Patent Abstract:
An automatic soil sampler for taking samples of topsoil has a soil breakdown assembly that cuts a shallow furrow in the soil and moves debris to the side. Soil is collected with a sampling knife having a series of empty chambers adapted to receive samples of topsoil. A rotating discus is disposed opposite the soil sampling empty chambers for urging soil into the soil sampling empty chambers. A cup carrousel carries empty identified cups for receiving soil samples. A delivery assembly places one of the empty identified cup in a cup receiving station. A filling assembly connects the knife chambers carrying collected soil samples with the cup receiving station. The cups are filled with soil samples in a collecting station. Each filled cup has its identifier sent to memory along with the location at which the sample was taken.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND 
     This disclosure generally relates to soil sample collection and analysis, and more particularly to a soil sampler that can be operated manually or automatically. 
     Soil samples (usually the top 7 inches or so of the topsoil) are taken from farm fields and sent to a soil analysis lab to analyze the different soil nutrients contained in the sample. This analysis is used to determine the correct amount of nutrients to apply to farm fields. In the past, the process of collecting the soil sample was a slow tedious job done by using a hand probe. Recently some automation has been added to soil sampler equipment to remove some of the handwork, but none have significantly increased the speed of sampling. The disclosed system removes the hand labor, plus sampling time has been greatly decreased. 
     As an agronomist specializing in soil fertility I have noticed there is considerable variation of nutrient content as samples are taken across farm fields. The only way to be able to accurately measure this variability is to increase the number of samples being taken within a field. With the disclosed auto sampler the time required to collect the samples has been greatly reduced. We can now collect many more samples per field per hour, therefore greatly improving our ability to accurately measure the variability without increasing our labor to collect the samples. With accurate nutrient maps our customers need only apply nutrients where needed, reducing environmental risk and improving their profitability. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The driver of a small utility tractor operates the disclosed auto sampler. The operator manages the system from the cab. The task of the auto sampler is to cycle a collection knife into the soil for approximately 5 seconds collecting a soil sample; it then raises the knife out of the soil and through a series of motions places the collected soil into a marked storage container. When the sampler cycles the knife into the ground it marks the GPS location and tags the storage container identification number in a data file. Once the auto sampler has traveled a determined distance (usually 150′) away from the previous point it automatically starts the sampling task again. It repeats this task each time the auto sampler has traveled the determined distance (example: 150′). It does this repeatedly throughout the field. As the auto sampler continues to collect samples across the field, it places the samples in a storage tray until the field is completed. 
     Thus, disclosed is an automatic soil sampler for taking samples of topsoil that has a soil breakdown assembly that cuts a shallow furrow in the soil and moves debris to the side. Soil is collected with a sampling knife having a series of chambers adapted to receive samples of topsoil. A rotating discus is disposed opposite the soil sampling empty chambers for urging soil into the soil sampling empty chambers. A cup carrousel carries empty identified cups for receiving soil samples. A delivery assembly places one of the empty identified cups in a cup receiving station. A filling assembly connects the knife chambers carrying collected soil samples with the cup receiving station. The cups are filled with soil samples and moved into a collection station. Each filled cup has its identifier sent to memory along with the location at which the sample was taken. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the present media and process, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a tractor with the disclosed soil sampler mounted at its rear in a home position; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view like that in  FIG. 2 , but with the soil sampler in its active, soil sampling position; 
         FIG. 3  is a close up view of the soil sampler with the protective covering removed to reveal the inside of the soil sampler in its home position; 
         FIG. 4  is a close up view of the soil sample like that in  FIG. 3 , but with the soil sampler in it active soil sampling position; 
         FIG. 5  is a rear view of the soil sampler in its active soil sampling position showing the wheel soil furrowing assembly; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear view of the soil sampler in its active soil sampling position showing the knife soil collection assembly; 
         FIG. 7  is close up side view of the opposite side of the soil sampler with outer covering removed to show the cup carrousel assembly; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear view of the soil sampler with outer covering removed to reveal the soil collection system and cup carrousel assembly; 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view taken along line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a sectional view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 11  is close up view of the knife assembly; 
         FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a sectional view taken along line  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a sectional view taken along line  14 - 14  of  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 15  is an isometric view of a collection cup revealing the bar code on its bottom surface; 
         FIGS. 15A ,  15 B, and  15 C are the flow chart for how the soil sampler operates; 
         FIG. 16  is the hydraulic schematic for the soil sampler; and 
         FIGS. 16A and 16B  are the electrical block diagrams for the soil sampler; The drawings will be described is further detail below 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a tractor,  10 , has the disclosed soil sampler,  12 , mounted at its rear. All electrical and hydraulic power for soil sampler  12  is provided from tractor  10 . The only requirement for such mounting is that soil sampler  12  can be lowered from its home position shown in  FIG. 1  to its soil sampling or active position shown in  FIG. 2  and vice versa. Such lowering and raising of farm implements is common for a tractor to implement. 
     Soil sampler  12  has a large rotating disk,  14 , that cuts a furrow into the soil to be sampled. A set for inwardly toed teethed disks,  16 , clear a path by shoving rocks and debris aside so that relatively clean soil is confronted by a collection knife assembly,  18 , that actually takes the soil samples. A canted wheel,  20 , pushes soil towards the collection knife assembly in order for soil samples to be taken. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , all components are in their home position away from the ground. A cylinder assembly,  22 , raises and lowers collection knife assembly  18 . Rotating disk  14  and toed disks  16 , as a combined assembly, are held in place by a pivoting arm,  24 . When arm  24  is released, the combined assembly of rotating disk  14  and toed disks  16  are forced into the ground by a down force air bag in an operating condition. 
       FIG. 5  is a rear view of soil sampler  12  shown in  FIG. 2 . Canted wheel  16  is seen in position to push soil towards collection knife assembly  18  so that such soil can be collected therewithin. Inwardly toed disks  16  can bee seen in this view also. Carrousel cup assembly,  25 , is seen in this view also with all outer metal protective box removed. It will be described in detail below, as will the soil transfer system that transfers soil from collection knife assembly  18  to a cup dispensed from carrousel cup assembly  25 . A cylinder assembly,  22 , raises and lowers collection knife assembly  18 . 
     In  FIG. 6 , collection knife assembly  18  has been raised, while rotating disk  14 , towed disks  16 , and canted wheel  20  remain in their downward, operating position. They will be retracted upwardly subsequently. 
     Hydraulic controls,  28 , also are shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 , and  7 . A cup carousel motor,  40 , rotates cups in cup carousel  26  into position using an encoder  42  for proper placement, for transfer to cup mover  30 . A hydraulic motor,  44 , rotates cup mover  30 , with the position of cup mover,  30 , determined by an associated encoder,  46 . Cup carousel  26  contains, say, 200 cups with the bottom cups resting on a table,  47 . Each time a new cup is needed for a collected soil sample, cup carousel  26  rotates 18° so that a cup aligns with a hole formed in table  47  and below which is an alignment tube,  48 , through which the bottom most cup rests on the slide gate,  49 , which opens and drops the cup through the alignment tube,  48 , into the cup mover assembly  30 , such as a cup,  50 . 
     A second floor,  52 , retains cup mover assembly  30 . Below cup  50  is an opening formed in floor  52  and through which a bar code reader,  54 , reads a bar code,  56 , that is disposed on the outside bottom floor of cup  50 , as illustrated in  FIG. 15 . Cup assembly  68  in  FIG. 15  also is shown with a lid,  58 , that can be put on each cup once tractor  10  returns home from a farm field. 
     An air nozzle,  61 , disposed to the side of cup  50 , that is in position to rotate to receive a soil sample, blows away any loose dirt so that such loose dirt does not foul up any of the moving components. An air nozzle,  60 , blows air across bar code reader  54  to clean it off. Other nozzles, some disposed horizontally, could be supplied, nozzles,  60  and  61  being representative of such compressed air nozzles only. 
     Returning now to the soil sample transfer process, soil housed within the collection chambers in collection knife assembly  18  is urged into transfer tube  27  and then through a funnel,  62 , whose bottom spout empties into collection cup  50 . Again, compressed air through a nozzle,  91  is provided to clean up any loose dirt in the area of the disclosed soil sample collection system. Hydraulic cylinder assembly moves collection chamber within the knife assembly  18  back and forth, for example, twice to urge the collected soil sample into transfer tube  27 . As the soil samples are being transferred into transfer tube  27 , compressed air through a nozzle,  91 , is applied to clean out any remaining lodged soil in the collection chambers in collection knife assembly  18 . 
