Flow control system for an agricultural product application system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10159177-B2
Application number	US-201615234819-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 11, 2016
Priority date	Aug 11, 2016
Publication date	Dec 25, 2018
Grant date	Dec 25, 2018

Abstract

An agricultural product application system for an agricultural vehicle includes a belt, a drive roll, and a flow control system, wherein the flow control system includes a gates and actuators, each gate controls a respective flow of the agricultural product to a respective output of the agricultural product application system based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator is coupled to at least one respective gate to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt. The agricultural product application system also includes a controller that instructs each actuator to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An agricultural product application system for an agricultural vehicle, comprising:
a belt configured to convey agricultural product;
a drive roll configured to drive the belt;
a flow control system configured to receive the agricultural product from the belt, wherein the flow control system comprises a plurality of gates and a plurality of actuators, each gate of the plurality of gates is configured to control a respective flow of the agricultural product to at least one respective output of the agricultural product application system based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator of the plurality of actuators is coupled to at least one respective gate of the plurality of gates to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of actuators, wherein the controller is configured to instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof,
wherein the plurality of gates comprises at least three gates, the plurality of actuators comprises at least three actuators, a first gate of the at least three gates is disposed between a second gate of the at least three gates and a third gate of the at least three gates, and the controller is configured to instruct the at least three actuators to position the first gate at an intermediate distance above the belt relative to the second gate and the third gate and position the second gate above the third gate.

2. The agricultural product application system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the drive roll and configured to control a speed of the belt based at least in part on the speed of the agricultural vehicle, the turning radius of the agricultural vehicle, or a combination thereof.

3. The agricultural product application system of claim 1 , comprising a divider disposed between a pair of gates of the plurality of gates, wherein the divider is configured to separate respective flows of the agricultural product.

4. The agricultural product application system of claim 3 , wherein the divider is positioned upstream of the pair of gates, downstream of the pair of gates, or a combination thereof, relative to a direction of the respective flows of the agricultural product.

5. The agricultural product application system of claim 1 , wherein the flow control system comprises at least one gate guide, and each gate of the plurality of gates is supported by the at least one gate guide.

6. The agricultural product application system of claim 5 , wherein the at least one gate guide is configured to stabilize each gate of the plurality of gates in contact with the at least one gate guide throughout a range of motion.

7. The agricultural product application system of claim 1 , wherein a gate of the plurality of gates is configured to be positioned at an intermediate distance above the belt between a fully open position and a fully closed position.

8. An agricultural product application vehicle, comprising:
a left boom and a right boom;
an agricultural product application system comprising a first plurality of outputs coupled to the left boom, a second plurality of outputs coupled to the right boom, a left agricultural product application assembly, and a right agricultural product application assembly, wherein each output of the first and second plurality of outputs is configured to spread agricultural product onto a soil surface, the left agricultural product application assembly is configured to distribute the agricultural product to the first plurality of outputs, the right agricultural product application assembly is configured to distribute the agricultural product to the second plurality of outputs, and the left agricultural product application assembly and the right agricultural product assembly each comprises:
a belt configured to convey the agricultural product;
a drive roll configured to drive the belt;
a flow control system, comprising a plurality of gates and a plurality of actuators, wherein each gate of the plurality of gates is configured to control a respective flow of the agricultural product to at least one respective output of a respective plurality of outputs based at least in part on a position of the gate relative to the belt, and each actuator of the plurality of actuators is coupled to at least one respective gate of the plurality of gates to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of actuators of the left agricultural product application assembly, to the drive roll of the left agricultural product application assembly, to the plurality of actuators of the right agricultural product application assembly; and to the drive roll of the right agricultural product application assembly;
wherein the controller is configured to:
instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators of the left agricultural product application assembly to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt of the left agricultural product application assembly based at least in part on a speed of the agricultural product application vehicle, a turning radius of the agricultural product application vehicle, a prescription map, a field map, or a combination thereof; and
instruct each actuator of the plurality of actuators of the right agricultural product application assembly to control the position of the at least one respective gate relative to the belt of the right agricultural product application assembly based at least in part on the speed of the agricultural product application vehicle, the turning radius of the agricultural product application vehicle, the prescription map, the field map, or the combination thereof; and
wherein the controller instructs the drive roll of the left agricultural product application assembly, the drive roll of the right agricultural product application assembly, or a combination thereof, to change speed based at least in part on the turning radius of the agricultural product application vehicle.

9. The agricultural product application vehicle of claim 8 , comprising a vehicle speed sensor communicatively coupled to the controller and configured to output a signal indicative of the speed of the agricultural product application vehicle.

10. The agricultural product application vehicle of claim 8 , comprising a vehicle orientation sensor communicatively coupled to the controller and configured to output a first signal indicative of an orientation of the agricultural product application vehicle, a spatial locating device communicatively coupled to the controller and configured to output a second signal indicative of a position of the agricultural product application vehicle, a vehicle steering sensor communicatively coupled to the controller and configured to output a third signal indicative of a steering angle of the agricultural product application vehicle, or a combination thereof, wherein the controller is configured to determine the turning radius based at least in part on the first signal, the second signal, the third signal, or a combination thereof.

11. The agricultural product application vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of gates of the flow control system of the left agricultural product application assembly comprises at least three gates, the plurality of actuators of the flow co

Assignees

• Cnh Ind Canada Ltd

Inventors

• Gervais Joel John Octave
• Ruppert Rex Leroy
• Roberge Martin J
• Denis Joël Jean-Claude

Classifications

• A01C15/124

  with adjustable shutters or slits · CPC title

• A01C15/04

  using blowers · CPC title

• A01C21/005 Primary

  Following a specific plan, e.g. pattern · CPC title

• A01C15/122

  with moving floor parts · CPC title