Patent ID: 7900557
Filing Date: 2011-03-08
Classification: A01F

Abstract:
1. A system for applying inoculants to forage material comprising: an inoculant container for storing and dispensing an amount of inoculants and a dispense element communicating with the inoculant container for controllably dispensing the inoculants onto the forage material; a forage material transport element for transporting the forage material from a field upon which the forage material is grown to a processing machine; means for sensing moisture in the forage material as it is transported into the processing machine, and prior to the forage material being transported to a baling chamber of the processing machine, said means for sensing moisture including a plurality of moisture sensors placed within a duct located prior to movement of the forage material into the baling chamber of the processing machine; and a controller for receiving signals from the means for sensing, said controller transmitting a control signal to the dispense element in which the dispense element meters a pre-determined amount of inoculants in response to the sensed moisture content, said control signal being determined by an algorithm that calculates a weighted moving average of the moisture sensed by said means for sensing moisture within a plurality of separate moisture measurements taken by a plurality of separate moisture sensors, and said weighed moving average being calculated in which the algorithm provides greater emphasis for more current moisture measurements taken within a plurality of sample sets making up the moving average.