Agricultural sample packaging system

Abstract

The present application relates to an agricultural sample packaging apparatus, comprising: a grinder configured to receive and grind an agricultural sample material; a compactor, the compactor comprising a feed tube configured to receive the ground sample material from the grinder and a plunger, the plunger being linearly movable into and out of the feed tube; a rotatable turntable configured to removably hold a sample container, the turntable operable to receive the sample container and rotate the sample container below the feed tube; a sample container cartridge configured to hold a plurality of sample containers, the sample container cartridge including a container feed mechanism configured to rotate horizontally positioned sample containers to a vertical position for insertion into the rotatable turntable.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is a continuation of PCT / IB2023 / 057236 filed on July 14, 2023, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application US63 / 369,765 filed on July 28, 2022, U.S. Provisional Application US63 / 369,722 filed on July 28, 2022, U.S. Provisional Application US63 / 369,988 filed on August 1, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Application US63 / 489,209 filed on March 9, 2023, the disclosure of each application being incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to agricultural sampling and analysis, and more particularly to systems for packaging and tracking agricultural samples, such as soil, for chemical analysis. Background Art

[0004] Regular soil testing is an important aspect of agricultural technology. Test results provide valuable information about the chemical composition of the soil, such as the nutrients available to plants and other important characteristics (e.g., levels of nitrogen, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, pH, etc.) so that various amendments can be added to the soil to maximize the quality and quantity of crop production.

[0005] In some existing soil sampling processes, the collected bulk agricultural samples (such as soil or other agricultural materials) may require some form of packaging to facilitate transportation and further preparation and processing for final chemical analysis. The packaging further protects the integrity of the sample until it is processed. In addition, a means of tracking the location where the sample was collected from the farmland is necessary to associate the chemical analysis results with a specific portion of the farmland. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present disclosure provides an automated programmable processor controlled agricultural sample packaging system and a related method for containerizing agricultural samples. In certain embodiments, the container or can can be a cylindrical sample tube capped at both ends. In certain non-limiting embodiments, the sample can be a soil sample, or other agricultural related materials further described herein. The packaging system can include a sample packaging device, which usually receives bulk soil sample materials collected by an automatic sample collection device / probe or collected manually, grinds bulk materials that may be in the form of soil cores via a grinder to reduce its particle size, and compacts loose ground materials into an empty sample container via a compactor. Then, the container can be capped and transferred for further processing and final chamber analysis.

[0007] In one embodiment, the packaging device can be configured to be mounted on any type of mobile vehicle that travels across a farm field to collect soil samples. The samples can be processed and containerized at the location where they are collected in the field. The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system of the device reads the unique container RFID tag identifier for the container and writes GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates to the tag to associate the sample collection location with each sample.

[0008] The sample grinding and containerization process can be partially or fully automatically controlled by a programmable system controller that communicates with a plurality of sensors that monitor the operation and position of various components of the packaging equipment to control the operation of the packaging equipment. The system can implement a sample tracking routine that includes writing GPS coordinates to a unique tracking RFID associated with each sample container, which can be associated with the location in the field or other place where the sample was obtained.

[0009] Although the agricultural sample packaging system may be described herein with reference to containerized soil samples that represent only a single use category of the disclosed embodiments, it should be understood that the same packaging system, including the equipment and associated processing, can also be used to process other types of agricultural-related samples, including but not limited to vegetation / plants, forage, manure, feed, dairy, or other types of samples. Therefore, the disclosure herein should be broadly considered to be an agricultural sample packaging system that is suitable for extracting and containerizing many different types of samples from bulk "collected" sample materials, regardless of the collection method. Therefore, the agricultural sample packaging system disclosed in the present invention is clearly not limited to the use of packaging soil samples alone for chemical analysis of target properties. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The present disclosure will be more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which like elements are similarly labeled and in which:

[0011] Figure 1 is a high-level process flow diagram providing a general overview of an agricultural sample packaging process according to the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 is a schematic system diagram of a programmable processor-based control system for controlling the systems and apparatus disclosed herein in connection with an agricultural sample packaging system;

[0013] Figure 3 is a top left front perspective view of a sample packaging system embodied in a sample packaging device of the system;

[0014] Figure 4 is a top right front perspective view of a sample packaging system embodied in a sample packaging device of the system;

[0015] Figure 5 This is its bottom right perspective view;

[0016] Figure 6 This is its top left rear perspective;

[0017] Figure 7 This is its bottom left rear perspective;

[0018] Figure 8 is its front view;

[0019] Fig. 9 This is its right side view;

[0020] Fig.10 This is its left side view;

[0021] Fig.11 is its rear view;

[0022] Fig.12 This is its top view;

[0023] Fig.13 This is its bottom view;

[0024] Fig.14 is from Figure 8 A side cross-sectional view through a grinder of the apparatus taken in;

[0025] Fig.15 is from Fig.12 A cutaway front view;

[0026] Fig.16 is from Fig.15 A magnified view of the cut-off grinder;

[0027] Fig.17 is from Fig.15 A magnified view of the compactor taken from above;

[0028] Fig.18 is a right side cutaway perspective view of the apparatus showing the loading hopper of the compactor in a first inwardly pivotable position;

[0029] Fig.19 is a right side cutaway perspective view of the apparatus showing the loading hopper of the compactor in a second outwardly pivotable position;

[0030] Fig. 20 is a right side rear perspective view of the device;

[0031] Fig.21 from Fig. 20 Enlarged image of the capture;

[0032] Fig. 22is a front cutaway perspective view taken through the grinder;

[0033] Fig.23 is a front cross-sectional view of the device;

[0034] Fig.24 is a top perspective view of a base plate of the apparatus showing a rotating sample container turret and various other devices;

[0035] Fig.25 This is its top view;

[0036] Fig.26 is a first perspective view of the articulated hopper of the compactor;

[0037] Fig. 27 is its second perspective view;

[0038] Fig.28 is a top cutaway perspective view of the device showing a sample container decapper;

[0039] Fig.29 is a bottom cutaway perspective view of the device showing a top end cap of a sample container engaged by a decapper;

[0040] Fig.30 is its top cutaway perspective view;

[0041] Fig.31 is an exploded perspective view of a sample container;

[0042] Fig.32 is a perspective view of an alternative carousel sample container magazine including a plurality of magazine tubes each holding a plurality of sample containers; and

[0043] Fig.33 is a front perspective view of an alternative arrangement of the apparatus showing the grinder positioned directly above the loading hopper of the compactor for discharging the ground sample material directly into the compactor;

[0044] Fig.34 is a side cross-sectional view of a sample container with a sensor;

[0045] Fig.35 is a side cross-sectional view of a sample container with a sensor;

[0046] Fig.36 is a side cross-sectional view of a sample container with a sensor;

[0047] Fig.37 is a side cross-sectional view of a sample container with a sensor;

[0048] Fig.38is a front right perspective view of a sample packaging system embodied in an alternative sample packaging device of the system;

[0049] Fig.39 yes Fig.38 A front elevation view of a sample packaging system;

[0050] Fig.40 yes Fig.38 Rear elevation of the sample packaging system;

[0051] Fig.41 yes Fig.38 A left bottom perspective view of a sample packaging system with various components removed for viewing;

[0052] Fig.42 yes Fig.38 A top right perspective view of a sample packaging system with various components removed for viewing;

[0053] Fig.43 yes Fig.38 A rear left perspective view of a container box in a sample packaging system;

[0054] Fig.44 yes Fig.38 A rear right perspective view of a container box in a sample packaging system;

[0055] Fig.45 yes Fig.43 A rear elevation view of the container box;

[0056] Fig.46 is along Fig.43 A left elevation view of a cross section of a container box;

[0057] Fig.47 yes Fig.43 A top view of a container box;

[0058] Fig.48 yes Fig.38 A left side view of an alternative sample packaging device for a sample packaging system;

[0059] Fig.49 This is its right side view;

[0060] Fig.50 is from Fig.39 a first cross-sectional side view thereof taken;

[0061] Fig.51 is from Fig.39 a second cross-sectional side view thereof taken;

[0062] Fig.52 is from Fig.39 a cutaway perspective view thereof;

[0063] Fig.53 is from Fig.52 Enlarged detail of the capture;

[0064] Fig.54 is a first side cutaway perspective view through a sample grinder showing a closed, inwardly dumped position of a grinder cover;

[0065] Fig.55 is a second side cutaway perspective view through the sample grinder showing an open outward loading position of the grinder cover;

[0066] Fig.56 is a third side cutaway perspective view through the sample grinder illustrating an intermediate grinder actuation position of the grinder cover;

[0067] Fig.57 is from Fig.56 Enlarged detail of the capture;

[0068] Fig.58 It passes horizontally Fig.38 A top cutaway view of a sample packaging device of a sample packaging system showing details of a sample container turret mechanism; and

[0069] Fig.59 is a top cutaway perspective view thereof; and

[0070] Fig.60 yes Fig.38 A perspective view of a sample packaging device of a sample packaging system of FIG. 1 showing an additional secondary sample container box mounted on an equipment cabinet.

[0071] All drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Unless otherwise expressly stated, components numbered and appearing in one drawing but not numbered but appearing in other drawings are identical components. Any reference herein to an integer appearing in multiple drawings having the same integer but with different letter suffixes should be understood as referring collectively to all of these drawings, unless otherwise expressly stated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] Features and benefits of the present disclosure are illustrated and described herein by reference to exemplary ("example") embodiments. This description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are considered a part of the entire written description. Therefore, the present disclosure should obviously not be limited to such exemplary embodiments, which illustrate some possible non-limiting combinations of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features.

[0073] In the description of the embodiments disclosed herein, references to any direction or orientation are used only for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Related terms such as "lower", "upper", "horizontal", "vertical", "above", "below", "up", "down", "top", and "bottom" and their derivatives (e.g., "horizontally", "downward", "upward", etc.) should be interpreted as referring to the orientation described next or the orientation shown in the accompanying drawings being discussed. These related terms are only for convenience of description and do not require that the device be constructed or operated in a specific orientation. Unless otherwise expressly stated, terms such as "attachment", "attach", "connect", "couple", and "interconnect" refer to structures being fixed or attached to each other directly or indirectly through intermediate structures, as well as removable or rigid attachments or relationships.

[0074] As used throughout, any range disclosed herein is used as a shorthand for describing each value within the range. Any value within a range may be selected as the endpoint of the range. In addition, all references to existing patents or patent applications or patent application disclosures herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. If a definition in the present disclosure conflicts with a definition in a cited reference, the present disclosure shall prevail.

[0075] Figures 1 to 31 One non-limiting embodiment of an agricultural sample packaging system 100 and its various components according to the present disclosure is shown. The packaging system can be used to containerize soil samples, and for convenience will be conveniently described with reference to containerized soil samples as an illustrative and non-limiting application.

[0076] The sample packaging system 100 generally includes an agricultural sample packaging device 110, which is mainly used to grind bulk agricultural material samples (e.g., soil or others in this embodiment) and containerize / package the ground samples in a compacted state in a sample tube or container 200. The device 110 can be horizontally and laterally elongated in structure, and defines a vertical axis VA extending through the geometric centerline of the device and intersecting the geometric centerline for reference.

[0077] The sample packaging device 110 includes a structural support frame 111 configured to support the various components of the device. The frame 111 provides a common frame or mounting platform for the sample grinder, compactor, turntable, and sample container box further described herein, which allows the device to be transported as a single unit to process agricultural sample materials. The frame 111 can be configured to be mounted on a fixed support surface or on any type of mobile vehicle (e.g., see Figure 2), the mobile vehicle travels across the farmland to collect soil samples from different sampling locations, the soil samples being containerized or packaged by the device 110. In some embodiments, when mounted on a vehicle, the device can be mounted to the vehicle in a cantilevered manner to return excess soil sample material directly to the farmland. Each sample is associated with a unique GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinate of the collection location, and each sample can be tracked by an RFID tracking system, as further described herein.

[0078] The framework 111 can have any suitable configuration, to support the various components of the packaging equipment 110 fixedly and / or movably as required according to the properties of the various components. In a non-limiting embodiment, as shown in the figure, the support frame 111 can be a multilayer structure or a layered structure, and the multilayer structure or the layered structure includes a horizontal substrate 112, an upper platform 113, and an optional intermediate platform 114 vertically spaced apart between the horizontal substrate and the upper platform. The substrate and the platform can include a substantially flat and wide plate in structure, and the plate can be oriented substantially parallel to each other as shown in the figure. In some configurations, the substrate 112 and the platform 113, 114 can be formed by a metal plate; however, other materials such as plastics can be used to replace the metal material, or the other materials can be used in combination with the metal material. The selection of material does not limit the present invention.

[0079] The support frame 111 may also include any suitable configuration of transversely spaced vertical spacers or supports 112a as required, as shown in the figure, which support the upper platform and the intermediate platform from the base plate 112 and space them apart. One or more side panels 115 and various brackets 116 may be optionally provided to provide additional structures for mounting various components to the support frame, including auxiliary devices associated with the soil sample packaging device 110. The frame 111 may be an assembly of multiple structural members of various shapes (e.g., plates, tubes, rods, L-angles, I-beams, C-beams, etc.) that are rigidly fastened and / or welded, which are configured to support the components of the packaging device 110 and mount the packaging device on or to a supporting surface or object. The supporting surface or object may be a stationary article or structure (e.g., a floor, a table, a platform, etc.) or a movable (such as a part of a self-propelled or traction wheeled vehicle (e.g., ATV, Gator™ utility vehicle, truck, trailer, etc.) as described above). Therefore, a variety of frame configurations are possible depending on installation requirements.

[0080] The support frame 111 provides a mounting structure for the functionality and movable or fixed electronic and non-electronic components of the packaging device 110. In one embodiment, the main components of the device supported by the frame generally include a bulk sample material grinder 120, a sample compactor 130, a sample container box 150, and a rotatable sample container turntable 140, which is configured to removably receive, hold and move sample cans or sample containers 200 through various positions for soil sample packaging operations. The grinder 120 defines a sample grinding station, while the compactor 130 defines a packaging station of the sample packaging device 110.

[0081] In one non-limiting embodiment, the sample material grinder 120 and the compactor 130 can be vertically elongated and oriented devices to perform their respective functions for processing soil sample materials in a vertical flow manner that is advantageously facilitated by gravity. The grinder 120 defines a vertical centerline CL1, which can be parallel to the vertical centerline CL2 of the compactor 130. The grinder and the compactor can be positioned side by side and mounted on the support frame 111, as shown in one mounting arrangement. Therefore, the grinder 120 can be mounted on the frame 111 adjacent to the compactor 130. Other arrangements of these components can also be used. In addition, in some embodiments, the grinder can be mounted on its own separate frame (not shown), which is independent of the support frame 111 of the present device, and the support frame can mainly include a turntable 140, a container box 150 and a compactor 130. In such an arrangement, it is possible that the grinder can even be located at a position away from the compactor.

[0082] The sample material grinder 120 includes a hollow tubular cylindrical housing 121 that defines an internal grinding chamber 121a for receiving bulk soil sample material, a loading hopper 122 coupled to the top of the housing, and a grinder drive mechanism 123. Thus, the cross-sectional shape of the grinder housing 121 and its grinding chamber may be circular. Other shapes of housings and grinding chambers may also be used. The housing 121 includes a front loading port 121b (e.g., see Fig.14 ), which communicates the grinding chamber 121a with the hopper 122 of the grinder to transfer bulk soil sample material into the grinder. The front loading port allows the drive mechanism 123 to be mounted above and on top of the grinder housing, as shown. In one embodiment shown, the housing 121, the hopper 122, and the drive mechanism 123 can be primarily mounted to and supported by the upper platform 112. Therefore, the grinder housing can be mounted to and supported by the upper platform 112 in a vertical overhanging manner.

[0083] In one embodiment, the grinder drive mechanism 123 includes an electric motor 124 that rotates a drive shaft 125 coupled thereto. Any suitable commercially available constant speed or variable speed electric motor may be used. The shaft 125 includes at least one grinding blade 126 that is supported in a grinding chamber 121a within the housing. Some embodiments include multiple sets of blades 126 spaced vertically apart on the shaft. The grinding blade 126 is configured and operable to grind and break down larger bulk soil sample materials in a state of being "collected" from the field into smaller sized particles for loading into a sample container 200 and further processing. The size of the grinding blade 126 may be set relative to the housing 121 so that the grinder is a flow-through grinder. The size of the grinding blade 126 may be set to minimize the thickness but still be able to process the sample. In one embodiment, the thickness of the grinding blade is no greater than 1.27 cm (0.5 inches). The motor and drive shaft may be oriented vertically as shown and coaxially aligned with a vertical centerline CL1 of the grinder 120 passing through the geometric center of the cylindrical grinder housing 121 .

[0084] The funnel 122 may be partially frustoconical, having a larger open top end for receiving a bulk soil sample, converging to a narrower open bottom end for introducing the sample material into the grinding chamber 121a via the front loading port 121b of the grinder housing 121. In one embodiment, the bottom end of the funnel mates with the front loading portion of the grinder housing to deposit the bulk sample material sideways into the grinding chamber 121a.

[0085] The grinder funnel 122 includes a plurality of angled inclined walls 122a for guiding the sample material into the grinding chamber 121a. The bottom end of the grinder housing 121 is at least partially open to load the ground soil sample material into a transfer container or vessel 118. The vessel 118 is positioned directly below the bottom end of the grinder housing 121 and can be positioned on the base plate 112 of the support frame 111. The bottom end of the grinder housing 121 is vertically spaced from the base plate 112 and is located above the base plate to provide space for inserting and removing the transfer vessel 118 below the grinder. The transfer vessel may include a handle 118a for manually transferring the ground soil sample to the compactor 130 for compaction and containerization / packaging into the sample container 200, as further described herein. Any suitable shape of transfer vessel may be provided, including a cylindrical cup with an open top and a closed bottom as shown. The vessel 118 and / or grinder funnel 122 may be sized so that its volume corresponds to the volume of the sample container 200 to ensure that there is enough or not too much soil in the sample container 200 .

[0086] In another embodiment, instead of a pass-through grinder, the grinder 120 may be lowered into the transfer vessel 118 to grind the sample in the transfer vessel 118 .

[0087] Although the grinder hopper 122 and loading hopper 133 are illustrated as being manually fed, the grinder hopper 122 and / or loading hopper may be combined with any of the automated collection systems described in the applications listed at the end of this specification.

[0088] The compactor 130 generally includes a piston-actuated plunger 131, a hollow tubular and cylindrical compactor feed tube 132 configured to slidably receive the plunger in the compactor feed tube during a reciprocating upward / downward stroke, and a loading hopper 133 movably coupled to the support frame 111 adjacent the feed tube. The vertically elongated feed tube 132 defines an internal cavity 132a configured to receive the ground soil sample material from the loading hopper 133, and thus its cross-sectional shape may be circular. Other shapes of feed tubes and cavities may also be used.

[0089] The compactor feed tube 132 includes a front loading port 132b that communicates its internal cavity 132a with the compactor loading hopper 132 for transferring loose ground soil sample material from the grinder 120 to the compactor. The front loading port allows the piston drive mechanism 134 to be mounted above the feed tube on the packaging equipment support frame 111. The piston drive mechanism 134 and the hopper 133 can be mounted to and supported by the upper platform 112 primarily via a dedicated bracket 116 of the support frame.

[0090] In some embodiments, the piston drive mechanism 134 that actuates the plunger 131 can be any suitable linear-acting actuator mechanism, which can be an electrically, pneumatically or hydraulically actuated piston rod mechanism. Therefore, the drive mechanism 134 can be any suitable commercially available electric, pneumatic or linear rod type actuator, which includes a cylinder 131c, a retractable / extendable plunger rod 131a and a cylindrical head 131b fixed to the plunger rod, and the plunger rod and the cylindrical head together define the sample compacting plunger 131. During operation, the operation of the drive mechanism 134 can be stopped when certain conditions occur. These conditions include, but are not limited to: the drive mechanism 134 reaches a maximum current (which can be measured by a current sensor), the drive mechanism 134 reaches full extension, the speed of the drive mechanism 134 slows down to below a target value or approaches zero, or the load cell on the cylindrical head 131b rises above a target value.

[0091] In one embodiment, the loading funnel 133 of the compactor 130 may be partially frustoconical in shape, with a larger open top end 133c for receiving a bulk soil sample, the open top end converging to a narrower bottom end. Figure 26-27The funnel is shown separately. The funnel 133 can have any suitable configuration and includes a plurality of intersecting angled inclined walls 133b. The lower portion of the funnel 133 includes an inclined bottom wall 133b that terminates in a laterally inwardly opening discharge window 133a for introducing the ground soil sample material into the feed tube 132 of the compactor via the tube's forward-facing vertical front loading port 132b. The window 133a is oriented vertically to discharge the ground soil sample material laterally (in a direction transverse to the centerline CL2 of the compactor 130) into the feed tube 132 of the compactor. In one embodiment, the lower portion of the funnel 133 containing the discharge window 133a cooperates with the front loading port 132b of the feed tube to communicate the funnel with the lumen 132a of the feed tube. In one embodiment, the funnel 133 includes a protruding semicircular sealing collar 133d that surrounds the discharge window 133a and is complementarily configured to mate with the radius of curvature of the feed tube 132. This forms a seal around the front loading port 132b of the tube to minimize the loss of soil sample until the tube is filled with soil. The collar 133d can have a partial tubular shape as shown to conform to the radius of curvature of the feed tube 132.

[0092] In any embodiment, the sample container 200 may be a smart sample container that includes a controller configured to collect and / or communicate information about the agricultural sample within the container. Non-limiting examples of smart containers are Figure 34-37 Sample container 8200 is schematically shown in FIG.

[0093] like Figure 34-35 As shown, in one embodiment, sample container 8200 includes at least one of sensors 8210 and 8211 for measuring sample characteristics of agricultural sample material held in the sample container. The sensors can measure different characteristics of the sample material. In one embodiment, sample container 8200 can have the same overall features and structure as sample container 200, or sample container 8200 can have some different structures and features. For ease of description, Figure 34-37 A portion of the sample container 8200 is schematically illustrated using the sample container 200 as a model. In some embodiments, the sample container 8200 may have a cylindrical body similar to the container 200.

[0094] A programmable controller 8201 is disposed inside or outside the elongated hollow body of the sample container 8200, and is operable and in signal communication with the sensor 8210 and / or the sensor 8211. The onboard container controller 8201 may be operably and communicatively linked to one or more external electronic devices not onboard the container (such as, but not limited to, the main system controller 2820 previously described herein (see, e.g., Figure 2)) for communicating information collected by the relevant sensors described herein (e.g., data related to the characteristics of the sample material) to the main system controller and / or receiving instructions from the main system controller 2820, which can control and direct the operation of the controller 8201 and the sensor data collection. As shown in the figure, in one embodiment, the controller 8201 can be disposed in the sample container 8200 inside the cylindrical wall of the container body 202 (see Fig.31 ). In other embodiments, the controller 8201 may be disposed on the outside of the container, or partially or completely embedded in the wall of the container. The controller 8201 may have either or both of a wired signal port 8203 or a wireless port 8202 for communicating data collected from the sensor 8210 or the sensor 8211 to one or more external electronic devices. The controller 8201 is in signal communication with any other controller, such as the main system controller 2820. Thus, the controller 8201 may be operable and communicatively linked to the system controller 2820 (e.g., see FIG. 28 ) via the communication ports 8202 and 8203. Figure 2 ) and / or other external electronic devices. In some embodiments, the main system controller 2820 can be in operable communication with multiple smart sample containers processed simultaneously in the agricultural sample packaging system described herein to receive sample characteristic data and / or transmit instructions to the controller on the container.

[0095] In one embodiment, the sample container 8200 may include an onboard power supply to power the power controller 8201 and the container sensor array. In one embodiment, the power supply may be at least one disposable or rechargeable battery 8205 that is electrically connected to the controller 8201, the sensor 8210, the sensor 8211, and other container sensors to provide power thereto. A port 8206 on the battery 8205 allows the battery to be charged. Since the controller 8201 and the battery 8205 are shown as being disposed inside the sample container 8200, the ports 8203 and 8206 extend or are accessible through the tubular wall of the container body 202.

[0096] In one embodiment, sensor 8210 can be: a temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of the sample material; a humidity sensor configured to measure the moisture content of the sample material; or any other type of sensor to measure other interesting characteristics and features of the sample.

[0097] In one embodiment, the sensor 8211 can be a conductivity sensor, which includes a pair of electrodes 8211-1, 8211-2, which are operable to measure the conductivity of the sample material across the electrodes. The first electrode 8211-1 and the second electrode 8211-2 are spaced apart and mounted inside (i.e., on the wall) of the tubular body 202 of the sample container 8200 and in contact with the sample material. The first electrode and the second electrode can be mounted on opposite sides of the diameter of the tubular body of the sample container. The first electrode and the second electrode are operable when energized to generate a current passing through the sample material between the two to measure the conductivity of the material. The sensor 8211 is operable to transmit / transmit the measured conductivity to the container controller 8201.

[0098] Alternatively, sensor 8210 or sensor 8211 does not require battery 8205. Fig.36 As shown, sensor 8210' or sensor 8211' (8211-1', 8211-2') can receive wireless signals (e.g., control signals) and wireless power (induced charge) from controller 8201'. Controller 8201' can communicate signals with any other controller (e.g., system controller 2820) (e.g., see Figure 2 ).

[0099] exist Fig.37 In another embodiment shown, the smart sample container 8200 has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag 8212 mounted inside or outside the container 8200 or partially or completely embedded in the wall of the container body 202. When the container 8200 is placed next to or past the RFID reader 8215, the minimum response threshold or received signal strength is measured for the signal passing through the sample. In some embodiments, the radio frequency signal can be transmitted by the RFID reader to the container controller 2801 and / or the main system controller 2820. The propagation time of the signal is related to the moisture directivity of the sample. The controller 2801 and / or 2820 can be programmed to associate the propagation time of the signal with the moisture content. Examples of RFID systems are described in U.S. Patent Publication US20210286961A1 and European Patent Publication EP2808840A1.

[0100] In some embodiments, as further described elsewhere herein, the RFID tag can also be used by the RFID reader and main system controller 2820 to track the real-time location of each smart sample container 8200 processed by the agricultural sample packaging device 110 or 310 by associating each sample container with a unique identifier, which can also be associated with a GPS (Global Positioning System) location for identifying where in the field the sample was collected. Thus, the RFID tag provides a variety of functions related to the smart sample container and the sample contents.

[0101] In one embodiment, the sensors 8210 , 8210 ′, 8211 , 8211 ′, the controller 8201 , and the battery 8205 are located at an end (eg, the bottom) of the smart sample container 8200 away from the plunger 131 to avoid damaging the electronic devices.

[0102] It is worth noting that the smart sample container 8200 can be applied to the agricultural sample packaging device 110 or 310. Therefore, it should be understood that any reference to the initial sample container 200 herein can also be interpreted as a reference to the smart sample container 8200 as a replacement.

[0103] The funnel 133 of the compactor 130 may be hingedly coupled to the equipment support frame 111 by a hinge mechanism 135 including a horizontally oriented hinge pin 135a defining a pivot axis PA (see, e.g., Figure 4 , 18 -19 and 26). In the illustrated embodiment, the pivot axis is oriented transversely relative to the vertical centerline CL2 of the compactor 130. As shown, a hinge pin 135a pivotally couples the rear top portion of the funnel 133 to the support frame 111 of the soil sample packaging device 110 for pivotal movement relative to the compactor feed tube 132.

[0104] The loading funnel 133 of the compactor 130 can be pivotally moved between the following positions: (1) an inward position in which the rear lower portion of the funnel abuts against the front portion of the compactor feed tube 132, thereby surrounding the front loading port 132b of the tube; and (2) an outward position in which the lower portion of the funnel is disengaged from the tube. In the inward position, the funnel discharge window 133a cooperates with the front loading port 132b of the tube to load the ground soil sample material into the tube. When the funnel is in the inward position, the sealing collar 133d of the funnel 133 also abuts against the compactor feed tube to form a seal therebetween. In the outward position of the funnel 133, the window 133a and the lower portion of the tube are spaced apart from the loading port and the tube. In one embodiment, the diameter of the compactor feed tube 132 is no larger than the diameter of the sample container 200.

[0105] The sample container turntable 140 is rotatably mounted on the support frame 111. In one embodiment, Fig.18 and Fig.24As best shown, the turntable 140 generally includes: a rotating disk assembly, the rotating disk assembly includes an upper disk 141 and a lower disk 142 vertically spaced apart therefrom; and a rotation drive mechanism 143. The rotation drive mechanism is supported by the equipment frame 111. The lower disk 142 is located proximal to the upper disk 141, but is vertically spaced apart from the upper disk 141 by a plurality of spacer rods 144 coupled between the upper disk and the lower disk. The spacer rods 144 fixedly couple the upper disk 141 and the lower disk 142 together so that the upper disk and the lower disk rotate synchronously. Each disk 141, 142 defines opposing major surfaces, and the major surfaces of the two disks can all be parallel to each other, as shown in one non-limiting embodiment. The lower disk 142 is rotatably supported by a rotation bearing 145 mounted on the base plate 112 of the support frame. The rotating disk assembly is mounted proximal to the base plate 112 and is located between the base plate and the intermediate platform 112. The upper disk and the lower disk are circular in shape and can be made of suitable metal or plastic materials.

[0106] The turntable 140 includes a sleeve-shaped sample container holder 146, which defines a receiver 146a open upward and downward, and the receiver is configured to removably receive a single sample container 200. In one embodiment, the holder 146 has a hollow tubular shape in one configuration, and its cross-sectional area is configured to hold only a single sample container. When the container is loaded into the holder, the bottom end of the container is supported by the base plate 112 of the support frame 111 and slidably engages the base plate 112. As further described herein, during the soil sample packaging operation, when the turntable 140 rotates through various positions, the container 200 slides along the base plate 112 in a circular travel path. The upper portion of the sample container can protrude upward from the top end of the container holder 146, as shown. In one embodiment, the holder 146 can be fixedly connected to the lower plate 142 of the turntable 140, such as via threaded fasteners or welding as some fixed examples.

[0107] In one embodiment, the upper disk 141 of the turntable 140 may include a semicircular container feed cutout 147 that may be coaxially aligned with the receiver 146a of the container holder 146. Thus, the cutout 147 coincides with the position of the container holder 146 and remains fixed in this vertical alignment. The container holder 146 is located below the turntable upper disk 141 and its cutout 147 and may be positioned below the bottom end of the compactor feed tube 132 via rotation of the turntable 140 for filling the container 200, as further described herein.

[0108] To load a new empty sample container 200 into the container holding portion of the turntable, the holder 146 and the cutout are rotated below the bottom end of the tubular hollow body of the vertical container box 150. As the turntable rotates through various positions, the lowermost container 200 in the container box is slidably engaged with and supported by the secure peripheral portions of the upper disk 141 on both sides of the feed cutout 147, as further described herein. When the cutout and receiver 146a of the container holder 146 reach the rotated position of the turntable 140 and below the lowermost container in the box 150, the container automatically falls downward into the holder by gravity.

[0109] Once the container has been loaded into the turret container holder 146, the turret 140 may be rotated until the top end of the sample container 200 carried by the turret is rotated to a position below and adjacent to the bottom end of the compactor feed tube 132 for loading the ground soil sample material into the container (see, e.g., Figure 4 , Figure 8 and Fig.18 ) and compact the sample in the container.

[0110] The rotational drive mechanism 143 of the turntable 140 can be vertically oriented and elongated. In one embodiment, the drive mechanism includes an electric motor 143a and a drive shaft 143b, which can have any suitable configuration and construction. The motor can be positioned above the turntable disk assembly as shown; however, in other embodiments, the motor can be mounted to the underside of the base plate 112 of the support frame 111 and driven from below rather than from the top. The drive mechanism 143 defines a vertical drive axis DA that is laterally offset but parallel to the vertical centerline CL1 of the grinder 120 and the vertical centerline CL2 of the compactor 130, respectively. In one embodiment, the turntable 140 and the drive mechanism 143 can be located in a central area of ​​the apparatus and the base plate 112 (e.g., see Figure 24-25 ).

[0111] The sample packaging device 110 also includes a container box 150 configured to hold a plurality of empty sample containers 200. In one embodiment, the container box 150 may include a vertically elongated and oriented tubular body or tube 151 including an open top end 151a and an open bottom end 151b (see, for example, Figure 6 and Fig.18). The box tube is configured to hold containers 200 stacked vertically in an end-to-end relationship for selectively distributing and feeding the containers to the rotating container turntable 140 in a timed sequence during a packaging operation, as further described herein. The containers 200 are loaded directly into the container holding portion 146 of the turntable 140 from the bottom end 151b of the box in a vertically oriented position. The container box 150 temporarily stores empty containers for filling with compacted ground soil sample material. The empty containers can be manually loaded into the container box through the top end 151a, or alternatively, in other contemplated embodiments, the empty containers can be automatically loaded into the container box by an automatic loading mechanism. The container box 150 is fixedly mounted to the support frame 111 above the turntable (for example, in one embodiment, the upper platform and the middle platform 113, 114, as Fig.18 best shown).

[0112] It is worth noting that other configurations of the container box may be provided and are not limiting of the present invention. For example, Fig.32 Shown is an alternative embodiment, the alternative embodiment comprises a rotating sample container box 150A, it comprises a chassis 150D, the chassis supports a plurality of vertically oriented box tubes 150B, each of the box tubes keeps the vertically stacked empty container 200 with an end-to-end relationship, for being distributed to a turntable 140 and a container holder 146 thereof. The rotating box can be installed above the turntable 140 on the framework 111, or it can be installed on an independent box support frame. Each pipe in the vertical pipe 150G can be rotated to the container distribution position and the station identical with the previously described single tube container box 150 around the axis of rotation RA of the box. The distribution function of the pipe is identical with the single box. In any embodiment, container box 150 or container box 150A can be detachable. This will allow more containers 200 to be provided quickly, without the need to load container box 150 or container box 150A in use. In another embodiment, the empty container box 150 or the empty container box 150A may be configured to collect filled sample containers 200 for transport to a laboratory or a handling system of a laboratory for further processing.

[0113] In the non-limiting illustrated embodiment, the agricultural sample container 200 may have configurations and custom features suitable for use with the packaging device 110 and additional equipment to load an agricultural sample (e.g., a soil sample or other) into the container and subsequently unload the compacted sample material (not shown) from the container. Thus, the sample container 200 is distinguished from a plain tube that may have a common capped end.

[0114] Sample container 200 (in Fig.31201) has an elongated cylindrical hollow tubular body 202 forming a container wall and terminates at a top end 203a and an opposite bottom end 203b, which are closed and sealed by a pair of circular end caps 204. The body defines an internal space 206a for holding sample material. The cover 204 can be made of metal or non-metallic (e.g., plastic or other) material. In one embodiment, the container body and the cover 204 are formed of plastic. One end cap 204a can be a fixed or stationary cover that is configured to be removably connected to the top end 203a of the container 201. The top end cap 204a is a flexible / deformable snap-on cover formed of a polymer material that snaps onto the container 200 and is retained by a friction snap fit. The top end cap 204a is circular and includes a circumferential groove 204c that is configured to be grasped by the container opener 160, as further described herein.

[0115] The other remaining end cap 204 may be a removable push-on end cap 204b that is slidably received within the container 200 adjacent the bottom end 203b of the tubular body of the container. During the sample container filling operation, the push-on cap 204b may be slidably moved from one end 203b of the tube toward the other end 203a, and vice versa.

[0116] A unique aspect of the sample container 200 is a push-open lid 204b that includes a plurality of downwardly and outwardly projecting spring-acting retaining projections 205 configured to slidably engage the inner wall of the sample container 200. The retaining projections 205 may be mounted separately to the periphery and peripheral edge of the lid 204b, or may be integrally formed as part of a single unitary lid structure as shown herein. In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the push-open lid 204b and retaining projections 205 may be a one-piece, unitary structure made of a suitable semi-rigid but elastically deformable plastic material (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.) having elastic memory. However, in other embodiments, the retaining projections 205 may be a separate element formed of a spring metal or elastically deformable plastic fixed to the lid 204b.

[0117] In one embodiment, the retaining projections 205 may each have a slightly square or U-shaped configuration as shown; however, retaining projections of other shapes may be used and the shape does not limit the present invention. This allows the push-to-pop cover 204b to present a slightly castellated shape. The free end 205a of the retaining projection may be a tab formed by flaring outward, which may reliably engage with the arc-shaped curved and elongated retaining slot 202c of the sample container 200 having a corresponding complementary configuration. This allows the projection 205 to have a slightly L-shaped configuration, wherein the projection looks like a leg with an outwardly turned end extending downward from the cover 204b. The slots 202c are arranged transversely in the tubular sample body perpendicular to its cylindrical wall. The projections 205 may be spaced apart circumferentially along the entire circumference and periphery of the push-to-pop cover 204b as shown. In a non-limiting embodiment, six retaining projections 205 may be provided; however, fewer or more projections may also be provided.

[0118] The circumferentially elongated retention slot 202c formed in the cylindrical wall 202a of the sample container 200 can selectively engage with the retention projection 205a to lock the push-type cover 204b to the sample container or unlock it from the sample container according to the position of the cover inside the container. Therefore, the diameter of the cover 204b is set to a size to fully insert the inner space of the sample container, while the size of the cover 204a is larger for fixing to the top of the container. In one embodiment, the slot 202c can be a through slot extending through the container wall completely. Keep the slot 202c arranged on the near side of the bottom 203b of the sample container 200 and slightly spaced inward from the end of the container. The opposite end of the container receives a removable top end cover 204a.

[0119] In other possible embodiments, if the push-on cap function is not required, the lower cap 204b of the container 200 may instead be a snap-on end cap similar to the upper end cap 204a previously described herein.

[0120] The sample container 200 can be made of plastic, metal or other suitable materials. In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the container body and the lids 204a, 204b are made of a suitable plastic material (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, etc.). The elongated container body can be opaque or transparent; the latter allows personnel to visually inspect the sample. Although the container 200 is disclosed as having a cylindrical shape, other shapes and forms of sample containers may also be used in other possible embodiments.

[0121] Main references Figure 28-30The sample packaging device 110 also includes a movable decapper 160, which is a mechanism operable to remove a removable top end cap 204a from the top end 203a of the sample container 200. The decapper can be mounted to the underside of the middle platform 114 of the device support frame 111 so that when the container is positioned in the turntable container holding portion 146, the turntable 140 can rotatably position the top end cap 203a of the container 200 and engage the top end cap 203a of the container 200 with the decapper. The decapper 160 is located at a fixed position on the support frame, which can be referred to as a decapper station, and is moved by rotating the turntable 140 (e.g., see Figure 24 to Figure 25 ) is accessible in one rotational position of the container holding portion 146 of the turntable. The decapping station can be represented by a pair of spaced-apart guide blocks 164 fixedly mounted to the base plate 112 of the equipment support frame 111. For reference, Figure 24-25 The top cap 204a is shown schematically (indicated by cross-hatching) positioned at the decapper 160 in a position in which it is retained by the decapper as a soil sample is filled and compacted in a container 200, which is shown in a sample filling and compacting station.

[0122] The lower portion of the sample container 200 protruding below the bottom edge 146a of the container holding portion 146 of the turntable 140 slides around on the base plate 112, and the lower portion is received between and positioned within the guide blocks 164 to perform the container decapping operation (see, for example, Figure 29-30 ). The bottom edge 146a of the retainer terminates above the top of the guide block 164 and may have a diameter wider than the spacing between the guide blocks. The guide blocks ensure that the container 200 is properly positioned to enter the engagement recess 162 of the decapper 160. Notably, the guide block 164 also includes an inwardly protruding track 146a that is configured to slidably engage a circumferential restriction groove 146b formed on the exterior of the lower body of the sample container (see, for example, Fig.28 and Figure 30-31 ). When the top cover 204a of the container is lifted vertically by the opener 160, the track and groove restrain the container 200 from being lifted, as further described herein.

[0123] Although the position of the decapper 160 relative to the frame 111 is fixed, the decapper may be vertically movable during a container decapping operation, as further described herein.

[0124] The decapper 160 includes a flat and widened C-shaped body, which can be formed by at least one metal plate 161. The decapper plate 161 defines a concave engagement recess 162, which faces the top end cover 204a of the container 200 when positioned in the decapper station. The concave engagement recess 162 has a semicircular shape, which is configured to complement the radius of curvature of the circular container end cover 204a. The decapper 160 is configured to slidably receive and engage the container top end cover 204a in the concave engagement recess 162. A pair of opposing inwardly facing edges of the decapper 160 formed in the concave engagement recess 162 can engage with a complementary circumferential groove 204c formed in the container top end cover 204a (such as Fig.29 and Fig.31 16). A plastic resilient flexible plastic leaf spring 165 may be provided and mounted within a female engagement recess 162 on the opener plate 161 which assists in forming a positive engagement with the slot 204c to lock the end cap 204a to the opener.

[0125] The cap opener 160 includes at least one linear actuator, preferably a pair of linear actuators 163, which are operably connected to the C-shaped body 161 of the cap opener. This pair of actuators provides a dynamically balanced lifting force for the cap opener and ensures smooth operation. The actuator 163 can be installed on the top surface of the intermediate platform 114 of the equipment support frame 112 above the cap opener body 161. The actuator 163 can be any suitable commercially available electric, pneumatic or hydraulic linear action actuator. In one embodiment, an electric linear rod actuator can be used, such as the electric linear rod actuator that can be obtained from Actuonix MotionDevices in Vancouver, Canada. The actuator 163 moves the cap opener 160 between the downward position and the upward position, to first engage the top end cover 204a, and then pull out the snap-on cover from the container. In one embodiment, the end cap 204a is formed by a plastic material, and the plastic material has the desired elastic deformation characteristics necessary for forming a snap fit with the top end 203a of the sample container tubular body.

[0126] In operation, when the decapper 160 is in its downward position and the empty covered container is positioned in the turntable container holder 146, the turntable 140 is rotated to insert the top end cap 204a of the container into the open engagement recess 162 of the decapper body 161, which engages the end cap. The actuator 163 is then actuated to lift and raise the decapper body 161 vertically parallel to the vertical axis VA of the container packaging device 110. This action "pops" the end cap 204a from the container 200, which can then be rotated by the turntable 140 toward the compactor 130 to fill and compact the ground soil sample material into the container, as further described herein. The end cap remains detachably connected to the decapper 160.

[0127] After the compacted soil sample is loaded into the sample container 200, the turntable can rotate the container back to the decapper 160 so that the top end cap 204a can be reconnected to the container by lowering the C-shaped decapper body 161 back down with the cap still engaged.

[0128] The sample packaging device 110 also includes an RFID reader / writer 170. The RFID reader / writer is configured and operable to read a unique RFID tag 171 identifier associated with each sample container 200. The RFID reader / writer is further configured and operable to write a unique GPS coordinate associated with the location where the soil sample was collected in the farmland to the RFID tag after the soil sample is packaged, as further described herein. Other relevant information related to the sample may also be written to the tag. The RFID reader / writer can be mounted at a position on the lower side of the base plate 112 of the device support frame 111, and the container holding portion 146 of the turntable 140 rotates and passes through the position to read the RFID tag 171 (such as the RFID tag 171 on the push-down cover 204b of the container). Fig.31 1). The location of the RFID reader / writer on the support frame substrate 112 represents an RFID station. Any suitable commercially available RFID reader / writer may be used, which is configured by associated software to provide the intended functionality for use.

[0129] The RFID reader / writer 170 is operably and communicatively linked to the control system 2800; specifically Figure 2 A programmable machine controller 2811 of an agricultural sample packaging system machine network 2810 is shown. Any suitable commercially available RFID reader / writer may be used.

[0130] The RFID reader / writer 170 can also be used to detect the presence of the sample container 200. If the RFID reader / writer 170 is able to read and / or write the RFID tag 171, then it can be determined that the sample container 200 is present.

[0131] Figure 228 is a high-level system block diagram showing a control system 2800 including a programmable processor-based machine controller 2811 and a main system controller 2820 referenced herein. The main system controller 2820 may include one or more processors, non-transitory tangible computer-readable media, programmable input / output peripherals, and all other necessary electronic accessories typically associated with a full-function processor-based controller. The control system 2800 including the controller 2820 is operably and communicatively linked to the various soil sample processing and analysis systems and devices described elsewhere herein via suitable wired or wireless communication links, thereby controlling the operation of these systems and devices in a fully integrated and orderly manner.

[0132] refer to Figure 2 , a control system 2800 including a programmable main system controller 2820 and / or a local machine controller 2811 can be mounted on a translatable self-propelled or towing vehicle 2802 (e.g., a tractor, trailer, combine harvester, truck, all-terrain vehicle, etc.), including those disclosed in U.S. application US3 / 260772 filed on August 31, 2021; U.S. application US63 / 260776 filed on August 31, 2021; and U.S. application US63 / 260777 filed on August 31, 2021. The vehicle can be the same vehicle that collects agricultural samples (such as soil samples). In other embodiments, the controller can be part of a fixed workstation or facility. The sampling vehicle 2802 and its boundaries are represented by Figure 2 (In the illustrated embodiment, those devices within the dashed boxes are installed on the sampling vehicle.) The packaging equipment 110 can be installed on the same vehicle 2802 or fixed workstation as the main system controller 2820, or separately from the main system controller 2820. The local machine controller 2811 is installed on the packaging equipment 110.

[0133] The master control system 2800 typically includes a programmable controller 2820, a non-transitory tangible computer or machine accessible and readable medium (such as memory 2805), and a network interface 2815. The computer or machine accessible and readable medium may include any suitable volatile memory and non-volatile memory or devices operably and communicatively coupled to one or more processors. Any suitable combination and type of volatile or non-volatile memory may be used, including, by way of example, but not limited to, random access memory (RAM) and its various types, read-only memory (ROM) and its various types, hard disks, solid-state drives, flash memory, or other memory and devices that can be written to and / or read by a processor operably connected to the medium.

[0134] Both volatile memory and non-volatile memory can be used to store program instructions or software. In one embodiment, a non-transitory medium (e.g., memory 2805) accessible and readable by a computer or machine contains executable computer program instructions that, when executed by the system controller 2820, cause the system to perform the operations or methods of the present disclosure, including measuring the characteristics and testing of soil and plant samples. Although the non-transitory medium (e.g., memory 2805) accessible and readable by a computer is shown as a single medium in the exemplary embodiment, the term should be considered to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., centralized or distributed databases and / or associated caches and servers) storing one or more control logic or instruction sets. The term "computer-accessible and readable non-transitory medium" should also be considered to include any medium capable of storing, encoding or carrying an instruction set that is used to be executed by a machine and causes the machine to perform any one or more methods of the present disclosure. Therefore, the term "machine-accessible and readable non-transitory medium" should also be considered to include, but is not limited to, solid-state memory, optical and magnetic media, and carrier signals.

[0135] The network interface 2815 can be configured to communicate with soil or other bulk agricultural material collection systems on vehicles that retrieve samples (e.g., soil, etc.) from agricultural fields and post-sample packaging / containerization systems (such as sample slurry preparation, processing, and chemical analysis systems and devices) (in Figure 2 2804 and 2805) communications collectively represented by box 2803.

[0136] The machine network 2810 of the agricultural sample packaging system 100 may include at least one local microprocessor-based machine controller 2811 and a plurality of different types of sensors 2812. The sensor 2812 may be operably and communicatively linked to the local machine controller 2811 and optionally to the system controller 2820 through the controller 2811; each controller is configured to receive data / signals from the sensor and send data / signals to the sensor. In some embodiments, the packaging device 110 with the local machine controller 2811 installed may be a vehicle that travels through the farmland with the bulk sample collection system, and the main system controller 2820 may be located on a separate vehicle or a fixed location at a remote location.

[0137] The sensors 2812 may include the full sample tube sensor 220 described previously herein and other linear position or state sensors 2812a that are integrated with the cap actuator 160, the compacting piston-plunger 150, the sample transfer piston-plunger 155, the sampling blade mechanism actuator 135, and the cleaning blade mechanism 140 actuator 145 to inform the system controller 2820 of the position or state of these devices (e.g., piston-plunger up or down, sample and cleaning blade mechanisms inserted into or withdrawn from the mold block 124, etc.). The state sensors may also include accelerometers to provide feedback to the system controller 2820 that the devices of the packaging system are physically moving in response to actions / motions initiated by control signals from the controller (e.g., sample and cleaning blade mechanisms inserted / withdrawn, piston-plunger up / down, etc.). If the sample packaging system is installed on a vehicle that travels through the field, a geolocation tracking sensor such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) may also be included. Thus, the control system knows the operating status, position, and condition of at least each major component of the agricultural sample packaging system 100 under its control at any given moment. The machine network controller 2811 and / or the system controller 2820 uses this information to automatically control the entire agricultural sample packaging operation of the packaging equipment 110 via the machine network 2810 and detect if an operational failure of the packaging equipment has occurred. This is particularly useful if the packaging equipment 110 is controlled from a remote location via a communicatively linked laptop, tablet, mobile phone, etc. In addition, if Figure 2 As shown, if the sample collection system equipment is used with the packaging equipment 110 when the sample is collected and then packaged, the GPS sensor 2854 communicatively linked to the packaging machine network 2810 allows the machine controller 2811 and / or the system controller 2820 to accurately locate the location where the soil sample is collected in the field. The RFID tag associated with each packaged sample allows the associated GPS geolocation information of each sample to be tracked.

[0138] In one embodiment, a local machine controller 2811, which may be mounted on the packaging device 110, controls the operation of the agricultural sample packaging system 100 in cooperation with the main system controller 2820. In other embodiments, the local machine controller 2811 may independently control the operation of the packaging device 110 via pre-programmed control logic / instructions if the controller is not linked to the main system controller 2820, or is still communicatively coupled to the main system controller for data / information exchange and programming, but not for the purpose of directly controlling sample packaging system components.

[0139] The local machine controller 2811 includes all common accessories and supporting electronics (eg, memory, power supply, etc.) similar to the main system controller 2820 for forming a normal fully functional microprocessor based control system configured to control the operation of the packaging apparatus 110 .

[0140] Continue to refer Figure 2 , the RFID reader / writer 170 previously described herein mounted on the packaging equipment 110 is operably and communicatively coupled to the packaging system machine network 2810 via a communication link 2852. The communication link 2852 can be wired or wireless. In one embodiment, when the end cap 204a, which can contain a tag, is positioned near the RFID reader / writer 170 on the base plate 112 of the packaging equipment support frame 111 via the rotation of the turntable 140 after the empty container 200 is loaded onto the turntable, the unique RFID tag 171 associated with each collected and packaged agricultural sample in the sample tube 202 can be automatically scanned and read. In some embodiments, when the packaging equipment 110, which can be mounted on the sampling vehicle 2802, is located at a location where soil samples are collected from the farmland, the tag can be read. This ensures that the correct geographic location (GPS coordinates) is associated with each sample. The unique sample ID information is transmitted to the packaging system machine controller 2811, which can in turn share the information with the main system controller 2820. The unique RFID tag associated with each sample tube 202 and its sample contents allows the sample to be tracked from initial packaging, other temporary placement and processing of the sample to the chemical system, and final chemical analysis. By using the GPS information collected for each sample, which identifies the exact location in the field where the sample was collected, the chemical analysis results of the analytes of interest can be easily associated with a specific location or area in the field to determine the soil amendments needed there.

[0141] The packaging system 100 may be controlled locally by a machine controller 2811, which in turn is controlled and programmed by a personal electronic device (PED) 2851 having an onboard microprocessor, memory, power supply, and all other common auxiliary devices and components associated with such a device. Such personal electronic devices 2851 may include, for example, but not limited to, tablet computers, laptops, notebooks, cell phones, and other similar devices onboard the vehicle 2802. The personal electronic device 2851 serves as a user interface and input device that initiates automated operation of the agricultural sample packaging system 100 and packaging equipment 110 via the machine controller 2811. For this purpose, the personal electronic device 2851 may have a graphical user interface such as a touch screen. The personal electronic device 2851 is operably and communicatively coupled to the packaging system machine network 2810 via a communication link 2853, which may be wired or wireless.

[0142] It is worth noting that in embodiments where the entire agricultural sampling collection, packaging, and chemical analysis system is mounted on a single field vehicle 2802 for in-situ analysis of samples, the agricultural sample packaging system 100 may be controlled by a main system controller 2820 instead of a separate machine controller 2811. In this case, the array of packaging system sensors 2812 may communicate directly with the system controller 2820.

[0143] The network interface 2815 can be configured for wired and / or wireless two-way communication, and can include at least one of a GPS transceiver, a WLAN transceiver (e.g., WiFi), an infrared transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, Ethernet, near field communication, or other suitable communication interfaces and protocols for communicating with other devices and systems including the agricultural sample packaging system 100. The network interface 2815 can be connected to the control system 2800 (e.g., Figure 2 ), machine network 2810, or elsewhere. The I / O (input / output) port 2829 (e.g., a diagnostic / on-board diagnostic (OBD) port) of the control system 2800 can communicate with another data processing system or device (e.g., a display device, a sensor, etc.).

[0144] The programmable controller 2820 may include one or more microprocessors, processors, system on chip (integrated circuits), one or more microcontrollers, or a combination thereof. The processing system includes processing logic 2826 for executing software instructions of one or more programs and a communication module or unit 2828 (e.g., transmitter, transceiver) for transmitting and receiving communications to and from the machine network 2810 of the sampling machine or vehicle 2802 via a direct communication link 2831 or a network interface 2815. The communication unit 2828 may be integrated with the control system 2800 (e.g., controller 2820) or separate from the controller. In one embodiment, the communication unit 2828 may be in operable data communication with the machine / vehicle network 2810 via a diagnostic / OBD port of an I / O port 2829.

[0145] Programmable processing logic or instructions 2826 of the control system 2800 directing the operation of a system controller 2820 including one or more processors may process communications (i.e., data / information) received from the agricultural sample packaging system 100 (including, but not limited to, sensors associated with the status and operation of the packaging equipment 110 and its components under the control of the programmable system controller 2820) via the communication unit 2828 or the network interface 2815. The memory 2805 of the control system 2800 is configured for pre-programming variables or set point / baseline values, storing collected data, and computer instructions or programs (e.g., software 2806) for execution to control the operation of the controller 2820, which in turn controls the operation of the packaging equipment 110 and the sample processing / analysis device 2803. The memory 2805 may store, for example, software components (such as testing software for soil and vegetation sample analysis) for performing operations of the present disclosure, or any other software applications or modules, images 2808 (e.g., acquired crop images), alarms, maps, etc. System 2800 may also include an audio input / output subsystem (not shown) that may include a microphone and speaker for use, for example, in receiving and sending voice commands or for user authentication or authorization (eg, biometrics).

[0146] In some embodiments of the agricultural sample packaging system 100, it may also preferably include a sensing system 2812, which includes a plurality of different types of sensors or sensor arrays useful and associated with packaging and tracking soil samples. The sensing system and its sensors communicate data and control with the packaging system machine controller 2811 and / or the main system controller 2820. Other sensors in communication with the system controller 2820 may be associated with the operation of the sample collection device 8002 and its components, including various equipment position or orientation sensors, proximity sensors, etc. The agricultural material sample packaging system combined with the sensing system can provide fully automated control of the sample collection device 8002 via the packaging system machine controller 2811 and / or the main system controller 2820.

[0147] The main system controller 2820 communicates bidirectionally with the memory 2805 via a communication link 2830, with the machine or sample collection system network 2810 directly via a communication link 2831 and / or alternatively via a communication link 2837 associated with the network interface 2815, with the network interface 2815 via a communication link 2832, with the display device 2830 and an optional second display device 2825 via communication links 2834, 2835, and with the I / O port 2829 via a communication link 2836. The system controller 2820 also communicates with the soil sample processing and analysis system and device 2803 via the network interface 2815 and via the wired / wireless communication link 5752 previously described herein and / or directly as shown.

[0148] The display devices 2825 and 2830 can provide a visual user interface for a user or operator. In one embodiment, the operator can be located on a mobile vehicle traveling across a farm field, or at a remote operating location or station away from the packaging equipment 110. The display device may include a display controller with an onboard programmable microprocessor. In some embodiments, the computerized display device 2825 can therefore be a portable tablet device, a mobile phone, a laptop, a notebook or other processor substrate computing device, the computerized display device having a touch screen and / or a keyboard (software substrate or physical hardware), which acts as an input / output device and displays data (e.g., equipment status and location and other relevant operation and maintenance information) and communicates with the controller 2820. Therefore, the computerized display device 2825 receives input from the user or operator for controlling the packaging equipment 110.

[0149] A method or process for packaging an agricultural sample will now be described. In one embodiment, the sample may be a soil sample, which, for convenience and not limitation, will be used as the basis for describing the operation of the agricultural sample packaging system 100 disclosed herein. Figure 1 is a high-level process flow chart outlining the general packaging processing steps. Please refer to Figure 2-31 .

[0150] The method first deposits bulk soil sample material into a grinder 120 via a loading hopper 122. The bulk sample material may be in the form of an elongated soil core extracted from a farm field, or may be in other forms. The sample material is then ground by rotating a grinding blade 126 at a desired rate (RPM - revolutions per minute). After passing through the grinder, the ground soil sample material is deposited into a transfer vessel 118 located below.

[0151] Simultaneously with or prior to the aforementioned grinding operation, an empty sample container 200 with a top end cap 204a is loaded into the container holder 146 of the turntable 140 in the manner described herein before (i.e., the container holder 146 and the container feed cutout 147 located below the vertical container magazine 150 are rotated). This may be referred to as the empty container pick-up station of the turntable.

[0152] In the next step, the turntable 140 can be rotated to position the container 200 at least partially above the RFID reader / writer 170. In some cases, the RFID reader / writer can preferably be provided with sufficient proximity and sensitivity to read the RFID tag 171 of the container near the bottom of the container (e.g., on the push cap 204b or elsewhere) without rotating the container out of the empty container picking station. In either case, the unique container tag ID (numbers and / or letters) is read by the RFID reader / writer 170 and can be communicated to the control system controller 2811 and / or 2820.

