Case Corporation

Paul W Haack

Keith Walter Wendte

George H Hale

David D Flamme

Abraham Orbach

Eric D Jacobson

Kurt D Michl

Aly M El-Dars

Abe Orbach

A reconfigurable control unit is disclosed for providing an operator interface to control units on different types of work vehicles, such as, tractors, combines, sprayers, etc. The reconfigurable control unit stores a plurality of application programs in a memory and selects only the application program needed depending on the work vehicle type that the reconfigurable control unit is coupled to. The type of work vehicle to which the reconfigurable control unit is coupled to is determined based upon a unique configuration message received from a controller on the work vehicle. The work vehicle type may also be determined by scanning a data bus connector that couples the reconfigurable control unit to the work vehicle, or by soliciting operator input to determine which type of work vehicle the reconfigurable control unit is coupled to.

Reconfigurable control unit for work vehicles

A centralized monitoring unit for an agricultural implement is disclosed herein. The monitoring unit is preferably used with a planting system including a planting implement coupled to a work vehicle. The implement includes a frame supporting row units which are configured to apply a product (e.g., seed, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide) to the rows in a field. The monitoring unit includes a product delivery apparatus which has at least one product channel for delivering the product to the row units, and an electronic product sensor which is coupled to the product delivery apparatus and configured to generate a product signal representing an amount of the product which moves through the product channel. An electronic display located in the cab of the work vehicle is configured to generate an image in response to a display signal. A processor circuit is configured to monitor the product signal, calculate application progress statistics, calculate implement statistics, calculate product rate statistics and apply the display signal to the electronic display to generate the image on the electronic display representative of the application progress statistics, the implement statistics and the product rate statistics.

Enhanced statistical/status display

A control system for agricultural implements such as planters, conventional or air drills is disclosed herein. The implement includes a frame with one or more sections. Each section supports a plurality of row units configured to apply a product at variable rates to rows in a field. The products can include seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides. In one configuration, the control system monitors the rates at which the product is applied to the rows. This configuration of the control system includes sensors configured to sense the rates at which product is applied, and a control module configured to monitor the sensed rates and generate a multiplexed output signal representative thereof. The output signal is used, for example, by a cab-mounted display or recording device. The control system, however, can be reconfigured to both monitor and control the application rates by installing a second control module on the frame. The second control module generates rate control signals in response to rate command input signals. The rate control signals are applied to the metering device to cause the metering device to meter product to the row units at the commanded rates. Commanded rates are set, for example, by a cab-mounted display control module.

Modular agricultural implement control system

One or more agricultural products, such as seed, fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide, may be dispensed at each of a plurality of row locations on an agricultural implement toolbar. A local bus connects each local metering device to a local controller at the row location, which may also have actual product application rate and soil characteristic sensors. The local controllers are connected through a system bus to a central processor mounted on the tractor, which is connected to a memory for storing product prescription and actual application maps, and also to a GPS receiver for determining current location in the field. Each local controller controls the agricultural product metering device(s) at the row location as a function of the last commanded rate received from the processor and the actual rate as sensed at the row location. The commanded rate may be derived by the processor as a function of multiple variables as stored in levels of the prescription map, or from a manual override signal from the operator.

Variable rate agricultural product application implement with multiple

A field mapping system for an agricultural vehicle such as a combine, planter or cultivator is disclosed herein. The system includes a circuit for determining the position of the vehicle relative to a field, and a sensor for sensing a characteristic (e.g., grain moisture content, grain harvest yield, soil compaction, altitude, etc.) at locations of the vehicle within the field. The system also includes an electronic display controlled by a control circuit coupled to the position determining circuit and the sensor. The control circuit produces display signals applied to the electronic display to generate a map of an area of the field at a desired scale which includes indicia of the current vehicle location and of the characteristic data being gathered. The map is dynamically redrawn at the desired scale to keep the visual indicia displayed when the vehicle has moved such that the vehicle location no longer corresponds to the displayed area.

Panning display of GPS field maps

A field mapping system for an agricultural vehicle such as a combine or tractor is disclosed herein. The system includes a location signal generator for determining the position of the vehicle relative to a field, a correction signal generator for receiving correction signals used to improve the accuracy of the position determination and a sensing circuit for detecting a characteristic (e.g., grain moisture, grain flow, soil compaction, soil moisture) at predetermined locations of the vehicle within the field. The system also includes an electronic display controlled by a control circuit coupled to the location signal generator, the correction signal generator, and the sensing circuit. The control circuit applies signals to the electronic display which produces a map of the field which includes indicia of the characteristic at respective locations within the field. For example, if the characteristic is grain moisture, different colors can be used on the display to represent different moisture levels.

Global position correction for the electronic display of field maps

A sectional rate control unit for an agricultural implement is disclosed herein. The sectional rate control unit is preferably used with a planting system including a planting implement coupled to a work vehicle. The implement includes a frame having at least one section supporting multiple row units which are configured to apply a product (e.g., seed, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide) to the rows in a field. Each section includes a product delivery apparatus having a target delivery rate controlled by a section application control signal and at least one product channel for delivering an amount of the product to each of the row units. The control unit includes an electronic product sensor coupled to each of the sections and the product channel. The product sensor is configured to generate a product rate signal representative of the amount of the product delivered to the row units. An electronic display located in the cab is configured to generate an image in response to a display signal. The display includes operator-actuatable switches configured to independently control the state of each of the sections and the target delivery rate of each product for each of the sections. A processor circuit is configured to monitor the product rate signal from each product sensor, to calculate product rate data for each product sensor, to generate and apply a display signal to the electronic display to generate the image on the display representing the product rate data for each product in each section, and to generate and apply the section application control signal to each product delivery apparatus in response to actuations of the switches on the electronic display.

Enhanced implement control

A control system for agricultural implements such as planters, conventional or air drills is disclosed herein. The implement has a frame with multiple sections and each section has a plurality of row units to apply product to multiple rows in a field. The implement is equipped with global output devices (e.g., lights, actuators for moving moveable frame members, actuators for moving markers) to perform global implement functions in response to global control signals. Each section includes one or more local product metering devices for applying products at varying rates in response to local control signals. The products include seed, fertilizer, insecticide and herbicide. The control system includes command sources (e.g., a lighting connector; an operator interface in the cab) to generate global commands for the global implement functions and to generate local rate commands for the metering devices. The control system further includes a global controller, and local controllers corresponding to the sections. The global controller receives the global commands for the global implement functions and generates the global control signals therefrom. The local controllers receive the local rate commands for the local product metering devices and generate the local control signals therefrom.

Global controller and distributed local controller(s) for an

A field mapping system for an agricultural vehicle such as a combine, planter or cultivator is disclosed herein. The system includes a circuit for determining the position of the vehicle relative to a field, and a sensor for sensing a characteristic (e.g., grain moisture content, grain harvest yield, soil compaction, altitude, etc.) at locations of the vehicle within the field. The system also includes an electronic display controlled by a control circuit coupled to the position determining circuit and the sensor. The control circuit applies signals to the electronic display which produces a map of the field including indicia of the characteristic at respective locations within the field. (For example, if the characteristic is grain moisture content, different colors can be used on the display to represent different moisture levels.) The signals are generated by the control circuit so that the portion of the field over which the characteristic is sampled is scaled to be displayed over substantially all of a portion of the display. Thus, as the area of the field which has been sampled increases, the scale of the displayed map is automatically rescaled to show all of the data.

Automatic scaling of GPS field maps

A site-specific farming system which performs various functions while remaining relatively unaffected by spurious farming data is disclosed. The farming data may be received in real-time from location signal generation and sensing circuits, or may be received from a digital memory which stores the farming data. The farming data includes both valid and spurious farming data which are identified by integrity checking the data. Existing relationships which exist within the valid farming data are exploited to generate synthesized farming data used to replace the spurious farming data. The valid and synthesized farming data are used to perform a function of the farming system such as performing a statistical analysis of the farming data, generating an electronic display of the farming data, generating a prescription map, or generating variable rate application signals.

Growing community of inventors

Crystal Lake, IL, United States of America

Paul W Haack