     Soil housed with in collection knife assembly  18  is transferred to transfer tube  27  in which soil falls under the influence of gravity and compressed air into a collection cup, such as a cup,  50 , (see  FIG. 8 ) that is seated upon cup mover assembly  30 . A cylinder assembly,  36 , moves the transfer tube  27  from a home position, such as is depicted in  FIG. 5  during soil collection, into a soil transfer position, such as is depicted in  FIG. 6 , during which soil is transferred into a soil cup for later analysis. It should be pointed out that the tractor onboard GPS position is noted during soil collection and then associated with a bar code that each cup has and which will be described below. In the manual mode with an operator seated in seat assembly  14 , manually actuates the start procedure to initiate the automated steps necessary for soil samples to be taken. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , soil sampler  12  is shown in its active or soil sampling mode, a canted wheel  20  can be seen in a position to urge or push soil towards to the entry of the collection chambers housed in collection knife assembly  18 . Inwardly toed disks  16  that clear a path by shoving rocks and debris aside also are revealed in  FIG. 3 . A soil capture slot,  85 , is located to one side of collection knife assembly  18 . The adjustable slot,  83 , sheers a thin sliver of soil as the soil passes the knife assembly when in the soil. This sheering action forces the soil sample to flow into the soil collection chamber,  72 - 76 , as the collection knife assembly,  18 , slices through the soil profile. Once the collection knife assembly is raised,  18 , cleanout guard opens,  84 , the transfer tube,  27 , extends, transferring the soil to the waiting cup,  50 , located in the cup mover,  30 . 
     Further detail on cup mover assembly  30  is revealed in  FIG. 8 . In particular, the opening,  64 , below collection cup  50  is shown in phantom. A cam,  66 , of cup cam assembly  30 , is shown centrally disposed and which is rotated to take cup  50  and transfer the cup,  50 , to the fill position. When cup  50  is urged out of cup mover assembly  30 , is it pushes again the last filled cup,  50 , and out onto table  52 , the rearward portion of which defines a collection station  53  (as designated in  FIGS. 3-7 ) where all filled collection cups are stored. 
       FIGS. 9-12  show various aspects of collection knife assembly  18 . When the knife blade is lowered  70 , it actually cuts into the soil. There are 4 soil chambers housed within knife blade assembly  18 . Each such chamber is revealed in  FIG. 11 , either empty,  72 ,  74 ,  75 , and  76 , or filled with soil,  78 ,  80 ,  81 , and  82 . A clean out guard,  84 , (see also  FIG. 12 ) actuates as the knife,  86 , is raised to provide an opening to extract the filled soil chambers out of the knife. A cylinder assembly,  90 , actuates the fore and aft movement of the chamber assembly,  85 . See also  FIG. 14  in this regard. An air nozzle,  91  (see  FIG. 12 ) blows high-pressure air into the chambers to clean them. 
     While all of the chambers can be combined for producing a composite of the soil at various depths where the sample is taken is illustrated in the drawings, it also is possible to separately collect in collections cups soil housed within each chamber. That would provide a soil sample at various depths in a defined location where the samples are taken. It should be understood further that the depth of collection knife assembly  18  can be set by the operator to the limits of the equipment. 
     It should be understood that several of the limit switches necessary for determining the completion and/or return to home of several of the moving components described above have not been shown in position in order to not overly complicate the drawings and illustrative description set forth herein, but are to be provided as is necessary, desirable, or convenient in conventional fashion. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 16 , the generally hydraulic system is illustrated starting with the take off,  88 , from tractor  10 . Motors and hydraulic cylinders are labeled as they have been in the other figures. Solenoid valves,  92 - 100 , are to be provided in conventional fashion, as are hydraulic valves,  102 - 110 . The actual pluming of the hydraulic lines also is completed in conventional fashion. 
     In order to operative the soil sampling system whose components have been described above, the operator may use a Renu Controller, such as model FT4057T-E (Renu Electronics PVT Ltd, Batavia, Ill.). Such controller has 5 module slots. Slots 1 and 2 may have digital modules inserted, such as FIDD0808P having 8 digital input and output signals, while slots 3-5 can have analog modules inserted, such as FPRA0202L having 2 analog input and output signals. Such controller will be described in  FIG. 15  for operation of the disclosed soil sampling system. It will be appreciated that other controllers could be used to advantage in accordance with the precepts disclosed herein. 
     Referring to  FIG. 16A , a controller,  112 , is the Renu controller identified above having 5 slots filled with the modules identified above. As described above, controller  112  as communication ports for GPS input,  114 , and barcode reader,  116 . Controller also has a USB port for a portable memory device,  118 , for recordation of the data collected during a soil sampling run. Controller  112  also has a touchscreen display and a power supply,  120 , input. Power supply  120  has an emergency stop,  122 , and receives power from tractor  10  and outputs both a 12V signal and a 24V signal. 