[0153] The turntable 140 may then be rotated to the decapper 160 where the top end cap 204a is removed from the empty container 200 and temporarily retained while the container is subsequently filled.

[0154] Next, the turntable 140 may be rotated to position the empty sample container 200 (now open at the top end) at the container filling and compacting station below the compactor 130 (see, e.g., Figure 3-8 , Figure 17-19 and Fig.24 ). The container is now ready to be filled.

[0155] Next, the pivotable compactor loading hopper 133 is in an inward position on the compactor 130 (see, e.g. Fig.18 ), the ground soil sample can be manually dumped from the sample transfer vessel 118 into the funnel 133. The ground sample material flows from the funnel under gravity into the compactor feed tube 132 and into the empty container 200 below. The ground sample material, still loosely packed, fills the container and preferably fills the portion of the feed tube above the top of the container to at least the bottom edge 132c of the tube front loading port 132b, or generally above this portion. During the compaction process, excess or excessive amount / volume of sample material will be pressed down into the sample container 200.

[0156] After the container 200 and portions of the feed tube 132 are filled with loosely packed ground sample material as described above, the compactor loading funnel 133 can be pivotally moved to its outward position to disengage the funnel from the front loading port 132b of the compactor feed tube 132 (see, e.g., Fig.19). Excess ground sample material above the bottom edge 132c of the compactor front loading port 132b will fall out of and away from the feed tube 132 without the support of the funnel 133. At least one pour opening 132d through the plate of the base plate 112 adjacent to the feed tube can be provided to dump excess sample material through the pour opening back into the field or waste bin. Two pour openings are shown. The soil line of the loosely packed soil sample material remaining in the feed tube 132 will be at substantially the same horizontal line as the bottom edge 132c of the feed tube front loading port 132b. This completes the container filling step.

[0157] Next, in a compaction step, the piston drive mechanism 134 is actuated, which actuates the vertically movable plunger 131. The compaction plunger moves downward through the feed tube 132 to compact the hitherto loose soil sample material in the lower portion of the feed tube (at and below the front loading port 132b) and the sample container 200. During this compaction step, the plunger 131 may move downward at least all the way to the bottom end of the feed tube 132, and optionally in some embodiments, may enter the top portion of the container. After the soil sample material in the container is compacted, the plunger is vertically withdrawn and moved upward back to at least the top of the feed tube 132 in preparation for the next sample filling and compaction cycle. If one downward compaction movement cycle of the plunger 131 is not sufficient to completely compact the soil sample material in the container, multiple reciprocating upward / downward strokes may be used until the soil is thoroughly compacted.

[0158] In the next step, the turntable 140 may be rotated to position the filled and compacted sample container 200 (still with an open top) back to the RFID reader / writer 170. GPS data coordinates associated with the sample collection location in the field are written to the RFID tag 171 of the container.

[0159] In the next re-capping step, the container 200 is then rotated back to the decapper station, where the decapper 160 reinstalls the top end cap 204a onto the container and seals the container. In some embodiments of the method or process, it is possible to write GPS data to the RFID tag 171 of the container after the re-capping step.

[0160] Next, the filled and capped sample container 200 is rotated via the turntable 140 to the filled container discharge opening 175 (see, e.g., Figure 7 and Fig.25), the filled container discharge opening is formed completely through the plate of the base plate 112 of the device support frame 111. The container falls into a collection box or other device (not shown) through the discharge opening for further processing. The discharge opening 175 can be an elongated shape as shown in the figure, or it can be other shapes as long as it is larger than the diameter of the sample container 200 to reliably discharge the filled container from the packaging device 110.

[0161] In one embodiment, the aforementioned method or process for operating the agricultural sample packaging system 100 can be fully or partially automatically implemented and controlled by a control system controller, which includes a programmable local machine controller 2811 and / or a main system controller 2820 that is communicatively coupled to the main controller. The controller 2811 and / or the controller 2820 are operably and communicatively coupled and linked to the components of the packaging device 110 previously described herein, and are programmable to execute appropriate control logic / program instructions (e.g., software) to fully or partially automatically control the operation of the entire sample packaging system 100.

[0162] In some embodiments, operation of the sample packaging device 110 may be controlled via one or more local switches or actuators (such as grinder actuator 2811a and compactor actuator 2811b (see, e.g., Figure 3 )) is at least partially manually activated, the local switches or actuators activate the controller 2811 and / or the controller 2820 to start the sample packaging operation. In one design and control scenario, these actuators can be operatively coupled to the local packaging equipment machine controller 2811 (which is in turn operatively coupled to the controller 2820, as further described herein), which when pushed or activated by the user will sequentially activate the grinder 120, the compactor 130 and the turntable 140 at the appropriate time and in the appropriate order. In another design and control scenario, the grinder actuator 2811a and the compactor actuator 2811b can be local switches, which when manually pushed or activated by the user respectively start the grinding and compacting operations. In this case, activating the grinder actuator turns on the grinder to grind the bulk sample material, while deactivating the actuator stops the grinder. The same applies to the operation of the compactor actuator 2811b and the compactor 130. In this case, the controllers 2811 and / or 2820 described herein can monitor the grinding and compacting operations.

[0163] In some embodiments, manual activation of the compactor actuator 2811b may automatically perform all steps of the previously described process or method associated with the operation of the turntable 140 and the compactor 130, such as dispensing of empty sample containers 200 onto the turntable, uncapping, loading and compacting of ground soil sample material into the container, recapping the container, RFID read and write operations, and discharge of the filled and sealed container from the packaging device 110. When the grinder actuator 2811a or the compactor actuator 2811b is actuated via the local switch, writing of GPS coordinates to the RFID tag 171 may be performed automatically. When the grinder actuator 2811a or the compactor actuator 2811b is activated, a signal is sent to the RFID reader / writer 170 via the controller 2811 and / or 2820 to write the GPS coordinates to the RFID tag 171. The sample packaging device 110 will stop at the sample location in the field for obtaining samples from the field and processing by the sample packaging device 110. Automatically writing the GPS coordinates when the grinder actuator 2811a or the compactor actuator 2811b is actuated eliminates the need to remember to write the GPS coordinates separately.

[0164] Fig.33 An alternative embodiment of the sample packaging apparatus 110 is shown in which the grinder 120 is mounted directly above the loading hopper 133 of the compactor 130. This allows the ground soil sample material to fall directly into the hopper 133 by gravity, thereby advantageously eliminating the need to manually transfer the soil from the grinding step to the tube filling and compacting steps using the previously described transfer vessel 118. The grinder 120 can be supported from the apparatus support frame 111 and / or the compactor feed tube 132 independently of the compactor loading hopper 133 so as not to interfere with the pivoting movement of the articulated hopper as previously described herein. The foregoing description and sequence of the exemplary process / method for packaging sample material remains unchanged.

[0165] In one embodiment, Fig.33 The packaging device may also include a slidably movable gate 180 located at the interface or gap between the top end of the compactor loading hopper 133 and the bottom end of the grinder housing 121, from which the ground sample material is discharged. The purpose of the gate is to hold back the soil after it passes through the grinder. This helps to mix the soil, thereby ensuring that the soil mixture of the sample is uniform.

[0166] exist Figures 38 to 60 In another embodiment shown, an alternative sample container system 300 is shown. Sample container system 300 is similar to sample container system 100, but with some modifications as described below. Although these modifications are shown for sample container system 300, these modifications can also be used for sample container system 100.

[0167] like Figure 41-42 and Figure 54-56 As shown, the grinder 120 of the soil sample packaging device 310 is modified so that the grinding blade 326 carried by the vertical drive shaft 325 of the present grinding mechanism is located in the transfer vessel 118 instead of in the grinding chamber 121. In the present device 310, the cylindrical grinding chamber 121 of the sample packaging device 110 is replaced by a grinder housing 321, in which no active grinding of the sample material occurs. The lower portion of the grinder housing 321 can be cylindrical in configuration. In one embodiment as shown, the grinding blade 326 can be disposed on the bottom end of the grinder drive shaft 325.

[0168] In one embodiment, the drive shaft 325 protrudes downwardly below the bottom end of the grinder housing 321 defining the material transfer chamber 321a, so that the grinding blade 326 can be disposed inside the transfer vessel 118 to grind the sample material in the transfer vessel. In one embodiment, the blade 326 can be preferably positioned adjacent to the open top end of the transfer vessel 118, but still below the top end of the transfer vessel (e.g., see Fig.41 and Fig.52 ).

[0169] It has been found that the interaction between the grinding blade 126 and the grinding chamber 121 in the prior art sample packaging device 110 described herein may disadvantageously form an accumulation (i.e., buildup) of finely ground sample material on the walls of the grinding chamber 121 when the blade is positioned within the chamber rather than in the material transfer vessel 118, which makes cleaning the grinding chamber difficult because the grinding chamber is part of the fixed grinder housing in the prior art sample packaging device 110. Therefore, as the soil falls into the transfer vessel 118 through the blade 326 located just inside the top of the transfer vessel 18, the sample material such as soil is now ground by the grinding blade 326 in the present sample packaging device 310. By grinding in the transfer vessel 118, it is easier to clean the transfer vessel 118 rather than the prior art grinding chamber because the transfer vessel can be easily disassembled and removed from under the grinder to load the ground soil into the compactor. Alternatively, the grinding chamber 121 of the prior art sample packaging device 110 can be made removable to allow cleaning of the grinding chamber 121 if the sample packaging device is used.

[0170] The material transfer vessel 118 is removably and slidably inserted horizontally into an appropriately sized opening 118f formed in the frame 111 below the material transfer chamber 321a and the bottom end of the grinder housing 321 defining the material transfer chamber 321a (see, for example, Fig.54 ). The frame 111 supports the material transfer vessel.

[0171] To allow the vessel to be slidably inserted under the grinding housing 321 and avoid interference with the downwardly extending blade 326, the height of the inner side wall 118a of the vessel can be shorter than the opposite outer side wall 118b to avoid interference with the grinding blade (e.g., see Fig.54 ). The two lateral sidewalls 118c extending between the inner sidewall and the outer sidewall can have a similar height as the outer sidewall 118b. Therefore, in one embodiment, the vessel 118 can have non-circular sidewalls, thereby forming a generally square or rectangular cuboid configuration, wherein each side portion includes a straight wall section (e.g., see Fig.58 ). The bottom wall 118d of the vessel 118 is closed, and the side walls may be curved at the bottom thereof to transition to the bottom wall, thereby avoiding sharp corners where the ground sample material may otherwise accumulate. Other suitable shapes of transfer vessels may be used.

[0172] By replacing the manually operated grinder actuator 2811a with a sensor 381a, actuation of the grinder 120 is modified. The sensor 381a senses the presence of the grinder cover 372, as further described herein. When the cover 372 is closed, the grinder 120 is actuated. This eliminates the need to press the grinder actuator 2811a and prevents actuation of the grinder 120 until the cover 372 is closed. The sensor 381a can be any type of sensor that senses the presence of the cover 372. Examples of the sensor 381a include, but are not limited to, an inductive sensor, a rotary encoder, and a Hall effect sensor. For example, in Fig.55 In one embodiment shown, a Hall Effect sensor may be used, comprising: a magnet, such as a magnetic plate 381a-2 mounted to the cover 372; and a sensing element 381a-1 mounted to the grinder housing 321 at a location where the magnetic plate will pass in an arcuate path when the cover is rotated to the closed, inwardly tilted position. The sensing element detects the presence and magnitude of the magnetic field generated by the magnet via the Hall Effect based on the proximity of the magnet to the sensor.

[0173] In one embodiment, the lower portion of the grinder cover 372 can be hingedly coupled to the support frame 111 of the soil sample packaging device 310 via a hinge pin 371. The cover can be in a closed, inwardly tilted position ( Fig.54 ), open outward loading position ( Fig.55 ) and an intermediate grinder actuation position therebetween ( Fig.56 ). In the closed, inwardly tilted position, the top of the cover is in battery (ie, engaged) with the front side of the grinder housing 321. The cover 372 may include an operating handle 372f for manually rotating the cover between its positions.

[0174] The cover 372 can be box-shaped having an interior depth defining an open soil cavity 373 configured to hold a working volume of soil sample material for grinding. In one embodiment, the volume capacity of the cover can be equal to or greater than the volume capacity of the transfer vessel 118. Any excess sample material (e.g., soil or other) that may overflow the vessel falls through a waste opening 118e in the device support frame below the vessel (e.g., see Fig.54 and Fig.58 ). The soil sample can be manually loaded into the cover when the cover is in the outwardly open position, which can be a horizontal position rotated 90 degrees from the closed position, or a horizontal position such as Fig.55 The rotation shown is greater than 90 degrees and slightly below the horizontal position, so that the cavity 373 is at least partially facing upward and slightly outward to facilitate loading and retaining soil in the cavity until the cover is closed. In the fully open outward loading position, when the cover 372 is rotated greater than 90 degrees, the cover 372 is located below the horizontal reference plane HR.

[0175] For ease of description, with reference to the closed position, in one embodiment, the cover 372 generally includes a horizontal top wall 372a, a vertical front wall 372b, a pair of opposing side walls 372c, and an angled feed wall 372d; all of which together define the cavity 372a. The feed wall 372 is inclined downwardly to a pivot point of the cover 372 (at Fig.49 The soil sample is directed to the rotatable blade 326 of the grinding mechanism and thereafter into the processing vessel 118. As the soil is poured from the rotating cover into the grinder 120, the soil encounters the rotating grinding blade 126, which has been actuated by the sensor 381a, and is then deposited in the vessel 118, which holds the ground soil sample.

[0176] The grinder housing 321 defines a material transfer chamber 321a in which the grinder drive shaft 325 is disposed, although no active grinding of sample material occurs in the material transfer chamber as described elsewhere. The transfer chamber 321a directs and guides the pouring of soil sample material from the cover 372 into the transfer vessel 118, but no active grinding occurs in the transfer chamber. The grinder housing 321 may include an enclosed drive compartment 321b located above the material transfer chamber 321a that houses and protects a portion of the grinder drive mechanism that supports the blade grinder drive shaft from dust (e.g., fine sample particles) generated by grinding the soil sample material inside the vessel 118 below.

