Agricultural sprayer with real-time, on-machine target sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12075769-B2
Application number	US-202117172290-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 10, 2021
Priority date	Dec 21, 2020
Publication date	Sep 3, 2024
Grant date	Sep 3, 2024

Abstract

An agricultural applicator, that applies material to an agricultural field, includes an on-board, real-time image sensor that senses targets for the material to be applied. A controller controls applicators, such as nozzles or other applicators, to apply the material to the sensed targets.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An agricultural machine that travels across a field during a pass, comprising:
a material reservoir;
a plurality of controllable valves;
a pump that pumps material from the material reservoir to the controllable valve;
a plurality of optical sensors that each capture an image, of a plurality of captured images, of a portion of the field ahead of the controllable valve relative to a direction of travel of the agricultural machine;
a processing module that receives the plurality of captured images and includes:
a target identification system that identifies a target in at least one image of the plurality of captured images, the target identification system configured to identify, as the agricultural machine travels across the field during the pass, a controllable valve of the plurality of controllable valves that has an application area corresponding to the target, the target identification system including:
a nozzle activation control system that identifies a timing defining when the identified controllable valve is to be activated and deactivated, the nozzle activation control system including a set of variable value sensors that obtains (i) dimension values indicative of machine dimensions, or (ii) machine dynamics information, or (iii) runtime variables, or any combination of (i) dimension values indicative of machine dimensions, (ii) machine dynamics information, and (iii) runtime variables; and

a valve controller that generates a valve control signal to control the identified controllable valve to apply the material to the target as the agricultural machine travels across the field during the pass.

2. The agricultural machine of claim 1 , the target identification system including:
an image remapping system that identifies a location of the target on the field based on a location of the target in the at least one image.

3. The agricultural machine of claim 2 wherein the agricultural machine comprises a longitudinal axis and further comprising:
a boom mounted transverse to the longitudinal axis of the agricultural machine, the plurality of optical sensors and the controllable valve being mounted on the boom; and
a boom position detector that detects a boom position variable indicative of a height of the boom relative to the field.

4. The agricultural machine of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of controllable valves are mounted on the boom, each controllable valve having a corresponding nozzle, each nozzle directing the material from the corresponding valve to an application area on the field.

5. The agricultural machine of claim 1 , the nozzle activation control system including:
a delay time on generator that generates a first delay time before the identified controllable valve is to be activated based on the at least one of dimension values, machine dynamics information, and runtime variables; and
a delay time off generator that generates a second delay time before the identified controllable valve is to be deactivated, the valve controller generating the valve control signal to control the identified controllable valve based on the first delay time and the second delay time.

6. The agricultural machine of claim 3 wherein each optical sensor of the plurality of optical sensors has a corresponding field of view, and wherein the target identification system is configured to identify the target in a region of interest in a field of view of one of the plurality of optical sensors.

7. The agricultural machine of claim 6 wherein the image remapping system is configured to remap the region of interest to a region of interest on the ground based on the boom position variable.

8. The agricultural machine of claim 7 , the image remapping system including:
a mapping coefficient identifier that identifies mapping coefficients based on the boom position variable; and
a region of interest identifier configured to apply the identified mapping coefficients to the at least one image to identify a portion of the at least one image corresponding to the region of interest.

9. The agricultural machine of claim 8 , the target identification system including:
a target locator that identifies a location of the target on the ground based on the identified mapping coefficients.

10. The agricultural machine of claim 4 wherein the processing module includes:
a plurality of image processing modules mounted to the boom, each image processing module receiving images from a different set of optical sensors in the plurality of optical sensors, and wherein the plurality of controllable valves include a plurality of different sets of controllable valves, each of the controllable valves applying material to a different treatment area, each optical sensor capturing an image of targets for treatment by one of the plurality of different sets of controllable valves.

11. The agricultural machine of claim 10 wherein the plurality of image processing modules are configured to perform a sequence identification process to identify a sequential configuration of the image processing modules relative to one another, each image processing module being further configured to access configuration data to identify, as connected optical sensors, the set of optical sensors from which the image processing module receives images, and which set of the plurality of different sets of controllable valves correspond to the connected optical sensors.

12. A method of controlling an agricultural machine that travels across a field during a pass, including:
sensing an image of a portion of the field ahead of a plurality of controllable valves relative to a direction of travel of the agricultural machine, the plurality of controllable valves mounted on a boom carried by the agricultural machine and being controllable to apply material to the field, the material being pumped by a pump from a material reservoir to the controllable valve;
identifying a target in the image;
detecting a boom position variable indicative of a height of the boom relative to the field;
identifying, as the agricultural machine travels across the field during the pass, a controllable valve of the plurality of controllable valves that has an application area corresponding to the target;
identifying a timing defining when the identified controllable valve is to be activated and deactivated, wherein identifying the timing includes obtaining (i) dimension values indicative of machine dimensions, or (ii) machine dynamics information, or (iii) runtime variables, or any combination of (i) dimension values indicative of machine dimensions, (ii) machine dynamics information, and (iii) runtime variables; and
generating a valve control signal to control the identified controllable valve to apply the material to the target as the agricultural machine travels across the field during the pass.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein each controllable valve of the plurality of controllable valves has a corresponding nozzle, each nozzle directing the material from the corresponding valve to an application area on the field and a plurality of optical sensors mounted on the boom, each optical sensor having a field of view on the field wherein identifying a target includes identifying a location of the target on the field based on a location of the target in the image, and wherein identifying, as the agricultural machine travels across the field during the pass, the controllable valve of the plurality of controllable valves that has an application area corresponding to the target comprises identifying, as the agricultural machine travels across the field during the pass, the controllable valve of the plurality of co

Assignees

• Deere & Co

Inventors

• Humpal Richard A
• Rees Steven
• Boydell Broughton C
• Loukili Tarik
• Davis Travis J
• Pickett Terence D
• Buse Scott M
• Chaney Mark M

Classifications

• B05B12/124

  responsive to distance between spray apparatus and target · CPC title

• A01M7/0042

  Field sprayers, e.g. self-propelled, drawn or tractor-mounted · CPC title

• A01C23/047

  Spraying of liquid fertilisers · CPC title

• A01C23/007

  Metering or regulating systems · CPC title

• A01C21/005

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