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US4775940A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Plowing depth detecting system for rotary plow

Assignee: Kubota Corp
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Filing: 1986-05-12
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Granted: 1988-10-04
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Expires: 2006-05-12
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Abstract

Abstract There is disclosed a plowing depth detecting system for a rotary plow adapted to detect an actual plowing depth on the basis of distance data with respect to the ground received from a distance sensor attached to the rotary plow which is vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanism. The distance sensor provides a microprocessor with distance data with respect to the ground rearwardly of the rotary plow. The microprocessor determines a value of actual plowing depth of the rotary plow on the basis of this distance data and a correction value according to a working condition of the rotary plow.

Inventors

  • 👤 Tetsuya Nishida
  • 👤 Toshiya Fukumoto
  • 👤 Shigekazu Hasegawa
  • 👤 Shouhei Nakai

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-27 23:16
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01B; A01B63/00; A01B63/02; A01B63/10; A01B63/111; A01B63/1112

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim 141 words
A plowing depth detecting system comprising; a rotary plow vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanism and including a rotor for plowing ground, leveling means for leveling the ground plowed by said rotor, sensor means attached to said rotary plow for detecting a distance between said sensor means and the ground rearwardly of said leveling means, and processing means including; calculator means for calculating an amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared with an unplowed ground, corrector means for determining a plowing depth correction value from said amount of rise of the plowed ground that is determined by said calculator means, and actual plowing depth determining means for determining an actual plowing depth of said rotary plow from distance data provided by said sensor means and said plowing depth correction value.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 141 words
A plowing depth detecting system comprising; a rotary plow vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanism and including a rotor for plowing ground, leveling means for leveling the ground plowed by said rotor, sensor means attached to said rotary plow for detecting a distance between said sensor means and the ground rearwardly of said leveling means, and processing means including; calculator means for calculating an amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared with an unplowed ground, corrector means for determining a plowing depth correction value from said amount of rise of the plowed ground that is determined by said calculator means, and actual plowing depth determining means for determining an actual plowing depth of said rotary plow from distance data provided by said sensor means and said plowing depth correction value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 67 words
A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said calculator means calculates said amount of rise by subtracting a distance to the plowed and leveled ground detected by said sensor means after a run of said vehicle from a distance to the unplowed ground detected by said sensor means when said rotary plow is lowered to a target plowing depth prior to the start of said vehicle.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 38 words
A system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said calculator means takes in said distance to the plowed and leveled ground from said sensor means only after lapse of a predetermined time from the start of said vehicle.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 22 words
A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said actual plowing depth determined by said processing means is displayed by display means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 55 words
A system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an angle detecting sensor for detecting an angle of oscillation of a lift arm of said link mechanism for vertically moving said rotary plow, wherein said corrector means corrects said amount of rise based on said angle of oscillation and determines the plowing depth correction value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 24 words
A system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said corrector means includes converter means for converting said angle of oscillation into a correction distance.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 28 words
A system as claimed in claim 6 wherein said converter means derives the correction distance from a prestored table of angles of oscillation and correction distances corresponding thereto.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 138 words
A plowing depth detecting system comprising; a rotary plow vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanisw and including a rotor for plowing ground, leveling means for leveling the ground plowed by said rotor, sensor means attached to said rotary plow for detecting a distance between said sensor means and the ground rearwardly of said leveling means, manual input means for manually inputting an expected amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared an unplowed ground, and processing means including; corrector means for determining a plowing depth correction value from said amount of rise input from said manual input means, and actual plowing depth determining means for determining an actual plowing depth of said rotary plow from distance data provided by said sensor means and said plowing depth correction value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 138 words
A plowing depth detecting system comprising; a rotary plow vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanisw and including a rotor for plowing ground, leveling means for leveling the ground plowed by said rotor, sensor means attached to said rotary plow for detecting a distance between said sensor means and the ground rearwardly of said leveling means, manual input means for manually inputting an expected amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared an unplowed ground, and processing means including; corrector means for determining a plowing depth correction value from said amount of rise input from said manual input means, and actual plowing depth determining means for determining an actual plowing depth of said rotary plow from distance data provided by said sensor means and said plowing depth correction value.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 58 words
A system as claimed in claim 8 wherein said actual plowing depth determining means determines the actual plowing depth by subtracting a sum of said plowing depth correction value and a distance to the plowed and leveled ground detected by said sensor means from a predetermined distance from said sensor means to a lower end of said rotor.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 18 words
A system as claimed in claim 9 wherein said manual input means comprises manually operable dial adjusting means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 196 words
A plowing depth detecting system comprising; a rotary plow vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanism and including a rotor for plowing ground, leveling means for leveling the ground plowed by said rotor, sensor means attached to said rotary plow for detecting a distance between said sensor means and the ground rearwardly of said leveling means, manual input means for manually inputting an expected amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared with an unplowed ground, and processing means including; calculator means for calculating an amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared with the unplowed ground, selector means for selecting either of said amount of rise input from said manual input means or said amount of rise calculated by said calculator means, for use in determining a plowing depth correction value, corrector means for determining the plowing depth correction value from said amount of rise selected by said selector means, and actual plowing depth determining means for determining an actual plowing depth of said rotary plow from distance data provided by said sensor means and said plowing depth correction value.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 196 words
A plowing depth detecting system comprising; a rotary plow vertically movably connected to a vehicle through a link mechanism and including a rotor for plowing ground, leveling means for leveling the ground plowed by said rotor, sensor means attached to said rotary plow for detecting a distance between said sensor means and the ground rearwardly of said leveling means, manual input means for manually inputting an expected amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared with an unplowed ground, and processing means including; calculator means for calculating an amount of rise of the plowed ground leveled by said leveling means as compared with the unplowed ground, selector means for selecting either of said amount of rise input from said manual input means or said amount of rise calculated by said calculator means, for use in determining a plowing depth correction value, corrector means for determining the plowing depth correction value from said amount of rise selected by said selector means, and actual plowing depth determining means for determining an actual plowing depth of said rotary plow from distance data provided by said sensor means and said plowing depth correction value.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1991-10-04 1992-04-04 1992-10-04 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1995-10-04 1996-04-04 1996-10-04 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1999-10-04 2000-04-04 2000-10-04 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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