Planter downforce control
AssigneePrecision Planting LLC
InventorChad Plattner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of controlling the downpressure on an air seeder that has a plurality of seed assemblies and a plurality of fertilizer assemblies each applying an adjustable downforce, wherein the method includes keeping a total downforce applied by all of the plurality of seed assemblies and all of the plurality of fertilizer assemblies less than a maximum downforce. The method may also include keeping the downforce applied by each of the fertilizer assemblies less than the downforce applied by each of the seed assemblies.
Claims16
A method of controlling downforce on a planter, the planter comprising:
- a frame;
- a plurality of disc openers carried by the frame for forming a plurality of seed trenches, each of the plurality of disc openers having a disc opener actuator to adjustably apply a disc opener downforce;
- and
- a plurality of fertilizer assemblies carried by the frame and disposed to place fertilizer between the seed plurality of trenches, each of the plurality of fertilizer assemblies having a fertilizer assembly actuator to adjustably apply a fertilizer assembly downforce;
- the method comprising:
- summing the disc opener downforce of all of the plurality of disc openers and the fertilizer assembly downforce of all of the plurality of fertilizer assemblies to determine a total applied downforce;
- comparing the total applied downforce to a maximum downforce, wherein the maximum downforce is a total weight of the planter or an amount less than the total weight of the planter and set by an operator;
- and
- reducing the total applied downforce when the total applied downforce is equal to or greater than the maximum downforce.
A method of controlling downforce on a planter, the method comprising:
- summing disc opener downforces of all of a plurality of disc openers carried by a planter frame and fertilizer assembly downforces of all of a plurality of fertilizer assemblies carried by the planter frame to determine a total downforce applied by the planter, wherein each of the disc openers and fertilizer assemblies are configured to adjustably apply the downforces;
- comparing the total downforce to a maximum downforce, wherein the maximum downforce is a total weight of the planter or an amount less than the total weight of the planter and set by an operator;
- and
- reducing the total downforce when the total downforce is equal to or greater than the maximum downforce.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.