30results about "Electric potential based soil-working" patented technology

A system for remote moisture monitoring and control includes: a measurement vehicle, including a vehicle body, a vehicle control unit, a transmitter antenna, and a receiver antenna; a moisture control server, including a processor, a non-transitory memory, an input / output, and antenna manager, a multi spectrum analyzer, a sensor manager, an irrigation manager, a soil simulator and a data bus; a vehicle storage facility; an irrigation controller; irrigation valves; a mobile control device; ground sensors. Also disclosed is a method including piloting measurement vehicle; obtaining moisture measurements, including controlling outbound transmission, determining reflected power, calculating dielectric constant via reflection calculation, determining soil moisture via lookup in soil calibration table; obtaining sensor measurements; calculating soil model; and adjusting irrigation.

To provide a soil characteristics survey device capable of efficiently acquiring high precision data information about the distribution of soil characteristics in an agricultural field, and managing the data information collectively.The soil characteristics survey device is composed of a pedestal connected to the rear of the tractor, a control unit (a computer) mounted on the pedestal, and a soil excavating unit attached below the rear end of the pedestal. While being towed by a vehicle 2 such as a tractor, the device surveys in real time the distribution of soil characteristics in a given agricultural field. At the top of the control unit is attached a GPS antenna. The soil excavating unit 50 is composed of a shank 51 connected to the bottom of the pedestal and a sensing unit which is fixed so the bottom of the shank 51 and advance in the soil approximately parallel to the ground at a predetermined depth. The control unit 30 generates data information groups corresponding to the same soil samples, concerning soil characteristics to be detected or the detection signals of differently arranged sensors 57, 53, 61, 62, 63, 64, and the like.

A harvester monitoring system configured to determine one or more parameters associated with harvested items, the system comprising: a camera module having a field of view and configured to generate image data associated with the harvested items; a mounting bracket configured to secure the camera module to a harvester such that a conveyor of the harvester is within the field of view of the camera module; a location sub-system configured to determine and output location data representative of a geographical location of the harvester monitoring system; and a processing unit configured to receive the image data and the location data, to determine one or more parameters associated with the harvested items, and to record the one or more parameters in association with the location data on a computer readable medium.

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for eradicate nematodes and other soil-borne organisms to a depth of up to several feet that uses specially-shaped electrically conductive metal shanks that are pulled through the soil profile by a tractor or other vehicle. The source of the electric charge is a generator and transformer connected to each conductive shank. Electric current passes through the soil between the shanks resulting in the electrocution of unwanted soil borne pests such as nematodes. Two rows of downwardly pointing generally vertical parallel shanks are provided, the leading row being a plurality of ripper shanks, and the trailing row being parallel electrically-conductive stinger shanks. The stinger shanks are wedge shaped from front to back to compress the soil between them so as to provide a more uniform electrical charge.

An agricultural planting or seeding implement having a ground engaging tool that forms an opening along an axis in the soil, a sensor disposed aft of the ground engaging tool, and a row unit disposed aft of both the ground engaging tool and the sensor relative to a direction of travel of the agricultural planting or seeding implement. The sensor engages with the ground at a depth within the opening and generates a signal indicative of a soil property of the ground.

An agricultural planting or seeding implement that includes a ground engaging tool that forms a trench in a field. The ground engaging tool includes a blade that forms the trench. A first conduit couples to the blade. The first conduit deposits agricultural product in the field. A sensor couples to the ground engaging tool. The sensor generates a signal indicative of a soil property of the field.

An apparatus, method and system for eradicating soil-borne pests in soil utilizing leading and trailing rows of shanks, a source of electricity and a mechanism to determine the condition of the soil being treated. The leading row has ripper shanks that open a path through the soil and the trailing row has specially configured electrically conductive stinger shanks, connected to the source of electricity, that discharge electricity into the soil to electrocute pests. The soil condition determination mechanism comprises one or more soil probes in a probe row disposed between the leading and trailing rows. The soil probe reads the condition of the soil in the path cut by the ripper shanks and transmits a signal to a voltage controller that is connected to the source of electricity to adjust the output thereof to the stinger shanks to automatically compensate for changing soil conditions to effectively and efficiently eradicate pests.

