US-12616989-B2 - Systems and methods for monitoring spray quality

US12616989B2US 12616989 B2US12616989 B2US 12616989B2US-12616989-B2

Abstract

A monitoring system for an agricultural sprayer includes a spray nozzle, a pressure sensor, a flow rate sensor, and control circuitry. The spray nozzle is configured to generate a spray of a fluid, the pressure sensor is adjacent to the spray nozzle and is configured to measure a pressure of the fluid sprayed by the spray nozzle, and the flow rate sensor is adjacent to the spray nozzle and is configured to measure a flow rate of the fluid sprayed by the spray nozzle. The control circuitry is configured to receive the measured pressure from the pressure sensor, receive the measured flow rate from the flow rate sensor, and cause a user interface to display the measured pressure and the measured flow rate. Related methods and systems are also disclosed.

Inventors

Garrett Maurer
Joseph A. Heilman

Assignees

INTELLIGENT AGRICULTURAL SOLUTIONS LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220706

Claims (7)

1 . A system, comprising: a plurality of spray nozzles, wherein each of the plurality of spray nozzles is configured to generate a spray of a fluid; and the plurality of spray nozzles are attached to a spray boom; a plurality of pressure sensors configured to measure a plurality of pressures of the fluid, wherein each of the plurality of pressure sensors is disposed adjacent to and measures a pressure of the fluid at one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles; a plurality of flow rate sensors configured to measure a plurality of flow rates of the fluid, wherein each of the plurality of flow rate sensors is disposed adjacent to one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles to measure a flow rate of the fluid therein; a non-transitory data storage medium configured to store a lookup table for cross-referencing pressure and droplet size; and control circuitry configured to: receive the plurality of pressure measurements from the plurality of pressure sensors; receive the plurality of flow rate measurements from the plurality of flow rate sensors; define a plurality of spray nozzle groups, each comprising adjacent spray nozzles of the plurality of spray nozzles; calculate an average application density for each spray nozzle group; and cause a user interface device electronically connected to the control circuitry to display the average application densities; recall the lookup table from the non-transitory data storage medium; and generate a plurality of droplet sizes of the spray generated by the plurality of spray nozzles by cross-referencing the lookup table with each of the plurality of pressure measurements.
2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a velocity sensor configured to measure a velocity of the plurality of spray nozzles during a measurement time period, wherein: the plurality of flow rate sensors are configured to measure the plurality of flow rates during the measurement time period; and the control circuitry is further configured to: generate the distance traveled by the plurality of spray nozzles based on the velocity measurement and the time period; and generate a plurality of application densities based on the distance traveled by the plurality of spray nozzles, a width of the spray boom, and the plurality of the flow rates measured during the measurement time period.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: calculate an average nozzle pressure for each spray nozzle group; and cause the user interface device to display the average nozzle pressures.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to generate an average group droplet size from the plurality of droplet sizes for each spray nozzle group.
5 . An apparatus, comprising: a plurality of spray nozzles attached to a spray boom, wherein each of the plurality of spray nozzles is configured to generate a spray of a fluid; a plurality of pressure sensors configured to measure a plurality of pressures of the fluid, wherein each of the plurality of pressure sensors is disposed adjacent to and measures a pressure of the fluid at one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles; a plurality of flow rate sensors configured to measure a plurality of flow rates of the fluid, wherein each of the plurality of flow rate sensors is disposed adjacent to one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles to measure a flow rate of the fluid therein; a velocity sensor configured to measure a velocity of the plurality of spray nozzles during a measurement time period, wherein the plurality of flow rate sensors are configured to measure the plurality of flow rates during the measurement time period; a non-transitory data storage medium configured to store a lookup table for cross-referencing pressure and droplet size; and control circuitry configured to: receive the plurality of pressure measurements from the plurality of pressure sensors; receive the plurality of flow rate measurements from the plurality of flow rate sensors; define a plurality of spray nozzle groups, each comprising adjacent spray nozzles of the plurality of spray nozzles; calculate an average application density for each spray nozzle group; cause a user interface device electronically connected to the control circuitry to display the average application densities; calculate an average nozzle pressure for each spray nozzle group; cause the user interface device to display the average nozzle pressures; generate the distance traveled by the plurality of spray nozzles based on the velocity measurement and the time period; further generate a plurality of application densities based on the distance traveled by the plurality of spray nozzles, a width of the spray boom, and the plurality of the flow rates measured during the measurement time period recall the lookup table from the non-transitory data storage medium; and generate a plurality of droplet sizes of the spray generated by the plurality of spray nozzles by cross-referencing the lookup table with each of the plurality of pressure measurements.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to generate an average group droplet size from the plurality of droplet sizes for each spray nozzle group.
