Agricultural apparatus for sensing and providing feedback of soil property changes in real time

#The present invention relates generally to agricultural equipment and, more particularly, to a row crop implement having a soil sensor for providing down-pressure control feedback in real time.

#In agricultural operations, it is known to measure a force exerted on gauge wheels of an agricultural implement (e.g., a row crop planter), with a load cell or some other device. Based on this force, a signal is transmitted to an actuator that exerts a down-pressure force on the implement. The signal causes the actuator to change the down-pressure force, in response to a change in soil conditions, and achieve a desired force on the row crop planter.

#Moreover, it is common in agricultural operations for small, localized, and compacted soil areas to be formed by tire tracks, topography changes, or soil type. These compacted soil areas cause the soil conditions to change, for example, from a hard soil condition to a soft soil condition. Current agricultural systems, however, react to signals caused by a compacted soil area after the implement has already passed over that compacted soil area. As such, current agricultural systems fail to apply a correct level of pressure for the soil that is immediately beneath the implement. Instead, when a new soil condition is detected in a particular field location, current agricultural systems apply the level of pressure associated with the new soil condition either before or after the implement has passed the particular field location. This results in inefficient and/or improper soil preparation for agricultural applications, such as planting or tilling, which, in turn, causes a decrease in crop quality and volume.

#The invention may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a soil-hardness sensing device attached to a planting row unit.

#FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevation illustrating the soil-hardness device attached to the planting row unit.

#Although the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to those particular embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalent arrangements as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

#Referring to FIG. 1, an agricultural system 100 includes a soil-hardness sensing device 102 attached in front of an agricultural row unit 104 (also referred to as a planting row unit) via a towing frame 106. The towing frame 106 is generally a common elongated hollow frame that is typically hitched to a tractor by a draw bar. The towing frame 106 is rigidly attached to a front frame 108 of a four-bar linkage assembly 110 that is part of the row unit 104. The four-bar (sometimes referred to as “parallel-bar”) linkage assembly 110 is a conventional and well known linkage used in agricultural implements to permit the raising and lowering of tools attached thereto.

#As the planting row unit 104 is advanced by the tractor, a pair of cooperating toothed clearing wheels 122 work the soil and then other portions of the row unit, such as a V-opener disk 112, part the cleared soil to form a seed slot, deposit seed in the seed slot and fertilizer adjacent to the seed slot, and close the seed slot by distributing loosened soil into the seed slot with a closing wheel 114. According to one example, the closing wheel 114 is a CUVERTINE™ closing wheel sold by the assignee of the present application. The CUVERTINE™ closing wheel is an efficient toothed wheel in-between a spading wheel and a rubber wheel.