Agricultural product application tracking and control

• US 6,522,948 B1
• Filed: 08/14/2000
• Issued: 02/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CNH Industrial Canada, Ltd (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Flexi-Coil Ltd. (CNH Industrial N.V.)
• Inventors: Benneweis, Robert K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Donald P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Butler, Michael E.
• Application Number:
  US09/638,083
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: 700/243, 700/244, 701/50
• US Class Current: 700/243
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 21/005 Following a specific plan, e.g. pattern
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 23/047 Spraying of liquid fertilisers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/10 in agriculture

Abstract

A control system is disclosed for an agricultural implement, such as an agricultural sprayer, used to dispense a product to the ground wherein the dispensing units for the product are provided with control valves that can reduce the flow rate of product through selected dispensing units to zero. By controlling the rate of flow through the dispensing units, overlap of the application of the product to the ground can be substantially eliminated. In alternative embodiments of the invention, the control mechanism can receive data from a remote source, such as a central controller or another implement operating in the field, to define where the product needs to be applied to the ground. The application of the product can also be controlled through or in conjunction with a prescription map. Preferably, each dispensing unit is provided with a control valve operably associated with the control system so that each dispensing unit can be independently controlled to provide a variable flow rate of the product to the ground.

Claims

1. In an agricultural implement for dispensing agricultural product to the ground through a plurality of product dispensing units, the improvement comprising:

a control system for controlling a rate of flow of said agricultural product from at least a portion of said product dispensing units, each said dispensing unit having a control valve operable to control the rate of flow of said agricultural product through the corresponding said product dispensing unit in a variable manner in response to data received by said control system relating to a prior application of said agricultural product, said data identifying an application of said agricultural product made in a previous path of said agricultural implement so that said control system can reduce said rate of flow of said agricultural product from at least one of said product dispensing units to prevent overlap in the application of said agricultural product.

2. The agricultural implement of claim 1, wherein each of said product dispensing units are independently controlled by said control system so that any of said product dispensing units being positioned over a portion of the ground having said agricultural product dispensed in a previous pass of said implement can be turned off to prevent duplicative application of said agricultural product.

3. The agricultural implement of claim 2, wherein said control system is in communication with corresponding control systems of other similar agricultural implements operating in cooperation therewith for the application of said agricultural product to the ground, said control system being operable to control the flow rate of said product dispensing units to prevent a duplicative application of said agricultural product relative to a previous path made by one of said other similar agricultural implements.

4. The agricultural implement of claim 1, wherein said control system is operable to control the rate of flow of said agricultural product in response to a prescription map requiring variable application of said agricultural product to the ground.