Spraying systems, kits, vehicles, and methods of use

A vehicle having a source of electrical power and an air-assisted agricultural spraying system comprising:

• a tank for holding a liquid to be sprayed;
• a plurality of spaced-apart nozzle assemblies in liquid communication with the tank, each nozzle assembly comprising a pulse-width-modulated solenoid configured to selectably turn on and off and vary flow rate of the liquid through the nozzle assembly;
• one or more controllers in electrical communication with the plurality of pulse-width modulated solenoids and configured to electrically actuate the solenoids to selectably turn on and off and vary flow rate of the liquid through the nozzle assemblies;
• a first wiring harness attached to the vehicle and electrically connecting the one or more controllers with the plurality of pulse-width-modulated solenoids;
• a second wiring harness attached to the vehicle and electrically connecting the one or more controllers with the source of electrical power;
• a GPS antenna system;
• a third wiring harness attached to the vehicle and electrically connecting the GPS antenna system with the source of electrical power;
• a LiDAR sensing system;
• a fourth wiring harness attached to the vehicle and electrically connecting the LiDAR sensing system with the source of electrical power;
• and
• a device configured to be in communication with the GPS antenna system and the one or more controllers, and to be in data communication with the LiDAR sensing system, and further configured to:
• receive one or more inputs from a user defining user-selectable criteria for spraying;
• to receive geographic location and velocity information from the GPS antenna system;
• to process the geographic location and velocity information in view of one or more databases of information comprising:
• map data defining spray regions and no-spray regions, and plant data corresponding to one or more of locations, heights, widths, shapes, and densities of plants located within the spray regions;
• vehicle data defining the locations of each of the nozzle assemblies relative to the locations of the GPS antenna system and the LiDAR sensing system when installed on the vehicle;
• based thereon wirelessly communicate on, off, and pulse-width modulating signals to the one or more controllers to individually turn on and off flow of the liquid through each of the individual nozzle assemblies based on whether each nozzle assembly is within a spray region or a no-spray region;
• and
• to turn on or off or vary flow rate of the liquid through each of the nozzle assemblies based on at least one of the user-selectable criteria, velocity information, and the plant data corresponding to a portion of a plant proximate each nozzle assembly.

A kit configured to be added-on to a vehicle having a source of electrical power and an air-assisted agricultural spraying system comprising a tank for holding a liquid to be sprayed and a plurality of spaced-apart nozzle assemblies in liquid communication with the tank, the kit comprising:

• a plurality of pulse-width-modulated solenoids configured to be installed in fluid communication with the nozzle assemblies and to selectably turn on and off and vary flow rate of the liquid through the nozzle assemblies when the plurality of pulse-width-modulated solenoids are installed in fluid communication with the nozzle assemblies;
• one or more controllers configured to be in electrical communication with the plurality of pulse-width-modulated solenoids and to electrically actuate the solenoids to selectably turn on and off and vary flow rate of the liquid through the nozzle assemblies when the plurality of pulse-width-modulated solenoids are installed in the ports;
• a first wiring harness configured to be attached to the vehicle and to electrically connect the one or more controllers with the plurality of pulse-width-modulated solenoids;
• a second wiring harness configured to be attached to the vehicle and to electrically connect the one or more controllers with the source of electrical power;
• a GPS antenna system;
• a third wiring harness configured to be attached to the vehicle and to electrically connect the GPS antenna system with the source of electrical power;
• a LiDAR sensing system;
• a fourth wiring harness configured to be attached to the vehicle and to electrically connect the LiDAR sensing system with the source of electrical power;
• and
• a device configured to be in communication with the GPS antenna system and the one or more controllers, and to be in data communication with the LiDAR sensing system, and further configured to:
• receive one or more inputs from a user defining user-selectable criteria for spraying;
• to receive geographic location and velocity information from the GPS antenna system;
• to process the geographic location and velocity information in view of one or more databases of information comprising:
• map data defining spray regions and no-spray regions;
• plant data corresponding to one or more of locations, heights, widths, shapes, and densities of plants located within the spray regions;
• and
• vehicle data defining the locations of each of the nozzle assemblies relative to the locations of the GPS antenna system and the LiDAR sensing system when installed on the vehicle;
• and
• based thereon communicate on, off, and pulse-width modulating signals to the one or more controllers to individually turn on and off flow of the liquid through each of the individual nozzle assemblies based on whether each nozzle assembly is within a spray region or a no-spray region;
• and
• to turn on or off or vary flow rate of the liquid through each of the nozzle assemblies based on at least one of the user-selectable criteria, velocity information, and the plant data corresponding to a portion of a plant proximate each nozzle assembly.