Common lift/lower ground entrance point
First Claim
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1. A method for improving the alignment of the beginning of one swath with the termination of the previous swath, comprising the steps of:
- providing a traction unit drawn agricultural implement for treating a field by repeated longitudinal passes along generally parallel swaths, said implement having a hydraulic control system configured for raising at least a portion of the implement at an end of each swath and lowering the portion at a beginning of each swath, and said implement further including an electronic control unit;
determining, by the electronic control unit, the time required to lift the implement portion at the termination of one swath;
determining, by the electronic control unit, the time to subsequently lower the implement portion at the beginning of an adjacent swath;
detecting, by the electronic control unit, any difference between the two determined times; and
adjusting the hydraulic control system to compensate for a detected difference between the times to bring the beginnings and ends of subsequent swaths into closer alignment.
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Abstract
A traction unit drawn agricultural implement for treating a field along repeated generally parallel longitudinal swaths has a hydraulic system for lifting and lowering a ground engaging implement portion at the beginning and end respectively of each swath. A system for aligning the beginning of one swath with the termination of the previous swath determines initial lift and lower times and adjusts the hydraulic system to bring the times into closer conformity.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for improving the alignment of the beginning of one swath with the termination of the previous swath, comprising the steps of:
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providing a traction unit drawn agricultural implement for treating a field by repeated longitudinal passes along generally parallel swaths, said implement having a hydraulic control system configured for raising at least a portion of the implement at an end of each swath and lowering the portion at a beginning of each swath, and said implement further including an electronic control unit; determining, by the electronic control unit, the time required to lift the implement portion at the termination of one swath; determining, by the electronic control unit, the time to subsequently lower the implement portion at the beginning of an adjacent swath; detecting, by the electronic control unit, any difference between the two determined times; and adjusting the hydraulic control system to compensate for a detected difference between the times to bring the beginnings and ends of subsequent swaths into closer alignment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An agricultural implement system, comprising:
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a ground engaging tool configured to engage soil in a working position and to disengage the soil in a non-working position; a hydraulic arrangement for moving the tool between the working and non-working positions; and a control system configured to repetitively transition the ground engaging tool between the working position and the non-working position, to determine the time required to transition from the working position to the non-working position, to determine the time required to transition from the non-working position back to the working position, and to adjust the hydraulic arrangement to bring the two determined times into closer conformity. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An agricultural implement system, comprising:
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a fluid control unit; an implement having a frame, a ground engaging tool coupled to the frame, and a ground engaging wheel configured to support the frame during operation of the implement; a depth control cylinder fluidly coupled to the fluid control unit, wherein the depth control cylinder is configured to adjust a penetration depth of the ground engaging tool by varying a height of the ground engaging wheel relative to the frame; and a sensor communicatively coupled to the fluid control unit and configured to output signals indicative of the penetration depth of the ground engaging tool, wherein; the fluid control unit is configured to apply hydraulic fluid to the cylinder to repetitively lift the tool from a preferred operating depth at the termination of one traverse of a field to clear the ground and facilitate turning the agricultural implement, the fluid control unit subsequently applying hydraulic fluid to the cylinder to lower the tool to the preferred operating depth preparatory to an adjacent traverse of the field; the fluid control unit modifying one of;
the hydraulic force applied to the cylinder to lift the frame and the hydraulic force applied to the cylinder for lowering the frame to bring the beginnings and terminations of subsequent adjacent traverses into closer conformity with one another. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification