Variable rate application system

Claim 1

Fertilizer blending and spreading apparatus comprising: a vehicle; a first product bin mounted on the vehicle for holding a first fertilizer to be applied to a field to be fertilized; dispensing means mounted on the vehicle operative in response to a first dispenser control signal for dispensing the first fertilizer at a selected dispensing rate from the first product bin; conveying and spreading means mounted on the vehicle for conveying the first fertilizer dispensing from the first bin via the dispensing means and spreading the first fertilizer over the ground; and control means operatively connected to the dispensing means for generating the first feeder control signal to control the rate of dispensation of the first fertilizer, the control means including: (a) digital soil map means for storing a digital soil map indicating a distribution of different soil types in the field to be fertilized; (b) first fertilizer map means for storing a first digital fertilizer map indicating a desired distribution of the first fertilizer in said field to be fertilized; (c) first status map means independent of said first fertilizer map means for storing data representative of a first field characteristic; (d) position locator means for indicating the position of the vehicle relative to said field as it moves about said field; (e) speed indicator means for indicating the speed of said vehicle as it moves about said field; and (f) first signal generating means responsive to said soil map means, said first fertilizer map means, said independent first status map means, said position locator means and said speed indicator means for controlling the generation of said first dispenser control signal by correlating the position of said vehicle in the field to said soil map, said independent first status map and said first fertilizer map, and determining the type of soil the vehicle is currently over, the first field characteristic where the vehicle is over, the desired level of the first fertilizer, and the vehicle speed to provide that the first fertilizer can be applied at different rates to attain the desired distribution of the first fertilizer in the field according to the first fertilizer map means as the vehicle moves about the field.

Claim 10

A method for distributing fertilizer on a field to be fertilized from a distributing vehicle carrying a plurality of products in a plurality of product bins comprising the steps of: (a) providing a digital soil map; (b) providing a digital fertilizer map; (c) providing a first field characteristic status map independent of said digital fertilizer map; (d) determining the position of said distributing vehicle in said field relative to said maps; (e) determining the speed of said distributing vehicle; (f) determining from the soil map the type of soil located where said vehicle is located; (g) determining from the fertilizer map the desired levels of the products to be attained where said vehicle is located; (h) determining from the first field characteristic status map the first field characteristics where the vehicle is located; (i) determining the product rate at which product should be applied to said field based on the type of soil, the first field characteristic, the desired fertilizer level, and the speed of the vehicle determined in steps (e), (f), (g) and (h); and (j) feeding, conveying and spreading said products from said product bins at dispensing rates proportionate to said determined product rates and vehicle speed.

Claim 11

A method for distributing fertilizer on a field to be fertilized from a distributing vehicle carrying a plurality of products in a plurality of product bins comprising the steps of: (a) providing a digital soil map; (b) providing a digital fertilizer map; (c) providing a first field characteristic status map independent of said digital fertilizer map; (d) determining the position of said distributing vehicle in said field relative to said maps; (e) determining the speed of said distributing vehicle; (f) determining from the soil map the type of soil located where said vehicle is located; (g) determining from the fertilizer map the desired levels of the products to be attained where said vehicle is located; (h) determining from the first field characteristic status map the first field characteristics where the vehicle is located; (i) determining the product rate at which product should be applied to said field based on the type of soil, the first field characteristic, the desired fertilizer level, and the speed of the vehicle determined in steps (e), (f), (g) and (h); and (j) feeding, conveying and spreading said products from said product bins at dispensing rates proportionate to said determined product rates and vehicle speed.