Flow control system for an agricultural product application system
First Claim
1. An agricultural product application system for an agricultural vehicle, comprising:
- a belt configured to convey agricultural product;
a drive roll configured to drive the belt;
a flow control system configured to receive the agricultural product from the belt, wherein the flow control system comprises a plurality of gates and a plurality of actuators, each gate of the plurality of gates is configured to control a respective flow of the agricultural product to at least one respective output of the agricultural product application system based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator of the plurality of actuators is coupled to at least one respective gate of the plurality of gates to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of actuators, wherein the controller is configured to instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof,wherein the plurality of gates comprises at least three gates, the plurality of actuators comprises at least three actuators, a first gate of the at least three gates is disposed between a second gate of the at least three gates and a third gate of the at least three gates, and the controller is configured to instruct the at least three actuators to position the first gate at an intermediate distance above the belt relative to the second gate and the third gate and position the second gate above the third gate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An agricultural product application system for an agricultural vehicle includes a belt, a drive roll, and a flow control system, wherein the flow control system includes a gates and actuators, each gate controls a respective flow of the agricultural product to a respective output of the agricultural product application system based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator is coupled to at least one respective gate to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt. The agricultural product application system also includes a controller that instructs each actuator to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof.
79 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An agricultural product application system for an agricultural vehicle, comprising:
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a belt configured to convey agricultural product; a drive roll configured to drive the belt; a flow control system configured to receive the agricultural product from the belt, wherein the flow control system comprises a plurality of gates and a plurality of actuators, each gate of the plurality of gates is configured to control a respective flow of the agricultural product to at least one respective output of the agricultural product application system based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator of the plurality of actuators is coupled to at least one respective gate of the plurality of gates to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt; and a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of actuators, wherein the controller is configured to instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof, wherein the plurality of gates comprises at least three gates, the plurality of actuators comprises at least three actuators, a first gate of the at least three gates is disposed between a second gate of the at least three gates and a third gate of the at least three gates, and the controller is configured to instruct the at least three actuators to position the first gate at an intermediate distance above the belt relative to the second gate and the third gate and position the second gate above the third gate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An agricultural product application vehicle, comprising:
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a left boom and a right boom; an agricultural product application system comprising a first plurality of outputs coupled to the left boom, a second plurality of outputs coupled to the right boom, a left agricultural product application assembly, and a right agricultural product application assembly, wherein each output of the first and second plurality of outputs is configured to spread agricultural product onto a soil surface, the left agricultural product application assembly is configured to distribute the agricultural product to the first plurality of outputs, the right agricultural product application assembly is configured to distribute the agricultural product to the second plurality of outputs, and the left agricultural product application assembly and the right agricultural product assembly each comprises; a belt configured to convey the agricultural product; a drive roll configured to drive the belt; a flow control system, comprising a plurality of gates and a plurality of actuators, wherein each gate of the plurality of gates is configured to control a respective flow of the agricultural product to at least one respective output of a respective plurality of outputs based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator of the plurality of actuators is coupled to at least one respective gate of the plurality of gates to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt; and a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of actuators of the left agricultural product application assembly, to the drive roll of the left agricultural product application assembly, to the plurality of actuators of the right agricultural product application assembly; and
to the drive roll of the right agricultural product application assembly;wherein the controller is configured to; instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators of the left agricultural product application assembly to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt of the left agricultural product application assembly based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural product application vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural product application vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof; and instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators of the right agricultural product application assembly to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt of the right agricultural product application assembly based at least in part on the speed of the agricultural product application vehicle, the turning radius of the agricultural product application vehicle, the prescription map, the field map, or the combination thereof; and wherein the controller instructs the drive roll of the left agricultural product application assembly, the drive roll of the right agricultural product application assembly, or a combination thereof, to change speed based at least in part on the turning radius of the agricultural product application vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling an agricultural product application system of an agricultural product application vehicle, comprising:
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determining, via a processor, a speed of the agricultural product application vehicle, a turn radius of the agricultural product application vehicle, or a combination thereof; and controlling, via the processor, a first set of actuators of a first flow control system of a first agricultural product application assembly, a second set of actuators of a second flow control system of a second agricultural product application assembly, or a combination thereof, based at least in part on the speed of the agricultural product application vehicle, the turn radius of the agricultural product application vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof, wherein; the first set of actuators is coupled to a first set of gates of the first flow control system and controls positions of respective gates of the first set of gates relative to a first belt of the first agricultural product application assembly; and the second set of actuators is coupled to a second set of gates of the second flow control system and controls positions of respective gates of the second set of gates relative to a second belt of the second agricultural product application assembly, wherein controlling, via the processor, the first set of actuators, the second set of actuators, or the combination thereof, comprises positioning each gate of the first set of gates a distance above the first belt equal to a distance of each gate of the second set of gates above the second belt when the agricultural product application vehicle is traveling in a straight line. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification