Tagged Container Tracking

NATIONAL SERVICE OF

INTELLECTUAL RIGHTS Authorization on refill equipment and container labels. The container can be automatically calibrated based on the bulk density or other parameter of the product in the container. Data from multiple containers can be accumulated automatically. Application-specific data from individual containers can be used to verify product application rate and treated area coverage, independent of operator input.

Observations

Documents that accompany the application • Document of images • Proof of maintenance fee • Technical reports • Claims

SIGNATURE OF THE APPLICANT

SIGNATURE OF ATTORNEY

Page 3/3

TRACKING OF LABELED CONTAINERS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the control of closed container systems for agricultural products and, more particularly, to the monitoring of one or more of the quantity of product, the type of product, the handling of the container, the supply of the product according to the place, user authentication and recipient authentication.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED REQUEST

This application claims priority to US Provisional Application No. 62/508,145, filed May 18, 2017. The entire content of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Closed supply container systems use containers that can be pre-filled with a broad spectrum of agricultural inputs, such as pesticides (including, but not limited to, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and herbicides), fertilizers, plant growth regulators, biological agents, and /or other agricultural products). Generally, the contents of closed supply containers are transferred from the closed supply container to a product receiving tank through a connecting mechanism that actuates valves located on both the container and the tank. The valve of the container and the valve of the tank must be open for the passage of the contents of the container to the tank. Both valves must be closed before removing the container from the connecting mechanism to: (1) prevent loss of container contents, (2) prevent loss of reservoir contents, (3) prevent contamination of the contents remaining in the container and (4) prevent contamination of the tank contents. Since the passage of content from the product container to the product receiving tank is confined to the connection mechanism between the container and the tank, the protection of the agricultural worker during the content transfer process is enhanced, due to less exposure dermal and inhalation during the transfer process.

The previously described process for transferring the contents of a closed supply container to a product receiving depot can be accomplished in many instances, without limitation, without adverse effects to the integrity of the contents being transferred. Therefore, this process is ideal for transferring contents from a larger closed supply container to a smaller closed supply container in order to protect the product being transferred from contamination or loss of efficacy. The previously described valve mechanism is used for both inlet and outlet, which means that the contents are introduced into the closed supply container and are supplied from the closed supply container through the same port or opening, both of which are accessed. through the valve mechanism. Product transfers between closed supply containers can be accomplished through an iterative process, in which product is transferred from a large volume container to a small volume container, then transferred back to an even smaller container. , with a size suitable for physical manipulation by human personnel. If desired, the same process can be implemented in reverse, i.e., transfer the contents from smaller containers to larger containers, and since the container contents are protected from external contamination at all times due to the valve mechanism , partially loaded closed supply containers can be refilled or topped up without the need to completely empty and clean the container before refilling it with the same type of product.

Some closed supply containers are designed for use with product application equipment that allows product to be applied directly from the closed container, also indicated herein as a container, to a product target, without the need to first transfer the contents of the container. container to a product receiving tank. In this case and without limitation, the objective of the product could be: the furrow in which seed is planted for agricultural production, the seed itself as it is placed in or on the ground, the surface of land in an area adjacent to or close to the seed furrow, an area of ​​land below the seed furrow, any surface of soil, regardless of the presence or absence of planted seeds, as well as whole sprouted plants or any part thereof grown in soil or hydroponically. Patented or patent pending closed delivery systems used with product application equipment assigned to AMVAC Chemical

Corporation of Newport Beach, California, include US Patent No. 7,270,065 and US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0000022 by Larry M. Conrad, as well as US Patent No. 6,938,564, and application publications US Patent Nos. 2018/0014456 and 2018/0092296 to Conrad et al., for example.

COMPENDIUM

This invention features a method performed by at least one computer processor executing computer program instructions stored on at least one non-transient computer-readable medium to authenticate and track product usage by a user. The method includes inputting specific user identity data, container identity data, and product identity data into the memory associated with at least one container. When the container is in close proximity to dispensing equipment operated for the benefit of a current user, including by or on behalf of a current user, the method includes (i) reading from the container the container's identity data, the specific user identity data and product identity data and (ii) reading the identity data of the current user close to the supply equipment. In certain embodiments, it is determined whether the container is authorized for use by the current user with the product based on the container's identity data, the specific user's identity data, the current user's identity data, and the data product identity. If it is determined that the container is not authorized for use with the product by the current user, dispensing of product from the container is prohibited. If the container is determined to be licensed for use with the product by the current user, dispensing of product from the container is permitted.

In some embodiments, the method further includes detecting a change in the use of the product stored in the container and generating product use data representing the change in use of the product stored in the container. In one embodiment, the generation of product usage data is responsive to the detection of a change in product usage. In certain embodiments, the product usage data in the memory associated with the container is updated repeatedly during repeated intervals to reflect the change in usage of the product stored in the container during each interval.

Product usage data includes at least one of product quantity, supply speed, supply time, linear extent of treatment with supply, place of supply, and treatment area with supply. In some embodiments, the method further includes processing the container after dispensing, reading the updated product usage data from the memory associated with the container, and then adding product to the container to reload it according to the updated product usage data. In one embodiment, an invoice is generated for the specific user based on product usage data.

In certain embodiments, the memory associated with the container is part of an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag. In various embodiments, current user identity data is read from a user identification source associated with the dispensing equipment, such as an authorization code allowing dispensing on the dispensing equipment. In some embodiments, each entity that obtains the container is tracked and the memory associated with the container is updated with data about the entity's ownership. In one embodiment, the method further includes designating a container as a container for use by or on behalf of the specific user for a specific product, such as a selected agricultural product.

In some embodiments, the method includes repeatedly detecting and at least during product delivery changes in the geographic location of the container, and repeatedly entering and updating geographic information for multiple geographic locations, typically a sequence of geographic locations with data about the application-specific product in such geographic locations entered into the memory associated with the container. In certain embodiments, an application-specific map is generated to record application-specific quantities of product being delivered at sequence of geographic locations in a desired area. In one embodiment, the application-specific map is compared to a prescriptive map to generate a difference map indicating at least differences greater than a selected amount of error, such as deviations greater than two percent or three percent from the prescribed values, between the prescribed information on the prescriptive map and the application-specific information on the application-specific map regarding the quantities and type of product actually supplied at the sequence of geographic locations in the desired area. In another embodiment, the application-specific product data is compared with prescriptive application data to generate an error message for differences greater than a selected amount of error between the prescribed information and the application-specific information with respect to the quantities and type of product actually supplied at geographic locations in the desired area. In certain embodiments, the method further includes (i) inputting vendor identification data into the memory associated with the container prior to dispensing product from the container, (iii) reading vendor identification data during container processing and after delivery. supply and (iii) prohibit the addition of product to the container until it is determined that the seller's identification data is authorized for said product in said container.

