Agricultural Spraying System Control for Fluid Band Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current agricultural spraying systems lack the ability to determine and visually depict the spray band length and distance relative to seeds or plants, making it difficult for operators to accurately apply fluids during seeding and spraying processes.
Innovation Solution
A spraying system that includes a nozzle assembly, a sensor to detect targets, and a user interface to input operator information, with a control system that determines and displays the fluid band length and offset distance, enabling precise application of agricultural fluids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a conventional spraying system is used, then the system structure is simple, but the system cannot determine or display spray band length and offset distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a control system as an intermediary component that receives operator inputs (fluid volume, pressure, speed) and calculates the spray band length and offset distance. This mediator processes the information and provides visual feedback through a display, resolving the information gap without requiring complex direct measurement hardware at the nozzle level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces physical measurement devices with a computational approach. Instead of using mechanical sensors to directly measure spray band length, the system uses a control system to calculate the length based on operator-provided parameters (fluid volume, pressure, application speed), substituting mechanical measurement with mathematical computation.
2Loss of information
If the system determines spray band length visually, then operator awareness of spray characteristics improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a visual copy or representation of the spray band length on a display device. Instead of directly measuring the physical spray, the system generates a graphical representation based on calculated parameters, allowing the operator to see the spray characteristics without adding complex physical measurement infrastructure.
3Manufacturing precision
If precise fluid application is achieved through operator input, then application accuracy improves, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback loop where the operator inputs parameters and the system immediately calculates and displays the resulting spray band length and offset distance. This real-time feedback allows the operator to adjust inputs to achieve desired accuracy without complex manual calculations, maintaining ease of operation while improving precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A spraying system for spraying a fluid includes a nozzle, a valve configured to control fluid flow through the nozzle, a sensor configured to transmit a detection signal upon detection of a target, a user interface configured to receive application rate information and target population information from an operator, and a control system communicatively coupled to the user interface, the sensor, and the valve. The control system is configured to determine a specific volume of fluid per target to be dispensed by the valve based on the application rate information and the target population information input to the user interface, and to transmit a control signal to the valve at least in part in response to receiving the detection signal. The control signal actuates the valve such that the determined specific volume of fluid per target is sprayed by the nozzle on or adjacent to the target.