Deere & Company

Daryl N Roehrich

Jon Thomas Jacobson

John C Thomas

John D Paulson

Christopher Jason Skarie

Douglas L Hauck

Trevor D Fuss

Karl-Heinz Otto Mertins

Jason J Wanner

Jeffrey Gerald Hopman

Paul R Bramel

A seed monitor includes a planter master unit having one or more planter counting units connected to the planter master unit, with each planter counting unit associated with a different seed tube. Each planter counting unit includes a light source, a means for forming a light beam that traverses a sensing area of a seed tube, a detector and a processor. The circuit board connects the detector and light source with a processor. The processor adjusts the intensity of the light source and selects an output amplifier gain that is appropriate for the counting of seeds. In this manner, the planter monitoring system adjusts for long-term dust and dirt accumulation and aging of components. The processor processes the selected stage of amplified output from the detector and determines the number of seeds that have traversed the sensing area of the associated seed tube. The planter master unit receives binary data of the counted seed, and from this data, provides an output to the operator. In a preferred embodiment, plural planter counting units are connected to the planter master unit in a series connection.

Seed planter monitoring system with optical sensors

A particle blockage monitoring system employs a flexible piezoelectric particle sensor element in a portion of a particle flow path so that a number of particles traveling in the particle flow path strike the flexible particle sensor element while preventing damage to the particles and maintaining the forward momentum of all the particles in the particle flow path. In order to provide flexibility in monitoring particles of different types and to increase the information rate, the use of a one-shot multivibrator to temporarily store a particle detection signal as in the prior art is avoided. Also, serial sampling of the particle sensor data is avoided to increase the information rate. Instead, a comparator that includes a diode in a feedback loop so as to function as a latch is used in conjunction with a serial shift register that has parallel data input lines. This enables a microprocessor to monitor the output from a multiple-bit memory element which stores a digital representation of the outputs of plural sensor elements at a higher rate than attainable in the prior art. As a result of the increased rate at which information can be obtained from the particle sensor elements, the microprocessor can not only provide particle flow blockage status data but can also provide particle flow rates for the monitored particle flow paths.

Air seeder blockage monitoring system

A seed blockage monitoring system employs a flexible, generally flat piezoelectric seed sensor element inserted at an acute angle of about 13 degrees into a seed flow path so that a portion of seeds traveling in the seed flow path strike the seed sensor element, preventing damage to the seeds and maintaining forward momentum of all seeds in the seed flow path. In order to provide flexibility in monitoring seeds of different types and to increase the data rate that information can be obtained from numerous multiple seed sensor elements, the use of a one-shot to temporarily store a seed detection signal and serial sampling of the temporarily stored signals from the sensors as in the prior art is avoided. Instead, a comparator that includes a diode in a feedback loop so as to function as a latch is used in conjunction with a serial shift register that has parallel data input lines. This enables the microprocessor to monitor outputs from one or more sensor elements, or a digital representation thereof, at a higher rate than attainable in the prior art seed blockage monitors. As a result of the increased rate at which information can be obtained from the seed sensor elements, the microprocessor can not only provide seed blockage data but can also provide relative flow data for the various monitored seed flow paths and compute an overall seeding rate.

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West Fargo, ND, United States of America

Daryl N Roehrich