Sectional control funnel box

A sectional control system comprising:

• a product bin disposed on an agricultural spreader and configured to store particulate material;
• a boom extending laterally from the agricultural spreader;
• a first dispensing line and a second dispensing line extending along the boom, the first dispensing line providing the particulate material to a first dispensing point and the second dispensing line providing the particulate material to a second dispensing point;
• a conveyor configured to draw material from the product bin;
• a sectional control funnel box mounted to receive the material from the conveyor, the sectional control funnel box comprising:
• an upper receiving opening positioned to receive the material from the conveyor;
• a manifold disposed below the upper receiving opening and including a plurality of chutes extending through the manifold;
• a funnel mechanism disposed between the upper receiving opening and the manifold, wherein the funnel mechanism is mounted to the manifold at a pivot point and pivotally movable about the pivot point relative to the manifold, and the funnel mechanism includes a plurality of supply sections configured to direct material from the upper receiving opening to select ones of the plurality of chutes;
• and
• an actuator connected to the funnel mechanism and configured to drive the funnel mechanism between a first position, in which a first one of the plurality of supply sections is aligned with the upper receiving opening, and a second position, in which a second one of the plurality of supply sections is aligned with the upper receiving opening.

A method of agricultural section control, the method comprising:

• determining a location of a spreader machine in a field relative to treated portions of the field, the spreader machine comprising a sectional control funnel box having:
• a manifold including a plurality of chutes extending through the manifold;
• a funnel mechanism mounted to the manifold at a pivot point and pivotally movable about the pivot point relative to the manifold, the funnel mechanism including a plurality of supply sections configured to direct material from an upper receiving opening to select ones of the plurality of chutes;
• and
• an actuator connected to the funnel mechanism and configured to drive the funnel mechanism between a first position, where a first one of the plurality of supply sections is aligned with the upper receiving opening, and a second position, where a second one of the plurality of supply sections is aligned with the upper receiving opening;
• generating a section control command based on the determined location of the spreader machine and providing the section control command to the actuator;
• using the actuator to pivot the funnel mechanism relative to the manifold to move the funnel mechanism to a desired position based on the section control command;
• and
• directing, by the funnel mechanism, the material to select dispense lines extending laterally from the spreader machine along a boom of the spreader machine.