Direct-Infeed Agricultural Sprayer Delay Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Agricultural sprayers with direct feed systems experience a time delay between changing the active ingredient feed rate and the actual discharge of the intended spray fluid due to the length of the pipe lines between the injection point and the spray nozzles, leading to inconsistent application of active ingredients across the field.
Innovation Solution
A control device automatically adjusts the active ingredient concentration of the spray liquid before reaching an internal application boundary within the agricultural area, ensuring the modified concentration is applied precisely when the boundary is reached, using predictive calculations based on application maps, sensor data, and real-time parameters to compensate for fluid exchange delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the active ingredient feed rate is changed to adjust spray liquid concentration, then the active ingredient concentration can be adapted to different field zones, but a time delay occurs between the change in feed rate and the actual discharge of adjusted spray liquid due to the length of pipe lines
Solution Approach 1:
The control device initiates the active ingredient feed rate change before the application elements reach the internal application boundary, taking into account the delivery delay. This preliminary action ensures that the adjusted spray liquid with the new active ingredient concentration arrives at the application elements exactly when needed, eliminating the time delay effect and enabling precise concentration adaptation to different field zones.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the active ingredient concentration is adjusted during the application process, then site-specific application requirements can be met, but the entire fluid between the injection point and spray nozzles must be exchanged, causing inconsistency in active ingredient application
Solution Approach 1:
The control device uses feedback from the determined delivery delay to calculate the optimal initiation point for active ingredient feed rate changes. By continuously monitoring the system state and adjusting the timing of concentration changes based on the calculated delivery delay, the system ensures that the intended active ingredient concentration is achieved at the application elements, maintaining application rate consistency across different field zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the delivery delay based on line length, flow rate, and other parameters before initiating the active ingredient feed rate change. This allows the control device to proactively adjust the feed rate at the correct moment, ensuring that the adjusted concentration reaches the application elements precisely when the internal application boundary is reached, thereby maintaining application precision.
3Area of stationary object
If the line length between injection point and spray nozzles is increased to distribute spray liquid across the field, then coverage area is improved, but the time delay for fluid exchange increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device automatically determines the delivery delay and calculates the optimal timing for active ingredient feed rate changes without external intervention. By using the system's own parameters (line length, flow rate, application boundaries) to self-regulate the timing of concentration adjustments, the system compensates for the time delay caused by long line lengths, enabling both extensive field coverage and precise application timing.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for operating an agricultural spraying device (36) having a direct infeed system (26), comprising the following steps: feeding an active substance into a line system (16) of the agricultural spraying device (36), said line system being connected to application elements (20) and conducting a carrier fluid, by means of the direct infeed system (26) in order to generate a spray fluid containing the active substance and the carrier fluid, wherein the feeding in of the active substance takes place at an infeed point (18) of the line system (16); and changing the active substance concentration (K1, K2, K3) of the spray fluid by adjusting the active substance infeeding and/or by adjusting the volume flow of the carrier fluid at the infeed point (18).