Dynamically adaptive soil conditioning system
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a lateral actuator module having a programmably positionable control member operable to position a control point at a predetermined position between two opposing, laterally-spaced end-of-travel positions;
a first gang header that extends substantially laterally relative to a forward direction of travel along a longitudinal axis, the first gang header being mechanically connected to and laterally positioned by the control point; and
a plurality of coulter disks laterally spaced apart from each other and supported by the first gang header;
wherein the predetermined position is dynamically calculated according to a predetermined function and based on information about one or more conditions of the soil in contact with the first coulter disks.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and associated methods for a coulter disk system relate to a lateral actuator module having a programmably positionable control member that is coupled to a gang of coulter disks and is operable to position a control point of the coulter disks at a predetermined position between two opposing, laterally-spaced end-of-travel positions. In an exemplary embodiment, a gang may be mechanically connected to and laterally positioned by the control point. The predetermined position may be, in some examples, dynamically calculated according to a predetermined function and based on information about conditions of the soil in contact with the coulter disks. Various embodiments may dynamically adjust the position of a gang of coulter disks to dynamically and automatically optimize the conditioning effectiveness of the gang of coulter disks in response to parametric information about the soil conditions.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. An apparatus comprising:
-
a lateral actuator module having a programmably positionable control member operable to position a control point at a predetermined position between two opposing, laterally-spaced end-of-travel positions; a first gang header that extends substantially laterally relative to a forward direction of travel along a longitudinal axis, the first gang header being mechanically connected to and laterally positioned by the control point; and a plurality of coulter disks laterally spaced apart from each other and supported by the first gang header; wherein the predetermined position is dynamically calculated according to a predetermined function and based on information about one or more conditions of the soil in contact with the first coulter disks. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. An apparatus comprising:
-
a first lateral actuator module having a programmably positionable control member operable to position a first control point at a first predetermined position between a first set of two opposing, laterally-spaced end-of-travel positions; a first gang header that extends substantially laterally relative to a forward direction of travel along a longitudinal axis, the first gang header being mechanically connected to and laterally positioned by the first control point; a first plurality of coulter disks laterally spaced apart from each other and supported by the first gang header; a second lateral actuator module having a programmably positionable control member operable to position a second control point at a second predetermined position between a second set of two opposing, laterally-spaced end-of-travel positions; a second gang header that extends substantially laterally relative to the forward direction of travel along the longitudinal axis, the second gang header being mechanically connected to and laterally positioned by the second control point; and a second plurality of coulter disks laterally spaced apart from each other and supported by the second gang header, wherein the second gang header is longitudinally spaced apart from the first gang header; and
,a control system operatively coupled to receive soil condition information, to receive location information about the location of the first or second plurality of coulter disks, and to generate a first command signal for transmission to the first lateral actuator module, wherein the controller generates the first command signal in response to the received soil condition information and according to the received location information, wherein the first predetermined position is dynamically calculated according to a predetermined function and based on information about one or more conditions of the soil in contact with the first coulter disks. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
-
-
16. An apparatus comprising:
-
a lateral actuator module having a programmably positionable control member operable to position a control point at a predetermined position between two opposing, laterally-spaced end-of-travel positions; a first gang header that extends substantially laterally relative to a forward direction of travel along a longitudinal axis, the first gang header being mechanically connected to and laterally positioned by the control point; a plurality of coulter disks laterally spaced apart from each other and supported by the first gang header; and
,means for receiving soil condition information, wherein the predetermined position is dynamically calculated according to a predetermined function and based on information about one or more condition of the soil in contact with the first coulter disks. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification