There are a wide variety of different types of agricultural machines. Some include agricultural machines that have tanks with built-in scales that are used to measure a characteristic (e.g., weight) indicative of a quantity of material in the tank. Other agricultural machines include planters that have row units with downforce actuators. For instance, row units on a planter follow the ground profile by using a combination of gauge wheels (to keep the row unit from sinking into the ground) and a downforce assembly that has an actuator that imparts a downforce on the row unit to push disc openers into the ground. Some current downforce assemblies provide a relatively fixed downforce, which may or may not be adjustable while planting.
Row units that are moving over soil while planting can tend to bounce after hitting a hard patch of soil. This can result in incorrect seed placement. The seeds can be at an incorrect depth, or the seeds can even be dropped on the surface of the ground, because the row units can bounce completely off the ground.
In some systems, an operator can address this by increasing the downforce on the row unit. However, depending upon the different types of soil conditions, this can actually be detrimental. For example, if the downforce is too high, the gauge wheels can compress the sides of the furrow too much so that the side walls are too hard. Also, the seed depth can be too great.
It can thus be seen that gauge wheel downforce on planting and seeding equipment is an important piece of information that is used to control the planter. The planter is controlled in an attempt to ensure that enough downforce is applied to maintain a constant planting depth, but that not too much is applied so the soil around the seed is not unduly compacted.
In a system where the downforce is sensed, the sensor can generate a sensor signal that varies widely. Some major components that contribute to the value of the downforce being measured come from the applied downforce, that is applied by the downforce actuator to the row unit, and the inertia of the row unit. As the row unit moves up and down over the soil, the accelerations on the mass are seen as forces in the gauge wheel, and this can cause the downforce sensor signal to vary widely.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds