Patent Application
20200100424
The present disclosure relates generally to metering units, and, more particularly, to a system and method for metering liquid anhydrous ammonia.
In agricultural applications, a variety of fertilizers and chemical compounds are delivered to the soil to aid in the growth and development of crops and plants. A commonly used fertilizer is anhydrous ammonia. Although anhydrous ammonia has been used as an agricultural fertilizer for many years, problems remain in achieving efficient and effective delivery of the compound into the soil. For example, due to its chemical make-up, anhydrous ammonia can be supplied in liquid or gas form. In liquid form, anhydrous ammonia is generally stored in a pressurized tank. During delivery expansion of the liquid can lead to temperature drops, resulting in an evaporation of the liquid in to a gas phase.
To address such concerns, some conventional systems employ the use of systems in which the total volume of product is measured upstream prior to separating the liquid for distribution into the soil. Drawbacks, however, include uncontrollable variations in the application rate due to factors such as hose lengths, hose restrictions, impellicone distribution errors, and/or liquid vaporization. As such, there is a need in the art for a robust and cost-effective metering and application system that provides improved metering accuracy.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a distributed metering system and method is disclosed. The distributed metering system can comprise a plurality of applicator devices coupled to a plurality of metering units, and an electronic control unit coupled to the plurality of metering units. The electronic control unit is configured to control an application rate of a crop input material supplied from the plurality of metering units by adjusting an operating parameter of a component of each of the plurality of metering units when the application rate exceeds or falls below a predetermined threshold.
Other features and aspects will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
The detailed description of the drawings refers to the accompanying figures in which:
Like reference numerals are used to indicate like elements throughout the several figures.
Referring to
As depicted in
A plurality of applicator devices 152 can be removably coupled, e.g., mounted behind or underneath, the agricultural implement 154 with respect to the direction of travel of the work vehicle 140. In various embodiments, the applicator devices 152 (i.e., liquid dispensers) can include tubular, conical, funnel-shaped, syringe or other suitable dispenser shapes that are configured to accurately apply the crop input materials (i.e. liquid anhydrous ammonia) to small areas (e.g. within approximately 1-2 inches of a desired location). For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of applicator devices 152 can comprise one or more nutrient knives arranged proximate the ground engaging elements 156 (arranged rearward of the opener arrangement). The nutrient knives can be arranged to direct crop input materials received from the solution tank 160 into the soil 170 simultaneously as it is being prepared or cultivated. For example, the nutrient knives, alone or together with an opener or opener disk, may create a furrow or groove in the soil 170 for accepting the ammonia or nitrogen, whereas a closer or other trailing device cover the furrow.
The solution tank 160 can be mechanically coupled to the agricultural implement 154 via a link 153 and can be arranged to trail rearward of the agricultural implement 154 in some embodiments. The solution tank 160 can comprise a pressurized tank that stores liquid anhydrous ammonia (NH3) or other suitable crop input materials for supply to the plurality of applicator devices 152. For example, in some embodiments, the solution tank 160 can be arranged to provide the liquid NH3 to one or more distribution conduits 155 for supply to the applicator devices 152 via distributed metering system 100.
The distributed metering system 100 can comprise a plurality of metering units 102 respectively coupled to a corresponding applicator device 152 to provide row by row metering of the liquid NH3, as will be discussed in further detail with reference to
With respect to
Referring to
Each of the metering units 102 can be arranged such that an application rate of the crop input material (i.e., liquid NH3) dispensed from the dispensing unit 108 is determined based on a speed of the electric machine 106. Power to the electric machine 106 can be provided by a power generation device 112, which can be arranged on the agricultural implement 154 or arranged as part of a power take-off (PTO) system of the work vehicle 140. In some embodiments, the electric machine 106 can be communicatively coupled to the electronic data controller 124 (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection). In other embodiments, the electric machine 106 can be integrally formed as a single unit with the dispensing unit 108 and may also comprise an onboard processor to provide additional processing capabilities. Additionally, although in embodiments discussed herein the metering system 100 will be shown as including a centralized system, in other embodiments, each of the metering units 152 can be configured to engage in peer-to-peer communication.
As depicted in
In some embodiments, a cooling device 116 can be arranged at an inlet of the pump device 110 (
The protection device 118 can be arranged upstream of the distributed metering system 100 and coupled to an input supply line (e.g., the distribution conduits 155 or a distribution manifold) of the distributed metering system 100. In some embodiments, the protection device 118 can comprise a safety valve that is manually controlled by an operator between an on/off position. In other embodiments, the protection device 118 can be communicatively coupled to the electronic data controller 124 and arranged such that an output of the protection device 118 is controlled by the electronic data controller 124 to allow for selective coupling and decoupling the metering system 100 from the supply source for maintenance or emergency purposes. Additionally, although not shown, in still other embodiments, one or more protection devices (i.e., protection device 118) can be directly coupled to each of the metering units 102 to provide individualized control of each of the metering units 102.
In operation, initial set point parameters can be entered by an operator via an operator interface arranged locally in the work vehicle 140 or remotely at a remote processing center. Additionally, before or during vehicle startup, each or a select group of the metering units 102 can be enabled via the electronic data controller 124. Once the initial parameters are received, the speed of the electric machine 106 and dispensing unit 108 are controlled by the electronic data controller 124 to meter a prescribed rate of anhydrous of the liquid anhydrous ammonia. For example, the metering system 100, 200 distributes the liquid anhydrous ammonia on a row by row basis. The application rate for each row can be controlled independently via the speed of the electric machine 106 and each row can be shut off independently.
As the work vehicle 140 travels across the worksite 175, the liquid anhydrous ammonia is supplied from the solution tank 160 (i.e., supply source) to the cooling device 116 and distributed through the metering units 102 to one or more conduits 155 (i.e., row by row) before being supplied to the applicator devices 152. For example, because the system parameters are monitored in real time, an operator or the electronic data controller 124 can dynamically adjust system set points to ensure uniform application of the liquid anhydrous ammonia is achieved. Additionally, in some embodiments, the arrangement of the distributed metering system 100 is such that fluid flow to each of the metering units 104 can be manually shut off by an operator via the protection device 118.
In other embodiments, the application rate may be controlled according to the turning angle of the work vehicle 140. For example, during turns, variances within the application rate can result, which can lead to non-uniform applications or potential leakage. Therefore, to compensate for such variances, the electronic controller 124 can be configured to adjust the application rate based on a turning radius of the work vehicle 140 to apply the correct amount of product across the width of the bar when in a turn. In still other embodiments, the distributed metering system 100 can be further configured as a monitoring system. For example, fluid blockage within one or more of the applicator devices 152 can be detected by monitoring the amount of current being supplied to the electric machine 106. In such an arrangement, if the measured current exceeds a predetermined threshold, a blockage of flow within the applicator devices 152 can be detected by correlating the measured current value to a desired flow output.
Once the liquid anhydrous ammonia is released into the soil 170 via the applicator devices 152, the closing disks 114 push the soil 170 back over the furrow created by the opener disk 100 to trap the compound within the soil 170.
Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is a system and method for metering the liquid anhydrous ammonia. The system is particularly advantageous in that it allows for row by row metering of anhydrous ammonia.
While the above describes example embodiments of the present disclosure, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, other variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.
