Patent Application
20160120115
The invention relates generally to agricultural machines configured to disperse a granular commodity and, in particular, to a high-crop clearance machine having a pair of conveyors that each extend in a direction that is generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the machine.
During production of agricultural crop products, whether the crop is intended as animal feed materials or vegetation destined for human consumption and once the soil has been prepared, it is necessary to disperse seed, fertilizer, and/or vegetation or pest treatment materials in a manner intended to maximize the product yield and use of treatment products associated with the area available. A consistent and uniform application of seed and treatment materials increases the potential of generating the desired yield and crop quality. During growth cycles it is also periodically desired or even necessary, to treat a field that includes established vegetation with supplemental agricultural materials such as insecticides, fertilizers, pesticides, and/or supplemental seeding to address washout or crop damage due to adverse weather conditions, pests, or the like.
Although the initial treatment and planting processes can be undertaken by virtually any implement or machine that is constructed to traverse a field, special care must be exercised during the application of treatments applied to those fields associated with an established crop so as to not unduly interfere, stunt, or possibly destroy the established crop materials. Such considerations resulted in the development of high-clearance crop vehicles or agricultural vehicles configured to traverse establish crop materials without unduly interfering with the established crops. Many such vehicles are provided as towable or self-powered vehicles that include elevated power and drivetrain systems such that the majority of the vehicle can traverse established crops without interfering or damaging the established crop materials.
Many such high-clearance vehicles include one or more extendable booms that are configured to spray liquid treatment materials to established crops. Such machines, whether towed or self-powered, commonly include a tank or reservoir supported by the chassis of the underlying vehicle and a pump system configured to communicate the liquid treatment materials to the respective booms. Although such machines have proved adequate for application of liquid crop treatment materials, such machines are ill-configured for applying granular agricultural products to fields that contain established crops. It is periodically desirable to disperse granular agricultural products, whether for supplemental seeding processes, fertilizing activities, insecticide, pesticide, and/or herbicide products in granular form to achieve the benefits of delayed time release, extended treatment periods, etc., that can be better achieved with granular treatment materials than liquid treatment materials. A need therefore exists for a system and method of dispensing granular commodities over areas associated with a previously established crop.
Another concern to desired crop growth and development, and a concern that is not unique to virgin soil or established crop applications, is the concern for generally uniform application or dispersal of seeding and/or treatment materials. Non-uniform seeding practices can result in undesirable crop densities and non-uniform application of treatment materials can result in damage to the crop by over concentration of treatment materials or less than desired treatment of the established crops. Both such incidence can increase operating costs due to reduced product yields and/or inefficient usage of the treatment materials. Turning activities can exacerbate the concerns associated with undesired overconcentration or under application of treatment and/or seed materials.
Those skilled in the art appreciate that, absent manipulation of respective material distribution rates, those areas located radially inward relative to a turn direction are subject to more concentrated application levels than those areas that are located radially outward relative to the turn direction during turning activities. During seeding activities, such discrepancies become evident as crop densities vary sequentially from highly populated areas to less populated areas associated with turning activities. Many operators, in an attempt to mitigate such variations, undertake seeding activities in as many straight line application directions as a given field will accommodate.
Unfortunately, such processes are somewhat inefficient. That is, many operators repeatedly start and stop seeding and/or treatment application processes during turning activities to achieve as many straight row seeding configurations as a field will accommodate in an effort to achieve a more uniform treatment concentration. Suspending treatment processes during turning activities consumes greater fuel and increases the operating time associated with generating a desired uniform material treatment for each particular field. A need therefore exists for a granular commodity dispersal system and method of dispersing granular commodity that can manipulate the amount of commodity delivered in the respective right hand and left hand lateral sides of a vehicle to provide more uniform material concentrations to the radially inside and radially outside lateral sides of a vehicle during turning activities.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for distributing a granular agricultural commodity or material that overcomes one or more of the drawbacks discussed above. One aspect of the invention discloses an assembly that includes a container that is configured to be supported by a chassis of a self-powered vehicle. A first conveyor and a second conveyor are associated with the container and configured to receive the granular material contained therein. The first conveyor and the second conveyor each extend in a longitudinal direction that is generally aligned with, and offset in opposite lateral directions from, a longitudinal centerline axis of the chassis. Preferably, each of the first and second conveyors are independently operable to manipulate the amount of commodity distributed to the alternate lateral sides of the underlying vehicle.
Another aspect of the invention that includes one or more features or aspects that are usable with one or more of the above features or aspects discloses an assembly for distributing granular agricultural materials. The assembly includes a container that is constructed to contain an amount of granular commodity and to be supported by a chassis of a vehicle. The assembly includes at least two conveyors that each extend along a respective lateral side of a longitudinal centerline axis of the chassis of the underlying vehicle. Each of the at least two conveyors has an intake end that is oriented to receive granular commodity from the container and an output end that is oriented rearward of the intake end of the respective conveyor relative to the centerline longitudinal axis of the chassis.
