PLANTER MONITOR SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20100010667A1
• Filed: 01/07/2008
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Climate Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Precision Planting, Inc.
• Inventors: Sauder, Gregg A., Koch, Justin L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,078,367 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/231
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 14/00 Methods or apparatus for planting not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/04 Single-grain seeders with or without suction devices
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/105 Seed sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/205 comprising pressure regulation means
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/26 the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 111/903 Monitor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/965 for process control and configuration

Abstract

A planter monitor system and method that provides an operator with near real-time data concerning yield robbing events and the economic cost associated with such yield robbing events so as to motivate the operator to take prompt corrective action.

Claims

1. A monitor system for an agricultural seed planter having a plurality of row units, each of the plurality of row units having a depth regulation member and a seed meter adapted to discharge seeds in a seed path, the monitor system comprising:

a seed sensor disposed with respect to the seed path to generate seed signals as the seeds pass;

a load sensor associated with at least one of the depth regulation members and disposed to generate load signals corresponding to loads exerted on the depth regulation member;

a visual display;

processing circuitry operably electrically coupled to said visual display, to each load sensor and to each seed sensor, said processing circuitry configured to monitor and display information pertaining to the planter operation (“

Seed Planting Information”

), said processing circuitry further configured to monitor and display information pertaining to loads exerted on the depth regulation member (“

Load Information”

).

2. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Seed Planting Information includes actual seed population.

3. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Seed Planting Information includes skips and multiples detected during a sampling period.

4. The monitor system of claim 3 wherein said Seed Planting Information includes misplaced seeds.

5. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Seed Planting Information includes a running average percentage of good spaced seeds versus misplaced seeds.

6. The monitor system of claim 1 further comprising:

a vertical accelerometer associated with at least one of the row units and disposed to detect vertical acceleration of the row unit as the planter traverses the field;

said processing circuitry further configured to calculate and display ride roughness of the row unit.

7. The monitor system of claim 1 further comprising:

a horizontal accelerometer associated with at least one of the row units and disposed to detect horizontal acceleration of the row unit as the planter traverses the field;

said processing circuitry further configured to calculate the ratio of a standard deviation of said detected horizontal acceleration divided by a standard deviation of said detected vertical acceleration and further wherein said processing circuitry is configured to generate an alarm condition if said standard deviations of said detected horizontal acceleration over said detected vertical acceleration increases.

8. The monitor system of claim 1 further comprising:

an inclinometer associated with at least one of the row units and disposed to detect the angle of the row unit with respect to vertical;

said processing circuitry further configured to generate an alarm condition if said detected row unit angle with respect to vertical exceeds a predefined limit.

9. The monitor system of claim 2 further comprising:

a user interface operably electrically coupled to said processing circuitry to input a target seed population;

wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to graphically display said actual seed population in relation to said target seed population.

10. The monitor system of claim 9 wherein said graphical display includes a bar graph display wherein a bar representative of an actual seeding rate of each row unit is displayed in relation to a scale associated with said target population.

11. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Seed Planting Information includes a pictorial representation of seeds planted by the row unit indicating good spaced seeds, misplaced seeds, seed skips and seed multiples.

12. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Load Information includes a soil load value, wherein said soil load value is the total load exerted on the soil by the depth regulating member.

13. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Load Information includes a load margin.

14. The monitor system of claim 1 wherein said Load Information further includes a ground contact parameter of the depth regulating member.

15. The monitor system of claim 13 wherein said Load Information includes a ground contact parameter of the depth regulating member.

16. The monitor system of claim 4 wherein said Load Information includes a load margin.

17. The monitor system of claim 4 wherein said Load Information includes a ground contact parameter of the depth regulating member.

18. The monitor system of claim 16 wherein said Load Information further includes a ground contact parameter of the depth regulating member.

19. The monitor system of claim 3 wherein said processing circuitry is programmed to calculate and display economic loss based on said detected skips and multiples.

20. The monitor system of claim 4 wherein said processing circuitry is programmed to calculate and display economic loss based on said detected skips, multiples and misplaced seeds.

21. The monitor system of claim 13 wherein said processing circuitry is configured to calculate and display economic loss based on said load margin.

22. The monitor system of claim 14 wherein said processing circuitry is configured to calculate and display economic loss based on said ground contact parameter.

23. The monitor system of claim 15 wherein said processing circuitry is to calculate and display economic loss based on said load margin and said ground contact parameter.

24. The monitor system of claim 16 wherein said processing circuitry is programmed to calculate and display economic loss based on said detected skips, multiples, misplaced seeds and said load margin.

25. The monitor system of claim 17 wherein said processing circuitry is programmed to calculate and display economic loss based on said detected skips, multiples, misplaced seeds and said ground contact parameter.

26. The monitor system of claim 18 wherein said processing circuitry is programmed to calculate and display economic loss based on said detected skips, multiples, misplaced seeds, load margin and ground contact parameter.

27. A method of advising a planter operator concerning yield robbing events during planting operations, said method comprising:

detecting the occurrence of yield robbing events relating to the planting operations;

calculating an economic loss for said detected yield robbing events;

displaying on a display said calculated economic loss.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of skips.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of multiples.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of misplaced seeds.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of load margin on said depth regulation member.

32. The method of claim 27 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences loss of ground contact.

33. The method of claim 28 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of multiples.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of misplaced seeds.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of load margin on said depth regulation member.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein said yield robbing events include occurrences of loss of ground contact.