Agricultural Spray Boom Control for Terrain Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wide spray booms on agricultural distribution machines face challenges in maintaining consistent nozzle-to-ground distance due to varying terrain, leading to uneven coverage and increased spray drift, especially with large working widths and uneven boom movements.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling the movement of spray booms that ensures symmetrical pivoting and adaptation to ground contours, allowing for both autonomous and manual control to maintain optimal spray distribution, including the use of coupling elements and actuators to manage boom position and height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the spray boom is made wider to increase working width, then productivity is improved, but the distance between nozzles and ground becomes variable leading to uneven coverage and increased spray drift
Solution Approach 1:
The spray boom is designed with dynamic adjustment capability through actuators that continuously modify the boom's position and orientation relative to the ground surface. This allows the system to adapt to terrain variations while maintaining wide working width, ensuring consistent nozzle-to-ground distance across different field conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously measure the actual distance between nozzles and ground surface, providing feedback to the control system. This feedback enables real-time adjustment of boom position to maintain optimal spray distribution across the entire working width.
2Adaptability or versatility
If hydraulic cylinders are used to pivot boom arms to adapt to ground relief, then adaptability is improved, but symmetrical movement cannot be guaranteed due to uneven cylinder movements creating torque and affecting spray distribution
Solution Approach 1:
Position sensors on each boom arm provide real-time feedback on actual boom positions and deviations from symmetrical movement. The control system uses this feedback to compensate for uneven cylinder movements, adjusting actuator commands to ensure symmetrical boom positioning even when cylinder movements differ.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically adjusts actuator parameters based on sensor feedback, modifying piston stroke lengths or actuator commands to compensate for mechanical variations in cylinder performance. This ensures that despite uneven physical cylinder movements, the boom arms achieve symmetrical positioning.
3Manufacturing precision
If flow divider valves are used to control cylinder movements for symmetrical boom movement, then spray distribution is improved, but the system becomes more complex and subject to inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical flow divider valves with an electronic control system that uses sensors and actuators. This substitution reduces mechanical complexity while maintaining or improving precision through electronic control, eliminating the inaccuracies inherent in mechanical flow division systems.
Solution Approach 2:
Position sensors provide continuous feedback on boom arm positions, enabling the control system to directly monitor and adjust boom positioning without relying on complex mechanical flow divider valves. This feedback-based approach simplifies the overall system while ensuring precise symmetrical movement.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the spray boom is allowed to move freely to adapt to terrain, then adaptability is improved, but the boom cannot be manually influenced to avoid obstacles that are difficult to detect
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed to be dynamically switchable between autonomous mode (for terrain adaptation) and manual override mode (for obstacle avoidance). This dynamic capability allows the operator to manually influence boom position when needed while maintaining autonomous adaptation during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system acts as an intermediary between autonomous sensor-based terrain adaptation and manual operator control. It mediates between these two modes, allowing seamless switching and combining both autonomous and manual control strategies to handle different operational scenarios.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for position-controlled guidance of at least two pivotable boom arms (28, 28-1, 28-2) of an agricultural spreading machine (10) across a ground surface, wherein the relative position of the at least two pivotable boom arms (28, 28-1, 28-2) to the ground surface is detected, and depending on the detected relative position, the at least two boom arms (28, 28-1, 28-2) are realigned by means of a pivoting movement to the ground surface within the framework of an autonomous control system. The method provides that the autonomous control for at least one of the at least two pivotable boom arms (28, 28-1, 28-2) is temporarily interrupted, and the positioning of the at least one of the at least two pivotable boom arms (28, 28-1, 28-2) is manually controlled during the interruption.