7 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to cause the user interface device to display the average group droplet sizes.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/224,129, “Systems and Methods for Monitoring Spray Quality;” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 63/224,119, “Spray Monitoring System;” each filed Jul. 21, 2021, the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD This disclosure relates generally to the field of precision agriculture. In particular, the disclosure relates to systems, methods, and devices for controlling spray quality of agricultural sprayers. BACKGROUND Agricultural sprayers apply fluid to a field by emitting multiple individual sprays of fluid. Nozzles generate each of those individual sprays and are spaced along the width of a boom. Agricultural sprayers can be configured to spray a wide variety of fluids, such as pesticides, herbicides, water, and fertilizers, among other possibilities. Different fluids sprayed by agricultural sprayers have different chemical properties that affect the spray characteristics when sprayed, requiring a spraying system to be adjusted based on the type of fluid being sprayed. Further, the spraying system may need to be adjusted based on the type of nozzle used to generate the spray. If a spraying system is not adjusted correctly for the fluid being sprayed, a suboptimal spray can result. Further, suboptimal spray can also occur if a nozzle has worn during repeated operation, or sediment or another obstruction has blocked the nozzle. Suboptimal spray has undesirable spray characteristics and can cause over-application or under-application of the fluid being sprayed. SUMMARY In some embodiments, a monitoring system for an agricultural sprayer includes a spray nozzle, a pressure sensor, a flow rate sensor, and control circuitry. The spray nozzle is configured to generate a spray of a fluid, the pressure sensor is adjacent to the spray nozzle and is configured to measure a pressure of the fluid sprayed by the spray nozzle, and the flow rate sensor is adjacent to the spray nozzle and is configured to measure a flow rate of the fluid sprayed by the spray nozzle. The control circuitry is configured to receive the measured pressure from the pressure sensor, receive the measured flow rate from the flow rate sensor, and cause a user interface to display the measured pressure and the measured flow rate. In another embodiment, a monitoring system for an agricultural sprayer includes a plurality of spray nozzles, a plurality of pressure sensors, a plurality of flow rate sensors, and control circuitry. The plurality of spray nozzles are attached to a spray boom and each of the plurality of spray nozzles is configured to generate a spray of fluid. The plurality of pressure sensors are configured to measure a plurality of pressures of the fluid and the plurality of flow rate sensors are configured to measure a plurality of flow rates of the fluid. Each of the plurality of pressure sensors is disposed adjacent to and measures a pressure of the fluid at one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles. Each of the plurality of flow rate sensors is disposed adjacent to and measures a flow rate of the fluid at one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles. The control circuitry is configured to receive the plurality of pressure measurements from the plurality of pressure sensors and receive the plurality of flow rate measurements from the plurality of flow rate sensors. In certain embodiments, a method of monitoring an agricultural spray system includes spraying a fluid from a plurality of spray nozzles, measuring a plurality of pressures of a fluid at the plurality of spray nozzles, measuring a plurality of flow rates of the fluid at the plurality of spray nozzles, displaying the plurality of measured pressures, and displaying the plurality of measured pressures. The plurality of pressures are measured by a plurality of pressure sensors and the plurality of flow rates are measured by a plurality of flow rate sensors. Each pressure sensor of the plurality of pressure sensors is disposed adjacent to and is configured to measure the pressure of one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles. Each flow rate sensor of the plurality of flow rate sensors is disposed adjacent to and configured to measure the pressure of one spray nozzle of the plurality of spray nozzles. The plurality of measured pressures and the plurality of measured flow rates are displayed by a user interface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a spray system. FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a spray monitoring system for monitoring the spray system of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of a handheld device and a gateway of the spray monitoring system depicted in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of a graphical user interface (GUI) for representing spray system monitoring information. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of generating icon