Another aspect of the invention that is usable with one or more of the above features or aspects discloses an assembly for broadcast distributing a commodity. The assembly includes a container that is constructed to be supported by a chassis of a self-powered vehicle, such as a high-clearance crop vehicle, and contain a volume of a solid granular media. The assembly includes a first conveyor and a second conveyor. Each conveyor has a feed end that is configured to receive the solid granular media from the container and a discharge end that is disposed rearward of the first end. The first and second conveyors are oriented relative to the chassis of the vehicle such the feed end and discharge end of the respective first and second conveyors are disposed on opposite lateral sides of the chassis.
A further aspect of the invention that is usable or combinable with one or more of the above features or aspects discloses a method of forming a device for broadcasting a granular commodity. The method includes supporting a container and a first conveyor and a second conveyor, wherein each conveyor is in fluid communication with a volume of the container, on a high-clearance crop vehicle chassis. Such a method allows usage of a high-clearance crop vehicle for seeding; fertilizing; and pesticide, herbicide, and insecticide applications and for application of both solid and liquid material field applications.
These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout.
Referring now to the drawings and specifically to
Although some crop materials can tolerate limited interaction with a passing vehicle, the high-clearance vehicle is constructed to allow passage of the vehicle over most established vegetation without adversely impacting the health or productivity of the vegetation. It is appreciated that many agricultural vehicles that are not provided in a high-clearance configuration provide adequate clearance for immature and lower growing vegetation but that many such vehicles increase the potential of driving down established crops. Further, for established and more vertically oriented crop materials, such as corn or the like, use of more conventional clearance vehicles post only early crop growth stages, would interfere with the desired treatment of the established crop materials and risk unnecessary damage to the underlying crop materials.
Vehicle 10 includes a chassis or frame 12 having one or more tires or wheels 14 associated therewith. As disclosed further below, each of wheels 14 rotate about a respective generally horizontal axis and one or more of wheels 14 is turnable about a generally vertical axis to effectuate turning or changing the direction of travel of vehicle 10. It is appreciated that changes to the direction of travel of vehicle 10 can be effectuated in a number of manners including manually and/or automatically if vehicle 10 is equipped with such remote control or automatic operation methodologies.
Vehicle 10 includes an operator area or cab 16 that is associated with a forward portion 18 of a frame 12 and a power plant or engine 20 associated with the rearward portion 22 of frame 12. Cab 16 and engine 20 of vehicle 10 are offset from one another along a longitudinal axis 24 of vehicle 10 and associated with frame 12 to define a gap or a space, indicated by dimension 26, proximate a median or middle portion of vehicle 10. Vehicle 10 and space 26 are configured to accommodate association of a granular commodity container and application and/or delivery system 30 with vehicle 10. Preferably, delivery system 30 removably cooperates with vehicle 10 such that delivery system 30 can be remove from vehicle 10 and other treatment or harvest related devices, such as a liquid treatment application system, can be operatively associated with vehicle 10. Such a consideration increases the functionality associated with utilization of vehicle 10 and allows use of granular materials delivery system 30 as well as other treatment or harvest related devices with other vehicles or to be stored when not in use.
Delivery system 30 includes a container 32 defined by a number of walls 34, 36, 38, 40 that extend in an upward direction from a lower portion 42 of container 32 toward an upward facing opening 44. Container 32 is configured to receive granular commodities such as a seed product, a fertilizer product, a pesticide, a herbicide, an insecticide, etc., and/or mixtures thereof. Preferably, container 32 is configured to receive any solid granular commodity that may be desired to be applied to a crop area prior to or even after crop generation. The respective walls and portions of container 32 define a cavity or volume 46 of container 32 associated with containing a bulk volume of the respective granular commodity.
Lower portion 42 of container 32 is contoured to direct granular commodity associated with volume 46 toward a respective one of first end or intake end 48, 50 associated with a respective one of a first conveyor 52 and a second conveyor 54 associated with commodity delivery system 30. Each conveyor 52, 54 extends in a longitudinal direction, indicated by lines 56, 58 (
It is further appreciated that each of conveyors can be provided in a number of modalities including being defined as a respective one of a screw conveyor, a chain conveyor, a belt conveyor, etc. Regardless of the modality, each conveyor 52, 54 is configured to convey a granular commodity from container 32, along a respective outboard lateral side of engine 20, and toward a rearward portion of vehicle 10 during operation of a drive system associated with the respective conveyor.
