The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 28, 2013
Filed:
Oct. 28, 2010
Kyle H. Holland, Lincoln, NE (US);
Kyle H. Holland, Lincoln, NE (US);
Other;
Abstract
A light sensing apparatus for measuring the reflectance of sub surface soil in real-time while attached to a moving vehicle is disclosed. Reflectance measurements from the apparatus can be related to the organic matter content of the soil. The apparatus is housed in a corrosion resistant enclosure having field rebuildable wear surfaces. The wear surfaces help extend the life of the apparatus by isolating the apparatus's main enclosure from soil abrasion. The wear surfaces also assist in conditioning the sensed soil surface by smoothing the surface prior to sensing. Signal conditioning circuitry in the apparatus is utilized to reject the influence of ambient light in the advent that the soil/apparatus interface opens. A digital processor or other 'intelligent controller' is utilized in the apparatus to auto calibrate the apparatus in real-time and/or use predetermined tables or mathematical relationships in order to convert reflectance information into organic matter measurements.