[0177] The grinder drive shaft 325 may be driven directly by the electric grinder motor 124 as previously described herein, or in the present embodiment, the drive shaft 325 may be driven by a motor 124 as previously described herein. Fig.53As shown in the figure, the drive chain 335 is indirectly driven by the parts separated and connected in space of the drive mechanism 330. In one embodiment, the grinder drive mechanism 330 can include a drive pulley 332a directly fixedly connected to the motor shaft 334, a driven pulley 332b directly fixedly connected to the grinder drive shaft 325 supporting the grinding blade 326, and a flexible drive link 335 that can operably connect the drive pulley and the driven pulley. The top of the drive shaft 325 is rotatably supported by the bearing assembly 331 arranged in the drive compartment 321b. In some embodiments, as shown in the figure, the drive chain 335 can be a fiber-reinforced or non-reinforced rubber belt, or in other possible embodiments, it is a drive chain. In the latter case, a toothed drive sprocket wheel and a driven sprocket wheel can replace pulleys. In another embodiment, the grinder motor 124 can be connected to the grinder drive shaft 325 via a gear transmission. Any one of the above options can be used as a grinder drive mechanism.

[0178] In one embodiment, the grinder housing 321 also includes an upper angled wall 322a and a relative lower angled wall 322b, which are spaced apart to form an opening defining an inclined loading channel 322c. The channel 322c is communicated with the grinder cover 372 to receive and guide manually poured soil sample material from the channel downward toward the grinding blade 326 in the vessel 118. The angled feed wall 372d of the cover 372 can be further configured to open or at least partially block the channel 322c according to the rotational position of the grinder cover 372. When the cover is in an open outward position, the channel 322c is partially open, but because the cover feed wall 372d is in an upward position, the soil cannot leave the cover. When the cover is subsequently rotated to a closed inward pouring position, the channel is fully opened to pour and grind the sample material in the vessel 118.

[0179] In operation, the grinder lid 372 is first manually opened by a user and moved (rotated) to the outward loading position. Next, sample soil is manually loaded into the cavity 372a of the lid 372 to deposit a certain amount of soil in the cavity. The lid 372 is then rotated back toward the inward closed position. When the lid reaches the midway point between the inward position and the outward position (i.e., the intermediate grinder actuation position), the sensor 381a detects the presence of the lid (as previously described) and actuates the grinder to start the rotating grinding blade 126 before the soil leaves the lid and falls into the material transfer chamber 321a portion of the grinder housing 321. In one embodiment, the time point for starting the grinder can be slightly before the angled feed wall 372d reaches a substantially horizontal position relative to the horizontal reference plane HR (e.g., see Figure 56-57), to ensure that soil does not leave the cover 372 and bypass the grinding blade 126 before the grinding blade operates. When the cover 372 reaches the fully closed inward dump position, the loading chute opening is fully opened to ensure that all soil contents in the cover fall into the vessel 118 via gravity through the rotating grinding blade 326. The angled feed wall 372d of the cover 372 can be configured so that it reaches approximately the same angle relative to the horizontal reference plane HR as the fixed lower angled wall 322b of the grinder housing 321 that forms part of the loading chute 322c (see, for example, Fig.54 ).

[0180] It is worth noting that in other contemplated embodiments, the movement of the grinder cover 372 between the inward position and the outward position can be automatically achieved via a suitable cover drive mechanism (e.g., a suitable motor or electric or pneumatic actuator configured and operable to rotate the cover). The soil sample material can also be automatically loaded into the cover 372 to provide a fully automatic grinder loading operation. Providing such suitable drive components is well within the scope of those skilled in the art and does not require further elaboration.

[0181] The actuation of the compactor 130 is modified by replacing the manually operated compactor actuator 2811b with a sensor 381b. This eliminates the need to press the compactor actuator 2811b and prevents the compactor 130 from actuating until the compactor loading funnel 333 of the sample packaging device 310 is in place (e.g., in the inward position as previously described herein for the funnel 133). The funnel 333 is similar to the funnel 133 and is pivotably movable between the inward and outward positions previously described for manually loading sample material (e.g., soil in one embodiment) into the compactor 130 and dumping excess material into a waste point. In this embodiment, the compactor of the present device is actuated by moving the funnel 333 to its tilted outward position, the change in position of the funnel 333 being detected by the sensor 381b, which initiates the operation of the compactor. This causes excess soil to fall out of the funnel so that the compactor 130 is not clogged with excess soil. Examples of sensor 381b include, but are not limited to, inductive sensors, rotary encoders, and Hall effect sensors.

[0182] As the funnel 333 moves from its inward position to the outward position, excess soil dumped from the funnel 333 falls through vertically aligned dump openings 132d in both the intermediate platform 114 and the underlying horizontal partition wall 114a and can be collected in a soil waste collection tray 399 in a tray receiver 399a located at the bottom of the sample container system 300. After processing multiple samples, the soil from these samples can be combined in the tray 399 as a single soil sample to provide a comprehensive evaluation of all of these soil samples. The tray 399 can be removably mounted to the base plate 112 of the support frame 111. The waste collection tray can be slidably received in a horizontally open tray receiver 399a formed in the frame 111, adjacent to the base plate 112 and located above the base plate 112 (e.g., see Fig.52 and Fig.60 ). An interlocking detent feature may be provided, comprising a downwardly open detent recess 399b formed on the underside of the tray 399 and a matching upwardly extending detent track 399c formed on the base plate 112. The detent feature helps retain the waste tray in the receiver to counteract the effects of any vibrations caused when the agricultural sample packaging apparatus 310 is mounted on a moving vehicle that traverses undulating agricultural fields. The tray may be removed from the receiver 399a by pulling the tray horizontally outward from the receiver 399a, wherein a certain force is required to overcome the retaining force of the detent feature.

[0183] Overall reference Figure 43-47 and Figure 54-56 The compact sample container box 350 replaces the existing tubular sample container box 150 in the present agricultural sample packaging equipment 310. The sample containers 200 are stored in the sample container box 350 in a horizontal orientation or position of a vertical stack and in a side-by-side relationship (i.e., the side of one container abuts the side of the next container located above or below). This advantageously increases the sample container capacity of the box without substantially increasing its height, thereby allowing the box to fit inside the cabinet 111a of the equipment further described herein. The container box 350 can have a vertically elongated body that generally includes a box frame 400 that includes a wide bottom base 401 that can be mounted to the equipment frame 111 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1 ). Fig.51The box 350 is provided with a top mounting flange 402 at the other end of the frame, a top mounting flange 402 at the other end of the frame, and a vertical side 403 extending between the base and the top mounting flange. The box 350 is mounted above the rotatable container turntable 340 to allow the sample container 200 / 8200 to fall into the box via gravity. The top mounting flange 402 defines a top inlet opening 351 of the box and is configured to be mounted to the top frame 111 of the sample packaging device 310, for example, to the top plate 111c of the outer cabinet 111a in one embodiment. The box 350 includes an internal container feed channel 405 extending along a vertical container feed axis FX.

[0184] The sample container box 350 also includes a container feeding mechanism 360, which includes a rotatable container bracket 355 to change the sample container 200 (or optional smart container 8200) from a horizontal orientation or position in the box to a vertical orientation or position for distribution into the container turntable 140 below the base 401 of the box. The bracket 355 can be pivotally mounted to the box frame 400 via a horizontally oriented pivot pin 361. In one embodiment, the bracket 355 includes an arcuately curved container support surface 355 that engages and supports the container 200 through its cylindrical sidewall.

[0185] Notably, storing the empty sample containers 200 or 8200 in a horizontal position / orientation within the box 350 is advantageous in increasing the number of containers that can be held within the box, as compared to storing the containers in a vertical end-to-end position within the box 150 (as previously described).

[0186] The base 401 includes a discharge opening 362 that communicates with the turntable and the bracket for allowing the sample container to drop into the turntable. A plurality of upright guide members 363 are disposed on the base 401 adjacent to the discharge opening 362 and protrude upward from the base 401 to guide the inverted sample container into the turntable.

[0187] In one embodiment, the container feeding mechanism may also include a bell crank linkage 356 driven by a linear actuator 357 mounted to the box frame 400. The bell crank linkage is movably mounted to the box frame 400 and coupled to a bracket 355, which in turn is pivotally mounted to the frame 400 via a pivot pin 361. One arm 356a of the bell crank linkage 356 is coupled to a side of the bracket 355. The other arm 356b of the bell crank linkage is coupled to a sliding joint 356c, which is coupled to an operating rod 357a of the linear actuator 357 (see also Fig.55). In operation, extending the vertical operating rod of the linear actuator 357 moves the arm 356b downward, which in turn rotates the connector 356d of the bell crank linkage 356 pivotably coupled to the cartridge frame 400, thereby moving the arm 356a, which rotates the carriage 355 forward to an upright position. The bell crank linkage 356 is moved in the opposite direction by retracting the operating rod 357a into the linear actuator 357 to rotate the carriage back to a horizontal position for receiving a sample container 200 (or smart container 8200). In various embodiments, the linear actuator 357 may be electric or pneumatic.

[0188] To provide top clearance for rotating the sample container 200 or 8200 from horizontal to vertical via the bell crank linkage 356, the container box 350 may include a generally (but not completely) C-shaped offset portion 404a, such as Fig.44 and 46 404a. The biasing portion is horizontally offset from the feed axis FX and is not axially aligned with the adjacent straight line / linear upper portion 404b of the feed axis FX and the box, and the adjacent straight line / linear upper portion of the box is oppositely aligned with the feed axis FX axially. Therefore, the container feed channel 405 has a nonlinear configuration from the top to the bottom of the container box 350, which is attributed to the biasing portion 404a. In one embodiment, the lower biasing portion 404a comprises an inclined feed surface 602 positioned at the bottom, and the inclined feed surface is configured to roll the bottommost sample container 200 / 8200 onto the carriage 355 when the carriage is in the horizontal loading position. Conversely, with providing a completely vertical box and sample container stacking, the biasing portion 404a advantageously alleviates some vertical pressures applied to the bottommost container in the stacking, and this vertical pressure is due to the cumulative weight of the stacking transferred to the bottommost container. Therefore this can provide the improved loading of the bottommost container 200 / 8200 on the carriage 355, and can not cause the feeding blockage.

[0189] It is noteworthy that the offset portion 404a forms a vertical head space 404c below the offset portion to the base 401 of the container box 350. The head space 404c provides sufficient vertical height to accommodate the bottommost container 200 / 8200 in the container stack to be rotated from a horizontal position / orientation to a vertical position / orientation via the bracket 355 and then fall into the container turntable 140 below. Therefore, the container bracket 355 is rotatably disposed in the space 404a, as shown. The offset portion 404 of the box 350 also advantageously provides some additional sample container storage capacity. Even with the offset portion, the container box 350 also has a compact design, which in some embodiments can be completely enclosed in the outer cabinet 111a of the equipment support frame 111 to protect the bell crank linkage or other moving parts of the box from dust and elements. In such an embodiment, as shown, only the top access opening 351 of the box 350 can be accessed through the cabinet for loading empty sample containers into the box (e.g., see Fig.38 ). In other contemplated embodiments, the box 350 may be partially or fully exposed. The present invention is not limited to any of these box arrangements.

[0190] Fig.46 is a side cross-sectional view of a container box 350 showing the non-linear shape of the container feed channel 405 and the path followed by each sample container 200 (or smart container 8200) from the top to the bottom of the box. The containers are schematically represented by the dashed circles shown and are arbitrarily positioned in the offset portion 404a of the box for illustration purposes only.

[0191] In operation, each container 200 (or container 8200) is loaded into the top entrance opening 315 of box with horizontal position / orientation.Multiple containers can be loaded to form a container stack.Each container moves downward along the feed axis FS from the top of box 350 with a vertical linear path through the straight upper part 404b of the box.Then the container arrives at the box offset portion 404a and follows the staggered path through the box offset portion.The container first moves horizontally and enters the top (transverse to the feed axis FX) of the offset portion 404a of the box, then vertically downwards through the short straight section of the offset portion 404a of the box, and then horizontally enters the bottom of the offset portion, until it rolls onto the carriage 355 from the inclined feed surface 602 of the offset portion.Once entering the carriage, the bottommost sample container will be in line with the feed axis FX again (as shown in the figure), and can be converted into a vertical position, to be fed into the container turntable 140 via the rotatable carriage 355.

[0192] Optionally, an additional box (e.g., a secondary container box 350a) can be provided at the entrance opening 351, above the sample container box 350, to increase the number of sample containers 200 or smart containers 8200 stored in the sample container box 350. The additional box can be stacked on top of the box 350 and coupled to the entrance opening 351 (e.g., the top plate 111c of the outer cabinet 111a) located above the device box 350, at the top of the frame 111, so that the container 200 is in the box 350a. The container is fed by gravity and falls from the secondary container box 350a into the top entrance opening of the box 350. Although the container box 350 holds the container in a horizontal position and a horizontal relationship of vertical stacking (except for the offset portion 404a previously described herein), the secondary container box 350a can be held in the container in a horizontal side-by-side abutting relationship to minimize the head space required to accommodate additional boxes above the device. The box 350 a includes an inclined feed ramp 350 b that slopes toward the inlet opening 351 of the lower box 350 within the cabinet 111 a .

[0193] Before the sample container 200 is moved from the lower container box 350 in the cabinet 111a to a position in the rotatable sample container turntable 140 and then to below the compactor 130, the sample container 200 is moved to a vertical position by a rotating carriage 355 of a container feed mechanism 360, which is actuated by a bell crank linkage 356 driven by an actuator 357 coupled to the device support frame 111. After filling, the sample container 200 can be discharged through a container outlet 358 in the side of the device support frame 111 (and the cabinet 111a). This makes the design more compact. Optionally, a box can be connected to the outlet opening 358 to collect the sample container 200 to allow transportation and delivery to the analysis system described below.

[0194] Optionally, in order to ensure the correct orientation of the sample container 200 in the sample container box 350, a plurality of tabs 359 may be provided at the opening 351 (see, for example, Fig.47 ). A corresponding circumferentially extending groove or notch 359a ( Fig.34The example schematically shown on the smart sample container 8200 in the figure can engage the tab 359. This ensures that the tab 359 and the recess are aligned so that the sample container 200 or 8200 can only be inserted into the box 350 in one way (i.e., position). This in turn ensures that when the sample container is rotated to an upright position via the bracket 355, the open end of the sample container 200 is located at the top so that agricultural material (such as soil) can be filled into the compactor in one embodiment. Therefore, the same number of tabs and circumferential recesses can be provided. In one embodiment, three pairs of tabs 359 and grooves 359a can be provided. One of the recesses 359a can be used as the circumferential restriction groove 146b previously described herein to restrict the sample container 200 during the sample container uncapping operation.

[0195] The sample container box 350 can be detachably inserted and mounted into the sample container system 300 (such as the frame 111 within the cabinet 111a), thereby allowing the sample containers 200 to be quickly supplied to the sample container packaging device of the container packaging system 300.