Regardless of the modality, each conveyor 52, 54 includes a second or discharge end 60, 62 that is oriented rearward of the respective intake end 48, 50 associated with a respective conveyor 52, 54. Each discharge end 60, 62 is oriented to discharge granular commodity associated with the respective conveyor 52, 54 to a dispersal system or dispersal assembly 64 that is oriented proximate a rearward portion of vehicle 10. As disclosed further below, dispersal assembly 64 is configured to cooperate with discharge ends 60, 62 of respective conveyors 52, 54 to disperse the commodity communicated thereto to the areas generally rearward and laterally outboard, indicated by arrows 66, 68 of vehicle 10.
Referring to
As is commonly understood, rotation of a disk 86, 88 associated with a respective spinner assembly 78, 80 effectuates a generally radial dispersion of granular commodity delivered to respective spinner assemblies 78, 80. It is further appreciated that spinner assemblies 78, 80 can include one or more shrouds oriented relative to a respective disk 86, 88 to generate the desired partially circumferential dispersion of the granular commodity delivered to respective spinner assemblies 78, 80 toward the rearward and laterally inboard and outboard locations relative to the orientation of the respective disk 86, 88 relative to the underlying vehicle 10. It is further appreciated that the rate of rotation of disks 86, 88 can be manipulated to generate the desired degree of dispersal of the granular commodity impinged upon the respective disk. As disclosed further below, it is further appreciated that the elevation of disks 86, 88 relative to the discharge ends 60, 62 of respective conveyors 52, 54 can be manipulated to also manipulate the dispersal performance associated with operation of disks 86, 88.
Referring to
When provided as mirror images of one another, concurrently adjusting the length of respective actuators 108 rotates links 104, 106 relative to gusset 102 and manipulates the orientation of carriage 96 relative to discharge chutes 74, 76 of respective conveyors 52, 54 while maintaining alignment of spinner assemblies 78, 80 with a respective flow of granular commodity discharged from the corresponding respective conveyor 52, 54.
As should be appreciated from
Referring to
It should be appreciated that disk 86 associated with spinner assembly 78 can be configured to disperse granular material toward those areas generally more so toward direction 112 relative to axis 24 and disk 88 associated with spinner assembly 80 can be configured to disperse granular material more so in direction 114 relative to axis 24. It is further appreciated that the operation spinner assemblies 78, 80 can be configured to cooperate with one another to provide an area of overlapping coverage proximate longitudinal axis 24. Such consideration provides a generally uniform application of granular materials to those areas immediately rearward of vehicle 10 as well as a portion of the areas that are lateral outboard of the respective wheels 14.
Still referring to
Crop area 126 is preferably configured to allow vehicle 10 to traverse established crops without interference and/or contact with established plant materials. Carriage 96 associated with dispersal assembly 64 is preferably positionally adjustable so as to not interfere with crop 126. It is further appreciated that dispersal assembly 64 could be configured to extend below surface 128 frame 12 of vehicle 10 and thereby into crop area 126 for those applications where such an orientation maintains separation between carriage 96, spinner assemblies 78, 80 and any previously established vegetation. Understandably, such an orientation is more applicable to lower growing vegetation, such as beans, oats, wheat, cabbage, etc. as compared to more vertically oriented vegetation, such as corn.
It is further appreciated that for more vertically oriented vegetation, such as corn, such vegetation can withstand incidental contact with the underside 128 of frame 12 via deflection of the vegetation. The elevationally adjustable nature of dispersal assembly 64 allows treatment of more vertical established crops wherein the established crops do not unduly interfere with the dispersal activities by blocking or otherwise impeding dispersal of the granular commodity in directions away from vehicle 10.
Regardless of the vegetation, and/or the relative orientation of carriage 96 relative to discharge chutes 74, 76 of a respective conveyor 52, 54, vehicle 10 is configured to communicate and disperse granular materials in a generally uniform manner to fields or growing areas populated with previously established plant matter without unduly interfering with the established plant matter. Preferably, wheels 14 are shaped to traverse the growing area in spaces between adjacent crop rows such that frame 12, carriage 96, and wheels 14 do not adversely affect the established crop materials and the established crop materials do not adversely interfere with the dispersal of the granular commodity.
It is appreciated that operation of the heretofore description of the granular commodity delivery system such as conveyors 52, 54 and dispersal assembly 64 can be adequately manually managed by an operator associated with cab 16. It is further appreciated that such operators are commonly intuitively aware of dispersal or application rates such that such operators can generate a desired application concentration under various conditions and can commonly adjust operation of the respective delivery and dispersal systems on-the-fly to maintain a desired application concentration during changes to the application conditions and/or vehicle operation.