The present invention also features a non-transient, computer-readable medium that stores computer program instructions for authenticating and tracking a user's use of a product, wherein the instructions include one or more of the methods described herein. . The present invention may also be expressed as a computer program product for authenticating and tracking the use of an agricultural and/or horticultural product by a user, wherein the computer program product comprises a non-transient storage medium and computer readable, with an embedded computer-readable program code and with the computer-readable program code configured to accomplish one or more of the methods described herein.

The present invention also presents a system and method that automatically controls the data on product use, such as the type and amount of product suitable for at least one of use in agriculture and use in horticulture that is stored in at least one container and that is supplied from it over time and/or according to geographic location. Controlled data is stored in memory, such as a label on the container, and, in certain modalities, transmitted to a server and/or input/output device, such as a tablet or other mobile device, for storage, accumulation, and analysis. . The container can be verified prior to its authorization for use in product supply. The container can be automatically refilled with only the proper amount and type of product needed to load the container. To ensure that only the correct type of product is introduced into the container during the refill process, in some embodiments authentication of the container and the container from which the contents are to be supplied for refill is performed. The container content delivery system can be automatically calibrated based on a product parameter, such as the weight and/or bulk density (or liquid viscosity) of the product in the container. Data from multiple containers can be accumulated automatically.

Other features and advantages of the various aspects and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below and with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagram of a system including a labeled container for dispensing product, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a data flow diagram of a method for tracking changes in the amount of product in the labeled container of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flowchart of a system for tracking changes in the amount of product in the labeled container of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a data flow diagram of a method of refilling the labeled container of Figure 1 with a product automatically, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of a system for carrying out the method of Figure 4, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flowchart of a method for determining if the indicated amount of product delivered from the labeled container of Figure 1 in a field differs from the actual amount of "application specific" product delivered from the container, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a data flow diagram of a system for performing the method of Figure

6, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a data flow diagram of a method for automatically recalibrating a meter attached to the labeled container of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a flowchart of a method for accumulating information from multiple containers, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a schematic representation of an application-specific map, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a schematic representation of a prescriptive map that can be compared to the application-specific map of Figure 10 to produce a difference map, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention may be embodied by a system and a method using the system, with at least one computer processor executing computer program instructions stored on at least one non-transient computer-readable medium, as a method of authenticating and tracking data. use of product by a user. The method executed by the processor includes inputting specific user identity data, container identity data, and product identity data into memory associated with at least one container. When the container is in close proximity to powered dispensing equipment for the benefit of a current user, including by or on behalf of a current user, the method includes (i) reading identity data from the container, identity data of the specific user and product identity data from the container and (ii) read the identity data of the current user close to the supply equipment, such as by reading a user identification source on or otherwise associated with the provisioning equipment. Whether the container is authorized for use by the current user with the product is determined based on the container's identity data, the specific user's identity data, the current user's identity data, and the user's identity data. product. If it is determined that the container is not authorized for use with the product by the current user, dispensing of product from the container is prohibited. If the container is determined to be licensed for use with the product by the current user, dispensing of product from the container is permitted. In other words, the current user (or an individual acting on behalf of or authorized by the current user) only becomes a real user, also referred to herein as an authenticated operator, after authorization in accordance with the present invention.

By dispensing product contents from closed supply containers using application equipment that allows the container contents to be applied directly to the product target (such as soil, seeds, or plants) without transferring said product to a product receiving tank, the container valve opens and closes itself as necessary to prevent loss of container contents, as well as to prevent contamination of the remaining content in the container. When used in this manner, application equipment that applies the contents of the closed supply container is provided with a mechanism for actuating the valve in the closed supply container. The application equipment also has one or more metering devices, to ensure that the product contained in the closed supply container is dispensed in accordance with all relevant regulations and also to prevent the loss or application of contents from the closed supply container in areas other than the intended purpose of the product. Conrad et al. describe a certain agricultural appliance with measuring devices and other equipment suitable for use in accordance with the present invention in US Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0059626 A1, as do Wintemute et al. in US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0265374. The present invention may also be combined with equipment described in one or more of US Patent No. 7,270,065 and US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0000022 to Larry M. Conrad, as well as US Patent No. 6,938,564, and US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2018/0014456 and 2018/0092296 to Conrad et al., for example, which are also owned by the assignee hereof or an associate thereof.

Electronic Memory Devices (EMDs) may be placed in product containers used in closed supply container systems. Product information can be recorded on the EMDs when adding product to the container. Information recorded in the EMD is limited only by the EMD's own storage capacity and limitations, but examples of information that may be stored in the EMD include, but are not limited to, an individual's unique identification code (which is a specific user identity data type) that is placed in an individual container, a product name (which is a product identity data type), EPA registration information (Other Product Identity Data), the facility where the contents were produced (Other Product Identity Data), the lot number of the product (yet another Product Identity Data product), the facility in which the container was loaded, the date the product was produced (yet another type of product identity data), the date the container was loaded, the manufacturer's stock storage unit (SKU) number, an authorization code that allows an electronically controlled valve system to be used to allow the transfer of contents from one closed supply container to another closed supply container or product receiving tank (this code serves as a user identity data type current) and/or an authorization code that allows the use of an electronically controlled valve system to allow the transfer of the contents of the closed delivery directly to application equipment (this code serves as another type of current user identity data) that allows an authenticated operator to apply product content to a product target without first having to pass it through a receiving repository product.

The EMDs described in the previous section can be combined with Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs), which allow electronic information to be retrieved (read) from the EMD or added to (recorded) via radio frequencies or waves. . The use of RFID technology to read or write to an EMD eliminates the need for hardwired/physical electrical connections between an EMD in the closed supply container and the device that reads and uses information from the EMD, and also eliminates the need for electrical connections. physical/wired between the device that sends and records information on the EMD. An RFID-equipped EMD is referred to herein as an RFID tag.

In addition to RFID tags, other forms of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) are within the scope of the present invention, such as "smart cards" and other devices that can be updated by magnetic fields, optical radiation or other wireless transmissions.

A metering device used to dispense contents from or add contents to an RFID-tagged enclosed supply container can be linked with equipment that monitors, on a near-continuous basis (i.e., several times per second), the amount of product that is dispensed from or added to the container and can update the RFID tag to reflect quantities of product supplied. Updated product quantity information can be recorded or otherwise recorded on the container's RFID tag at any rate (eg, multiple times per second), which may equal or differ from the rate at which the amount of product supplied is monitored. Since the information about the content of the container is stored in the RFID tag, it is possible to read the information from the RFID tag at times other than the time when the content information was recorded and also determine or know the amount of product in the container with the RFID tag.

Product from RFID tagged closed supply containers may be supplied using global navigation systems (GNS) geo-referenced spatial positioning and/or temporal information application equipment such as the satellite radio navigation global positioning system (GPS, for its acronym in English) that allow to understand in a very exact way (precision of plus or minus 30 centimeters or less) where the product was applied. GPS or other positioning data is preferably enhanced with Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning techniques to achieve sub-centimeter location accuracy. In some modalities, GPS information alone is used, and in other modalities, terrestrial beacons or other positioning aids and/or temporal registration are used in combination with or instead of GNS information.

Information from the RFID tag of a closed supply container can be combined with spatial positioning information from application equipment to create and store in a separate and distinct memory from the container's RFID tag a geo-referenced record indicating precisely where and/or when the product from the container was supplied and applied.

An automatic electronic record that indicates precisely where product from an RFID-tagged container was applied eliminates the need for the user to manually record application information associated with product dispensed from the RFID-tagged container, while simultaneously it also eliminates the potential human error associated with manually written or entered notes or records.

An automatic electronic record that accurately indicates the product, the amount of product, and the location where the product was dispensed from an RFID-tagged container ensures that all product applied from those containers is consistently and consistently recorded. Since the information that identifies the applied product comes from the information encoded on the container's RFID tag, all product applied from containers with that same code can be registered using information registered in the same format. This data consistency makes the accumulation and analysis of application data from multiple recipients, users, and locations easier, faster, and more accurate. An accurate and economical analysis of the accumulated data allows for better and more accurate usage recommendations for a future application of the same product.

Since each RFID-tagged container can be given a code to identify the individual container in which the RFID tag is placed, as well as the RFID tag's read/write function allows precise knowledge of the contents of product from a partially loaded container for registration on the RFID tag, Suppliers can issue debit and credit invoices to purchasers and/or other types of users of RFID-tagged containers using equipment that can read the necessary information from the RFID tag affixed to the container. By associating an RFID-tagged container with an individual at the time of purchase, an invoice for the container's contents can be created by reading and processing the information from the RFID tag placed on the container. When the user returns the container to the place of purchase, the vendor who made the original sale to the user can again read the RFID tag and, based on that reading, the net contents present in the container can be determined. At that time, a credit may be automatically issued to the user for the unused content remaining in the RFID-tagged container, so that the user only has the net expense of the content supplied from the container. In one embodiment, data about the net content on the RFID tag could be transferred to the supplier wirelessly via Wi-Fi, cellular service or other communication system, without the need for the supplier to have the RFID tag in its possession. and read or scan it in order to issue a credit invoice for the remaining product content in the container after use of the container by the authorized user.

Because each unopened supply container is individually identified by a unique code on the RFID tag affixed to the container, by associating that unique code with a unique user at the time the user makes the purchase, multiple containers with RFID tag may co-exist at the original place of purchase before being processed to issue the unused content credit present in each container, without this representing a risk or concern. In some constructions, the unique code for the specific user includes biometric data, such as facial recognition, one or more fingerprints, or iris reading data. Biometric data can serve as a source of user identification, to authorize a current user as an operator of the delivery equipment. In other constructions, an input/output device may be used to input a password, computer chip on a card, or tag into supply equipment with identifier information or other unique identifier as a source of user identification, in order to authenticate and approving a current user as a specific approved user and/or authorized handler or operator of the container and the product it contains.

As described above, returning partially charged RFID tagged closed supply containers to the location where the container was originally loaded or to that entity's refill agent can be processed by refilling or refilling the container to the maximum level. without the need to completely empty and clean the inside of the container before refilling it with the same authorized product.

Referring to Figure 1, a system 100 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 includes a container 102 for the containment and supply of material, such as agricultural and/or horticultural products. While reference to agricultural produce may be made herein in connection with container 102, this is merely exemplary and does not represent a limitation of the present invention. In embodiments of the present invention, the container 102 can store material other than agricultural products, such as material for use in construction, repair, and other types of industries. Also, container 102 can store any of a variety of agricultural products, such as fertilizers, nutrients, crop protection chemicals, biologics, and plant growth regulators, whether in liquid, granular, or other form.

The container 102 can take various forms. In general, the container 102 may include an outer cover that may be sealed or otherwise impervious, with the exception of one or more openings for receiving and/or dispensing the produce. Container 102 may be rigid to prevent caking of granular materials by compression during storage and/or transportation of container 102. In another embodiment, the container 102 may contain a flexible inner bag within the outer shell of the container. One purpose of the bag may be to reduce or eliminate the possibility of product loss in the event of a break or crack in the outer shell of the container. Another purpose of the bag could be to allow a total extraction of the product from the container 102, to allow the loading of the rigid container 102 with a different product, without having to wash the interior of the rigid container 102 first. The flexible inner bag protects the interior of the rigid container 102 from product contamination.

Container 102 may include a produce storage unit 104 for storing produce 106. Produce storage unit 104 may be, for example, a separate container within container 102, containing produce 106 and preventing contact of produce 106 with other parts of container 102. Container 102 may include multiple produce storage units. Alternatively, container 102 may not include any product storage units, in which case the entire interior of container 102 may function as product storage unit 104 in Figure 1 .

As illustrated in Figure 1, product 106 may occupy less than the entire product storage unit 104 at any particular time. More generally, at any particular time, the product storage unit 104 may: (1) be empty (i.e., contain no product 106 at all), (2) contain less than the capacity of the product 106 product storage unit 104 or (3) being full of product 106. As will be described in more detail below, the amount of product 106 in product storage unit 104 can vary over time. Although product storage unit 104 may contain multiple types of products at one time, generally product storage unit 104 only contains a single type of product at any one time.

The container 102 also includes an element that is referred to herein as a tag 108. The tag 108 can be, for example, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, such as an active or passive RFID tag. More generally, however, the tag 108 can be any component or combination of components that perform the functions described herein.

The tag 108 can be found within, attached to, or in communication with the container 102 in any of a variety of ways. For example, label 108 may be placed on an internal or external surface of container 102. In another example, label 108 may be inside container 102. For example, label 108 may be part of an assembly (such as a circuit board). ) on container 102. Label 108 may be physically separate (eg. eg, not included or coupled) with respect to container 102, but may be in communication with container 102, such as through wireless communication.

The tag 108 may include a memory module 110 (such as an EMD, as the term is used herein), which may be any type of volatile or non-volatile memory capable of storing the data described herein. For example, memory 110 may include product usage data, such as product quantity data 118 which, as described in more detail below, may represent the quantity of product 106 currently in container 102. Other data stored in memory 110 may include one or more of product type 120 (also indicated as product identity data), container identification 122, application specific data 124, touch history 126, bulk density 128 and/or or farmer identification 130, which are specific user identity data types. Other data that is stored in some constructions includes the unique identity of the merchant/supplier/vendor through whom the container was purchased, as represented by merchant identification data, which is also referred to herein as seller identification.

Tag 108 may include a processor module 116, which may be any type of electronic processor. Processor 116 may communicate with memory 110 to write product usage data to memory 110 and/or read product usage data from memory 110.

The tag 108 may include a transmitter module 112 for transmitting signals, such as by wireless signal transmission. For example, processor 116 may extract data (eg. product usage data, such as product quantity data 118, product type data 120, and specific user identity data, such as farmer identification 130) from memory 110 and make the transmitter module 112 transmits a signal representing the extracted data.

Similarly, tag 108 may include a receiver module 114 for receiving signals, such as by wireless signal reception. For example, the receiver module 114 can receive a signal. Processor 116 can determine that receiver module 114 received the signal and then, in response thereto, cause memory 110 to store data (eg. data on the quantity of the product 118, the data on the type of product 120 and the identification of the farmer 130) representing or otherwise based on the signal.

The label 108 need not include all of the elements illustrated in Figure 1. A schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. Various elements of the label 108 illustrated in Figure 1 of the label 108 and/or may be omitted. or they may be located elsewhere in container 102. For example, processor 116 may be located elsewhere within container 102 than tag 108 and perform the functions described herein from within container 102 and not from within tag 108. In another example, processors Elements in tag 108 may be distributed across multiple elements, some of which may be found in label 108 and some of which may be in container 102. For example, processor 116 may be divided into two processors, one at label 108 and one elsewhere in container 102. Functions described herein as being performed by processor 116 may instead be performed on multiple processors of any number. in various ways.

As will be described in more detail below, embodiments of the present invention may use one or more containers of the type illustrated in Figure 1 , a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. Each of these containers may some or all properties of the container 102 illustrated in Figure 1 a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. Any description herein of container 102, as well as systems and methods that include and use container 102, may equally apply to any number of containers implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Multiple containers implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention need not be identical to each other. Rather, different containers implemented in accordance with embodiments of the present invention may differ from one another in various ways and still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Referring now to Figure 2, a data flow diagram of a method 200 for tracking the amount of product 106 in container 102, Figure 1, over time is illustrated. Container 102 is loaded with product 106, as represented by activity 202, Figure 2 shows a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000. This loading can be done in any of a number of ways. By way of simple example, container 102 is illustrated in Figure 1 with a port 152. A product loading module 150, containing or otherwise having access to the product with which it is desired to load the container 102, is attached to port 152 via a suitable coupling 154 and the product loading module 150 then provides the product to container 102 via coupling 154, where the product is then received in product storage unit 104 as product 106. Product loading module 150 can deliver any amount of product 106 to container 102. For example, product loading module 150 can deliver product 106 to container 102 until product storage unit 104 is full of product. 106, although this is not necessary.

System 100 generates product usage data to repeatedly update label 108 on container 102 based on how container 102 is loaded with product 106 (FIG. 2, activity 204). This product usage data update can be done in any of a number of ways. For example, the tag 108 may be in communication with the product storage unit 104 via a connection 156 which may be any type of wired and/or wireless connection. Tag 108 may receive information about loading product storage unit 104 with product 106, and tag processor 116 may update tag memory 110 based on the information received. Examples of information that processor 116 may store in memory 110 in response to loading from product storage unit 104 include any one or more of the following, in any combination, whether or not specifically illustrated: in figure 1: the type (p. (e.g., product name and/or manufacturer) of product 106 (in product type data 120), the amount of product 106 that was in the product storage unit 104 before starting the loading process, the quantity of product 106 that was added to the product storage unit 104 during the loading process, the quantity of product 106 included in the product storage unit 104 as a result of the loading process, a unique identifier for the label 108, EPA registration information for the container 102 and/or the product 106, place where the product 106 was manufactured, a lot number for the product 106, place where the container was loaded 102 with product 106, date product 106 was manufactured, date container 102 was loaded with product 106, and the manufacturer's SKU number for product 106. Any amount of product described above can be stored in the product quantity data 118 .

The label update process described previously in connection with the activity

204 of Figure 2 can be performed any time product is added to product storage unit 104. For example, if a certain quantity of product 106 is added to the product storage unit 104 at first and the label 108 is updated as described above and then at a later time product 106 is added back to the storage unit product storage unit 104, the label update process can be performed again in connection with the additional loading of the product storage unit 104. The resulting data (eg. quantities and/or product type) may be stored in memory 110. As will be described in more detail below, this new data may replace (substitute) existing data in memory 110, be added to, or combined with it. In the event of damage or destruction of the container label, the container data stored in the application equipment's memory system can be used to create a new label/replacement label, without any loss of data from the previous label . Prior to reloading, label information for the container to be reloaded may be stored in a memory device associated with the reloading equipment. By storing the container label information in the memory device associated with the recharging equipment, it is possible to remove the container label and replace it, after which the label information of the removed label can be recorded on the new label/ substitute label, without loss of information regarding the removed label. The new tag/substitute tag can then be updated during the reload process, in a manner consistent with the process described in the previous part of this paragraph regarding the tag update process. An essential element of the container loading and reloading process is the requirement for a container label authorization code and an additional transfer container label authorization code from which the product will be transferred to the container. If the authorization codes of the container to be refilled and the transfer container from which the refill product will be transferred do not match or are otherwise determined to be incompatible and/or not authorized, no authorization is permitted. the transfer of product from the transfer vessel to the container.

A farmer purchases the container 102 (figure 2, activity 206). Although reference is made herein to a "farmer", this term should be understood to refer to any person or entity that purchases, leases, or otherwise obtains possession and/or control of Container 102, whether such person or entity is a farmer. This entity gaining possession may be identified by entity possession data, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention. Additionally, although the purchase of the container 102 by the farmer is illustrated in Figure 2 as subsequent to the loading of the container 102 with the product 106, this is merely an example and not a limitation of the present invention. Alternatively, for example, the farmer may obtain container 102 before container 102 is loaded with product 106, in which case loading activity 202 and/or updating activity 204 may occur after the activity 202 is loaded. the farmer has obtained container 102.

Before describing the remainder of the method 200 of Figure 2, the system 300 of Figure 3 is considered next and a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. System 300 includes a product delivery assembly 302, with multiple receptacles 304a-h and multiple corresponding meters 306a-h. Each of the receptacles 304a-h is configured to receive a corresponding container, such as container 102 of Figure 1, a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. Inserting a container into one of the receptacles 304a-h h, the corresponding meter of the 306a-h meters can supply product from the container inserted through a valve in the container. For example, port 152 illustrated in Figure 1 may include a valve, which may be used to both receive product 106 for loading container 102, and to supply product 106 from container 102 through the corresponding meter. As used herein, the term "meter" can be applied to devices capable of delivering dry and liquid products. While system 300 uses a single receptacle per row, other constructions provide two or more receptacles per row so that multiple containers per row can be used for the dispensing of multiple dry and/or liquid products per row. For example, Figure 7 of Wintemute et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0265374A1, illustrates a planter 122 with 16 sets, A, B of produce bins, illustrated side by side.

The product supply assembly 302 may be attached to an apparatus for supplying the product in a field, such as a food crop field, nursery, golf course, turf farm, turf field, or other type of product. land use for agricultural and/or horticulture purposes. Although eight receptacles 304ah and corresponding meters 306a-h are shown in Figure 3 for illustrative purposes, product supply assembly 302 may contain any number of receptacles and meters per planter row unit. Typical planters include 16 or 24 rows for corn, 12 or 16 rows for cotton, and 4 or 6 rows for potatoes. Systems according to the present invention can use multiple containers per row. However, this is merely illustrative and does not constitute a limitation of the embodiments of the present invention. Rather, embodiments of the present invention may be used in connection with product delivery assemblies with any number of receptacles and meters per row, and overall for simultaneous application of any combination of multiple dry and/or liquid products.

Referring again to Figure 2, the grower may attach container 102 to product supply assembly 302, such as by inserting container 102 into one of receptacles 304a-h (Figure 2, activity 208). For illustrative purposes, it is assumed that the farmer attaches the container 102 to the receptacle 304a, with the corresponding meter 306a. Consequently, meter 306a can deliver product 106 from container 102 in the field.

System 300 may include one or more tag readers to read a tag on each container when that container is in close proximity to a product delivery assembly 302. For simplicity of illustration, Figure 3 shows a single tag reader. 310. In practice, for example, the system 300 may include a tag reader for each of the corresponding receptacles 304a-h and inserted containers. For example, receptacle 304a may include a tag reader, which may have the ability to read data from the tag 108 in container 102 after container 102 is inserted into receptacle 304a. For example, the tag reader for each receptacle may be attached to, embedded in, or otherwise located in, on, or near the receptacle. For example, the tag readers may be RFID tag readers or otherwise wireless tag readers.

Tag reader 310 reads some or all of the data from tag 108 into container 102 (FIG. 2, activity 210). Some or all of the data in the tag 108 may be encrypted, in which case the tag reader 310 can read this data from the tag 108 and then decode the data into encrypts.

The system 300 also includes a data validation module 314. In general, the data validation module 314 receives the data from the tag 312 read by the tag reader 310 and validates the data from the tag 312 (Figure 2, activity 212). This validation can be performed in any of a number of ways. In general, the data validation module 314 determines whether to allow delivery of product 106 from the container 102 from which the tag 312 data was read, based on the tag 312 data. The data validation module product 314 is a data validation signal 316 indicating whether delivery of product 106 from container 102 should be allowed.

The data validation module 314 can, for example:

• based on label data related to product 106 (such as product quantity data 118 and/or product type data 120), determine if product 106 is a valid product, • based on related label data with product 106 (such as product quantity data 118 and/or product type data 120), determine if container 102 contains a sufficient amount of product 106 for field use, such as by determining whether the quantity of the product 106 in the container 102 is below some predetermined limit quantity, • based on the identification of the container 122, determining whether the container 102 is a valid container, • based on the user's identity data specific in the data on the label and according to the data on the identity of the current user read when approaching the supply equipment, determine if the container 102 is authorized for use with that supply equipment in general and/or by a particular operator of said equipment or if it is authorized for use with a particular supply receptacle and/or meter on that equipment.

The system 300 also includes a container authorization module 318, which receives the data validation signal 316 and, according to said data validation signal 316, determines whether the use of the container 102 from which the data was obtained is authorized. label 312 (figure 2, activity 214). For example, the container authorization module 318 can determine that the container 102 is authorized for use if the data validation signal 316 indicates that the data on the tag 312 is valid and determine that the container 102 is not authorized for use. use if the data validation signal 316 indicates that the data in the tag 312 is invalid.

The container authorization module 318 analyzes the current user identity data and produces a container authorization token 320. The system 300 uses the container authorization token 320 to determine whether to activate or deactivate the container 102 from which the containers were read. tag data 312. The container authorization token 320 may specify a particular container and/or receptacle (eg. g., container 102 and/or receptacle 304a and/or supply meter 306a, as based on unique identifier codes for those components) and indicate whether to activate or deactivate the specified container/receptacle, as if data pass Container Identity for the current user identity data for that receptacle and/or supply meter. The system 300 can activate or deactivate the specified container/receptacle according to the container authorization signal 320. For example, if the container authorization signal 320 specifies the container 102 and indicates that container 102 should be activated, then the system System 300 may activate container 102 for use (or take no action to deactivate container 102 for use) (FIG. 2, activity 216). If container authorization signal 320 specifies container 102 and indicates that container 102 is to be deactivated, then system 300 may deactivate use of container 102 (FIG. 2, activity 218). If container 102 is deactivated, system 300 can prevent corresponding meter 306a from dispensing product 106 from container 102. In one embodiment, when a single container is deactivated due to the absence of an authorization token, it is possible for all containers to be deactivated until the deactivated container is replaced with an authorized/enabled container or until the operator enters an activation code. override that allows the system to apply the product from the containers to all other receptacles, with the exception of the individual receptacle(s) disabled due to the absence of an enable token.

