Claims
- 1. In a nutrient material spreader comprising a main frame supported on ground engaging wheels, a tank mounted on said frame for receiving material to be distributed, a conveyor, that conveys material received in the tank to a discharge area, an opening in the tank in the vicinity of the discharge area, and at least one slinger mounted outside the tank for receiving material discharged through the opening and dispersing the material on a field as the tank is transported over the field, the improvement comprising:
a control system responsive to a nutrient demand signal for controlling the speed of the auger so that nutrient material is conveyed to the opening at a rate such that a desired weight of nutrient material per unit area of the field, as specified by the nutrient demand signal, is dispersed on the field; the control system having sensing means producing feedback signals and circuit means for determining from the feedback signals and said nutrient demand signal, the difference between the desired weight and the actual weight of nutrient material per unit area being dispersed, the circuit means producing a signal for changing the speed of the auger to reduce the difference.
- 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the sensing means comprises first sensor means for sensing the speed of the spreader and second sensor means for sensing the weight of the tank and the material therein.
- 3. In a nutrient material spreader comprising a main frame supported on ground engaging wheels, a tank mounted on the frame for receiving material to be distributed, a conveyor assembly including an auger rotatably mounted in said tank for conveying material received in the tank to a discharge area, an opening in the tank in the vicinity of the discharge area, distribution means mounted outside the tank, including means in the vicinity of the opening for receiving material discharged through the opening and distributing it as the tank is transported over a field, the improvement comprising:
a system having control means for dynamically controlling the rate at which material is distributed, the control means provided with a signal based on geographic nutrient demand data enabling site specific distribution.
- 4. In a nutrient spreader having a conveyor for conveying nutrient material to a slinger which disperses the nutrient material onto a field, a control system for controlling dispersal of nutrient material onto the field so that an optimum amount of nutrient is spread over the field, the control system comprising:
a memory for storing nutrient demand data, wherein the nutrient demand data comprises a nutrient demand value Ws corresponding to a position in the field and defining an optimum weight of nutrient material to be spread per unit area of the position in the field; a global position receiver mounted on the spreader for determining the position in the field where the spreader is currently located, the memory being responsive to the receiver for reading out the value of Ws for the position in which the spreader is located; and means responsive to a value Ws read from the memory for controlling the speed of the conveyor.
- 5. In a manure spreader having a main frame supported for transport on ground engaging wheels, a tank mounted on the frame, for receiving manure to be distributed, a conveyor assembly mounted in the tank for conveying manure received in the tank to a discharge area, an opening in the tank in the vicinity of the discharge area, distribution means mounted outside the tank in the vicinity of the opening for receiving manure discharged through the opening and distributing it as the tank is transported over a field at a variable speed, the improvement comprising:
a closed loop control system for dynamically controlling the rate at which manure is distributed, the closed loop control system comprising means for producing a feedback signal representing the average weight of material distributed per unit of distance traveled, and means for comparing the feedback signal to a desired dispensing rate to produce a control signal for controlling the speed of the conveyor.
- 6. The improvement of claim 5 wherein the means for producing a feedback signal comprises a speed sensor for sensing the ground speed of the spreader, weight sensing means for sensing the weight of the tank and the manure therein, and a controller including means for sampling the speed sensor and weight sensing means to produce the feedback signal.
- 7. The improvement of claim 6 wherein the controller comprises a microprocessor having means for periodically sampling the weight sensing means and determining the weight of manure distributed in a time interval between periodic samplings.
- 8. The improvement of claim 6 wherein the distribution means comprises at least one slinger rotating about a vertical axis, and wherein the means for producing a feedback signal comprises a speed sensor for sensing the ground speed of the spreader, weight sensing means for sensing the weight of manure on the slinger, and a controller including means for periodically sampling the speed sensor and weight sensing means and producing the feedback signal.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application entitled Machine and Method for Monitoring Mobile Product Application, Ser. No. 08/865,268, filed on May 29, 1997. Reference is hereby made to U.S. Patent divisional application entitled Machine and Method for Monitoring Mobile Product Application, Ser. No. 09/289,862, filed on Apr. 12, 1999 and to U.S. patent continuation application entitled Machine and Method for Monitoring Mobile Product Application, Ser. No. 09/352,565, filed on Jul. 13, 1999.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09289862 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
Child |
08865268 |
May 1997 |
US |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08865268 |
May 1997 |
US |
Child |
09754669 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09352565 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09289862 |
Apr 1999 |
US |