Agricultural implement with automatic shank depth control

A method for controlling a penetration depth of a shank point of an agricultural implement having a load sensor associated with said shank point, comprising:

• determining a resistive load applied to said shank point from shank load signals output by said load sensor as said agricultural implement travels;
• generating a load profile from said output shank load signals;
• analyzing said load profile;
• and
• activating an actuator of said agricultural implement to adjust said penetration depth of said shank point based on said analyzed load profile;
• wherein said agricultural implement comprises a depth sensor associated with said shank point which outputs point depth signals;
• determining penetration depths of said shank point from said point depth signals, wherein said load profile is generated from said determined resistive loads applied to said shank point as a function of said determined penetration depths.

An agricultural implement, comprising:

• a chassis;
• an implement frame carried by said chassis;
• a shank connected to said implement frame, said shank including a shank point configured to break apart soil and a load sensor associated with said shank point which is configured to output shank load signals as said shank point advances through soil;
• an actuator carried by said chassis and configured to adjust a depth of said shank point;
• and
• a controller electrically coupled to said load sensor and said actuator, said controller configured to:
• receive said shank load signals;
• generate a load profile from said received shank load signals;
• analyze said load profile to determine whether said shank point is in a soil compaction layer;
• and
• activate said actuator to adjust said depth of said shank point based on said analyzed load profile;
• further comprising a depth sensor associated with said shank point and configured to output point depth signals, said controller being electrically coupled to said depth sensor and configured to receive said point depth signals;
• wherein said actuator includes said depth sensor.