To provide a soil characteristics survey device capable of efficiently acquiring high precision data information about the distribution of soil characteristics in an agricultural field, and managing the data information collectively. The soil characteristics survey device is composed of a pedestal connected to the rear of the tractor, a control unit (a computer) mounted on the pedestal, and a soil excavating unit 50 attached below the rear end of the pedestal. While being towed by a vehicle such as a tractor, the device surveys in real time the distribution of soil characteristics in a given agricultural field. At the top of the control unit is attached a GPS antenna. The soil excavating unit 50 is composed of a shank 51 connected to the bottom of the pedestal and a sensing unit 52 which is fixed to the bottom of the shank 51 and advances in the soil approximately parallel to the ground at a predetermined depth. The control unit generates data information groups corresponding to the same soil samples, concerning soil characteristics to be detected or the detection signals of differently arranged sensors 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 100, and the like.

A system for remote moisture monitoring and control includes: a measurement vehicle, including a vehicle body, a vehicle control unit, a transmitter antenna, and a receiver antenna; a moisture control server, including a processor, a non-transitory memory, an input / output, and antenna manager, a multi spectrum analyzer, a sensor manager, an irrigation manager, a soil simulator and a data bus; a vehicle storage facility; an irrigation controller; irrigation valves; a mobile control device; ground sensors. Also disclosed is a method including piloting measurement vehicle; obtaining moisture measurements, including controlling outbound transmission, determining reflected power, calculating dielectric constant via reflection calculation, determining soil moisture via lookup in soil calibration table; obtaining sensor measurements; calculating soil model; and adjusting irrigation.

Embodiments herein relate to a time domain depth sensor system and method for determining a depth of a ground engaging device in soil. The sensor system may include a signal transmission element arranged on an outer periphery of a ground engaging device that is adapted to penetrate soil. The signal transmission element can be arranged to receive and transmit an electrical signal that is responsiveto impedance discontinuities detected by a pulse detector. The pulse detector is configured to detect a first and a second reflected signal corresponding to a sensed impedance discontinuities at a first and a second soil location. An electronic data processor is communicatively coupled the pulse detector and is configured to determine the depth of the ground engaging device in the soil based on adifference between a first time of propagation of the first reflected signal and a second time of propagation of the second reflected signal.

A system for measuring temperature and dielectric properties of soil and other semi-solid materials on-the-go uses a long-wearing non-ferrous wear plate with two metal prongs supported by the wear plate to measure dielectric properties. The metal prongs each have a mounting end soldered to a printed circuit board containing a capacitance sensor circuit. The metal prongs have exposed ends arranged to contact the semi-solid material being measured. The sensor circuit has an oscillation frequency of 50 to 100 MHz to allow rapid dielectric measurements to be made as the sensor moves through the semi-solid material. In one embodiment, the system includes an implement for traversing a field, a shank with a leading edge for opening a furrow in soil, and a spring-loaded mounting system for biasing the wear plate downwardly relative to a shank to maintain a consistent pressure of the wear plate and metal prongs against the soil.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and implements for sensing, analyzing, and displaying different soil parameters. A soil sensing system includes a mechanical component of an agricultural implement and at least one sensor disposed on the mechanical component. The sensor generates an electromagnetic field through a region of soil as the agricultural implement traverses a field. The sensor comprises at least one radar transmitter and at least one radar receiver and the sensor measures different soil parameters including a soil dielectric constant.

To provide a soil characteristics survey device capable of efficiently acquiring high precision data information about the distribution of soil characteristics in an agricultural field, and managing the data information collectively. The soil characteristics survey device is composed of a pedestal connected to the rear of the tractor, a control unit (a computer) mounted on the pedestal, and a soil excavating unit 50 attached below the rear end of the pedestal. While being towed by a vehicle such as a tractor, the device surveys in real time the distribution of soil characteristics in a given agricultural field. At the top of the control unit is attached a GPS antenna. The soil excavating unit 50 is composed of a shank 51 connected to the bottom of the pedestal and a sensing unit 52 which is fixed so the bottom of the shank 51 and advance in the soil approximately parallel to the ground at a predetermined depth. The control unit generates data information groups corresponding to the same soil samples, concerning soil characteristics to be detected or the detection signals of differently arranged sensors 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 100 and the like.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA system for managing material accumulation relative to an agricultural implement may include a ground engaging tool supported on an agricultural implement and an infrared sensor having a field of view directed towards the ground engaging tool, The infrared sensor may be configured to generate data indicative of a temperature gradient of field materials at the ground engaging tool. A controller of the system may be communicatively coupled to the infrared sensor. The controller may monitor the data received from the infrared sensor and determine a presence of material accumulation relative to the ground engaging tool based at least in part on the temperature gradient of the field materials at the ground engaging tool.

