US5741983A — Soil sampler for analysis for fertilizer determin…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 188 words

An automatic soil sampler for providing a plurality of soil samples along a selected path of movement comprising a frame, a container on the frame, a probe assembly mounted on said frame, said probe assembly being adaptable for insertion in the soil to remove a core of soil comprising a soil sample in a first probe assembly position, a transporter for moving said probe assembly repeatedly to and from a second position adjacent the container, a packaging assembly for receiving said soil sample from the probe assembly and including a series of individual packages, each individual package receiving and soil sample from the probe assembly, a package drive for moving the individual packages in sequence in response to movement of the probe assembly to the second position; wherein said packaging assembly includes sealable sheet portions of material, said sheet portions of material merging in a bight portion, said probe assembly being positionable adjacent the bight portion for ejecting the soil sample carried thereby into the bight portion, and means for sealing the sheet portions together around the soil sample to form an individual package for each soil sample.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 188 words

An automatic soil sampler for providing a plurality of soil samples along a selected path of movement comprising a frame, a container on the frame, a probe assembly mounted on said frame, said probe assembly being adaptable for insertion in the soil to remove a core of soil comprising a soil sample in a first probe assembly position, a transporter for moving said probe assembly repeatedly to and from a second position adjacent the container, a packaging assembly for receiving said soil sample from the probe assembly and including a series of individual packages, each individual package receiving and soil sample from the probe assembly, a package drive for moving the individual packages in sequence in response to movement of the probe assembly to the second position; wherein said packaging assembly includes sealable sheet portions of material, said sheet portions of material merging in a bight portion, said probe assembly being positionable adjacent the bight portion for ejecting the soil sample carried thereby into the bight portion, and means for sealing the sheet portions together around the soil sample to form an individual package for each soil sample.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 28 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 1, and an ejector for ejecting the core of soil from the probe assembly when the packaging assembly receives each soil sample.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 33 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 1, wherein said probe assembly includes a probe, and means for actuating the probe from the first position to the second position in response to input signals.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 51 words

The apparatus of claim 1 and control means for sequentially operating the probe assembly and the packaging assembly to package each soil sample in a separate package, a desired number of packages being attached to each other to form a strip of packages correlated to a sequence of soil sampling locations.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 49 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 2, and control means for sensing when the soil sample is ejected from the probe assembly and for actuating the packaging assembly to package the soil sample, the probe assembly being actuated in a sequence correlated to the packaging of each soil sample.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 31 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 1 and means for establishing the selected path of movement along a field, and for removing soil samples automatically from desired locations along the path.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 138 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 1, wherein said means for sealing the sheet portions of material together to form a package comprise a pair of heat sealers, means for mounting said heat sealers for movement toward and away from said sheet portions of material on opposite outer sides of the respective sheet portions, said heat sealers forming a pocket that is open toward a top of the pocket to form the bight portion for receiving a soil sample, and means for advancing the sheet portions of material to a position so that the soil sample received in the bight portion is moved below the heat sealers, said heat sealers subsequently being actuatable to seal an upper portion of the pocket in which the soil sample received in the bight portion is placed to form a sealed package.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 66 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 7, wherein said means for advancing the sheet portions comprise a clamp which clamps the sheet portions of material after forming the open top pocket, and for pulling the sheet portions of material after the heat sealers have been spaced from the sheet portions of material to pull the sheet portions of material through the heat sealers a desired amount.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 107 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 1, wherein said probe assembly is mounted on a movable probe frame including a shaft, a wheel rotatably mounted with respect to said shaft, clutch and brake means for selectively drivably engaging said wheel to drive said shaft and to hold said shaft in a desired position while said wheel rotates, said wheel being movable to a position to engage the ground, and an arm coupled to said shaft for mounting the probe assembly, and for causing the probe assembly to be inserted into the soil and removed when the wheel is coupled to the shaft and the wheel is rotating.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 33 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 1 and a distance measuring sensor for providing an indication of distance traveled along the path and for providing a distance signal for actuating the probe assembly.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 44 words

The automatic soil sampler of claim 7 wherein the sheet portions of material are formed into a strip of the plurality of packages containing soil samples correlated in sequence to the sequential location of a position of sampling such soil samples along each path.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 48 words

The apparatus of claim 1 including an indicator on the packaging assembly for identifying each package being formed from samples on the selected path of the automatic soil sampler to identify the packages relative to the position from which the soil samples were taken in the selected path.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 48 words

The apparatus of claim 12 and a testing station for individual testing each of said soil samples for desired characteristics and for maintaining a soil sample correlation to the position from which each soil sample was taken using the indicator on said each package for the soil sample.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 36 words

The apparatus of claim 4 and a sensor for sensing when the soil sample is moved to a position to be packaged, and for providing a signal to the control means for operating the packaging assembly.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 198 words

An apparatus for providing individual soil samples for testing for components in the soil individually, comprising a mobile frame, a probe operable to remove a soil sample at each of a plurality of sampling locations from the soil as the mobile frame is moved along a desired path, control means to operate the probe to remove soil samples at desired intervals along the path, a soil sample packaging assembly mounted on the frame, a transport device for moving the probe to the packaging assembly, each soil sample being ejected from the probe at a location to be placed into a package formed by the packaging assembly, the packaging assembly individually packaging each of the soil samples from each sampling location, each package being correlatable to each sampling location for subsequent analysis, and wherein said packaging assembly includes a pair of sealable sheet portions of material, said sheet portions of material merging in a bight portion, said probe being positionable adjacent the bight portion for ejecting the soil sample into the bight portion, and means for sealing the sheet portions together around the soil sample received in the bight portion to form an individual package for each soil sample.

Claim 17

Independent Claim 198 words

An apparatus for providing individual soil samples for testing for components in the soil individually, comprising a mobile frame, a probe operable to remove a soil sample at each of a plurality of sampling locations from the soil as the mobile frame is moved along a desired path, control means to operate the probe to remove soil samples at desired intervals along the path, a soil sample packaging assembly mounted on the frame, a transport device for moving the probe to the packaging assembly, each soil sample being ejected from the probe at a location to be placed into a package formed by the packaging assembly, the packaging assembly individually packaging each of the soil samples from each sampling location, each package being correlatable to each sampling location for subsequent analysis, and wherein said packaging assembly includes a pair of sealable sheet portions of material, said sheet portions of material merging in a bight portion, said probe being positionable adjacent the bight portion for ejecting the soil sample into the bight portion, and means for sealing the sheet portions together around the soil sample received in the bight portion to form an individual package for each soil sample.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2001-04-20	2001-10-20	2002-04-21	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2005-04-20	2005-10-20	2006-04-21	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2009-04-20	2009-10-20	2010-04-21	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Soil sampler for analysis for fertilizer determination

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