Sensor and method of detecting the condition of a turf grass
First Claim
1. A method of detecting a condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of illumination devices;
coupling a feedback circuit to adjust an output of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices;
detecting an irradiance of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices; and
adjusting the irradiance of an illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass is described. According to one aspect of the invention, the method comprises steps of attaching an active sensor to a mower; traversing a section of turf grass; and processing the output of the sensor. A device for detecting the condition of turf grass is also disclosed. The device comprises an array of illuminating devices generating a pattern of illuminating light; a detecting device receiving a pattern of reflected light which is coincident with the pattern of illuminating light; a detecting device adapted to detect stray light from the array of illuminating devices; and a feedback loop controlling the array of illuminating devices. A system employing the device is also disclosed.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of illumination devices;
coupling a feedback circuit to adjust an output of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices;
detecting an irradiance of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices; and
adjusting the irradiance of an illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A device for detecting a condition of turf grass, said device comprising:
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an array of illuminating devices generating a pattern of illuminating light;
a detecting device receiving a pattern of reflected light which is coincident with said pattern of illuminating light;
a detecting device adapted to detect an entity proportional to a light output from said array of illuminating devices; and
a feedback loop controlling said array of illuminating devices. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 17)
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9. A device for detecting a condition of turf grass, said device comprising:
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an array of LEDs generating a cone of illuminating light;
a photodetector receiving a cone of reflected light which is coincident with said cone of illuminating light;
one or more photodetectors adapted to detect light from said array of LEDs; and
a feedback loop controlling said array of LEDs based upon light from said array of LEDs. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A device for detecting a condition of turf grass, said device comprising:
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an array of LEDs generating a pattern of illuminating light;
at least one photodetector receiving a pattern of reflected light which is coincident with said pattern of illuminating light;
one or more photodetectors adapted to detect stray light from said array of LEDs;
a feedback loop controlling said array of LEDs based upon stray light from said array of LEDs;
a circuit for providing offset correction, said circuit comprising a first offset correction circuit for a first frequency and a second offset correction circuit for a second frequency; and
a background light subtraction circuit.
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18. An apparatus comprising:
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a first circuit board comprising a plurality of light-emitting diodes and at least one photodiode; and
a second circuit board comprising a plurality of holes sized to receive the plurality of light-emitting diodes;
whereby when the first circuit board is coupled with the second circuit board, the second circuit board directs stray illumination light from the plurality of light-emitting diodes to the at least one photodiode and blocks a substantial amount of reflected illumination light from reaching the at least one photodiode. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. An apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of light-emitting diodes;
at least one photodiode; and
circuitry operative to provide a constant output by the plurality of light-emitting diodes in response a representative portion of light sensed by the at least one photodiode;
wherein the plurality of light-emitting diodes and the at least one photodiode are positioned with respect to one another to provide an even weighting of light into the at least one photodiode. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification