US 12,239,038 B2
Apparatus and methods for measuring soil conditions
Dillon Sloneker, Danvers, IL (US)
Assigned to Precision Planting LLC, Tremont, IL (US)
Appl. No. 17/998,408
Filed by Precision Planting LLC, Tremont, IL (US)
PCT Filed Jun. 10, 2021, PCT No. PCT/IB2021/055112
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 10, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/003460, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 6, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/047,581, filed on Jul. 2, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0172092 A1, Jun. 8, 2023
Int. Cl. A01B 79/00 (2006.01); G01N 33/24 (2006.01)
CPC A01B 79/005 (2013.01) [G01N 33/24 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for measuring a soil condition, the apparatus comprising:
a shank configured to engage with a drawbar;
an array of movable pads disposed on or over a lateral surface of the shank, each of the movable pads spaced at different distances from a point at which the shank is configured to engage the drawbar; and
a plurality of sensors, each sensor coupled to at least one movable pad of the array of movable pads and configured to measure deflection of the at least one movable pad relative to the shank as the shank is dragged through soil by the drawbar.