Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a method of applying inputs, such as seed or fertilizer, to an agricultural field and in particular to a method utilizing row or section control of the implement to avoid double seeding by turning off some of the product dispensers during the first pass over an area which is covered twice. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When seeding a field or applying other inputs, a standard approach by producers is to make one to three headland passes around the field while applying seed and or fertilizer. Back and forth passes are then made in the center area of the field. By first planting in the headland passes, a line is formed in the field to indicate where to start and stop the back and forth passes in the center area while turning in the implement in the previously seeded headland area. A disadvantage of such a pattern is that while turning in the headland area, the tractor and implement will drive over the previously seeded headland area, causing compaction of the soil and disturbing the already planted seed. One way to avoid compaction of previous seeded soil is to seed the headline area last. This approach, however, requires the operator to estimate the point in the field where the back and forth passes start and stop. To ensure that the field is completely seeded, operators will tend to overlap into the inner headland area. When the headland area is subsequently planted, there will be an area that is double seeded and/or which may have double the amount of fertilizer or other chemical applied thereto. 
     Recent advances in machine technology have enabled individual product dispensors of a planter to be selectively turned off to avoid dispensing seed where seed has already been planted or where it is desired not to plant seed. One technology for doing so is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,571,688, hereby incorporated by reference, where clutches are provided between the drive cable and seed meter to enable the each seed meter to be separately turned off. Another example is shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/481,254, filed Jun. 9, 2009, and also incorporated herein by reference, in the context of an air seeder where a section of dispensers can be selectively turned off by closing the outlet from the meter. Such technology is a beneficial when finishing the last back and forth pass where the width of the implement is wider than the remaining area to be seeded resulting in a portion of the implement overlapping previously seeded soil in the headland area. The dispensers in the headland area can be turned off to avoid double seeding. However, the ground engaging tools of each dispenser still engage soil and can disturb the previously planted seed. Furthermore, the tires of the implement and tractor can cause soil compaction around the planted seed. 
     The individual row clutches or the section control can also be beneficial in planting an irregularly shaped field where all of the rows do not end at the same point where the implement passes into the headland area. As the implement approaches the end of the rows, individual row units or sections of row units can be shut off individually to avoid the double planting in the headland. 
     Similar technology is available for use on sprayers to individually shut off the spray nozzles to avoid double spraying. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an improved method of applying an input to a field when using an implement having row or section control and when using an automated location and guidance system, enabled by GPS or other position technology, to avoid double application of inputs in areas covered more than once by the implement or machine. The present invention provides an application pattern and control in which double application is avoided by turning off row units or sections of row units during the first pass over the area, leaving the actual application of inputs to the second pass over that area. The method further controls the implement such that on the second pass, the full width of the machine is used. This is particularly advantageous when seeding because the implement does not operate in soil that has already been seeded. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a dispenser of a planting machine; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view of an agricultural field illustrating the method of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlargement of a portion of the field shown in  FIG. 2  illustrating the invention when used to plant point rows; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view illustrating another aspect of the method of the present invention when planting along the edge of a field; and 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of a portion of a field illustrating yet another aspect of the method of the present invention when planting around an obstacle in the field. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The method of the present invention is described below primarily in the context of a row crop planter. However, the method is applicable broadly to any input application machine such as but not limited to planter, air seeders, grain drills, fertilizer and chemical applicators, sprayers, etc. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a row unit  10  of a row crop planter  12  is shown. The planter  12  includes a transversely extending tool bar  14  to which the row unit  10  is mounted. While a single row unit is show, multiple row units  10  are spaced along the tool bar  14 , each applying seed in a row as the tool bar is moved across a field in an forward direction shown by the arrow  16 . The planter  12  is connected to a tractor (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) in a conventional manner and the planter and tractor together constitute a machine for applying an input to an agricultural field. The planter or other input applicator could be self-propelled instead of an implement for attachment to a tractor. The tractor or self-propelled machine is equipped with a guidance system such as AutoTrac™ or iGuide™ available from John Deere to guide the machine along a path in the field. Such guidance systems use GPS or other positioning systems to locate the machine in the field and to guide its movement across the field. 
     The row unit  10  includes a frame  20  that is coupled to a mounting plate  22  by a parallel linkage  24 . The parallel linkage  24  allows the row unit to move up and down to a limited degree relative to the toolbar  14 . Seed is automatically directed to an auxiliary hopper  26  by a pneumatic seed on demand delivery system (not shown). Seed in the auxiliary hopper  26  is metered by a seed meter  28  and directed to a planting furrow by a seed tube (not shown) in a known manner. The planting furrow is formed by a double disc furrow opener  30 . Depth gauging wheels  32  control the depth of penetration of the opener  30 . The planting furrow with metered seed deposited therein by the seed tube is closed by closing wheels  34 . The seed meter  28  is driven by a flexible rotatable drive shaft  36  that drives second gear box  38 . A ground driven common rotary drive, in the form of a hexagonal cross-section bar  40 , provides a rotational input to the flexible drive shaft  36  through a first gearbox  44 . A clutch  46  is provided at the coupling of the drive shaft  36  to the second gear box  38 . The clutch  46  is selectively operated to disengage the drive to the seed meter  28  thereby stopping the operation of the seed meter and the dispensing of seed through the seed tube to the seeding furrow. The clutches  46  may be individually controlled or two or more clutch assemblies on adjacent row units may be controlled together in what is known as “section control.” 
     The furrow opener  30  constitutes a ground engaging tool and remains engaged in the ground both when seed is being dispensed as well as when seed is not being dispensed by control of the clutches. Other seeding equipment such as air seeders and grain drills have ground engaging openers as do fertilizer and chemical applicators. These machines also have input meters and dispensers, such as seed tubes and/or chemical tubes. 
     The method a applying an input to an agricultural field according to the present invention is shown and described in connection with  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  illustrates an irregularly shaped field  100 . The first step is to define the field perimeter  102 . This can be accomplished by driving along the perimeter in a first, perimeter headland pass  104  having the width of the planter  12 . Planter  12  is shown schematically with the toolbar  14  and row units  12  shown as boxes. The first perimeter headland  104  can be driven with the planting machine operating to plant in the headland  104  or without operating the planter. Typically, the position sensor on the machine will be in the machine center, a half-width of the machine from the field perimeter. Alternatively, the perimeter can be defined by driving another vehicle, such as an all-terrain vehicle, along the perimeter with the necessary guidance system installed to record the vehicle path and with the spacing between the position sensor on the vehicle and the perimeter  102  known. A field perimeter definition recorded during an operation in a previous growing season can also be used. 
     The perimeter headland area  104  is defined inside the perimeter  102  consisting of one width of the seeding machine. One or more additional headland areas  106  are defined inside the perimeter headland area  104  as desired. Each additional headland area has a width equal to the width of the machine  12 . The headland area at the top and bottom of the field as shown in  FIG. 2  is used for turning the machine as described below. Additionally, the headland area at the right side of the field will be used for turning the machine. However, the headland area at the left side is not used for turning and thus may be narrower than the other headland areas but still in multiples of the machine width. 
     After determining the total headland area, the remaining center area  108  of the field  100  is then defined. Beginning with a selected starting location such as the point  110 , a path plan is determined for seeding the field beginning with the center area  108 . The center area path plan consists of a series of back and forth passes  114  with turns  116  executed at the ends of the back and forth passes. The turns take place in the headland areas  104  and  106 . The path planning may be a mental step by the machine operator or may be done by a computer program that is part of the machine guidance system. When the machine reaches the boarder between the center area  108  and the headland area, the row units are turned off, to stop dispensing seed. For those back and forth passes  114  which are perpendicular to the boarder of the center area, when the machine reaches the end of the pass, the tool bar  14  is raised, lifting the ground engaging tools from the ground. This also lifts the drive wheel for the shaft  40  from the ground, stopping the dispensing of seed from all row units at the same time. 
     Back and forth passes  120  at the right side of the field have borders  122  and  124  with the headland area which are inclined relative to the direction of machine travel in the back and forth passes. As the machine crosses the borders, the row units are turned on and off, one at a time, or one section at time as those row units cross the border. This is shown by the broken lines trailing each row unit representing the seed rows. This is shown in the enlarged view of  FIG. 3 . A row crop planter  130  is shown in the pass  120  crossing the border  124  between the center area and the headland area  106 . Individual row units  10  are shut off as they cross the border. The seed rows are shown by the broken lines  132 . 
     Section control is shown with the back and forth pass  134 . The dispensers for multiple plant rows are simultaneously controlled resulting in two or more rows starting or stopping together. As the machine crossed the border  124 , the sections were turned off or on, producing a stair step pattern as multiple rows are shut off at a time. 
       FIG. 4  shows another application where the final back and forth pass  136  is narrower than the width of planter  138 . When planting in the last pass  136 , only those row units in the area of the pass  136  are operating. The row units in the area of the headland  106  are shut off. 
     As a final step, the headland area is then planted. Headland area  106  is planted at a full machine width. Headland area  104  is also planted at a full width. Headland  104  may be planted last or may have been planted during the first step when the field perimeter is determined. The perimeter headland  104  may be planted using manual operation of the machine. This will be the case if the planting of the perimeter headland occurs during definition of the field perimeter. Furthermore, if the field perimeter is defined from a machine operation in a previous growing season, there may be some variation in the actual field perimeter this season, due to erosion, etc. from the definition from the previous season. As a result, the perimeter headland  104  will preferably be planted by manual operation rather than automatic operation to be able to compensate for changes in the perimeter. The manual planting of the perimeter headland  104 , whether performed first or last, may result in some overlap with the inner headland area  106  or with the center area  108  if there is only one headland area. 
     The back and forth passes have been shown in  FIGS. 2-4  as being straight passes. Depending on the contours of the field, the passes may follow a curved path. In either case, the back and forth passes will generally be parallel with one another. 
     An obstacle in the field can be dealt with as shown in reference to  FIG. 5 . Here an obstacle  200  is in the center area of the field. The obstacle may be a wet area that can not be planted, a rock pile, a standard for overhead electric wires, etc. Four back and forth passes  202 ,  204 ,  206  and  208  are shown surrounding the obstacle. The pass  202  is worked first with the machine planting in rows shown by the lines  210 . After turning, while working the subsequent pass  204  and planting the broken lines  212 , the operator or machine control system steers the machine around the obstacle by turning into the preceding pass area  202 , forming an incursion into pass  202 . The control system, knowing that pass area  202  has already been planted, will turn off the row units once they pass over the border  214  between the two pass areas  202  and  204 . This avoids double planting but does not prevent disturbing the seed. The incursion into the preceding pass is recorded for future operations. When planting in the following season, the control system will know that there will be an incursion from the subsequent pass  204  into pass  202  and can turn off the row units during pass  202  in the incursion area. Then, when working pass  204  the row units can remain on and plant in the incursion area on the second time over that area. As an option, the operator may override the recording of the incursion if the obstacle will not likely be present during future operations. This may be the case if the obstacle is a wet area due to unusually high rainfall during the current planting season. Alternatively, during the first year planting operation, when the incursion occurs, the seed dispensers may remain on to double seed and ensure that the seed will be placed in the soil at the desired depth for proper emergence. The seed planted in the first pass will be disturbed and may no longer be at the proper depth. However, any fertilizer dispenser can be turned off during the incursion to prevent double fertilizer in the area as this can be detrimental to overall plant health. 
     On the following pass  206 , when the operator steers around the obstacle, the machine makes an incursion into the subsequent pass  208  which is yet to be worked. Since the control system knows where the pass  208  is located, when the row units cross the border  216  into the subsequent pass  208 , the row units are shut off. After turning, during working of pass  208 , the row units remain on, and plant pass  208  with a full implement width, seeding the incursion area on the second pass over that area. 
     In the claims that follow, the term “machine” is used broadly to mean a self-propelled input applicator or to a tractor and implement combination. 
     Where an area of a field is covered twice during the application of an input, the method of the present invention controls the product dispensers to dispense product only the second time the area is covered. 
     Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

Technology Category: 4