Granted Patent B2

US 12,648,501 · App. 17/552,733 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Scott Eichhorn (Ames, IA); Tony Woodcock (Ames, IA); Brett Buehler (Dallas Center, IA); Steven Brown (Ames, IA); Roger Zielke (Huxley, IA); Bob Heston (Madrid, IA)

Assignee: Ag Leader Technology

A01B63/16A01B63/008A01B63/111A01B63/24A01C5/064A01C7/08A01C7/203A01C7/205G01B11/22G01B21/18G01D5/14A01C5/068A01C7/206

Abstract

Claims (35)

1 . A row unit downforce system comprising:

(a) a downforce actuator in operational communication with the row unit and constructed and arranged to apply supplemental downforce to the row unit and opening disks;

(b) a monitoring system comprising at least one furrow depth sensor constructed and arranged to generate a furrow depth value, the at least one furrow depth sensor comprising:

(i) a first sensor disposed on the row unit configured to measure a distance between the first sensor and a ground surface; and

ii) a second sensor disposed on the row unit configured to measure a distance between the second sensor and a target object; and

(c) a control system module,

wherein the difference between the distances measured by the first sensor and the second sensor is the furrow depth value and wherein the control system module is constructed and arranged to generate actuator command signals in response to the furrow depth value.

2 . The row unit downforce system of claim 1 , further comprising a gauge wheel load sensor in operational communication with the control system module.

3 . The row unit downforce system of claim 2 , further comprising a downforce control system in operational communication with the control system module and constructed and arranged to generate actuator command signals for transmission and operation of the downforce actuator.

4 . The row unit downforce system of claim 3 , wherein the downforce control system comprises at least one control selected from the group consisting of a proportional-integral-derivative control, a machine learning control, a predictive model control and a lookup table.

5 . The row unit downforce system of claim 3 , wherein the downforce control system utilizes gauge wheel load and furrow depth to modify applied downforce.

6 . The row unit downforce system of claim 5 , wherein applied downforce is dynamically adjusted.

7 . The row unit downforce system of claim 3 , wherein the downforce control system utilizes gauge wheel load and furrow depth to dynamically adjust applied downforce.

8 . The row unit downforce system of claim 1 , wherein the second sensor is a structured light sensor.

9 . An agricultural row unit comprising:

(a) a row unit body;

(b) a target object in communication with the row unit body via a support arm and in direct contact with the bottom of a seed trench;

(c) a first sensor fixedly mounted to the row unit body, configured to measure the distance between the first sensor and ground surface; and

(d) a second sensor rigidly mounted to the row unit body, configured to measure the distance between the second sensor and the target object,

wherein actual seed trench depth is determined from a difference in the distances measured by the first sensor and the second sensor.

10 . The row unit of claim 9 , wherein the target object is a rider.

11 . The row unit of claim 9 , wherein the support arm is a seed firmer.

12 . The row unit of claim 9 , wherein the second sensor is a non-contact sensor.

13 . The row unit of claim 9 , wherein the second sensor is a magnetic sensor.

14 . The row unit of claim 9 , wherein the second sensor is a structured light sensor and the target object is a light array.

15 . A seed trench monitoring system comprising:

(a) a first sensor disposed on a row unit body configured to measure a distance between the first sensor and a ground surface;

(b) a second sensor disposed on the row unit body configured to measure a distance between the second sensor and a target object in direct communication with a bottom of the seed trench; and

(c) a controller configured to calculate actual furrow depth from the distances measured by the first sensor and the second sensor,

wherein the actual furrow depth is compared to set furrow depth, and wherein any difference in actual furrow depth and set furrow depth is utilized by the seed trench monitoring system to generate actuator command signals to modify applied downforce.

16 . The seed trench monitoring system of claim 15 , wherein applied downforce is dynamically adjusted.

17 . The seed trench monitoring system of claim 15 , wherein the target object is a light array, and the second sensor is a structed light sensor.

18 . The seed trench monitoring system of claim 15 , wherein the set furrow depth is dynamically adjusted.

19 . The seed trench monitoring system of claim 15 , wherein the target object is located on a seed firmer.

20 . The seed trench monitoring system of claim 15 , further comprising a gauge wheel load sensor in communication with the controller, wherein the actuator command signals are generated in response to gauge wheel load values and actual furrow depth.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)