A system for monitoring tillage conditions of a field may include an agricultural implement and a tillage sensor supported on the agricultural implement. The tillage sensor has a field of view directed towards a portion of the field disposed relative to the agricultural implement, with the tillage sensor being configured to generate data indicative of a tillage floor levelness associated with a tillage floor of the field disposed below a surface of the field. The system may further include a controller configured to receive the data from the tillage sensor indicative of the tillage floor levelness as the agricultural implement moves across the field and monitor the tillage floor levelness based at least in part on the data received from the tillage sensor.

A system for determining material accumulation relative to ground engaging tools of an agricultural implement may include a frame member, and first and second ground engaging tools coupled to the frame member. The first and second ground engaging tools are configured to engage soil within a field as the agricultural implement is moved across the field. The first and second ground engaging tools are electrically isolated from each other. The system may further include a power source configured to apply a voltage across the first and second ground engaging tools, a sensor configured to measure a capacitance across the first and second ground engaging tools, and a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor. The controller may be configured to determine a presence of material accumulation between the first and second ground engaging tools based at least in part on the measured capacitance.

A system for measuring soil properties on-the-go uses soil-engaging components of an existing farm implement as electrodes for a soil conductivity measurement system. The soil-engaging components can be: electrically isolated shanks and / or replaceable points or sweeps on a tillage implement; a row cleaner or coulter device on the front of a planter row unit, the closing wheels on the back of the planter row unit, or an entire planter row unit; or an additional soil contacting component added to an existing implement shank. A soil engaging component serving as an electrode is electrically isolated from other components of the implement. A soil conductivity measurement is made by passing current between a first pair of soil-engaging electrodes and measuring voltage resulting from the current between a second pair of soil-engaging electrodes. A narrow profile sensor unit can be attached to the implement to measure additional soil properties.

A sensing system for obtaining a gradient of soil properties in real-time as a function of soil depth is disclosed herein. The sensing system includes a support structure coupled to an agricultural implement and which is rotatable about a rotational axis relative to a frame of the agricultural implement. A sensor is arranged on a surface of the support structure and configured to generate an output signal indicative of the measured soil property based on a sensed a capacitance change corresponding to a change in a dielectric property of a measured soil sample with which the sensor interacts. Ameasuring unit is coupled to the at least one sensor and processes the output signal generated by the at least one sensor to generate a gradient profile of the soil properties in real-time as a function of one or more depths for display on a user interface.

The invention provides a measurement method for measuring the thickness of a soil layer based on the magnetic susceptibility, and relates to the technical field of soil erosion monitoring. The measurement method comprises the steps of measuring the original magnetic susceptibility Kb of a surface soil layer of sampling point soil; measuring the maximum magnetic susceptibility Km of the surface soil layer when a magnetic member is placed on the surface soil layer; burying the magnetic member at the preset depth below the sampling point soil to form a magnetic layer; measuring the first magneticsusceptibility K1 of the surface soil layer right above the magnetic layer; measuring the second magnetic susceptibility K2 of the surface soil layer right above the magnetic layer after an intervalof preset time; and calculating a thickness variation values of the soil layer according to a conversion equation between the magnetic susceptibility of the soil layer and the thickness of the soil layer. The measurement method provided by the invention for measuring the thickness of the soil layer based on the magnetic susceptibility has extremely small or no disturbance to the sampling point soil layer, can obtain a measurement result quickly and accurately, does not need any special manual maintenance, is good in representativeness in sampling point soil layer, and has high practicability in soil resource protection, soil erosion monitoring scientific research and field monitoring.

A soil resistivity detection system for an agricultural implement includes a row unit having row unit components. The row unit components include a residue management system configured to condition soil at a leading edge of the row unit, an opening system configured to form a furrow in the soil, a closing assembly configured to close the furrow, and a press wheel assembly configured to compact the soil. The soil resistivity detection system also includes a control assembly configured to output an electrical current to a first pair of the row unit components, receive voltages from a second pair of the row unit components, determine a voltage differential based on the voltages, and determine a soil resistivity based on the voltage differential.

A crop monitoring system configured to determine one or more parameters associated with harvested items, the system comprising: a camera module having a field of view and configured to generate imagedata associated with the harvested items; a mounting bracket configured to secure the camera module to a harvester such that a conveyor of the harvester is within the field of view of the camera module; a location sub-system configured to determine and output location data representative of a geographical location of the harvester monitoring system; and a processing unit configured to receive theimage data and the location data, to determine one or more parameters associated with the harvested items, and to record the one or more parameters in association with the location data on a computerreadable medium.

Embodiments herein relate to time domain depth sensor systems and methods for determining the depth of a ground engaging device in soil. The sensor system may comprise a signal transmission element arranged on the periphery of the ground engaging means adapted to penetrate the soil. The signal transmission element may be arranged to receive and transmit an electrical signal detected by the pulse detector in response to the impedance discontinuity. The pulse detector is configured to detect first and second reflected signals corresponding to sensed impedance discontinuities at the first soil location and the second soil location. An electrical data processor is communicatively coupled to the pulse detector and configured to determine a depth of the ground engaging device in the soil based on a difference between a first time of travel of the first reflected signal and a second time of travel of the second reflected signal.

A soil resistivity detection system for an agricultural implement includes a row unit having row unit components. The row unit components include a residue management system configured to condition soil at a leading edge of the row unit, an opening system configured to form a furrow in the soil, a closing assembly configured to close the furrow, and a press wheel assembly configured to compact the soil. The soil resistivity detection system also includes a control assembly configured to output an electrical current to a first pair of the row unit components, receive voltages from a second pair of the row unit components, determine a voltage differential based on the voltages, and determine a soil resistivity based on the voltage differential.

Disclosed herein is a sensing system that obtains, in real time, the gradient of soil properties as a function of soil depth. The sensing system includes a support structure coupled to an agricultural implement and rotatable about an axis of rotation relative to a frame of the agricultural implement. The sensor is disposed on the surface of the support structure and is configured to generate an output signal indicative of the measured soil property based on a sensed change in capacitance corresponding to a measured soil sample interacting with the sensor. Changes in dielectric properties. The measurement unit is coupled to at least one sensor and processes an output signal generated by the at least one sensor in real time for display on the user interface, the gradient profile of the soil property as a function of one or more depths.

System (1) for the disinfection of agricultural soil (2) comprising an electric energy source (4, 6), at least one radiofrequency or microwave generator (10) connected to the electric energy source and arranged to convert the electric energy into electromagnetic power and a plow-like electromagnetic applicator (12) connected to the radiofrequency or microwave generator (10) via wave-guiding lines(14), said plow-like electromagnetic applicator (12) being arranged to be inserted into the soil (2) so as to transmit the electromagnetic power to the soil (2), thus obtaining a disinfection of saidsoil (2).

An agricultural planting or seeding implement that includes a ground engaging tool that forms a trench in a field. The ground engaging tool includes a blade that forms the trench. A first conduit couples to the blade. The first conduit deposits agricultural product in the field. A sensor couples to the ground engaging tool. The sensor generates a signal indicative of a soil property of the field.

The application provides a method for measuring soil layer thickness based on magnetic susceptibility, which relates to the technical field of soil erosion monitoring. Including: Determination of the original magnetic susceptibility K of the topsoil layer of the sample point b ; Determination of the maximum magnetic susceptibility K of the magnetic piece placed in the topsoil layer m ; Buried magnetic parts at a preset depth below the sample point soil to form a magnetosphere; measure the first magnetic susceptibility K of the topsoil layer directly above the magnetosphere 1 ; After a preset time interval, measure the second magnetic susceptibility K of the topsoil layer directly above the magnetosphere 2 ; According to the conversion equation of the magnetic susceptibility of the soil layer and the thickness of the soil layer, the change value of the soil layer thickness is calculated. The method for measuring the thickness of the soil layer based on the magnetic susceptibility provided by this application has little or no disturbance to the soil layer of the sample point, can quickly and accurately obtain the measurement results, does not require any special manual maintenance, and the soil layer of the sample point is representative , It has strong practicability in soil resource protection, soil erosion monitoring scientific research and field monitoring.