     Each of the 5 I/O slots are represented along with their function in the indicated boxes in  FIG. 15  along with associated motors, relays, solenoids, hydraulic pistons, encoders, and the like.  FIG. 16B  will be described in connection with the flow sheets of  FIGS. 15A-C . The method of collecting soil samples using the disclosed soil sampling system starts in box  124  by moving the tractor into the field and turning on controller  112 , as represented in box  126 , by turning on power supply  120 . Controller  120  is initialized and the field to be sampled identified in box  128 . In box  130 , the cup mover is reset to home and the cup counter is reset. In box  132 , the cup dispenser is reset to home along with its corresponding counter. Both of these actions are accomplished in I/O Slot 1 where encoder signals active a motor and hydraulic valve controlled by I/O slot 3. 
     The 3-point hitch of tractor  10  is moved into position in box  134 , which is controller by I/P Slot 3. Decision box  136  is encountered which determines whether the 3-point hitch has fully moved into position. If not, steps  134  and  136  are repeated until the hitch is in position. At this point in box  138 , the time and date are checked and/or entered into controller  112  and the operator reminded to insert portable memory device  118  into controller  112 . In box  142  the tractor speed settings are checked and/or set and the high-pressure air (valves, cylinders, motors) turned on in box  144 . In box  146 , all controller functions are checked and/or set. Finally, in box  148  the operator polls the LED lights on controller  112  to see if they are all green. If not, the operation in box  146  is repeated until all green lights are seen. 
     The operation proceeds to box  150  where directions of the hydraulic cylinders are initialized. In box  152  the operator is reminder to load cups into the cup carousel  26  with the bar coded cups. A first cup is dispensed and its bar code read in box  154  and moved into position to receive dirt in box  156 . 
     Continuing now with  FIG. 15B , the process proceeds to box  194 , where the operator checks and/or sets the time duration of soil sample collection (say, 7 sec.), the number of cycles needed for emptying the collection chambers (say, 3 cycles), and the distance between sample, and speed calibration (say,  5 . 0 ′/encoder click). In box  196 , tractor  10  is moved into the field at the first collection location. In box  198 , collection knife assembly  18  is automatically lowered for a pre-set time duration again while tractor  10  moves a set speed. In box  200 , like the manual mode, the GPS location is correlated with the cup bar code and this data uploaded to memory device  118  in box  202 . In box  204 , collection knife assembly  18  is automatically raised after the set duration has timed out if transfer tube  27  is in a retracted position. In box  206 , transfer tube  27  is automatically moved into a collection position, provided that collection knife assembly  18  is in a retracted position. 
     The collection chambers are retracted automatically and high-pressure air is blown across the chambers for a set time duration and this operation repeated a designated (say, 3) times in box  208 . Transfer tube  27  is automatically retracted from under the chambers in box  210 . Referring now to  FIG. 15C  and box  212 , the question is posed whether this is the last sample, if not the process proceeds to box  214 . 
     In box  214 , air is automatically blown across the bar code reader to clean it. Cup carousel  26  is automatically rotated to the next position to drop a next cup down for its barcode to be read in box  216 . The cup with the last sample is automatically moved onto floor  52  while air cleans the soil transfer area and the next dispensed cup is moved into position to receive a next soil sample in box  218 . In box  220 , the question is posed whether the sampler is in automatic or manual mode. If in automatic mode, the soil collection procedure proceeds to box  230  where the tractor is automatically moved in the field to the location of the next sample whereat the sample taking procedure automatically commences. At box  220  if the procedure is in manual mode, the procedure goes to box  232  where the tractor is manually driven at a continuous speed in the field to the next sample location. When the next sample location is reached, the operator presses ‘start’ at box  124  for the soil collection procedure to commence, as described above. Whether manual mode at box  224  or automatic mode at box  222 , the procedure returns to location “A” between boxes  196  and  198  in  FIG. 15B  and the soil collection procedure is executed. 
     In box  212 , if the last sample has been taken, the process proceeds to box  222  where the bar code reader is automatically cleaned with high-pressure air. In box  224 , the last filled cup is automatically moved onto floor  52  and the transfer area where the last filled cup just came from cleaned with high-pressure air. In box  226 , the operator must install caps on all cups, remove memory device  118 , and ship everything back to a lab for analysis. End  228  has been reached. 
     While the soil sample and soil sampling system have been described with reference to various embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope and essence of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to the teachings of the disclosure in order to adapt to a particular situation or material without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. In this application all units are in the US engineering system and all amounts and percentages are by weight, unless otherwise expressly indicated. Also, all citations referred herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0