size distribution indicative of the distribution of kernel fragment sizes in the harvested crop is identified from the image captured by the image capture device. A control system generates control signals to control a speed differential in the speed of rotation of kernel processing rollers based on the size distribution. Control signals can also be generated to control a size of a gap between the kernel processing rollers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2022
    Publication date: May 4, 2023
    Inventors: Zachary T. BONEFAS, Niels DYBRO
  • Patent number: 11564349
    Abstract: An image capture device captures an image of crop after it has been processed by a kernel processing unit on a forage harvester. A size distribution indicative of the distribution of kernel fragment sizes in the harvested crop is identified from the image captured by the image capture device. A control system generates control signals to control a speed differential in the speed of rotation of kernel processing rollers based on the size distribution. Control signals can also be generated to control a size of a gap between the kernel processing rollers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Zachary T. Bonefas, Niels Dybro
  • Patent number: 11390263
    Abstract: A sensor detects a variable indicative of a position of a receiving vehicle relative to a harvester during a harvester operation in which a material conveyance subsystem on the harvester is conveying harvested material to the receiving vehicle. If the receiving vehicle is in a compromised position in which it is out of range of the material conveyance subsystem or is about to be out of range, then a control signal is generated that can alert the operator of the harvester, automatically control harvester speed, or perform other control operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Kellen O'Connor, Jeremy J. Faust, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Patent number: 11252869
    Abstract: A spout is operably connected to a transferring material for transferring the agricultural material to the receiving vehicle. An imaging device faces towards the storage portion of the receiving vehicle and collects image data. A container module is adapted to determine a container position of the storage portion, or its container perimeter. A spout module is adapted to identify a spout of the transferring vehicle in the collected image data, or to determine a spout position. An alignment module is adapted to determine the relative position of the spout and the container position based on the collected image data and to generate command data or user interface data to facilitate placement of the spout and storage container in relative cooperative alignment for transferring of material from the transferring vehicle to the receiving vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventor: Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Publication number: 20220039318
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for controlling material transfer from a harvesting machine. More specifically, an apparatus and method for transfer of an agricultural crop from a harvesting machine having a crop discharging device to a transport vehicle comprising a crop loading container while the harvesting machine and the transport vehicle travel on a field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventors: HRISHIKESH RASTE, ZACHARY T. BONEFAS
  • Publication number: 20220022375
    Abstract: A harvester implement includes a crop processor positioned to receive the crop material from a head unit and process the crop material to alter a characteristic of the crop material, e.g., a cut length or a kernel processing score. An image sensor assembly is positioned downstream of the crop processor along a flow path of the crop material. The image sensor assembly is operable to capture a post-processing image of the crop material. A computing device is operable to execute a crop processing analysis algorithm to receive the post-processing image of the crop material from the image sensor assembly, and to analyze the post-processing image to determine an actual degree of processing to the characteristic of the crop material achieved by the crop processor. The computing device may then communicate a notification signal to an output indicating the actual degree of processing to the characteristic of the crop material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2020
    Publication date: January 27, 2022
    Inventors: COLE L. MURRAY, ZACHARY T. BONEFAS, JEFFREY M. MANNING
  • Publication number: 20210339729
    Abstract: A sensor detects a variable indicative of a position of a receiving vehicle relative to a harvester during a harvester operation in which a material conveyance subsystem on the harvester is conveying harvested material to the receiving vehicle. If the receiving vehicle is in a compromised position in which it is out of range of the material conveyance subsystem or is about to be out of range, then a control signal is generated that can alert the operator of the harvester, automatically control harvester speed, or perform other control operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Publication date: November 4, 2021
    Inventors: Kellen O'CONNOR, Jeremy J. Faust, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Publication number: 20210337729
    Abstract: A camera captures an image of a portion of a cart and accesses stored maps that map visual features of carts to a set of settings that are applied to an automatic fill control system. A map that matches visual features of the cart, in the captured image, is identified and the settings in that map are applied to the automatic fill control system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2020
    Publication date: November 4, 2021
    Inventors: Kellen O'Connor, Scott Miller, Jeremy J. Faust, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Publication number: 20200375083
    Abstract: In accordance with an example embodiment, a system and method for obscurant mitigation is disclosed. The system comprises an obscurant assessor configured to characterize one or more characteristics of a detected obscurant and generate an obscurant model; an obscurant mitigator configured to perform one or more mitigation operations; and a controller communicatively coupled to each of the obscurant assessor and the obscurant mitigator. The controller is configured to receive an output signal from a vehicle sensor corresponding to a detected obscurant level and determine if the detected obscurant level exceeds a predetermined threshold. The controller generates an obscurant mitigation plan if the detected obscurant level exceeds the predetermined threshold based on the obscurant model generated by the obscurant assessor; and controls operations of an obscurant mitigator based on the obscurant mitigation plan to reduce the detected obscurant level.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2019
