Method for determining clogging of spray nozzles in agricultural spray systems

Abstract

To distinguish objects to be sprayed from objects not to be sprayed near the objects to be sprayed while spraying a cultivated field with chemicals or the like.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a method of selectively spraying an area of a cultivated field (10) with an agriculture spraying vehicle. The vehicle comprises spraying equipment (200) having at least one imaging system (210), and at least one trailing spray bar (300) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) spaced apart from each other by a constant pitch distance. The agriculture spraying equipment (200) further comprises a control unit (220) including a processing unit to control the electromechanical valve of each electromechanical nozzle (310).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of agricultural plant treatment, and more particularly to a method of selective application using high accuracy and high resolution spot spraying. [Background technology]

[0002] Spot spraying is the application of liquid droplets to specific, pre-determined locations. This approach has recently emerged as a way to significantly reduce the amount of pesticides used in agriculture. In fact, chemical application in agriculture is currently carried out using nozzles operating continuously, spraying all objects in the nozzle's path. Modulation techniques, such as PWM nozzle flow control, can contribute to dose reduction and optimization, but do not fundamentally change the problems of standard sprayers that use non-targeted application. Spraying chemicals everywhere is an inefficient process, leading to higher costs, increased chemical residues in soil and plants, harm to biodiversity, damage to crop yields due to plant toxicity, and increased water transport.

[0003] In spot spraying, the nozzles are equipped with electromechanically controlled valves that allow the flow to be switched on and off very quickly. The flow is off by default and only turned on when spraying the target. This allows for a significant reduction in chemicals and therefore costs. Chemical residues, water and soil contamination and harmful consequences for biodiversity are significantly reduced. Finally, when crops are sprayed sparingly, phytotoxicity due to limited selectivity is significantly reduced, resulting in healthier crops with better pest resistance and therefore increased crop yields.

[0004] In spray applications, whether continuous or spot spray, two important variables must be controlled to ensure the effectiveness of the application. The first variable is the droplet size, which fundamentally affects how the liquid interacts with the target. In most plant applications, the desired effect is the absorption of the liquid by the plant leaves (or, more precisely, the absorption of the active molecules carried by the transport liquid, which is universally water). To obtain good absorption, the droplets must be of a controlled size. If they are too small, they will evaporate in the air or drift on the wind before reaching the target. If they are too large, the droplets will roll over the plant without penetrating it. The second variable is the dose or amount of liquid applied per unit area.

[0005] Two variables affect droplet size: spray pressure (the higher the liquid velocity, the more fragmented and smaller the droplets) and nozzle geometry (divergence angle, spray pattern shape, flow rate, nozzle outlet shape, etc.). Nozzles are typically machined and fixed, meaning these variables cannot be changed in situ. The divergence angle and flow rate are fixed and only affected by pressure. Pressure is typically constant and fixed at a value that produces the ideal droplet size. Multiple nozzles are typically interchangeable on the machine to accommodate various application scenarios with different droplet sizes and application rates. For this reason, systems with manual or automatic switching between different nozzles have been developed. However, these changes are typically made from one field to another, from one crop to another, or from one application type (herbicide, fungicide, etc.) to another, while the nozzle remains fixed during field operations.

[0006] In traditional agricultural spraying applications, multiple nozzles are arranged on a spray bar aligned perpendicular to the displacement direction of the vehicle to which they are attached and parallel to the surface to be sprayed. The nozzles feature a diverging spray angle to uniformly apply the liquid to the surface to be sprayed, typically the ground, but may also spray laterally onto vertical plant leaves. The nozzles are typically spaced apart at a uniform pitch distance. Their diverging jets will allow for application of the liquid to a given surface, depending on the nozzle-to-target distance (usually the height distance from the nozzle to the ground or plant).

[0007] Typically, this height is chosen so that the application width corresponds to the nozzle spacing, eliminating any jet overlap or areas of jet leakage. However, the application distance, usually also the height, can be increased, in which case adjacent nozzle jets will overlap. The applied dose per unit area therefore depends not only on the flow rate of each nozzle, but also on the density of nozzles per unit length, given by the nozzle pitch distance. Height affects overlap, but not dose. Obviously, dose is also inversely proportional to the vehicle speed.

[0008] Control of the amount of spray solution applied per unit area is of fundamental importance for application efficiency. In a spray configuration with a constant, fixed nozzle flow rate and a fixed nozzle spacing, the only remaining control variable is the vehicle speed. In practice, this is the preferred control variable if the farmer wants to change the applied dose per unit area. In fact, the farmer cannot easily change the nozzle, the density on the spray bar (nozzle spacing), the application pressure, or the recommended application rate of the mixture. The farmer also has some freedom in diluting the active ingredient, but within the tolerances specified by the chemical formulation and operating conditions (temperature and humidity).

[0009] Decades ago, pulse-width modulation (PWM) was introduced to sprayers, allowing for better dose control. In this technology, electromechanically actuated valves are placed in front of each nozzle, allowing for rapid on / off switching of their flow. The spray duty cycle (the duration of the spray opening over the total duration) can be varied from a minimum level to full nozzle opening to alter the average applied nozzle flow rate. To achieve a uniform application, this process must occur at a relatively high commutation frequency, limited only by the speed at which the electromechanically controlled valve opens and closes. This technology allows for the disposal of another variable to control the flow rate, and therefore the dose per unit area, independently of the sprayer speed. This allows, for example, the radius of the sprayer's U-turn to be taken into account, reducing the flow inside the spray bar and increasing the flow outside, thereby maintaining a uniform application rate across the entire ground.

[0010] Contrary to the traditional spray application described above, where the liquid is applied everywhere in a uniform manner and all nozzles spray together, in spot spray application the liquid is applied only to some specific target (part of a plant, an entire plant, a group of plants, a part of the ground, or other target). Therefore, to precisely control where the product is applied, the system must position the nozzle in a precise location and perform very short spray operations, which are pulses of a predetermined duration. If the jet is divergent, i.e., small droplets are required, the divergence angle, the distance to the target, and the shape of the nozzle pattern determine the size and shape of the spray spot. Placing the nozzle close to the target creates a small spot, but applies more per unit area. Placing the nozzle at a greater distance creates a larger spot, but applies less per unit area.

[0011] If the machine is moving, that movement will change the amount applied per unit area. For example, consider a 5x5cm square spray pattern and a spray pulse duration of 25ms. If the machine is moving at 2m / s, the spray will move 5cm during the 25ms pulse, so the square will no longer be a square. The spot is 5x10cm in size, so the dose per unit area will, on average, be divided by 2. Another effect of movement is that the nozzle must be opened before passing perpendicularly over the target, taking into account the time required for the stream to travel from the nozzle to the target. This time is equal to the spray distance divided by the spray velocity. The same time must be used to predict the nozzle opening before passing perpendicularly over the target. Vehicle motion converts this time into a predicted distance, which is equal to the time multiplied by the vehicle speed.

[0012] To accurately position a nozzle for spraying, its lateral and longitudinal positions must be controlled. In the longitudinal direction (in line with the vehicle's motion), the position of the spraying operation is determined only by the correct timing between image acquisition (which identifies the target's position) and spraying. By controlling the exact moment the jet opens, its position is precisely controlled, knowing the vehicle's speed. Lateral positioning can be controlled by moving the nozzle laterally. In practice, this is complex to achieve, and fixed, high-density nozzle arrays are preferred. The pitch, i.e., the distance between two adjacent nozzles, is important because it determines the possible discrete positions of the jet. While their positioning accuracy relative to the ground or vegetation can be much higher than the pitch, the possible positions of the jet are determined by the nozzle's placement along the spray bar. Clearly, the smaller the pitch, the better the control of the jet's lateral position.

[0013] Simply put, dose control, or the amount of liquid applied per unit area, is important for any spray application. In traditional sprayers, the nozzle lateral density, flow rate, and pressure are fixed, and dose can only be controlled by the speed of the nozzle above the ground. By adding PWM control of the nozzle flow rate, dose can be controlled independent of vehicle speed. For spot spraying, two additional variables affect dose: the first is the duration of the impulse opening, and the second is the height of the nozzle above the ground.

[0014] A common problem with any sprayer is nozzle clogging, which is exacerbated by nozzles with low flow rates. To prevent clogging, the usual approach is to use filters to retain particles large enough to block the flow. These filters are used at the nozzle level, at the pressure system level, or both. Because nozzle clogging is not easily observable by farmers and can occur at any time, easy, and ideally automatic, detection of nozzle clogging is critical to reliable spraying operations.

[0015] Finally, although dosage control can be efficiently implemented, dosage metering, whether direct or indirect, is desirable to provide information to the applicator user and ensure that the approved dosage per unit area is respected. Direct dosage metering measures the volume of liquid applied and, knowing the area treated by the machine, calculates the dosage per unit area. Indirect dosage metering counts the time the nozzle is open and extrapolates the dosage based on a known nozzle flow rate.

[0016] Patent document 1 describes a spraying system for controlling the application rate used in conventional spraying systems (continuous spraying) that use two nozzles together to spray over the same area, one with a constant flow rate and the other with a variable flow rate, modulated by PWM. The PWM ratio is controlled as a function of the slope height and the system pressure, which is also measured, to ensure the desired flow rate.

[0017] Patent Document 2 describes a spraying system in which a plurality of spray bars each having a combination of nozzles can be assembled, either overlapping or not.

[0018] Patent Document 3 describes a combination of multiple nozzles controlled by electric valves and operating in combination to provide a wide range of spray flow. The system combines continuous and PWM operation of two composite nozzles aligned in the forward direction of spray. The spray flow is adjusted using the jet overlap of adjacent nozzles. A mode selection algorithm is implemented to control the deposition rate, taking into account vehicle speed, desired application speed, modulation map, and bar height. By controlling the number of active nozzles, duty cycle, and nozzle mode (continuous or PWM), the flow rate can be controlled over a wide range and pressure or velocity fluctuations can be compensated for. All of these settings operate in continuous flow mode.

[0019] Patent Document 4 describes a system for controlling spray flow rates that uses PWM individually for each nozzle and calculates the duty cycle as a function of several variables such as vehicle speed, bar height, turning radius, modulation map, etc.

[0020] These systems have the disadvantage of uniformly distributing chemicals over cultivated land, resulting in high chemical residues in the soil and plants, damaging biodiversity and crop yields. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0021] [Patent Document 1] European Patent Application Publication No. 3539376 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 10,390,481 [Patent Document 3] European Patent Application Publication No. 2995382 [Patent Document 4] US Patent Application Publication No. 2010 / 032492 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0022] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for selectively spraying cultivated land using the relationship between plant characteristics, allowing for the spraying of pesticides to selected plants while avoiding the spraying of pesticides to other selected plants.

[0023] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting clogging of spray nozzles in agricultural spray systems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0024] These objects are particularly achieved by a method for selectively spraying areas of cultivated land with an agricultural spraying vehicle. The vehicle comprises a spraying installation comprising at least one imaging system and at least one trailing spraying bar aligned in operation along a direction perpendicular to the direction of the agricultural spraying vehicle. The trailing spraying bar comprises a plurality of electromechanical nozzles spaced apart from one another by a fixed pitch distance and configured to selectively spray said areas. The plurality of electromechanical nozzles comprises a corresponding plurality of nozzles and a corresponding plurality of electromechanical valves. The agricultural spraying installation further comprises a control unit comprising a tank and a pressure system and a processing unit for controlling the electromechanical valve of each electromechanical nozzle. The method comprises: i) acquiring an image of an area of ​​cultivated land by at least one imaging system and distinguishing in the image by the processing unit plants to be sprayed from plants that should not be sprayed; ii) determining at least one nozzle positioned substantially perpendicularly above the plants to be sprayed; iii) calculating a spray pattern over the area to be selectively sprayed based on a divergence angle of the at least one nozzle and a vertical distance between the nozzle and the area to be selectively sprayed, the spray pattern covering plants to be sprayed and potentially touching plants that should not be sprayed; iv) calculating a distance, called a spray shift distance, by which the spray pattern is laterally shifted so that the shifted spray pattern covers plants to be sprayed without covering plants that should not be sprayed, and expressing the spray shift distance as a multiple of the nozzle pitch; v) shifting the spray pattern laterally by the jet shift distance by shifting at least one nozzle positioned vertically above the plants to be sprayed, so that the spray pattern from the at least one newly selected nozzle does not spray plants that should not be sprayed; Equipped with.

[0025] In one embodiment, the mask defining the plants to be sprayed extends radially in all directions to determine the extended area to be sprayed, ensuring that the corresponding plants are sprayed correctly even in the presence of inaccuracies in the lateral position of the selected nozzle or in the nozzle opening and closing moment.

[0026] In one embodiment, the mask defining the plants to be sprayed ensures that the reduced area to be sprayed is included within the corresponding plants to be sprayed, even if there is an inaccuracy in the lateral position of the selected nozzle or the opening and closing moment of the nozzle, in order to determine the reduced area to be sprayed.

[0027] In one embodiment, the laterally opposite side of the expansion or contraction zone is reduced by a distance corresponding to the lateral spray shift distance to determine a laterally contracted spray zone to prevent lateral spray divergence from causing the spray pattern to fall outside of the radially expanded or contracted zone corresponding to the plants being sprayed.

[0028] In one embodiment, a buffer zone is calculated around plants identified by the at least one imaging system as not to be sprayed, and the buffer zone is a portion of the reduced spray zone to determine a further reduced spray zone.

[0029] In one embodiment, the control unit controls one or more electromechanical valves of the electromechanical nozzle to: i) the shift patterns described above; ii) the speed of the agricultural spraying vehicle; and iii) the height of the spray bar above the cultivated ground; iv) the pressure of the liquid in the spray bar provided by the pressure system; and v) the volume per unit area that applies and Select and open using the relationship.

[0030] In one embodiment, the electromechanical valves of multiple electromechanical nozzles are controlled to open the spray nozzles to apply a dose volume ranging from 25% to 100% of the total spray amount according to any of the following configurations a to f: a Open all nozzles on the spray bar to spray 100% of the total dose. b Every third adjacent spray nozzle on the spray bar is open, where one spray nozzle is closed for every third adjacent spray nozzle to spray 75% of the total dose. c Every two adjacent spray nozzles of the spray bar are open, where one spray nozzle is closed for every two adjacent spray nozzles to spray 66% of the total dose. d Open every other adjacent nozzle on the spray bar to dispense 50% of the total dose. e Every third adjacent spray nozzle on the spray bar is opened to spray 33% of the total dose. f Open every fourth adjacent spray nozzle on the spray bar to spray 25% of the total dose.

[0031] In one embodiment, to increase the accuracy of the total applied volume per unit area, the selection and opening of one or more electromechanical valves of the corresponding nozzles is combined with PWM to further modulate the spray dose.

[0032] In one embodiment, the selection and opening of one or more electromechanical valves of corresponding nozzles is varied periodically between successive PWM pulses to obtain an interleaved spot distribution pattern with improved application uniformity.

[0033] In one embodiment, one of two adjacent nozzles is open during a first PWM pulse and one of the two adjacent nozzles is open during a second PWM pulse.

[0034] In one embodiment, the spraying equipment comprises at least two spray bars arranged parallel to one another, each of the spray bars comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles, the plurality of nozzles of each spray bar being spaced apart from one another by a fixed pitch distance, one spray bar being laterally shifted from the other spray bar by a distance equal to half the pitch distance.

[0035] In one embodiment, the spraying equipment includes at least three spray bars arranged parallel to one another, each of the spray bars including a plurality of electromechanical nozzles, the plurality of nozzles of each spray bar being spaced apart from one another by a fixed pitch distance, one spray bar being laterally shifted from one of the other two spray bars by a distance equal to one-third of the pitch distance, and one spray bar being laterally shifted from the other of the other two spray bars by a distance equal to two-thirds of the pitch distance.

[0036] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for selectively spraying an area of ​​cultivated land using an agricultural spraying vehicle equipped with a spraying equipment. The spraying equipment includes at least one imaging system and at least two spray bars arranged parallel to one another. Each spray bar includes a plurality of electromechanical nozzles, each of which includes a corresponding plurality of nozzles and a corresponding plurality of electromechanical valves. The nozzles of each spray bar are spaced apart from one another by a fixed pitch distance. One spray bar is laterally shifted from the other spray bar by a distance equal to half the pitch distance. The agricultural spraying equipment further includes a tank and pressure system per spray bar, and a control unit including a processing unit that controls the electromechanical valves of each electromechanical nozzle of each spray bar. The method includes: i) operating one of the two spray bars in a first mode in which both spray bars are independent of each other and each spray bar applies a different product to a different location; or ii) Combining two spray bars together and treating them as a single bar with twice the lateral spatial nozzle density, and operating the two spray bars in a second mode spraying the same product. It has either of the following.

[0037] In one embodiment, the spraying equipment includes at least three spray bars arranged parallel to one another, each of the spray bars including a plurality of electromechanical nozzles, the nozzles of each spray bar being spaced apart from one another by a pitch distance, one spray bar being laterally shifted from one of the other two spray bars by a distance equal to one-third of the pitch distance, and one spray bar being laterally shifted from the other of the other two spray bars by a distance equal to two-thirds of the pitch distance.

[0038] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for determining clogging of spray nozzles in an agricultural spray system, the agricultural spray system including a tank and a pressure system, a main electromechanical valve mounted downstream of the tank and the pressure system, and a spray bar including a plurality of electromechanical nozzles, each of which has a nozzle and an electromechanical valve downstream of the main electromechanical valve, the spray bar including conduits extending from the main electromechanical valve to each electromechanical valve of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles, a pressure buffer in fluid communication with the conduits of the spray bar, and a pressure sensor positioned to measure pressure in the conduits. The method includes: a closing an electromechanical valve of any of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles when the electromechanical valve is in an open state; b. closing the main electromechanical valve to isolate the spray bar from the tank and pressure system; c. measuring the pressure p1 in the spray bar; d. actuating an electromechanical valve to open a single electromechanical nozzle K for a period of time; e. Step of measuring the pressure p2 in the spray bar It is equipped with: If the difference between the pressure p1 measured in step c and the pressure p2 measured in step e exceeds a predetermined threshold value depending on the absolute pressure p1, the nozzle k is considered not clogged. If said difference is below said given threshold value, the nozzle k is considered to be at least partially clogged.

[0039] In one embodiment, steps c through e are repeated for each nozzle (k+1, ..., K+i..., k+n) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles.

[0040] In one embodiment, if the pressure p2 measured in step e is below a predetermined minimum pressure, the main electromechanical valve opens to fill the pressure buffer before repeating steps c through e.

[0041] In one embodiment, the pressure buffer is an elastic pressure buffer element with a proportional, known relationship between the pressure in the buffer and the volume of liquid stored in the buffer.

[0042] Another aspect of the present invention relates to an agricultural spraying vehicle including an agricultural spraying system. The agricultural spraying system includes a tank and a pressure system, a main electromechanical valve installed downstream of the tank and the pressure system, and a spray bar including a plurality of electromechanical nozzles, each of which has a nozzle and an electromechanical valve downstream of the main electromechanical valve. The spray bar includes conduits extending from the main electromechanical valve to each electromechanical valve of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles, a pressure buffer in fluid communication with the conduits of the spray bar, and a pressure sensor positioned to measure pressure within the conduits. The agricultural spraying vehicle further includes a controller including a processor configured to execute the method as described above, and a display unit that displays clogging information for each nozzle.

[0043] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for controlling the amount of spray applied per unit area to cultivated land by an agricultural spraying vehicle moving over cultivated land and applying selective spot spraying. The agricultural spraying vehicle includes a spot spraying device. The device includes an imaging system and a trailing spray bar arranged perpendicular to the movement of the device. The spray bar includes a plurality of electromechanical nozzles arranged at a fixed pitch distance from each other. Each of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles includes a nozzle and an electromechanical valve. The spraying device further includes a tank and a pressure system with a pressure sensor, a control unit that processes the image and controls the electromechanical valve of each electromechanical nozzle, and a spray bar height control unit that positions the nozzles at a desired distance from an object to be sprayed. The method includes: i) acquiring an image of the area of ​​the cultivated land by said at least one imaging system and distinguishing in said image plants that should be sprayed from plants that should not be sprayed by said processing unit to obtain a segmented image having a spray mask and a non-spray mask; ii) determining the density of active nozzles per unit length based on the desired volume per unit area, vehicle speed, and hydraulic pressure to be applied to ensure consistent jet overlap, and determining the vertical distance from the nozzles to the target; iii) adjusting the flow of the open nozzles with a PWM ratio to obtain the desired volume per unit area of ​​application; iv) selecting the maximum distance between the minimum height of the spray bar determined by the user and the determined vertical distance from the nozzle to the target; v) moving the spray bar with the spray bar height control unit to position the nozzle at the determined vertical distance from the nozzle to the target; vi) calculating a lateral spray shift distance corresponding to half the spray spot width on the ground based on the nozzle divergence angle, the liquid pressure, and the previously selected maximum vertical distance; vii) from the input segmented plant image including masks of spraying plants and masks of non-spraying plants, extending the masks of spraying plants by a predetermined distance to obtain an extended spraying mask; viii) laterally reducing the size of the expanded distribution mask by the calculated lateral jet shift distance to obtain a reduced distribution mask; ix) further taking into account the open nozzles and the PWM ratio, defining a nozzle firing map by the intersection of the trajectory of the nozzles of the spray bar with the mask; X) converting the nozzle firing map into a time-varying electromechanical valve state vector and applying a signal to the electromechanical valve based on the time-varying electromechanical valve state vector; Equipped with.

[0044] In one embodiment, the method further comprises applying a buffer zone extending radially in all directions around the mask of plants that must not be sprayed to obtain a no-spray mask.

[0045] In one embodiment, the laterally reduced spraying mask is further clipped at a buffer distance by a non-spraying extended mask resulting from an extension of the non-sprayed plants mask before defining said nozzle actuation map.

[0046] The invention will be better understood with the aid of the description of embodiments given by way of example and illustrated in the figures. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0047] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an agricultural spraying system according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic front view of a spray bar of a spot spraying system according to one embodiment. [Figure 3a] FIG. 3a shows one schematic front view of a portion of the dispersion bar of FIG. 2 between a first dispersion configuration and a second dispersion configuration according to the principle of lateral jet shifting according to one embodiment. [Figure 3b] FIG. 3b shows another schematic front view of a portion of the distribution bar of FIG. 2 between a first distribution configuration and a second distribution configuration according to the principle of lateral jet shifting according to an embodiment. [Figure 4a]FIG. 4a shows a schematic front view of the nozzles of a spreader bar when all nozzles are activated according to one operational configuration according to one embodiment. [Figure 4b] FIG. 4b shows a schematic front view of the nozzles of the spread bar when three of the four nozzles are activated according to another operational configuration in accordance with an embodiment. [Figure 4c] FIG. 4c shows a schematic front view of the nozzles of the sparge bar when two of the three nozzles are activated according to another operational configuration in accordance with one embodiment. [Figure 4d] FIG. 4d shows a schematic front view of the nozzles of the sparge bar when one of the two nozzles is activated according to another operating configuration according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 shows a schematic front view of a portion of a spread bar with activated and inactivated nozzles as a function of nozzle distance from the ground and desired overlap percentage according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of a spray bar of a spot spraying system with different spray patterns according to one embodiment. [Figure 7a] FIG. 7a shows a schematic top view of a portion of a cultivated field being sprayed with treated plants (target plants) and non-treated plants (non-target plants) according to one embodiment. [Figure 7b] FIG. 7b shows a schematic top view of adjacent areas surrounding a target plant in an extended spray area according to one embodiment. [Figure 7c] FIG. 7c shows a view similar to FIG. 7b with an expanded distribution area that is laterally reduced in size by a distance corresponding to a lateral jet shift, according to one embodiment. [Figure 7d] FIG. 7d shows a view similar to FIG. 7c with the expanded spray area further reduced by a buffer distance around the unsprayed plants in accordance with an embodiment. [Figure 7e] FIG. 7e shows the nozzle trajectory with the actuation area defining the dispersion map. [Figure 7f] Figure 7f shows the resulting scatter pattern after converting the scatter map into nozzle open / closed states (state vectors). [Figure 8] FIG. 8 shows a schematic perspective view of a dual mode spot spraying system with two spray bars according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a nozzle array control algorithm with inputs and outputs for controlling a spot spraying system according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 shows a detailed diagram of the nozzle array control algorithm. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a nozzle clog detection algorithm according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a clogged nozzle detection algorithm with inputs and outputs for detecting clogged nozzles according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0048] 1 , an agricultural spraying equipment 200 according to one embodiment includes a plurality of image capturing devices 210. The plurality of image capturing devices 210 have respective observation locations 212 within their imaging ranges that detect cultivated plants 12 and non-cultivated plants 14, such as weeds, on a cultivated field 10. The spraying equipment 200 further includes a spraying bar 300 followed by the image capturing devices 210. The spraying bar includes a plurality of electromechanical nozzles 310, for example, between 20 and 50 nozzles.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 2 , which shows an agricultural spraying equipment 200 with one unit section of a spray bar illustrated, each electromechanical nozzle 310 includes a nozzle 314 and an electromechanical valve 312 configured to be switched on and off quickly and with high timing precision to control the nozzle 314 spray flow. These nozzles have diverging (mainly horizontal) jets to apply fine droplets to a specific area at a specific distance. Multiple nozzles are assembled in a row, usually uniformly spaced apart by a given distance called the nozzle pitch distance, to form a spray bar 300. The spray bars are arranged parallel to the area to be sprayed. Multiple spray bars can be assembled to expand the spraying width of the system.

[0050] The spray bar 300 is in fluid communication with the tank and pressure system 230 and is adapted to supply the spray bar 300 with the liquid to be sprayed at a desired pressure, the output of which forms a common inlet to a plurality of electromechanical nozzles 310 that are separated from one another by a fixed pitch along the spray bar. A pressure buffer 332 and a pressure sensor 334 are in fluid communication with the spray bar 300 downstream of the electromechanical valve 330 at the spray input.

[0051] The agricultural spraying equipment 200 further includes a control unit 220 that controls the electromechanical valve 314 of the nozzle 310 to turn the nozzle on and off at appropriate times using the relationship between the plants 12 and non-cultivated plants 14 detected by the imaging device 210. The control unit 220 communicates with the spray bar control unit 210. The spray bar control unit 210 detects the distance from the spray bar 300 to the ground to control the actuator to lower or raise the spray bar by a desired distance as a function of the spray range calculated in real time by the control unit 220. The spray range is calculated as a function (using the relationship) between the plants 12 and non-cultivated plants 14 (e.g., weeds) detected by the imaging device 210.

[0052] The agricultural spraying equipment 200 allows for control of the distance between the spray bar 300 and the area on the cultivated land 10 to be sprayed. Typically, this area is cultivated land, but it may also be vertical cultivation structures or vertical vegetation with lateral spraying characteristics. The nozzle jet is typically perpendicular to the area to be sprayed, although other angles are possible. The spray bar is mounted on a mobile vehicle with the bar orientation perpendicular to the vehicle's direction of travel, and spray application occurs as the nozzles are displaced over the area to be sprayed at a speed controllable by the agricultural spraying equipment 200.

[0053] A first aspect of the present invention deals with controlling which nozzles are activated to spray portions of a target ground surface while avoiding spraying other nearby portions. The present invention takes into account knowledge of the nozzle-to-object distance and the angle of jet divergence to activate the appropriate nozzle to avoid spraying unwanted objects. Typically, the nozzle 350 located directly above the object to be sprayed is selected for spraying. However, due to the angle of divergence, operation can result in spraying of nearby objects, such as vegetation. To avoid such unwanted spraying, the selected nozzle 352 to be activated for spraying is offset by a lateral jet shift distance 354, which corresponds to half the spray width at ground level.

[0054] One embodiment provides a method for independently controlling the switching of each nozzle to apply a spray spot with high spatial precision and high dose control, independent of nozzle velocity, nozzle distance to target, and fluid pressure.

[0055] One embodiment includes a method to control the dose per unit area using a variable number of nozzles per unit length, which means that the height of the bar above the ground is sufficient to have (achieve) a uniform application and overlap rate.

[0056] 3a and 3b, for non-target (non-cultivated) plants 14, where weeds or the like that need to be sprayed are laterally adjacent to cultivated plants 12 that should not be sprayed, the distance from the nozzle to the target plant and the divergence of the spray are used to calculate a lateral spray shift 354. The lateral shift 354 is a distance equivalent to a multiple of the nozzle pitch distance. Instead of activating a nozzle 350 positioned perpendicular to the target plant 14, the next nozzle 352 whose distance to the perpendicular nozzle 350 corresponds to the lateral shift distance 354 is selected for spraying. As a result, the ground spray pattern 320 is shifted so that it no longer extends over the cultivated plants 12.

[0057] The following table shows the dose obtained as a function of the multiple open / closed nozzle pattern. Obviously, the larger the pattern, the higher the spray bar must be from the ground to maintain a uniform application. The right-hand column shows the minimum spray bar height, expressed as a multiple of the minimum height that provides optimal overlap when all nozzles are active.

[0058] [Table 1]

[0059] These different pattern configurations are shown schematically in Figures 4a to 4d. Figure 4a shows a spray bar or a portion of a spray bar when all nozzles are activated (100% of the flow rate per unit length of the spray bar), corresponding to a nozzle density pattern of 1111. The numbers indicate the number of sprays in the spray, which also corresponds to the spray overlap ratio. A distance of 2h results in an overlap ratio of 2, and a distance of 3h results in an overlap ratio of 3. Application uniformity is achieved at distances h, 2h, 3h, and 4h for overlap ratios of 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

[0060] Figure 4b is a diagram similar to Figure 4a, but using 3 nozzles for 4 applications (75% flow rate, pattern 1110). Application uniformity is achieved with an overlap rate of 3 and a distance of 4h.

[0061] Figure 4c is similar to Figure 4b, but uses 2 nozzles for 3 applications (66% of flow rate, pattern 110). Uniformity of application is achieved with a distance of 3h for an overlap rate of 2.

[0062] Figure 4d shows a similar view to Figure 4c, but using one nozzle for two applications (50% of the flow rate, pattern 10). The uniformity of application is obtained at distances of 2h and 4h for overlap rates of 1 and 2, respectively.

[0063] Another aspect of the present invention is the use of height to control dosage. Height is not typically used to control dosage with standard spray bars because it affects overlap, but the dosage per unit length is given by nozzle density and flow rate. However, with spot spraying, the dosage per unit area is more directly controlled by height, which affects the area of ​​the spray.

[0064] Referring to Figure 5, the relationship between the pattern of active nozzles and their respective distances from the ground is shown from left to right. First, two adjacent nozzles are activated (distance p between active nozzles). To spray the entire ground without overlapping jets, the nozzle-to-ground distance must be h. Second, two nozzles are activated with a separation distance of 2p. In this case, to achieve complete ground coverage without overlapping jets, the vertical nozzle-to-ground distance must be 2h. Third, the nozzle distance is 3p, so the ideal height must be 3h. Finally, on the right, the nozzle distance is 4p, and to achieve complete ground coverage without overlapping, the nozzle-to-ground distance must be 4h.

[0065] Another aspect of the present invention is to combine PWM with spray overlap and use speed and height information to adjust the PWM ratio. One common method of adjusting the dosage of a spray system is to employ rapid switch-on and switch-off of the nozzles. By manipulating the ratio of on and off states (pulse width modulation), the flow rate can be varied. One aspect of the present invention is to use PWM in combination with the spray overlap rate to control the dosage per unit area. This allows for more granularity in the dosage control for a given speed, a given height, and a given spray overlap pattern.

[0066] The following table shows the possible combinations of spray overlap patterns and PWM ratios that will ensure continuous dose control between 33% and 100% of the dose at a given speed. The height must be at least three times the height required to avoid overlap with all active nozzles.

[0067] [Table 2]

[0068] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the vertical distance between the distal end of the nozzles connected to the spray bar 300 and the ground defines a lateral spot distribution dimension that is twice the inter-nozzle pitch. Spray pattern A illustrates spot distribution using a spatial combination of multiple consecutive spray operations, avoiding jet overlap and resulting in a total width corresponding to the width of the target object. Spray pattern B illustrates spot distribution in the center of the spot, where a jet overlap of a factor of two is desired. Spray pattern C is achieved by adjacent PWM jets that are all laterally aligned, with no lateral overlap between them. Between successive PWM pulses, the active nozzles are shifted laterally by one unit (interleaved spot distribution), providing better spray uniformity. Spray pattern D is achieved by interleaved PWM pulses with a jet overlap of a factor of two. The PWM duty cycle is selected to be shorter than in example C. Spray pattern E is achieved when all nozzles are turned on simultaneously, creating a spray line. Leaving the nozzle on provides continuous spray operation like a traditional sprayer (no spot spraying).

[0069] Another aspect of the present invention is to use interleaving (or lateral shifting of selected nozzles) between two consecutive PWM pulses to better homogenize the dose. One problem with PWM is that it interrupts the flow, resulting in a loss of uniformity in the applied dose. To help reduce this effect, one aspect of the present invention is to laterally shift the dispersion pattern by one nozzle pitch between two PWM pulses to obtain an interleaved (or mosaic) position of the spot center, resulting in better uniformity. This method can be used without PWM, and the one nozzle pitch increment helps to properly position the dispersion shape laterally. This method can be used with different PWM ratios between two consecutive commutations, further enhancing the dynamics of the dose control.

[0070] Another aspect of the present invention is the use of interleaved PWM with vertical jet overlap to better homogenize the dose. The above tool can actually be combined with jet overlap to control the dose. This is achieved by vertically overlapping two consecutive (and therefore interleaved) spray patterns. This allows for a wider range of dose control. The distance between the nozzle and the ground inevitably creates some drift of droplets, which helps to homogenize the dose per unit area.

[0071] Another aspect of the present invention is to control and manage the extension of the spray around a given target in spot spray applications. The target of the spray, e.g., a plant, must sometimes be completely covered by the spray spot. To ensure this is true despite possible positioning errors, the system must spray a defined radial extension of the spray area around and outside the target. This allows for spraying across the entire range of the target despite errors in nozzle timing or lateral nozzle position.

[0072] The same can be applied to a radial reduction of the target area, resulting in an application that is strictly contained within the target area. This is necessary, for example, when application is required to ensure that the applied product reaches one target and one target only, and to prevent the application of the applied product behind or outside the target area. By reducing the target boundary radially, the applied spot will be completely within a plant feature (e.g., a leaf).

[0073] Yet another aspect of the present invention is the application of a buffer (exclusion) area around targets that should not be sprayed, ensuring that spot spraying will not touch plants located within the buffer area, even with some spray inaccuracy. A buffer area can be defined around a target using the exclusion function, meaning that you absolutely want to avoid spraying the target. Thus, the spraying system can define a geometry that surrounds the geometry of a given target, of any shape, with a certain overlap distance. This "buffer" geometry is then used as the spraying system's exclusion area.

[0074] Figures 7a through 7f illustrate different spraying approaches based on this perspective. For example, Figure 7a shows a schematic top view of a portion of a field with target plants 14 and non-target plants 12. Figure 7b shows the target shape extended radially by a distance 52 to provide an extended target area 50. Figure 7c shows the extended area contracting laterally by a lateral distance 54 and a distance 55, corresponding to the lateral spray shift distance. Figure 7d shows the resulting shape further cropped by a safety buffer distance created around non-target objects to prevent them from being touched by the spray. Figure 7e shows the intersection of the nozzle trajectory over the field with the target shape, forming a nozzle activation zone 62 between the intersection points. Figure 7f shows the spray pattern 64 obtained with two nozzle activation zones.

[0075] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a combination of two spray bars with the same nozzle pitch distance is used close to and parallel to each other. The second bar 304 is laterally offset by half the nozzle pitch distance 306 from the first bar 302. This implementation allows the spray system to operate in so-called dual-mode spraying. In the first mode, the two spray bars operate independently of each other to spray different products in different locations. They can operate both in continuous spray mode, both in spot spray mode, or the first in spot spray mode and the second in continuous mode, or vice versa. In this mode, each bar has its own pressure system, allowing both bars to be independently adjusted in terms of dose per unit area, bar height, and bar pressure. In the second mode, the two spray bars are operated together to spray the same liquid at the same pressure. The lateral shift of half the nozzle pitch between the two bars reduces the lateral distance between the two nozzles by a factor of two, thereby improving the lateral spray spatial resolution by a factor of two. The fact that the nozzles are not arranged in a single line must be compensated for by an appropriate timing decay between the openings of the first and second bar nozzles. An example of multiple dispersions obtained with dual-mode dispersion is shown below. To obtain dispersion patterns A and B, two bars are combined to perform spot dispersions with different PWM duty cycles. To obtain dispersion patterns C and D, they are used to perform spot dispersions on separate targets. To obtain dispersion pattern E, they are used together to perform spot dispersions with maximum overlap.

[0076] The above combination of two dispersion bars to increase lateral accuracy can be further extended to three or more dispersion bars offset from each other by one-third or one-quarter of the nozzle pitch distance, in which case the lateral accuracy increases in proportion to the number of dispersion bars.

[0077] Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for consistently controlling the dose applied per unit area. This method can operate in both continuous or spot spray operations. This method can be operated with a single spray bar, or with a combination of two spray bars shifted laterally by half the nozzle pitch, operating independently or together to form a double lateral resolution spray system.

[0078] As shown in Figure 9, this method receives as input a segmented plant image containing plant species, with basic spray rules applied to each plant. The basic spray rules indicate which plant species to spray or not spray, and which liquid to use if the system has two or more different spray bars with different products on each bar. Next, safety buffers and expansion or contraction values ​​for each plant species and each product to be sprayed are also received as inputs. The desired dose per unit area to be applied for each sprayed product is also received as input (this can track multiple local variations provided by a so-called spray modulation map). Finally, a number of variables affecting the dose applied per unit area are received as inputs, such as the minimum desired distance or height of each spray bar from the ground or target, vehicle movement and speed, and the pressure of each spray bar liquid.

[0079] The method generates multiple output results for controlling the applied dose. A primary output result is a nozzle electromechanical valve state vector, which is a vector of on and off states for each nozzle electromechanical valve of the controlled spray bar. A secondary output result is the spray bar height, which is provided to the spray bar height control unit. A third output result is a spray rate map, which indicates the amount of liquid sprayed per unit area.

[0080] The method comprises four main operations, which are detailed below with reference to FIG.

[0081] The first step is to calculate the nozzle density pattern and PWM ratio to apply the desired dose per unit area. This calculation uses vehicle speed, spray bar pressure, and the desired dose to apply (which may vary according to the field map). The calculation begins by setting the PWM to 60% and selecting a nozzle density pattern that provides the highest flow rate but is smaller than desired (such as all nozzles open, or 3 nozzles over 4 nozzles open, or 2 nozzles over 3 nozzles open, etc.) to obtain the expected dose at the user's required operating speed and pressure and minimum spray bar height. Next, the height is increased as needed to the recommended height to provide a uniform application with the selected nozzle density pattern. The corresponding dose is calculated, and finally the PWM is calculated (increased) to obtain the final required dose.

[0082] The second step of this method calculates the lateral jet shift distance used in the third step. To do this, select the maximum of the minimum spray bar height (required by the user) and the height of the nozzle density pattern resulting from the spray bar. This height value is used to calculate the lateral jet shift distance based on the nozzle spray angle, which is slightly dependent on the spray bar pressure.

[0083] The third step of this method takes an input segmented image of multiple plants and generates a spray map from it. First, the specified radial scaling value is applied to the shape of the target object. Then, the extension mask is scaled laterally by a pre-calculated lateral spray shift distance. Next, a safety buffer distance is applied around non-target objects to prevent them from being touched, and overlapping masks are cropped if they fall within this buffer area. This resulting cut-out shape is then intersected with the nozzle trajectory (double density in the case of dual-mode spray bar operation where two bars are used together to increase spatial resolution) to obtain the nozzle actuation intervals, and the PWM and nozzle density pattern rules are applied to obtain the nozzle actuation map, which is finally translated into the on-off sequence of the nozzle electromechanical valve (state vector).

[0084] The fourth and final operation of this automatic dosing method is to calculate the volume of fluid to be applied for a given unit area of ​​ground based on the final opening time length of the nozzle electromechanical valve and the pressure.

[0085] Another aspect of the present invention is the provision of a method for automatically controlling nozzle clogging, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. This method requires the use of an electromechanical valve 330 at the spray bar inlet, which allows the bar 300 to be isolated from input from the pressure system 230. It also requires the presence of a pressure buffer 332 attached to the spray bar with a relatively linear relationship between pressure and volume, and an accurate, linear pressure sensor 334 for measuring pressure within the spray bar. This method operates as follows during a clogging control procedure: First, all nozzles 310 are closed, a nominal pressure is established within the bar, and the input electromechanical valve 330 is closed. Second, the fluid pressure is measured before and after the first nozzle is opened. Knowing the expected nozzle flow rate, open time, and the pressure-volume relationship of the pressure buffer, a theoretical pressure drop is calculated and compared to the actual pressure drop. If it is significantly smaller, the corresponding nozzle is considered clogged and recorded as such. The procedure is repeated for all nozzles in the bar, and the bar pressure is periodically recharged with electromechanical valve opening pulses input to the spray bar. At the end of operation, the method provides clogging information for all nozzles in the entire spray system. The present application may provide the following aspects, for example: [Point 1] A method for selectively spraying an area of ​​cultivated land (10) using an agricultural spraying vehicle, the agricultural spraying vehicle comprising: a spraying facility (200) having at least one imaging system (210); At least one trailing spray bar (300) aligned along a direction perpendicular to the direction of the agricultural spraying vehicle when in operation, at least one subsequent spray bar (300) having a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) spaced apart at a fixed pitch distance from one another and configured to selectively spray the area, the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) having a corresponding plurality of nozzles (314) and a corresponding plurality of electromechanical valves (312); Equipped with The agricultural spraying equipment (200) a tank and pressure system (230); a control unit (220) comprising a processing unit for controlling the electromechanical valves (312) of each electromechanical nozzle (310); Furthermore, The method comprises: acquiring an image of an area of ​​the cultivated field (10) by at least one of the imaging systems (210), and distinguishing in the image by the processing unit plants (12) that should not be sprayed from plants (14) that should be sprayed; determining at least one nozzle (350) to be positioned substantially vertically above the plants (14) to be sprayed; calculating a spray pattern over the area to be selectively sprayed based on a divergence angle of the at least one nozzle (350) and a vertical distance between the nozzle (350) and the area to be selectively sprayed, the spray pattern covering the plants (14) to be sprayed and potentially touching the plants (12) that should not be sprayed; calculating a distance, called a spray shift distance (354), by which the spray pattern is laterally shifted so that the shifted spray pattern covers the plants (14) to be sprayed without covering the plants (12) that should not be sprayed, and expressing the spray shift distance (354) as a multiple of the nozzle pitch; shifting the spray pattern laterally by the jet shift distance by shifting at least one nozzle (350) positioned vertically above the plants (14) to be sprayed, so that the spray pattern from at least one newly selected nozzle (352) does not spray the plants (12) that should not be sprayed; 1. A method for selectively spraying an area of ​​cultivated land (10) using an agricultural spraying vehicle, comprising: [Point 2] The method according to aspect 1, wherein the mask defining the plants (14) to be sprayed is extended in all directions radially for a distance (52) that determines an extended area (50) to be sprayed, ensuring that the corresponding plants (14) are sprayed correctly even if there is inaccuracy in the lateral position of the selected nozzle or the opening and closing moment of the nozzle. [Point 3] The method according to aspect 1, wherein the mask defining the plants (14) to be sprayed is radially reduced in all directions by a distance that determines the reduced area to be sprayed, ensuring that the mask is contained within the corresponding plants (14) to be sprayed even if there is inaccuracy in the lateral position of the selected nozzle or the opening and closing moment of the nozzle. [Point 4] Aspect 3 is a method as described in aspect 3, wherein laterally opposite sides of the expansion area (50) or contraction area are contracted by a distance (54, 55) corresponding to the lateral jet shift distance to determine a laterally contracted spray area (56), ensuring that lateral spray divergence does not cause the spray pattern to fall outside the radial expansion area (50) or contraction area corresponding to the plants (14) being sprayed. [Point 5] The method of aspect 4, wherein a buffer area (57) is calculated around the plants (12) identified by at least one of the imaging systems (210) as plants that should not be sprayed, and the buffer area (57) is a cutout of the reduced spraying area (56) to determine a further reduced spraying area (58). [Point 6] The control unit (220) controls one or more electromechanical valves (312) of the electromechanical nozzle (310) to: the offset pattern; the speed of the agricultural spraying vehicle; the height of the spray bar (300) above the cultivated land (10); the pressure of the liquid in the spray bar (300) provided by the pressure system (230); Applied, volume per unit area and 6. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the relationship is selected and opened. [Point 7] a) all nozzles of the spray bar (300) are opened to spray 100% of the total dose; b) three adjacent spray nozzles of the spray bar (300) are opened, and one spray nozzle is closed for every three adjacent spray nozzles, spraying 75% of the total dose; c) two adjacent spray nozzles of the spray bar (300) are opened, and one spray nozzle is closed for every two adjacent spray nozzles, spraying 66% of the total dose; d. every two adjacent nozzles of the spray bar (300) are opened to spray 50% of the total dose; e. every three adjacent spray nozzles of the spray bar (300) are opened to spray 33% of the total dose; f. every four adjacent spray nozzles of the spray bar (300) are opened to spray 25% of the total dose; 7. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 6, wherein the electromechanical valves (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) are controlled to open the spray nozzles to apply a dose volume ranging from 25% to 100% of the total dose, according to any one of the preceding claims. [Point 8] 8. The method of any one of aspects 1 to 7, wherein the selection and opening of one or more electromechanical valves (312) of corresponding nozzles is combined with PWM to further modulate the spray dose to increase the accuracy of the total applied volume per unit area. [Point 9] The method of aspect 8, wherein the selection and opening of the one or more electromechanical valves (312) of corresponding nozzles is varied periodically between successive PWM pulses to obtain an interleaved spot spray pattern with improved application uniformity. [Point 10] 10. The method of claim 9, wherein one of two adjacent nozzles is open during a first PWM pulse and the other of the two adjacent nozzles is open during a second PWM pulse. [Point 11] 11. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 10, wherein the spraying equipment (200) comprises at least two spraying bars (302, 304) arranged parallel to each other, each spraying bar (302, 304) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310), the plurality of nozzles (314) of each spraying bar being spaced apart from each other by a constant pitch distance, and one spraying bar (302) being laterally offset from the other spraying bar (304) by a distance equal to half the pitch distance. [Point 12] The spraying equipment (200) comprises at least three spray bars arranged parallel to one another, each of the spray bars comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310); The nozzles (314) of each spray bar are spaced apart from one another at a fixed pitch distance; one dispersion bar is laterally offset from one of the two other dispersion bars by a distance equal to one-third of the pitch distance, and said one dispersion bar is laterally offset from the other of said two other dispersion bars by a distance equal to two-thirds of the pitch distance; 11. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 10. [Point 13] A method for selectively spraying an area of ​​cultivated land (10) using an agricultural spraying vehicle, the agricultural spraying vehicle comprising: a spraying facility (200) having at least one imaging system (210); At least two spray bars (302, 304) arranged parallel to each other, each spray bar (302, 304) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) each having a corresponding plurality of nozzles (314) and a corresponding plurality of electromechanical valves (312); In the agricultural spraying vehicle, The plurality of nozzles (314) are spaced apart from one another at a fixed pitch distance, one of the distribution bars (302) is laterally offset from the other distribution bar (304) by a distance equal to half the pitch distance; The agricultural spraying equipment (200) a tank and pressure system (230) for each spray bar; a control unit (220) comprising a processing unit for controlling the electromechanical valves (312) of each electromechanical nozzle (310) of each spray bar; The method comprises: operating one of the two spray bars (302, 304) in a first mode, in which both spray bars are independent of each other and each spray bar sprays a different product at a different location; operating the two spray bars in a second mode, wherein the two spray bars are combined together to spray the same product as a single bar with twice the lateral spatial nozzle density; A method for selectively spraying an area of ​​cultivated land (10) using an agricultural spraying vehicle, comprising: [Point 14] The spraying equipment (200) comprises at least three spray bars arranged parallel to one another, each of the spray bars comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310); The nozzles (314) of each spray bar are spaced apart from one another at a fixed pitch distance; 14. The method of claim 13, wherein one dispersion bar is laterally offset from one of the two other dispersion bars by a distance equal to one-third of the pitch distance, and wherein the one dispersion bar is laterally offset from the other of the two other dispersion bars by a distance equal to two-thirds of the pitch distance. [Point 15] a tank and pressure system (230); a main electromechanical valve (330) mounted downstream of the tank and pressure system (230); a spray bar (300) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) each having one nozzle (314) and an electromechanical valve (312) downstream of the main electromechanical valve (330), the spray bar (300) comprising a conduit extending from the main electromechanical valve (330) to each electromechanical valve (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310); a pressure buffer (332) in fluid communication with the conduit of the spray bar (300); a pressure sensor (334) positioned to measure pressure within the conduit; 1. A method for determining clogging of a spray nozzle of an agricultural spray system, comprising: a. if the electromechanical valves (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) are in an open state, closing the open electromechanical valves (312); b. closing the main electromechanical valve (330) to isolate the spray bar (300) from the tank and pressure system (230); c) measuring the pressure p1 inside the spray bar (300); d. actuating one electromechanical valve (312) to open a single electromechanical nozzle k for one fixed period of time; e. measuring the pressure p2 inside the spray bar (300), If the difference between the pressure p1 measured in step c and the pressure p2 measured in step e exceeds a given threshold value that depends on the absolute value of pressure p1, then the nozzle k is deemed not to be clogged; measuring the pressure p2, if the difference is below the given threshold, and determining that the nozzle k is at least partially clogged; A method for determining clogging of a spray nozzle of an agricultural spray system, comprising: [Point 16] 16. The method of aspect 15, wherein steps c to e are repeated for each nozzle (k+1, ..., k+i ..., k+n) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310). [Point 17] 17. The method of claim 16, wherein if the pressure p2 measured in step e is below a predetermined minimum pressure, the main electromechanical valve (330) opens to fill the pressure buffer (332) before repeating steps c to e. [Point 18] 18. The method of any one of aspects 15 to 17, wherein the pressure buffer (332) is an elastic pressure buffer element having a proportional known relationship between the pressure in the buffer and the volume of liquid stored in the buffer. [Point 19] An agricultural spraying vehicle equipped with an agricultural spraying system, the agricultural spraying system comprising: a tank and pressure system (230); a main electromechanical valve (330) mounted downstream of the tank and pressure system (230); a spray bar (300) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) each having one nozzle (314) and an electromechanical valve (312) downstream of the main electromechanical valve (330), the spray bar (300) comprising a conduit extending from the main electromechanical valve (330) to each electromechanical valve (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310); a pressure buffer (332) in fluid communication with the conduit of the spray bar (300); a pressure sensor (334) positioned to measure pressure within the conduit; In an agricultural spraying vehicle equipped with The agricultural spraying vehicle, a control unit having a processing unit configured to perform the method according to any one of aspects 15 to 18; A display unit that displays clogging information for each nozzle An agricultural spraying vehicle further comprising: [Point of View 20] 1. A method for controlling an application amount per unit area of ​​a cultivated field (10) of an agricultural spraying vehicle moving over the cultivated field (10) that applies selective spot spraying, comprising: The agricultural spraying vehicle is equipped with a spot spraying device (200), The spot spraying equipment (200) comprises an imaging system (210) and a subsequent spray bar (300) arranged perpendicular to the movement of the equipment; The spray bar (300) comprises a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310), the electromechanical nozzles (310) being spaced apart from one another at a fixed pitch distance, each electromechanical nozzle comprising a nozzle (314) and an electromechanical valve (312); The spraying equipment (200) further comprises a tank and pressure system (230) equipped with a pressure sensor, a control unit (220) that processes images and controls the electromechanical valves (312) of each electromechanical nozzle (310), and a spray bar height control unit (240) that positions the plurality of nozzles at a desired distance from an object to be sprayed; The method comprises: acquiring an image of an area (212) of the cultivated field (10) by the at least one imaging system (210) and distinguishing, on the image by a processing unit, plants (14) that should be sprayed from plants (12) that should not be sprayed to obtain a segmented image having a spray mask and a non-spray mask; determining the density of active nozzles per unit length based on the desired volume per unit area, vehicle speed, and liquid pressure to be applied, and determining the vertical distance from the nozzles to the target to ensure consistent jet overlap; modulating the flow of the open nozzles with a PWM ratio to obtain a desired volume per unit area of ​​application; selecting a maximum distance between a user-defined minimum height of the spray bar and the determined vertical distance from the nozzle to the target; moving the sparge bar using the sparge bar height control unit (240) to position the nozzle at the determined vertical distance from the nozzle to the target; calculating a lateral spray shift distance corresponding to half the spray spot width on the ground based on the nozzle divergence angle, the liquid pressure, and a previously selected maximum vertical distance; extending a dispersal mask (50) of plants from the input segmented plant image, the segmented plant image including the mask (14) of plants to be sprayed and the mask (12) of plants that should not be sprayed, by a distance (52) to obtain the extended dispersal mask (50); reducing the size of the expanded dispersion mask (50) laterally by the calculated lateral jet shift distance (54, 55) to obtain a reduced dispersion mask (56); further defining a nozzle firing map (62) by the intersection of the nozzle trajectory (60) of the spray bar with the spray mask, taking into account the open nozzles and the PWM ratio; converting the nozzle firing map into a time-varying electromechanical valve state vector and applying a signal to the electromechanical valve (312) based on the time-varying electromechanical valve state vector; The method comprises: [Point of View 21] 21. The method according to aspect 20, further comprising applying a buffer area (57) extending radially in all directions around the mask of plants (12) that must not be sprayed to obtain a no-spray mask. [Point of View 22] The method of aspect 20 or 21, wherein the laterally reduced spray mask (56) is further clipped by an extended non-spray mask resulting from an extension of the mask of plants (12) that must not be sprayed by the buffer distance (57) before defining the nozzle activation map.