Regardless of the operational methodology associated with sensor 152, sensor 152 communicates a signal indicative of a vehicle turning activity to a controller 156. Controller 156 is configured to determine a deviation value associated with a vehicle turning activity. As used herein, turn or steering deviation values are indicative of deviations of one or more steerable wheels of vehicle 10 relative to an orientation of the respective wheel and/or steering control associated with straight line travel of vehicle 10. Controller 156 is connected to a first commodity delivery system 157, such as conveyor 52, and the second commodity delivery system 159, such as conveyor 54, and is configured to independently manipulate operation of the respective conveyors 52, 54 in response to turning activities of vehicle 10.
During a left-hand turn process, as determined by an operator positioned in cab 16 and indicated by arrow 158, more commodity is communicated to a respective spinner assembly 80 via conveyor 54 than is communicated to the respective spinner assembly 78 associated with conveyor 52. Inverse respective volumes of granular commodity are communicated to conveyors 52, 54 during right-hand turn processes, indicated by arrow 160. Said in another way, during right-hand and left-hand turn processes, the area associated with the radially inward or radially inboard areas associated with a turn activity will be less than the area associated with the radially outward or radially outboard areas associated with the same turn activity and more granular commodity will be communicated via the delivery and/or broadcast system associated with radially outboard side of vehicle 10. It is further appreciated that manipulation of the volumes of granular commodity conveyed with the respective right and left hand oriented conveyors 52, 54 can be manipulated by manipulating the operational speed of the respective conveyors and/or manipulated by the volume of granular commodity delivered to the respective conveyors 52, 54, such as via a sluice gate or the like associated with container 32 and/or the intake end associated with the respective conveyor 52, 54.
Controlling operation of conveyors 52, 54 and/or the communication of granular commodity delivered thereto in a manner that is responsive to turning activities associated with movement of vehicle 10 allows a greater volume of commodity to be communicated to the larger areas associated the outboard turn side of vehicle 10 as compared to the smaller areas associated with the inboard turn side of vehicle 10. Such control improves the uniformity of the granular commodity dispersal during turning activities. Preferably, operation of conveyors 52, 54 is manipulated in such a manner so as to generate a generally uniform granular commodity application concentration to the radially inboard and radially outboard sides of vehicle 10 during respective turning activities. Alternatively, it is further envisioned the controller 156 can also be configured to automatically manipulate the elevation of dispersal assembly 64 relative to vehicle 10 and/or the operating speed of respective spinner assemblies 78, 80 to effectuate dissimilar commodity delivery rates and/or ranges of dispersion of the granular commodity in response to turning activities associated with operation of vehicle 10. Such a configuration allows alternate left and right hand side delivery systems 157, 159 to disperse different amounts of granular commodity to the alternate inboard and outboard sides of vehicle 10 during turning activities to generate a desired uniform application of the commodity associated with different coverage areas adjacent the respective alternate lateral sides of vehicle 10 during the dispersal activity.
The configuration of delivery system 30 for cooperation with a high-clearance crop vehicle allows vehicle 10 to be quickly and conveniently configured for dispersal of granular commodities and/or liquid treatment applications upon both bare fields as well as fields with previously established plant or crop vegetation. The laterally outboard orientation of conveyors 52, 54 and the elevational adjustment of dispersal assembly 64 allows vehicle 10 to generate a uniform granular commodity dispersal to the rearward and one or both of the lateral sides of vehicle 10 during application processes for both bare fields and fields populated with plant vegetation in a manner that is none detrimental to established crop materials. The selective operation of the alternate right and left hand side delivery systems further allows greater accommodation of requirements unique to a given field such as instances when dispersal to only a right hand side or a left hand side of vehicle 10 is desired. The communication of variable amounts of granular commodity to the alternate right hand side and left hand sides of vehicle and the automatic control of such dispersal activities provides a granular commodity delivery system that accommodates various application requirements and is convenient to operate thereby improving the efficiency of treatment practices as well as efficient utilization of granular treatment materials.
Certain terminology is used herein for purposes of reference only, and thus is not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as “upper,” “lower,” “above,” and “below” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. Terms such as “front,” “back,” “rear,” “bottom,” “side,” “left” and “right” describe the orientation of portions of the component within a consistent but arbitrary frame of reference which is made clear by reference to the text and the associated drawings describing the component under discussion. Such terminology may include the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import. Similarly, the terms “first,” “second” and other such numerical terms referring to structures do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.
When introducing elements or features of the present disclosure and the exemplary embodiments, the articles “a,” “an,” “the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of such elements or features. The terms “comprising,” “including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements or features other than those specifically noted. It is further to be understood that the method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
Many changes and modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. The scope of these changes will become apparent from the appended claims.