    Publication date: December 3, 2020
    Inventors: Noel W. Anderson, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Publication number: 20200214210
    Abstract: A spout is operably connected to a transferring material for transferring the agricultural material to the receiving vehicle. An imaging device faces towards the storage portion of the receiving vehicle and collects image data. A container module is adapted to determine a container position of the storage portion, or its container perimeter. A spout module is adapted to identify a spout of the transferring vehicle in the collected image data, or to determine a spout position. An alignment module is adapted to determine the relative position of the spout and the container position based on the collected image data and to generate command data or user interface data to facilitate placement of the spout and storage container in relative cooperative alignment for transferring of material from the transferring vehicle to the receiving vehicle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Publication date: July 9, 2020
    Inventor: Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Publication number: 20200128735
    Abstract: An image capture device captures an image of crop after it has been processed by a kernel processing unit on a forage harvester. A size distribution indicative of the distribution of kernel fragment sizes in the harvested crop is identified from the image captured by the image capture device. A control system generates control signals to control a speed differential in the speed of rotation of kernel processing rollers based on the size distribution. Control signals can also be generated to control a size of a gap between the kernel processing rollers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2019
    Publication date: April 30, 2020
    Inventors: Zachary T. BONEFAS, Niels DYBRO
  • Patent number: 10631462
    Abstract: A spout is operably connected to a transferring material for transferring the agricultural material to the receiving vehicle. An imaging device faces towards the storage portion of the receiving vehicle and collects image data. A container module is adapted to determine a container position of the storage portion, or its container perimeter. A spout module is adapted to identify a spout of the transferring vehicle in the collected image data, or to determine a spout position. An alignment module is adapted to determine the relative position of the spout and the container position based on the collected image data and to generate command data or user interface data to facilitate placement of the spout and storage container in relative cooperative alignment for transferring of material from the transferring vehicle to the receiving vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2020
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventor: Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Patent number: 10129528
    Abstract: An adjustable transfer device for unloading processed crop onto a container of a transport vehicle including a control arrangement with an electronic control unit, among other integrated components. Electronic control unit calculates position of expected point of incidence of crop flow on the container. Further provided is a system that identifies and tracks a target object in image data, which is then used to determine the trajectory of the target. With the trajectory known, the control arrangement can accurately direct the crop flow into the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignees: Deere & Company, Carnegie Mellon University
    Inventors: Zachary T. Bonefas, Alex NyKamp, Jose Gonzalez-Mora, Herman Herman, Jean-Philippe Tardif, Matt Levine
  • Patent number: 10015928
    Abstract: A spout identification module is adapted to identify a spout (e.g., or an associated spout position) of the harvesting vehicle in the collected image data. A relative motion detector detects the relative motion of a receiving vehicle and the harvesting vehicle or detects the relative motion between the spout and a container of the receiving vehicle. An alignment module is adapted to determine the relative position of the spout and the cells in the container via processing of the image data such that the spout is aligned with the longitudinal axis or a lateral offset from the longitudinal axis based on the detected relative motion and where a longitudinal size of the deadband volume is adjusted based on the relative motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: DEERE & COMPANY
    Inventors: Alex J. Nykamp, Zachary T. Bonefas
  • Patent number: 10019790
    Abstract: First imaging device collects first image data, whereas second imaging device collects second image data of a storage portion. An image processing module identifies a rim of a container in either the first image data or the second image data. The image processing module then overlays an outline of the rim in an image presented on a display to an operator of a transferring vehicle. The image processing module further identifies the fill level of material in a receiving vehicle container and overlays this information in the image presented on the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignees: Deere & Company, Carnegie Mellon University
    Inventors: Zachary T. Bonefas, Herman Herman, Joan Campoy
  • Patent number: 9992932
    Abstract: An adjustable transfer device for unloading processed crop onto a container of a transport vehicle including a control arrangement with an electronic control unit, among other integrated components. Electronic control unit calculates position of expected point of incidence of crop flow on the container. Further provided is a system that identifies and tracks a target object in image data, which is then used to determine the trajectory of the target. With the trajectory known, the control arrangement can accurately direct the crop flow into the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignees: Deere & Company, Carnegie Mellon University
    Inventors: Zachary T. Bonefas, Alex NyKamp, Jose Gonzalez-Mora, Herman Herman, Jean-Philippe Tardif, Matt Levine
  • Patent number: 9992931
    Abstract: An adjustable transfer device for unloading processed crop onto a container of a transport vehicle including a control arrangement with an electronic control unit, among other integrated components. Electronic control unit calculates position of expected point of incidence of crop flow on the container. Further provided is a system that identifies and tracks a target object in image data, which is then used to determine the trajectory of the target. With the trajectory known, the control arrangement can accurately direct the crop flow into the container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignees: Deere & Company, Carnegie Mellon University
    Inventors: Zachary T. Bonefas, Alex NyKamp, Jose Gonzalez-Mora, Herman Herman, Jean-Philippe Tardif, Matt Levine