[0196] Optionally, a sensor (such as, similar to the presence sensor 381a or 381b) may be installed at a desired location within the sample container box 350 to sense the presence of the sample container 200. Once a small number of sample containers 200 or no sample containers 200 are detected, an alarm may be sent to notify the operator that the sample container box 350 has no containers 200 or is insufficient in containers 200 so that the operator can refill the sample container box 350 to continue processing the soil sample.

[0197] In some embodiments, if an external cabinet 111a is provided, the external cabinet 111a is attached to and supported by the equipment support frame 111. Threaded fasteners, clamps or other devices can be used to removably attach the cabinet member to the frame. The cabinet 111a can be configured to enclose at least some (if not most) parts (especially electronic equipment and smaller messy parts) of the soil sample packaging device 310 to prevent dust, dirt and moisture from erosion. The cabinet 111a may include one or more openable / closable access panels 111b, which can be hingedly mounted on the cabinet or can be completely removed from the cabinet to provide access to the sample packaging device parts in the cabinet. In one embodiment, as shown in the figure, the cabinet 111a can enclose at least a portion of the grinder 120 mechanism, the compactor 130 mechanism and the primary sample container box 350.

[0198] The grinder cover 372 and the compactor hopper 333 are not enclosed within the cabinet 111a, but remain exposed and accessible from the outside for manual operation. The frame 111 and the cabinet 111a together form an independent and self-supporting soil sample packaging device 310, which can be conveniently transported as a unit and can be used in the field (e.g., on a driven or towed vehicle) or in a controlled environment (e.g., a building or other structure). The inlet opening 351 at the top of the box 350 can be accessed through the top of the cabinet 111a, and if a secondary sample container box 350a is provided, it can be mounted on the cabinet, above the inlet opening.

[0199] In some embodiments, the container turntable 140 previously described herein may be modified for use in an agricultural sample packaging device 350. The turntable 340 in this embodiment may replace the upper plate 141 and the lower plate 142 with a pair of vertically spaced arms, the pair of vertically spaced arms including an upper arm 341 and a lower arm 342. The inner end of each arm is coupled to a drive shaft 143b of a rotary drive mechanism 143. Each arm may be a semicircular container support member 341a, 342a that is horizontally elongated and includes a container holder 346, thereby replacing the existing sleeve-shaped sample container holder 146. Support members 341a, 342a are disposed on opposite outer ends of the arms and laterally support the sample container 200 or 8200 so that the sample container moves in the sample packaging device 310 as the turntable rotates the container in a first direction from an empty container loading station below the container box 350 to a container sample compacting station below the compactor 130 and thereafter in an opposite second direction toward a filled and compacted lateral container outlet opening 358 in the device support frame 111.

[0200] Turntable 340 may also include a pivotally movable ejector arm 344 operably coupled to container holder 346 (ie, arms 341 and 342 ) via a mechanical linkage 345 . Figure 58-59, the ejector arm is configured and operable to retrieve a sample container (200 or 8200) from a container holder and push the sample container through a container outlet opening 358 in an equipment support frame 111 (e.g., cabinet 111a in one embodiment). The mechanical linkage 345 can be a three-joint linkage, which in one embodiment can include a hook-shaped working end segment 345a configured to engage a sample container and an operating end segment 345b, the operating end segment 345b being pivotably coupled to segment 345a at one end and coupled between an upper arm 341 and a lower arm 342 at the other end via a pivot pin 349. In one embodiment, segments 345a and 345b can be generally (but not completely) L-shaped, as shown. Segment 345a defines a portion of the ejector arm 344 and is pivotally coupled to the equipment frame 111 via a pivot pin 347. One end of segment 345a is pivotally coupled to segment 345b via pivot pin 348, thereby forming a free floating joint that is not constrained by the device frame, as shown. The other end of segment 345a can engage with a sample container as part of a thrower arm 344.

[0201] The mechanical linkage 345 is configured and operable so that the container holder 346 on the arms 341, 342 rotates in one direction away from the container outlet opening 358 of the support frame 111 / cabinet 111a (i.e., toward the empty container loading station and container sample compaction station) so that the ejector arm rotates in the opposite direction toward the container outlet opening. Advantageously, this allows the turntable 340 to eject a filled sample container containing compacted sample material (e.g., soil or other) while simultaneously moving the container holder to simultaneously pick up a new empty sample container. This speeds up the container filling, compacting, and ejecting operations.

[0202] The system for processing and analyzing agricultural samples 100 disclosed herein can be used with and may form a part of an overall agricultural sampling and analysis system, such as, but not limited to, the systems described in U.S. Patent Application Publication US2018 / 0124992A1 and PCT Publication WO2020 / 012369, and other systems are described in the following references, U.S. Applications: US62 / 983237 filed on February 28, 2020; US63 / 017789 filed on April 30, 2020; US63 / 017840 filed on April 30, 2020; US63 / 018120 filed on April 30, 2020; US63 / 018153 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191159 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191166 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191172 filed on May 20, 2021; US17 / 326050 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191186 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191189 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191195 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191199 filed on May 20, 2021; US63 / 191173 filed on May 20, 2021 1204; US17 / 343434 filed on June 9, 2021; US63 / 208865 filed on June 9, 2021; US17 / 343536 filed on June 9, 2021; US63 / 213319 filed on June 22, 2021; US63 / 260772 filed on August 31, 2021; US63 / 260776 filed on August 31, 2021; US63 / 260777 filed on August 31, 2021; US63 / 245278 filed on September 17, 2021; US63 / 264059 filed on November 15, 2021; US63 / 264062 filed on April 15, 2021; US63 / 264065 filed on November 15, 2021; and US63 / 369722 filed on July 28, 2022; US63 / 369724 filed on July 28, 2022; US63 / 369765 filed on July 28, 2022; US63 / 369988 filed on August 1, 2022; US63 / 489209 filed on March 9, 2023; and US63 / 507,517 filed on June 12, 2023; and PCT application PCT / IB2021 / 051076 filed on February 10, 2021;PCT / IB2021 / 051077 filed on February 10, 2021; PCT / IB2021 / 052872 filed on April 7, 2021; PCT / IB2021 / 052874 filed on April 7, 2021; PCT / IB2021 / 052875 filed on April 7, 2021; PCT / IB2021 / 052876 filed on April 7, 2021; PCT / IB2023 / 050081 filed on January 5, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 050082 filed on January 5, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 050730 filed on January 27, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 050901 filed on February 2, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 051626 filed on February 22, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 051627 filed on February 22, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 052204 filed on March 8, 2023; PCT / IB2023 / 052205 filed on March 8, 2023; PCT / IB2022 / 058401 filed on September 7, 2022; PCT / IB2022 / 058402 filed on September 7, 2022; and PCT / IB2022 / 058408 filed on September 7, 2022. ;

[0203] The following are non-limiting examples.

[0204] Example A-1 - An agricultural sample packaging device, comprising: a grinder, the grinder being configured to receive and grind agricultural sample material; a compactor, the compactor comprising a feed tube and a plunger, the feed tube being configured to receive the ground sample material from the grinder, the plunger being linearly movable in and out of the feed tube; a rotatable turntable, the turntable being configured to removably hold a sample container, the turntable being operable to receive the sample container and rotate the sample container under the feed tube; wherein, when the sample container is positioned under the feed tube, the plunger is operable to enter the feed tube and compact the sample material into the container.

[0205] Example A-2 - The system of Example A-1, further comprising a support frame supporting the grinder and the compactor.

[0206] Example A-3 - The system of Example A-2, wherein the grinder includes a first loading hopper and the compactor includes a second loading hopper.

[0207] Example A-4 - The system of Example A-2 or A-3, wherein the grinder is disposed on the support frame laterally adjacent to the compactor.

[0208] Example A-5 - A system according to Example A-4, wherein the ground sample material is discharged into a transfer vessel for manual transfer to the second loading funnel of the compactor.

[0209] Example A-6 - A system according to Example A-3, wherein the grinder is mounted above the second loading funnel of the compactor so that the ground sample material from the grinder is discharged directly into the second loading funnel.

[0210] Example A-7 - A system according to any one of Examples A-2 to A-6, wherein the turntable includes a sleeve-like cylindrical container holder that opens upward and downward, and the container holder removably holds the sample container.

[0211] Example A-8 -A system according to Example A-7, wherein the turntable is operable to rotate the sample container to a plurality of rotational positions.

[0212] Example A-9 - A system according to Example A-8, wherein the sample container can be rotated into and out of a position below the feed tube of the compactor by the turntable.

[0213] Example A-10 -A system according to Example A-8, wherein the bottom of the sample container slidably engages the base plate of the support frame when the sample container is moved along a circular path by the turntable.

[0214] Example A-11 - A system according to Example A-8, wherein the sample container can be rotated into and out of a position for engagement with a decapper, the decapper being configured to grasp and remove the top end cap from the sample container.

[0215] Example A-12 - A system according to Example A-11, wherein the cap opener includes: a body, the body defining a concave engagement recess, the concave engagement recess configured to receive and engage the top end cap; and a linear actuator, the linear actuator configured to lift the body upward, which lifts the top end cap from the container.

[0216] Example A-13 - The system of any of Examples A-1 to A-12, further comprising a sample container box configured to hold a plurality of empty sample containers and to feed the empty sample containers onto the turntable.

[0217] Example A-14 - A system according to Example A-13, wherein the container box includes vertically elongated tubes that hold the empty sample containers in an end-to-end vertical stacked relationship.

[0218] Example A-15 - A system according to Example A-14, wherein the container box is a rotating box, the rotating box comprising a plurality of rotatable chassis that hold the plurality of vertically elongated tubes.

[0219] Example A-16 - A system according to any of Examples A-1 to A-15, wherein the system also includes a sample container box having an actuator to rotate a horizontally positioned sample container to a vertical position for insertion into the rotatable turntable.

[0220] Example A-17 - The system of any of Examples A-1 to A-16, further comprising a tray positioned below the compactor for collecting and aggregating excess soil.

[0221] Example A-18 - A method for packaging agricultural samples, the method comprising: grinding bulk sample material in a grinder to produce ground sample material; filling an empty sample container with the ground sample material; and compacting the ground sample material in the sample container.

[0222] Example A-19 - A method according to Example A-18, wherein the filling step includes adding the ground sample material to a feed tube located above the sample container, and the ground sample material enters the sample container from the feed tube.

[0223] Example A-20—A method according to Example A-19, wherein during the compacting step, excess ground sample material remaining in the feed tube located above the sample container is compacted into the sample container.

[0224] Example A-21 - The method of Example A-19 or A-20, wherein the compacting step includes inserting a plunger through the feed tube and into the sample container.

[0225] Example A-22 - According to the method described in any one of Examples A19-A21, an additional step is further included before the filling step, and the additional step includes: loading the empty sample container onto a rotatable turntable; rotating the empty sample container to an opener; removing the top cover of the empty sample container; rotating the empty sample container without the top cover to under the feed tube to receive the ground sample material.

[0226] Example A-23 - According to the method described in Example A-22, the method also includes: after loading the empty sample container onto the turntable, reading the RFID tag on the empty sample container before the filling step; and writing the global positioning system coordinates corresponding to the bulk sample material collection location to the RFID tag after the filling step.

[0227] Example A-24 - A method according to Example A-19, wherein the filling step includes placing the ground sample material into a loading funnel associated with the feed tube, and the ground sample material flows from the loading funnel into the feed tube.

[0228] Example A-25 - A method according to Example A-24, wherein, after the filling step but before the compacting step, the loading funnel is pivoted from an inward position engaged with the feed tube to an outward position disengaged from the feed tube to dump excess ground sample material from the loading funnel and the feed tube to a waste point.

[0229] Example A-26 - A method according to any of Examples A18-A25, wherein the bulk sample material is soil.

[0230] Example B-1 - An agricultural sample packaging device, the agricultural sample packaging device comprising: a grinder, the grinder being configured to receive and grind agricultural sample material; a compactor, the compactor comprising a feed tube and a plunger, the feed tube being configured to receive the ground sample material from the grinder, the plunger being linearly movable in and out of the feed tube; a rotatable turntable, the turntable being configured to removably hold a sample container, the turntable being operable to receive the sample container and rotate the sample container under the feed tube; a sample container box, the sample container box being configured to hold a plurality of sample containers, the sample container box comprising a container feed mechanism, the container feed mechanism being configured to rotate a horizontally positioned sample container to a vertical position for insertion into the rotatable turntable.

[0231] Example B-2—The apparatus of Example B-1, wherein the container box is vertically elongated and configured to store horizontally positioned sample containers in a vertically stacked, side-by-side relationship.

[0232] Example B-3 - An apparatus according to Example B-2, wherein the container feeding mechanism includes a bracket, which receives the lowest sample container in the container box, and the bracket can be rotated between a horizontal loading position and a vertical feeding position by the container feeding mechanism, the loading position is used to receive the lowest sample container in the horizontal position, and the feeding position is used to change the lowest sample container to a vertical position for insertion into the turntable.

[0233] Example B-4 - An apparatus according to Example B-3, wherein the bracket includes an arcuately curved container support surface that supports and engages a cylindrical container.

[0234] Example B-5 - Apparatus according to Example B-3 or B-4, wherein the container box includes an upper straight portion axially aligned with a vertical feed axis of the container box and a lower offset portion not axially aligned with the vertical feed axis.

[0235] Example B-6 - Apparatus according to Example B-5, wherein the container box defines a non-linear container feed channel extending from a top of the container box to a bottom of the container box.

[0236] Example B-7 - An apparatus according to Example B-5, wherein the lower offset portion includes an inclined feed surface configured to roll the lowermost sample container onto the rack when in the loading position.

[0237] Example B-8 - An apparatus according to Example B-7, wherein the lower offset portion defines a top space, and the top space is configured to provide sufficient top clearance therebelow to allow the lowermost sample container to be rotated from the horizontal position to the vertical position via the bracket.

[0238] Example B-9 - An apparatus according to any one of Examples B1 to B-8, wherein the container feed mechanism includes a bell crank linkage device, which is connected to the bracket and controlled by an actuator, and the actuator is operable to change the bracket between a loading position and a feed position.

[0239] Example B-10 - According to the device described in Example B-2, the device also includes a secondary sample container box that is removably mounted on the frame of the device and located above the sample container box, and the secondary sample container box is configured to hold additional sample containers in a horizontally abutting side-by-side relationship in the secondary sample container box.

[0240] Example B-11 - An apparatus according to Example B-10, wherein the secondary sample container box includes an inclined feed ramp, which is inclined to allow the sample containers in the secondary sample container box to roll toward the top access opening of the sample container box via gravity.

[0241] Example B-12 - An apparatus according to any one of Examples B-1 to B-11, wherein the container feed mechanism is operable to cause each sample container to drop vertically into a container retaining portion of the turntable below the sample container box, and the turntable is operable to rotate each sample container in a first direction to a position below the feed tube of the compactor.

