Patent ID: 8522889

Claim:
An agricultural implement system, comprising: a row unit movably coupled to a tool bar of an agricultural implement; an opener disk rotatably coupled to a chassis of the row unit and configured to engage soil; a gauge wheel assembly movably coupled to the chassis and comprising a gauge wheel configured to rotate across a soil surface to limit a penetration depth of the opener disk into the soil; a depth control cylinder extending between the chassis and the gauge wheel assembly, wherein the depth control cylinder is configured to adjust the penetration depth of the opener disk by varying a position of the gauge wheel relative to the chassis; a down force cylinder extending between the tool bar and the chassis, wherein the down force cylinder is configured to vary a contact force between the gauge wheel and the soil surface; a down force control valve in fluid communication with the down force cylinder and configured to regulate a flow of fluid to the down force cylinder to adjust the contact force; an actuator coupled to the down force control valve and in fluid communication with the depth control cylinder, wherein the actuator is configured to automatically adjust the contact force by varying the flow of fluid through the down force control valve based on fluid pressure within the depth control cylinder; a second opener disk rotatably coupled to the chassis and configured to engage the soil; a second gauge wheel assembly movably coupled to the chassis and comprising a second gauge wheel configured to rotate across the soil surface to limit a second penetration depth of the second opener disk into the soil; and a second depth control cylinder extending between the chassis and the second gauge wheel assembly, wherein the second depth control cylinder is configured to adjust the second penetration depth of the second opener disk by varying a position of the second gauge wheel relative to the chassis; wherein the actuator is in fluid communication with the second depth control cylinder, and wherein the actuator is configured to automatically adjust the contact force by varying the flow of fluid through the down force control valve based on fluid pressure within the depth control cylinder, the second depth control cylinder, or a combination thereof.