Assuming that the container 102 is activated, it can be assumed that the product supply assembly 302 is put into operation to supply product from the containers to which it is attached, such as the container 102 in the receptacle 306a. As container 102 dispenses product (via corresponding meter 306a) (Figure 2, activity 220), system 300 uses a product metering module 322 to measure product usage data, including product quantity. 106 that is supplied from container 102. Product metering module 322 produces a metering signal, illustrated in Figure 3 as tag data 324, which represents the metered amount of product 106 that is dispensed from container 102. The tag data 324 in this construction they are transmitted to a results module 326; in other constructions, the data from the tag 324 is transmitted to a remote server 332 and/or an input/output ("I/O") device 336. The measurement result module 326 receives the measurement signal 324 as input information in this construction and provides a recording signal in tag 328 to the tag 108, thereby causing the tag 108 to repeatedly update data about the quantity of product 118 on the label 108 so that it reflects the quantity of product 106 supplied and/or the quantity of product 106 remaining in the product storage unit 104 (FIG. 2, activity 222). System 300 can measure the amount of product 106 that is dispensed from container 102 in any of a number of ways. For example, if the 306a-h meters are auger meters, the system 300 can calculate the amount of product delivered by the 306a meter, based on the number of times the auger rotates and/or the number of times and the period of time during which the meter 306a actuates. In some constructions, the system 300 counts the revolutions, strokes, opens, pulses, flow rate, and/or time per cycle of a dispense meter and calculates the amount of product that is dispensed from the container at each operating unit or cycle measured. The system 300 can update the product quantity data 118 on the label at any regular or irregular frequency, such as ten times per second, five times per second, two to four times per second, three times per second, once per second. , once every ten seconds or once a minute. In certain constructions, a backup record of product usage data is stored with the dispensing equipment, such as on storage media associated with the dispensing meter, an EMD associated with the application equipment control system, or a server. remote.

System 300 may update various "application-specific" data 124 on label 108, in addition to product quantity data 118, while product 106 is being dispensed from container 102 (FIG. 2, activity 224). Application-specific data 124 may include, for example, any one or more of the following, in any combination:

• an identifier of the product 106 being supplied from the container 102, • the rate at which the product 106 is supplied from the container 102, • the current location of the container 102, and • the current time.

Any of the data described herein, such as application-specific data 124, may include one or more timestamps indicating one or more times associated with the data, such as when the data was obtained, created, or transmitted. . Similarly, any of the data described herein, such as application-specific data 124, may include geographic information, such as geographic coordinates indicating a location associated with the data, such as a location where it was obtained, created or transmitted the data. Any such geographic information may be obtained, for example, automatically, such as using GPS technology. For example, system 300 may include a GPS module (not illustrated herein), such as georeferencing module 12, Figure 1 of Wintemute et al., US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0265374A1, for example. , which generates a product representing the current location of the system 300. Time can also be indicated remotely, such as through the GPS signal or a separate clock or other time recording device. System 300 may use the output of such a GPS module to generate and store any of the location data described herein. Embodiments of the present invention may correlate various data with each other, using any of the timestamps and/or geographic information described herein. For example, any two data units with the same or similar timestamp can be mapped to each other. Similarly, any two data units with the same or similar geographic location can be mapped to each other.

When new data is stored in the tag 108, this new data can replace the data previously stored in the tag 108. For example, when storing the current new quantity of product 106 in container 102 in data about the quantity of product 118 in label, this new current quantity can replace the previous current quantity of product 106 in the quantity data for product 118. However, as described below, previous product quantity data 118 may not be completely lost to system 300, since such product quantity data 118 (and other data included in label 108) may be transmitted to a distant server 332 and stored remotely.

As described above, output module 326 can update label 108 on container 102 with information about the amount of product 106 remaining in container 102, as well as new application-specific data. The measurement results module 326 may update the tag 108, for example, using local communication technology, such as by transmitting the signal 328 via BlueTooth, WIFI, MIWI, or a local wired connection. Also, the measurement results module 326 can transmit a remote measurement signal 330 to a server 332 (FIG. 2, activity 226). The remote measurement signal 330 can be transmitted using a network communication protocol, such as TCP/IP, over a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, via a wireless and/or wired signal. .

"Server" is used in a broad sense of the term to include computer programs and/or devices that provide functionality to other programs or devices, which may be referred to as "clients." The server 332 can be any type of computing device, regardless of whether said server 332 communicates using a client-server protocol. The server 332 may receive the remote measurement signal 330 and store the data represented by the remote measurement signal 330 as measurement data.

334. For example, if the remote measurement signal 330 contains data representing a container identifier 102, a product identifier 106, a timestamp, a geographic location, and a quantity of product 106 supplied from the container 102 at the time indicated by the mark temporarily at the geographic location, the server 332 can store all these data as the measurement data 334 in a memory storage device, Also represented by reference numeral 334 in Figure 3, a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. System 300 may transmit remote measurement signals 330 repeatedly over time as container 102 (and other containers in product delivery assembly 302) deliver product 106 over time, in response to which the server 332 may store in memory some or all of the data represented by said measurement signals 330 as measurement data 334 and/or communicate the measurement data 334 to an input/output (I/O) device. ) 336, such as a tablet or other mobile computing device. Accordingly, measurement data 334 can be stored and/or transmitted as a record of products delivered from container 102 (and other containers) over time.

One reason for transmitting and storing the application-specific data over time is to allow the server 332 to create an "application-specific map" of the product 106 as it is applied in the field over time. For example, system 300 may apply product 106 based on data previously selected and plotted on a prescriptive map indicating the amount of product 106 intended to be applied at each of various points in the field. An application-specific map 1000, Figure 10 and a prescriptive map 1100, Figure 11 are described below. System 300 can then vary the speed with which product 106 is applied at different locations in the field, to attempt to apply, at each of these locations, the amount of product 106 that the prescriptive map indicates should be applied at that location. place. However, the actual amount of product 106 applied by the system 300 at any specific location in the field may deviate from the amount indicated on the prescriptive map. The system 300 can use the measurements of the actual amounts of product 106 applied at various locations in the field to create an application-specific map for the product 106. The system 300 can then compare the prescriptive map with the application-specific map to identify any variances between the amount of product 106 indicated for application at each of the multiple locations and the amount of product 106 actually applied at each of these multiple locations. places.

An advantage of the techniques described above for tracking changes in the use of product stored in each bin, such as changes in the amount of product 106 over time, is that such techniques can be performed in real time, i.e., as quantities of product 106 are added to container 102 and/or are supplied from said container. The term "real time", as used in connection with tracking change of product quantities 106, refers to tracking such changes and repeatedly updating the tag 108 accordingly and at repeated intervals, without delay. between the change in quantity or other product use parameter 106 and the resulting update(s) of the corresponding product use data on the label 108 (p. g ., the data on the quantity of product 118 and/or the data on the type of product 120). For example, system 100 may update label 108 to reflect a change (ie, increase or decrease) in the amount of product 106 in container 102 (eg. by storing the resulting increase/decrease and/or amount of product 106 in the data on the amount of product 118) at repeating intervals of less than 1 millisecond, 10 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 300 milliseconds, 500 milliseconds, 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 1 minute or less after such change in quantity occurs or is detected. In another example, system 100 may update tag 108 to reflect a change in the geographic location of container 102 (eg, by storing data identifying successive geographic locations on application-specific map 124) in less than 1 millisecond, 10 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or 1 minute or less after such change in rate occurs or is detected. All of these examples constitute "real-time" tracking of product location/quantity at repeated intervals, as that term is used herein. In certain constructions, repeated update intervals begin with a change in the container's circumstances, such as when the container connects with another device, such as a product charging or refilling device, or when the container connects with dispensing equipment. . In some constructions, signals representing real-time tracking, such as error messages for incorrect supply or low quantity warnings, are sent to the farmer or other user via a tablet or other I/O device, such as the I/O 336, figure 3.

Another advantage of the techniques described above for tracking changes in the amount of product 106 over time is that these techniques can be performed automatically, ie, without human intervention. For example, existing systems often require a human tractor or planter operator to manually record the amount of product being applied to a field. This manual process has several disadvantages. For example, manual product application registration is more prone to various types of errors, such as difficulty manually measuring the amount of product dispensed and operator memory limitations. In another example, manual product application registration is more prone to intentional fraud. In yet another example, manual registration may require significant memory usage, which can lead to delays in the registration process. The embodiments of the present invention address all of these problems. For example, embodiments of the present invention can track changes to product 106 in container 102 (such as product type 106 changes, product quantity increases 106, and product quantity decreases 106) in a manner automatic, that is, without the need for manual input of information by a human. This automatic tracking can be done, for example, in the method 200 of Figure 2 in activity 202 (loading of the container 102), activity 222 (update of the label 108 as the product 106 is supplied) and activity 224 (update of application-specific data 124). This automatic tracking eliminates the need for a human operator to manually track, thereby avoiding all of the manual tracking issues described above. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may even prohibit a human operator from manually recording or modifying automatically recorded information (such as product quantity data 118, product type data 120, container identification 122, and application-specific data 124), thereby eliminating the risk of inadvertent human error and the risk of intentional fraud.

Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention can track and record data related to the product, both automatically and in real time. This combination of features allows the tracking of changes in the type and quantity of product 106 to be performed faster, easier and more reliably than with existing systems, which use manual data entry by humans. For example, by automatically monitoring the rates at which product 106 is applied at various locations in time, matching this information with the identification 122 of the container 102 supplying product 106, and transmitting all of this data to server 332 For storage in measurement data 334, embodiments of the present invention can create an application-specific product map 106 as it is applied in the field, all this without involving the operator or farmer. These features provide true inventory control benefits to the manufacturers of the product 106, as well as the supply chain between the manufacturer and the end user of the container 102. Additionally, these features remove the burden of having to store product-specific data. the application at the local level (p. (e.g., on a flash drive or other physical media) and then physically transport them to a computer, enabling real-time, automatic, wireless transmission of application-specific data to the 332 server.

The ability to generate an application-specific map automatically allows you to track which agricultural products are applied to specific crops, without relying on a manual report from farmers to determine truth or accuracy. This ability to track which products have been applied to individual crops, independent of the grower's report, is particularly useful in responding to consumer needs to know which products have been applied to the food they purchase, as well as responding to need for regulatory bodies and food processors to have access to field-specific use of agricultural products.

As described above, amounts of product 106 can be supplied from container 102 over time, resulting in decreases in the amount of product

106 in container 102 over time. Embodiments of the present invention may be used to add more product 106 to container 102, which may include adding more of the same type of product previously present in container 102 or adding to container 102 a different authorized product type than the one previously present in container 102. previously present in said container 102. Any such process to add any amount of authorized product 106 to container 102 is referred to herein as a "refill" of container 102, regardless of whether such reloading causes container 102 (or product storage unit 104) to is full of product 106.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a data flow diagram of a processing method 400 for refilling container 102 with product 106. While method 400 of Figure 4 is described herein as applied to the container 102, said method 400 can be applied to any number of containers, e.g. eg, in sequence (serial) or in parallel. For example, method 400 may be applied to some or all of the containers inserted into receptacles 304a-h. In system 300 of Fig. 3 a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown.

The container 400 reloading method includes loading container 102 with product 106 (figure 4, activity 402), updating the container 108 label with product information (activity 404), obtaining container 102 by the farmer (figure 4, activity 406), attachment of the container 102 to the product supply assembly 302 by the farmer (figure 4, activity 408), reading of some or all of the data of the tag 108 in the container 102 by the tag reader 310 (figure 4, activity 410), reception of the data of the tag 312 read by the data reader 310 by the module of data validation 314 and tag data validation 312 (FIG. 4, activity 412). Activities 402 to 412 in method 400 of Figure 4 can be performed in the same or similar way to activities 202 to 212 in method 200 of Figure 2 and will therefore not be described in detail. at the moment. However, as noted above, if the authorization codes of the container to be refilled and the transfer container from which the refill product will be transferred do not match, the transfer of product from the transfer container to the reload container is not allowed. container.

The farmer ends the activities using the container 102 (FIG. 4, activity 414). The farmer may terminate application activities in any of a number of ways and for any of a number of reasons, all of which are within the scope of the present invention. Stated another way, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to use in connection with planting equipment. The application apparatus can have various types of implements that are used to apply agricultural and/or horticultural information in accordance with the indications for use of the applied information, at any time before, during or after the cultivation cycle of the associated plants. with the applied product. Without limitation, RFID-tagged product containers or containers may be used in accordance with the present invention on aircraft, drones, and turf or golf course application equipment. For example, the farmer may complete the application of product 106 in the field, such as by applying all of the product 106 indicated on a prescriptive map. In such a case, container 102 may or may not still have some amount of product 106. In another example, container 102 may deplete its storage of product 106 completely and the grower may terminate application activities in response to such depletion of product 106. In yet another example, the amount of product 106 in container 102 may be below a certain limit amount, in response to which the farmer can terminate application activities. The determination that the amount of product 106 in the container 102 is below the minimum limit amount can be done, for example, manually by the farmer or automatically by an embodiment of the present invention, which can notify the grower of such a determination and/or automatically prevent further supply of product 106 from container 102 in response to a determination that the quantity of product 106 in container 102 is below the limit quantity minimal.

Regardless of how or for what reason the farmer completes the application activities, the farmer removes the container 102 from the product supply assembly 302 (FIG. 4, activity 416) and delivers the container 102 to a dealer or other party who can recharge the container 102 (figure 4, activity 418). It should be noted that it may not be necessary for the farmer to deliver the container 102 to another party in order to reload the container 102. In certain embodiments of the present invention, for example, the farmer can reload container 102 himself. Therefore, activity 418 can be omitted from method 400 in some embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, references herein to "merchant" in connection with method 400 of Figure 4 are to be understood as references to any party (including the farmer) who may refill container 102.