[0242] Example B-13 - An apparatus according to Example B-12, wherein the turntable is also operable to rotate each sample container from under the feed tube in an opposite second direction to a container outlet opening disposed on a lateral portion of the apparatus.

[0243] Example B-14 - An apparatus according to Example B-8, wherein the turntable includes a pivotally movable ejector arm, which is operably connected to the container holding portion, and the ejector arm is configured and operable to retrieve the sample container from the container holding portion and push the sample container through the container outlet opening.

[0244] Example B-15 - An apparatus according to Example B-14, wherein the ejector arm includes a mechanical linkage device pivotally connected to the container retaining portion, and the mechanical linkage device is configured to cause the container retaining portion to rotate in a direction away from the container outlet opening so as to cause the ejector arm to rotate in an opposite direction toward the container outlet opening.

[0245] Example B-16 - An apparatus according to Example B-14 or B-15, wherein the container retaining portion includes a pair of vertically spaced semicircular container support members, and the ejector arm can be rotated between the container support members to retrieve the sample container.

[0246] Example B-17—Apparatus according to Example B-1, wherein the grinder includes a rotatable grinding blade driven by a motor to grind the agricultural sample material.

[0247] Example B-18—The apparatus of Example B-1, wherein, when each sample container is positioned below the feed tube, the plunger is operable to travel through the feed tube and compact the sample material into the sample container.

[0248] Example B-19 - Apparatus according to Example B-1, wherein the grinder, compactor and container box are mounted on a common support frame.

[0249] Example B-20 - The apparatus of Example B-19, further comprising a cabinet having an openable panel, the cabinet being coupled to the common support frame, the container box being disposed within the cabinet.

[0250] Example C-1 - An agricultural sample packaging device, the agricultural sample packaging device comprising: a grinder housing, the grinder housing being supported by a frame of the device; a grinder, the grinder comprising a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism being configured to rotate a drive shaft, the drive shaft comprising a blade operable to grind an agricultural sample material; the grinder further comprising a cover hingedly connected to the grinder housing, the cover defining an open soil cavity, the depth of the open soil cavity being configured to maintain a working volume for grinding agricultural sample material; the cover being pivotally movable between a closed inward dumping position and an open outward loading position, the outward loading position being used to receive the agricultural sample material; and a vessel, the vessel being removably inserted under the drive shaft to receive the agricultural sample material from the cover; wherein the blade is disposed inside the vessel and is operable to grind the agricultural sample material in the vessel.

[0251] Example C-2 - An apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein the blade of the grinder is disposed inside the vessel adjacent to the open top end of the vessel so that the agricultural sample material is ground after entering the vessel.

[0252] Example C-3 - An apparatus according to Example C-1 or C-2, wherein the vessel includes an inner side portion, the height of which is lower than the height of the outer side portion of the vessel to avoid interference with the grinding blade when the vessel is inserted into the apparatus.

[0253] Example C-4—An apparatus according to Example C-3, wherein the vessel has non-circular sidewalls, each of which includes a straight section.

[0254] Example C-5 - An apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein the grinder housing defines an inclined loading channel that receives agricultural sample material from the cover, and the loading channel is configured to guide the agricultural sample material toward the blade and into the vessel.

[0255] Example C-6 - Apparatus according to Example C-5, wherein the cover includes an angled feed wall that directs the agricultural sample material from the cover into the loading channel.

[0256] Example C-7 - Apparatus according to Example C-5 or C-6, wherein the grinder housing includes a vertically extending material transfer chamber disposed between the loading channel and the vessel, allowing the agricultural sample material to fall from the loading channel into an open top of the vessel.

[0257] Example C-8 - Apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein when the lid is loaded with the agricultural sample material, the agricultural sample material is poured into the vessel by rotating the lid from the open outward loading position to the closed inward pouring position.

[0258] Example C-9 - An apparatus according to any of Examples C-1 to C-8, wherein the cover is rotatable greater than 90 degrees between a closed, inward dumping position and an open, outward loading position.

[0259] Example C-10—The device of Example C-1, wherein the cover includes a handle for manually rotating the cover.

[0260] Example C-11 - An apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein the volume capacity of the cavity of the cover is equal to or greater than the volume capacity of the vessel.

[0261] Example C-12 - Apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein the vessel is slidably insertable into an opening defined by a frame below the grinder housing.

[0262] Example C-13 - An apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein the blade is disposed on a bottom end of the drive shaft.

[0263] Example C-14 - Apparatus according to Example C-12, wherein the frame defines a waste opening located below the vessel to discharge excess agricultural sample material.

[0264] Example C-15 - An apparatus according to Example C-13, further comprising a tray removably disposed in the frame and below the waste opening to collect excess agricultural sample material.

[0265] Example C-16 - An apparatus according to Example C-1, wherein the drive mechanism includes a motor operably coupled to a drive shaft to rotate the blade.

[0266] Example C-17 - An apparatus according to Example C-16, further comprising a sensor operably connected to the motor, the sensor being configured to detect when the cover is in an intermediate grinder actuation position between the open outward loading position and the closed inward dumping position.

[0267] Example C-18 - Apparatus according to Example C-17, wherein the sensor automatically activates the motor to grind the agricultural sample material when the cover is detected to be in the intermediate grinder actuation position.

[0268] Example C-19 - An apparatus according to Example C-17 or C-18, wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.

[0269] Example C-20 - According to the device described in Example C-1, the device also includes a compactor supported by the frame, the compactor includes a feed tube and a plunger, the feed tube is configured to receive the ground sample material from the grinder, and the plunger can be linearly moved into and out of the feed tube.

[0270] Example C-21 - According to the device described in Example C-20, the device also includes a sample container positioned below the feed tube, the sample container receives the ground sample material from the transfer vessel, and the plunger is operable to compact the ground sample material in the sample container.

[0271] Example C-22 - An apparatus according to Example C-20 or C-21, wherein the compactor also includes a pivotally movable loading funnel connected to the feed tube, and the loading funnel is configured to guide the ground sample material into the feed tube.

[0272] Example C-23 - An apparatus according to Example C-22, wherein the loading funnel is pivotally movable between an inward position and an outward position, wherein the rear lower portion of the loading funnel abuts against the open front portion of the feed tube to transfer the ground sample material into the feed tube, and wherein the rear lower portion of the loading funnel disengages from the feed tube to dump excess ground sample material into a waste point.

[0273] Example C-24 - An apparatus according to Example C-23, the apparatus further comprising a compactor sensor operably connected to a piston drive mechanism that actuates the plunger, the compactor sensor being configured to detect when the loading funnel moves to the outward position.

[0274] Example C-25 - Apparatus according to Example C-17, wherein the compactor sensor automatically actuates the piston drive mechanism to compact the ground sample material upon detecting movement of the loading hopper to the outward position.

[0275] Example C-26 - An apparatus according to Example C-24 or C-25, wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.

[0276] Example D-1 - A smart sample container for packaging agricultural sample materials, the smart sample container comprising: an elongated hollow body, the body defining an interior for holding the sample material; a first sensor connected to the body, the first sensor configured to measure a first characteristic of the sample material; a controller connected to the body, the controller operably connected to the first sensor to receive a measurement value of the first characteristic of the sample material; and a power supply mounted on the body, the power supply being electrically connected to the controller.

[0277] Example D-2 - The smart sample container of Example D-1, wherein the first sensor is mounted inside the body of the smart sample container and in contact with the sample material.

[0278] Example D-3 - The smart sample container of Example D-1 or D-2, wherein the first characteristic of the sample material measured by the first sensor is a moisture content of the sample material or a temperature of the sample material.

[0279] Example D-4 - A smart sample container according to Example D-1 or D-2, wherein the first sensor is electrically connected to the power source.

[0280] Example D-5 - A smart sample container according to Example D-1 or D-2, wherein the first sensor receives wireless inductive charge from the controller to obtain power.

[0281] Example D-6 - According to any one of Examples D-1 to D-5, the smart sample container also includes a second sensor connected to the body, the second sensor is operably connected to the controller and is configured to measure a second characteristic of the sample material that is different from the first characteristic.

[0282] Example D-7 - The smart sample container of Example D-4, wherein the second sensor communicates a measurement of the second characteristic to the controller.

[0283] Example D-8 - A smart sample container according to Example D-6 or D-7, wherein the second characteristic is the conductivity of the sample material.

[0284] Example D-9 - A smart sample container according to Example D-8, wherein the second sensor includes a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode are installed inside the body of the sample container.

[0285] Example D-10 - A smart sample container according to Example D-9, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are mounted on diametrically opposite sides of the body of the sample container.

[0286] Example D-11 - A smart sample container according to Example D-8 or D-9, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are operable to generate a current passing through the sample material therebetween to measure the conductivity.

[0287] Example D-12 - A smart sample container according to any one of Examples D-1 to D-11, wherein the controller includes at least one of a signal port and a wireless port for communicating data collected from the first sensor or the second sensor to one or more external electronic devices.

[0288] Example D-13 - A smart sample container according to Example D-12, wherein the external electronic device includes a system controller that is not onboard the sample container.

[0289] Example D-14 - A smart sample container according to Example D-13, wherein the system controller is in operable communication with multiple smart sample containers simultaneously.

[0290] Example D-15 - According to the smart sample container of Example D-13, the smart sample container also includes a radio frequency identification tag installed on the sample container.

[0291] Example D-16 - A smart sample container according to Example D-15, wherein the RFID tag generates an RFID signal that passes through the sample material and an RFID reader measures the RFID signal, and the system controller communicates with the RFID reader and is configured to correlate the strength of the RFID signal with the moisture content of the sample material.

[0292] Example D-17 - A smart sample container according to Example D-1, wherein the power source is a disposable battery or a rechargeable battery.

[0293] Example D-18 -A smart sample container according to Example D-17, wherein the battery is rechargeable and includes an externally accessible port for charging the battery.

[0294] Example D-19 - A smart sample container according to Example D-1, wherein the controller is mounted inside the body of the sample container, and the controller includes at least one of a signal port and a wireless port, operable to transmit the first characteristic to an external electronic device that is not onboard the sample container.

[0295] Although the foregoing description and drawings represent some exemplary systems, it should be understood that various additions, modifications and substitutions may be made to this document without departing from the spirit and scope of the attached claims and the scope of equivalents. Specifically, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied in other forms, structures, arrangements, proportions, sizes, and other elements, materials, and components without departing from the spirit or basic features of the present disclosure. In addition, various changes may be made to the methods / processes described herein. It is also recognized by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be used together with many modifications of the structures, arrangements, proportions, sizes, materials, and components, and may be applied in other ways to the practice of the embodiments of the present disclosure, which are particularly suitable for specific environments and operating requirements without departing from the principles of the present embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are considered to be illustrative and non-restrictive in all respects, and the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents, and is not limited to the foregoing description or embodiments. Instead, the attached claims should be broadly interpreted as including other variations and embodiments, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and scope of equivalents of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An agricultural sample packaging device, comprising: a grinder configured to receive and grind an agricultural sample material; a compactor comprising a feed tube configured to receive ground sample material from the grinder and a plunger capable of linearly moving into and out of the feed tube; a rotatable turret configured to removably hold a sample container, the turret being operable to receive the sample container and rotate the sample container beneath the feed tube; A sample container magazine is configured to hold a plurality of sample containers, the sample container magazine comprising a container feeding mechanism configured to rotate a horizontally positioned sample container to a vertical position for insertion into the rotatable turret.

2. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The container magazine is vertically elongated and configured to store horizontally positioned sample containers in a vertically stacked, side-by-side relationship.

3. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 2, wherein: The container feeding mechanism includes a bracket, which receives the lowest sample container in the sample container box, and the bracket can be rotated between a horizontal loading position and a vertical feeding position by the container feeding mechanism, the loading position is used to receive the lowest sample container in the horizontal position, and the feeding position is used to change the lowest sample container to a vertical position for insertion into the turntable.

4. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 3, wherein: The bracket includes an arcuately curved container support surface that supports and engages a cylindrical container.

5. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein: The sample container cassette includes an upper straight portion axially aligned with a vertical feed axis of the sample container cassette and a lower offset portion not axially aligned with the vertical feed axis.

6. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 5, wherein: The sample container box defines a non-linear container feed channel extending from a top of the sample container box to a bottom of the sample container box.

7. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 5, wherein: The lower offset portion includes an inclined feed surface configured to roll the lowermost sample container onto the rack when in the loading position.

8. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 7, wherein: The lower offset portion defines a head space configured to provide sufficient head clearance thereunder to allow the lowermost sample container to be rotated from the horizontal position to a vertical position via the bracket.

9. The agricultural sample packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The container feed mechanism includes a bell crank linkage coupled to a carriage and controlled by an actuator operable to change the carriage between a loading position and a feed position.

10. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 2, further comprising a secondary sample container box removably mounted on a frame of the device and located above the sample container box, wherein the secondary sample container box is configured to hold additional sample containers in a horizontally abutted side-by-side relationship in the secondary sample container box.

11. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 10, wherein: The secondary sample container magazine includes an inclined feed ramp that is inclined to allow the additional sample containers in the secondary sample container magazine to roll toward a top access opening of the sample container magazine via gravity.

12. The agricultural sample packaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein: The container feed mechanism is operable to drop each sample container vertically into a container holding portion of the turntable below the sample container magazine, and the turntable is operable to rotate each sample container in a first direction to a position below a feed tube of the compactor.

13. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 12, wherein: The turntable is also operable to rotate each sample container from beneath the feed tube in an opposite second direction to a container outlet opening disposed on a lateral portion of the apparatus.

14. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 8, wherein: The turret includes a pivotally movable ejector arm operably coupled to the container holder, the ejector arm being configured and operable to retrieve the sample container from the container holder and to push the sample container through the container outlet opening.

15. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 14, wherein: The ejector arm includes a mechanical linkage pivotably coupled to the container holder, the mechanical linkage being configured to rotate the container holder in one direction away from the container outlet opening to rotate the ejector arm in an opposite direction toward the container outlet opening.

16. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein: The container retaining portion includes a pair of vertically spaced semi-circular container support members between which the ejector arm is rotatable to retrieve the sample container.

17. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The grinder includes a rotatable grinding blade driven by a motor to grind the agricultural sample material.

18. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 1, wherein: When each sample container is positioned beneath the feed tube, the plunger is operable to travel through the feed tube and compact the sample material into the sample container.

19. The agricultural sample packaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The grinder, compactor and sample container box are mounted on a common support frame.

20. The agricultural sample packaging apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a cabinet having an openable panel, the cabinet coupled to the common support frame, the sample container box being disposed within the cabinet.

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