SENSOR AND METHOD OF DETECTING THE CONDITION OF A TURF GRASS
First Claim
1. A method of detecting the foliage density of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
- attaching an active sensor to a mower;
traversing a section of turf grass; and
processing the output of said active sensor.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
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.
91 Citations
44 Claims
-
1. A method of detecting the foliage density of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
-
attaching an active sensor to a mower; traversing a section of turf grass; and processing the output of said active sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
-
attaching an active sensor to a mower; providing an illuminating pattern of light to said turf grass; and receiving a reflected pattern of light which is coincident with said illuminating pattern of light. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
-
attaching an active sensor to a mower; providing a first wavelength of light and a second wavelength of light to simultaneously illuminate an area; and detecting both reflected light signals simultaneously. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
-
-
24. A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
-
providing a plurality of illumination devices; coupling a feedback circuit to adjust the output of each illuminating device of said plurality of illuminating devices; detecting the 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 (25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A method of detecting the condition of a turf grass, said method comprising the steps of:
-
attaching an active sensor to a mower; sensing the condition of said turf grass; and detecting the geographic position of said active sensor while sensing the condition of said turf grass. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A device for detecting the condition of turf grass, said device comprising:
-
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 the light output from said array of illuminating devices; and a feedback loop controlling said array of illuminating devices. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A device for detecting the condition of turf grass, said device comprising:
-
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 (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
-
-
44. A device for detecting the condition of turf grass, said device comprising:
-
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.
-
Specification