US-12622345-B2 - Active node control planting mode

US12622345B2US 12622345 B2US12622345 B2US 12622345B2US-12622345-B2

Abstract

An apparatus and methods are provided for transplanting slips with an automated slip transplanter. The transplanter comprises a planter unit, a singulation unit, a conveyor belt, a node sensor, and a controller. The planter unit is configured to plant consistent rows of evenly spaced slips in a field. The singulation unit comprises automated grippers and slip cartridges, and is configured to continuously singulate harvested slips stored in the slip cartridges. The conveyor belt is configured to receive the singulated slips from the automated grippers with brushed holders, and transfer the received slips on a belt to the planter unit. The node sensor is configured to autonomously collect performance data of the singulated slips in real-time. The controller is communicatively coupled to the node sensor, and configured to implement operational modes and dynamically adjust a planting slip rate based on the operational modes and performance data collected by the node sensor.

Inventors

Alex Herpy
Stephen Babin
Bryan Yaggi
Itzhak Sapir
Travis Neidenfeuhr
Allen Goad
Praveen Penmetsa

Assignees

MOTIVO ENGINEERING, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20221006

Claims (20)

1 . An automated slip transplanter, comprising: a planter unit configured to plant a consistent row of evenly spaced slips in a field; a singulation unit having a plurality of automated grippers and a plurality of slip cartridges, the singulation unit configured to continuously singulate harvested slips that are stored in the plurality of slip cartridges; a conveyor belt having a belt and a plurality of brushed holders, the plurality of brushed holders pivotally disposed on the belt, wherein the plurality of brushed holders are configured to receive the singulated slips from the plurality of automated grippers, and the belt is configured to transfer the received slips to the planter unit; a node sensor associated with the planter unit, the singulation unit, and the conveyor belt, the node sensor configured to autonomously monitor the singulated slips as they are transferred throughout the automated slip transplanter and collect performance data of the singulated slips in real-time; and a controller communicatively coupled to the node sensor, the controller configured to implement one or more operational modes and dynamically adjust a planting slip rate based on the one or more operational modes and the performance data collected by the node sensor wherein, when an active depth control planting mode is implemented, the controller is further configured to dynamically adjust a planting depth of the slips based on one or more planting measurements collected during planting.
2 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to actively control at least one or more of the planter unit, the singulation unit, and the conveyor belt in order to dynamically adjust the planting slip rate.
3 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 2 , wherein the controller actively controls and dynamically adjusts the planting slip rate to maintain a predetermined overall planting slip rate.
4 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to actively target a predetermined number of nodes per slip based on the predetermined overall planting slip rate and the performance data collected by the node sensor.
5 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 1 , wherein the planter unit comprises a sword assembly and an open rail assembly, wherein the conveyor belt is configured to sequentially transfer the received slips to an open rail track of the open rail assembly, and wherein the open rail track is configured to deliver the singulated slips to the sword assembly, such that the sword assembly thereby plants the consistent row of evenly spaced slips in the field.
6 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 1 , wherein the performance data comprises at least one or more of a node count, a singulation rate, a population value, a number of skipped slips, a number of multiple slips, a slip spacing rate, and a belt speed.
7 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 1 , wherein the conveyor belt is operably coupled to the singulation unit and the planter unit, wherein the singulation unit is vertically disposed on the planter unit, and wherein each of the plurality of automated grippers are configured to singularly grasp a harvested slip from one of the plurality of slip cartridges and discharge each of the singulated slips on the conveyor belt.
8 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 3 , wherein the singulation unit further comprises a buffer system, and wherein the buffer system is configured to implement slip rejection and buffering input operations to thereby facilitate the overall predetermined planting slip rate.
9 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 1 , wherein the one or more operational modes comprise an active depth control planting mode and an active node control planting mode.
10 . The automated slip transplanter of claim 1 , wherein the node sensor comprises a monitoring device configured to implement a planting slip-rate prediction neural network.
11 . A transplanting system, comprising: an articulator supported by one or more drive wheels; an automated slip transplanter mounted to the articulator, wherein the automated slip transplanter has a first hitch that is pivotally hitched to a second hitch of the articular; and a plurality of harvested slips disposed in a plurality of slip cartridges, the plurality of slip cartridges arranged in one or more rows of slip cartridges that are stacked in a main body frame of the automated slip transplanter, wherein the main body frame comprises a top body frame vertically disposed over a bottom body frame; wherein the automated slip transplanter further comprises: a planter unit configured to plant a plurality of consistent row of evenly spaced slips in a field; a singulation unit having a plurality of automated grippers and a plurality of slip cartridges, the singulation unit configured to continuously singulate harvested slips that are stored in the plurality of slip cartridges; a conveyor belt having a belt and a plurality of brushed holders, the plurality of brushed holders pivotally disposed on the belt, wherein the plurality of brushed holders are configured to receive the singulated slips from the plurality of automated grippers, and the belt is configured to transfer the received slips to the planter unit; a node sensor associated with the planter unit, the singulation unit, and the conveyor belt, the node sensor configured to autonomously monitor the singulated slips as they are transferred throughout the automated slip transplanter and collect performance data of the singulated slips in real-time; and a controller communicatively coupled to the node sensor, the controller configured to implement one or more operational modes and dynamically adjust a planting slip rate based on the one or more operational modes and the performance data collected by the node sensor, wherein, when an active depth control planting mode is selected, the controller dynamically adjusts a planting depth of the slips based on one or more planting measurements collected during planting.
12 . The transplanting system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to actively control at least one or more of the planter unit, the singulation unit, and the conveyor belt in order to dynamically adjust the planting slip rate.
13 . The transplanting system of claim 12 , wherein the controller actively controls and dynamically adjusts the planting slip rate to maintain a predetermined overall planting slip rate.
14 . The transplanting system of claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to actively target a predetermined number of nodes per slip based on the predetermined overall planting slip rate and the performance data collected by the node sensor.
15 . The transplanting system of claim 11 , wherein the planter unit comprises a sword assembly and an open rail assembly, wherein the conveyor belt is configured to sequentially transfer the received slips to an open rail track of the open rail assembly, and wherein the open rail track is configured to deliver the singulated slips to the sword assembly, such that the sword assembly thereby plants the consistent row of evenly spaced slips in the field.
16 . The transplanting system of claim 11 , wherein the performance data comprises at least one or more of a node count, a singulation rate, a population value, a number of skipped slips, a number of multiple slips, a slip spacing rate, and a belt speed.
17 . The transplanting system of claim 11 , wherein the conveyor belt is operably coupled to the singulation unit and the planter unit, wherein the singulation unit is vertically disposed on the planter unit, and wherein each of the plurality of automated grippers are configured to singularly grasp a harvested slip from one of the plurality of slip cartridges and discharge each of the singulated slips onto the conveyor belt.
18 . The transplanting system of claim 13 , wherein the singulation unit further comprises a buffer system, and wherein the buffer system is configured to implement slip rejection and buffering input operations to thereby facilitate the overall predetermined planting slip rate.
19 . The transplanting system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more operational modes comprise an active depth control planting mode and an active node control planting mode, and wherein the node sensor comprises a monitoring device configured to implement a planting slip-rate prediction neural network.
20 . A method for transplanting harvested slips with an automated slip transplanter, comprising: continuously singulating harvested slips from a plurality of slip cartridges in a singulation unit of automated slip transplanter, wherein the singulation unit comprises a plurality of automated grippers; transferring the singulated slips from the plurality of slip cartridges with the plurality of automated grippers and discharging the singulated slips on a conveyor belt, wherein the conveyor belt comprises a plurality of brushed holders pivotally disposed on a belt; receiving the singulated slips with the plurality of brushed holders and transferring the received slips on the belt to a planter unit of the automated slip transplanter; autonomously collecting performance data of the singulated slips in real-time with a node sensor, wherein the node sensor is associated with the planter unit, the singulation unit, and the conveyor belt; monitoring the singulated slips as they are transferred throughout the automated slip transplanter; dynamically adjusting a planting slip rate with a controller that is communicatively coupled to the node sensor, the controller is configured to implement one or more operational modes, wherein the planting slip rate is dynamically adjusted by the controller based on the one or more operations modes and the performance data collected by the node sensor; and planting a plurality of consistent rows of evenly spaced slips in a field with the planter unit of the automated slip transplanter based on the planting slip rate; wherein, when an active depth control planting mode is selected, the controller dynamically adjusts a planting depth of the slips based on one or more planting measurements collected during planting.

Description

PRIORITY This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application, entitled “Active Node Control Planting Mode,” filed on Oct. 7, 2021 and having application Ser. No. 63/253,313, the entirety of said application being incorporated herein by reference. FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to transplanting machines. More specifically, the embodiments of the disclosure relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods for an automated slip transplanter having one or more operational modes that may enable an active depth control planting mode and an active node control planting mode. BACKGROUND As increasing demand for produce continues to upsurge, agricultural industries strive to mitigate demand issues by bringing automation to many decades-old harvesting issues, such as increased labor scarcity, rising costs, and so on. One example of these issues is transplanters (e.g., slip transplanters), which generally require: (i) improved transplanting speeds and qualities, (ii) reduced labor expenses including reduced operator hours, and (iii) increased robustness and reliability for the lifetime of the transplanting machine. Furthermore, a typical transplanting season occurs over 10 weeks, requiring hundreds of laborers and operators to keep up with a pace of approximately 500,000 slips/hour during the limited windows of cooperative weather. To further complicate these issues, planting season typically occurs once a year—and it does not always occur as expected. For example, sweet potatoes have a unique lifecycle, one that has prohibited automation until recent developments. The main issue with the sweet potato involves the “slip” that is approximately one foot long, known as a highly variable plant stem harvested from mother bed potatoes, and individually transplanted into growing fields at the start of each season. Traditionally, only human hands have been capable of gently manipulating individual slips—without tearing their leaves and/or tangling multiple slips—and then inserting the individual slips into the ground. In addition, typical planting depths for agricultural crops, such as sweet potato slips, may vary based on weather, topography, irregular harvesting season, and so on. Generally, one of the transplanter's objectives is to place the slips into the well-drained, warm soil at a consistent depth to achieve uniform emergence. That is, germination and emergence may be optimized when the planting depth is controlled, consistent, and manually adjusted for planting in optimal soil properties. During, for example, maintenance operations of the transplanter, one or more adjustments of the actuator and other depth controlling components may be required to achieve the desired planting depth. Unfortunately, such adjustments to the transplanter are usually performed manually, and thus these manual adjustments are likely prone to human error and inconsistencies, which may then require more considerable resources, maintenance, and time. Accordingly, there is a need for an automated transplanter capable of taking bulk stored harvested slips from a minimal operating crew and outputting a consistent planted row of evenly spaced transplanted slips to thereby improve various operational processes, such as labor costs, yield opportunities, and field utilization. In addition, there is a need for an automated transplanter capable of having multiple operational modes and actively controlling planting slip rates as well as planting depths, angles, and node counts to thereby achieve improved automation, increased production efficiency, and reduced high labor costs and operator hours. SUMMARY An apparatus and methods are provided for transplanting slips with an automated slip transplanter. The transplanter comprises a planter unit, a singulation unit, a conveyor belt, a node sensor, and a controller. The planter unit is configured to plant consistent rows of evenly spaced slips in a field. The singulation unit comprises automated grippers and slip cartridges, and is configured to continuously singulate harvested slips stored in the slip cartridges. The conveyor belt is configured to receive the singulated slips from the automated grippers with brushed holders, and transfer the received slips on a belt to the planter unit. The node sensor is configured to autonomously collect performance data of the singulated slips in real-time. The controller is communicatively coupled to the node sensor, and configured to implement operational modes and dynamically adjust a planting slip rate based on the operational modes and performance data collected by the node sensor. In an exemplary embodiment, an automated slip transplanter comprises: a planter unit configured to plant a consistent row of evenly spaced slips in a field; a singulation unit having a plurality of automated grippers and a plurality of slip cartridges, the singulation unit configured to continuously singulate harvested slips that