Soil analysis assembly and system
DCFirst Claim
1. A soil analysis system comprising:
- a soil testing device adapted for intermittent contact with the soil and including a plurality of functionally different testing assemblies including;
(1) one or more reflectance testing assemblies adapted for determination of moisture content, nutrient content, and organic matter content in a soil sample;
(2) an electrophoresis testing assembly adapted for determination of the amount of particles or elements in a soil sample; and
(3) a chromatography testing assembly adapted for detection of elements in a soil sample, the soil testing device adapted to be disposed in the soil at one or more geographic locations in a soil region and perform at least one test on the soil and provide associated soil characteristics relating to the soil obtained at the one or more geographic locations;
a data collection system adapted to store information relative to the associated soil characteristics and the one or more geographic locations; and
a control system operably coupled to control operation of the soil testing device and the data collection system.
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a soil anslysis system for determining various soil characteristics. Various soil characteristics may include moisture content, organic matter content and the presence of nitrogen phosphate, potassium and other elements. The soil analysis system includings a plurality of testing assemblies for determining soil characteristics. The soil analysis system further includes a soil testing device or probe which is operatively inserted into the soil to support the testing assemblies. Preferably, the soil analysis system is used in cooperation with a positioning system and a data collection system for recording soil characteristic data based upon the geographic location to which the soil characteristic data relates.
105 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A soil analysis system comprising:
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a soil testing device adapted for intermittent contact with the soil and including a plurality of functionally different testing assemblies including;
(1) one or more reflectance testing assemblies adapted for determination of moisture content, nutrient content, and organic matter content in a soil sample;
(2) an electrophoresis testing assembly adapted for determination of the amount of particles or elements in a soil sample; and
(3) a chromatography testing assembly adapted for detection of elements in a soil sample, the soil testing device adapted to be disposed in the soil at one or more geographic locations in a soil region and perform at least one test on the soil and provide associated soil characteristics relating to the soil obtained at the one or more geographic locations;a data collection system adapted to store information relative to the associated soil characteristics and the one or more geographic locations; and a control system operably coupled to control operation of the soil testing device and the data collection system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A process for analyzing soil comprising:
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positioning a vehicle at a first location in a soil region, the vehicle adapted to support at least a first and a second testing assembly for acquiring respective soil characteristic information using functionally different operations; using the first testing assembly to acquire the first soil-characteristic information associated with the first location according to a first operation; using the second testing assembly to acquire the second soil characteristic information associated with the first location according to a second operation; combining the first soil-characteristic information and the second soil-characteristic information to provide composite soil-characteristic information; determining a dispensing rate for a product based upon the composite soil-characteristic data associated with the first location; and dispensing the product at the dispensing rate about the first location.
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Specification