Claims

1. A tank and pressure system (230), a main electromechanical valve (330) mounted downstream of the tank and pressure system (230); a spray bar (300) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) each having one nozzle (314) and an electromechanical valve (312) downstream of the main electromechanical valve (330), the spray bar (300) comprising a conduit extending from the main electromechanical valve (330) to each electromechanical valve (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310); a pressure buffer (332) in fluid communication with the conduit of the spray bar (300); a pressure sensor (334) positioned to measure pressure within the conduit; 1. A method for determining clogging of a spray nozzle of an agricultural spray system, comprising: a. if the electromechanical valves (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) are in an open state, closing the open electromechanical valves (312); b. closing the main electromechanical valve (330) to isolate the spray bar (300) from the tank and pressure system (230); c. Measuring the pressure p1 inside the spray bar (300); d. actuating one electromechanical valve (312) to open a single electromechanical nozzle k for one fixed period of time; e. measuring the pressure p2 inside the spray bar (300), If the difference between the pressure p1 measured in step c and the pressure p2 measured in step e exceeds a given threshold value that depends on the absolute pressure p1, then the nozzle k is deemed not to be clogged; measuring the pressure p2, if the difference is below the given threshold, and determining that the nozzle k is at least partially clogged; A method for determining clogging of a spray nozzle of an agricultural spray system, comprising:

2. The method described in claim 1, wherein steps c to e are repeated for each nozzle (k+1, ..., k+i..., k+n) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310).

3. The method described in claim 2, wherein if the pressure p2 measured in step e is below a predetermined minimum pressure, the main electromechanical valve (330) opens to fill the pressure buffer (332) before repeating steps c to e.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pressure buffer (332) is an elastic pressure buffer element having a proportional known relationship between the pressure in the buffer and the volume of liquid stored in the buffer.

5. An agricultural spraying vehicle equipped with an agricultural spraying system, wherein the agricultural spraying system: a tank and pressure system (230); a main electromechanical valve (330) mounted downstream of the tank and pressure system (230); a spray bar (300) comprising a plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310) each having one nozzle (314) and an electromechanical valve (312) downstream of the main electromechanical valve (330), the spray bar (300) comprising a conduit extending from the main electromechanical valve (330) to each electromechanical valve (312) of the plurality of electromechanical nozzles (310); a pressure buffer (332) in fluid communication with the conduit of the spray bar (300); a pressure sensor (334) positioned to measure pressure within the conduit; In an agricultural spraying vehicle equipped with The agricultural spraying vehicle, a control unit having a processing unit configured to perform the method of claim 1; and a display unit that displays clogging information for each nozzle. Agricultural spraying vehicle.

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