Electronic pulsing of chemical with seed
AssigneeAmvac Chemical Corporation
InventorLarry Conrad
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for electronically pulsing chemical with seed. The system and method incorporate a seed dispensing tube configured to dispense seeds, a granule tube configured to dispense chemical, an electrical valve configured to open so that chemical granules may be dispensed from the chemical granule tube, and a proximity sensor operably coupled to the electrical valve, the sensor being configured to sense a seed dispensed from the seed dispensing tube. The system may also include a metering mechanism for metering the quantity of chemical that is dispensed with the seed. The metering mechanism may be controlled by a radar unit on a tractor associated with the system, and the metering mechanism may be programmed to dispense a predetermined quantity of chemical with the seed.
Claims17
A system for electronically pulsing chemical with seed, comprising:
- a chemical granule tube configured to dispense chemical granules from an opening thereof;
- a seed sensing device configured to sense a dispensation of a seed;
- a chemical granule metering system operably coupled to the chemical granule tube and configured to dispense a particular quantity of chemical granules with the seed;
- and
- an electrical pulsing valve operably coupled to both the chemical granule tube and the seed sensing device and disposed between the opening of the chemical granule tube and the chemical granule metering system, the valve being configured to open to dispense chemical granules from the opening of the chemical granule tube when the seed sensing device senses the dispensation of the seed.
A system for electronically pulsing chemical with seed, comprising:
- a chemical granule tube configured to dispense chemical granules from an opening thereof;
- a seed sensing device configured to sense a dispensation of a seed;
- a chemical granule metering system operably coupled to the chemical granule tube and configured to dispense a particular quantity of chemical granules with the seed;
- and
- an electrical pulsing valve operably coupled to both the chemical granule tube and the seed sensing device and disposed between the opening of the chemical granule tube and the chemical granule metering system, the valve being configured to open to dispense chemical granules from the opening of the chemical granule tube when the seed sensing device senses the dispensation of the seed,
- wherein the particular quantity corresponds to a ground speed of a vehicle incorporating the system, and wherein the ground speed is detected by a speed sensing unit on the vehicle.
A method for electronically pulsing chemical with seed, comprising the steps of:
- dispensing at least one seed through a seed dispensing tube;
- sensing the at least one seed as it exits the seed dispensing tube;
- and
- when the seed is detected, electronically pulsing an electrical pulsing valve to dispense chemical granules, wherein the electrical pulsing valve operably coupled to a chemical granule tube and disposed between an opening of the chemical granule tube and a chemical granule metering system configured to dispense a particular quantity of chemical the granules with the at least one seed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.