The merchant, using information on the label 108 of the container 102, determines any one or more of the following, in any combination (FIG. 4, activity 420):

• the unique identity of the container 102, such as by reading the container identification 122, • the type of product 106 that is or was present in the container

02 during the use of the container 102 by the farmer, such as by reading the data on the type of product 120, • the amount of product 106 present in the container 102 at the time the farmer obtained said container 102 or at the last load by the farmer, such as by reading the data on the amount of product 118, • the quantity of product 106 supplied from the container 102 by the farmer since the container 102 was purchased by said farmer or the last load by the farmer, such as by reading the data on quantity of product 118, • the quantity of product 106 currently in container 102 (i.e., at the time the farmer returns container 102), such as by reading data on quantity of product 118, • the unique identity of the farmer who owns or rents the container, such as by reading the identification data of the farmer 130, • the unique identity of the trader/supplier through whom the farmer acquired the container, such as by reading the identification data of the merchant.

Activity 420 may include authenticating container 102, in the same or similar manner to authentication activity 212 in Figure 2, so that only authorized containers can be reloaded. The present invention allows merchants to ensure that containers and the product remaining in them return to the original point of sale or other location of the authorized seller. This facilitates the automatic issuance of a credit invoice when a farmer or other authorized user returns a part-load container.

Referring to Figure 5, a system 500 is illustrated that includes a tag reader 504 that can automatically read any of the data described above. The container 102 of Figure 1 is also illustrated in Figure 5 with the product storage unit 104, the product 106 and the label 108; In other constructions, other types of containers, labels, and components may be used in accordance with the present invention. In some constructions, tag reader 504 is an RFID tag reader that can read data from tag 108 wirelessly. In general, the tag reader 504 may use any suitable technique to read data from the tag 108 wirelessly and/or using cables. The tag reader 504 may be a component of a computing device 502 referred to herein as a container interface device. Container interface device 502 can control tag reader 504 to read data from tag 108. Although the above description only refers to reading some data from tag 108, more commonly the tag reader 504 can read any data from tag 108.

The merchant issues an invoice to the farmer 518 for the amount of product 106 from the container 102 that the farmer 518 has used (FIG. 4, activity 422). This billing process can be accomplished in any of a number of ways. For example, container interface device 502 may include a product usage determination module 508. In general, the product usage determination module 508 can determine the amount of product 106 used by the farmer 518 (eg, the amount of product 106 supplied from the container 102 and/or the total area of ​​the rows in the fields treated with the product) since the acquisition of container 102 by farmer 518, since the last loading of container 102 or since the last invoice issued to farmer 518 for the use of product 106 and/or container 102. The present invention facilitates charging farmers and other authorized users for the value of plant protection and/or growth enhancement and/or yield of the product, rather than only charging them for the full amount of product supplied regardless of its efficiency, which is especially relevant when product delivery is precisely timed with seed delivery or plant placement with application equipment. The product usage determination module 508 may output a signal 510 representing the amount of product 106 used, in some constructions with application specific data and in other constructions without application specific data.

The product usage determination module 508 may produce the product usage amount signal 510 in any of several ways. For example, based on data read by tag reader 504 from tag 108, tag reader 504 may produce a read data signal 506 representing some or all of the data read by tag reader 504 from tag 108. The read data signal 506 may represent, for example, all the data read by the tag reader 504 from the tag 108. If the read data 506 already includes data representing a quantity of product 106 used by the farmer 518, then the product usage determining module 508 can identify this quantity in the read data signal 506 and output said quantity in the product usage quantity signal 510. In another example, if read data signal 506 includes data representing a previous amount of product 106 in container 102 (eg. e.g., the amount of commodity 106 present in bin 102 when grower 518 previously obtained or loaded bin 102 with commodity 106) and data representing the current amount of commodity 1006 in bin 102, the commodity determination module 508 can calculate the difference between these two quantities and display the resulting difference (eg, current quantity minus previous quantity) in the product usage quantity signal 510.

The product usage determination module 508 may calculate a billing amount according to the identified amount of product 106 used, in any of a number of ways, and produce a billing amount signal 512 representing the calculated amount for billing. For example, the product usage determination module 508 may identify a unit price of the product 106 (eg. g., price per unit volume, mass, extent of treated rows, and/or treated field areas) and multiply the unit price by the quantity (eg, volume, mass, extent, or area) of product 106 used (represented by the product usage amount signal 510), to generate a product representing the billing amount, which may include the product usage determination module 508 in the billing amount signal 512.

The product usage determination module 508 may identify the unit price of the product 106 in any of a number of ways. For example, the product usage determination module 508 can identify the product type 106, such as by identifying the product type 106 according to the product type data 120, according to the reading of the label 108 by the label reader. 504, and include it in the read data 506. The product usage determination module 508 can identify the unit price of the product 106 according to the product type 106, such as by using the product type to look up a corresponding unit price in a correspondence (eg, table in database). ) of product types with respect to unit prices.

In another example, the billing amount token 512 may represent a rebate amount due to the grower 518, rather than an amount to be paid by the farmer 518. The product usage determination module 508 may calculate this rebate amount from any of various ways. For example, the produce usage determination module 508 may identify an amount previously paid by farmer 518 for produce 106 in container 102 as the amount paid by farmer 518 for produce 106 at the time that farmer 518 previously received container 102 (eg, initial purchase) or after container 102 was previously loaded with product 106. The produce usage determination module 508 can identify a quantity of produce 106 from the container 102 used by the grower 518 from the time associated with the previous payment by the grower 518, using any of the techniques described herein. The product usage determination module 508 may identify the price of the used amount of product 106 using any of the techniques described herein. The product use determination module 508 can identify a difference between the farmer's previous payment 518 and the price of the used quantity of the product 106, such as by subtracting the price of the used quantity of the product 106 from the previous payment by the farmer. farmer 518. The product usage determination module 508 may identify this difference as the return amount due to grower 518 and may include data representing this return amount due in the billing amount 512.

An invoice generation module 514 generates an invoice 516 according to the billing amount 512. The invoice 516 may include data representing the billing amount 512, which may be positive (in the case of an amount to be paid by the farmer 518). or negative (in the case of an amount (refund) owed to the farmer 518). The system 500 may deliver the bill 516 to the farmer 518 in any way, such as by transmitting the bill 516 in electronic format, on paper, or both. The process of delivering the invoice 516 to the grower 518 may include automatic or semi-automated (eg, upon approval by the grower 518) receipt of payment by the grower 518 for the amount due or delivery of the refund to the grower 518 for the amount owed to said farmer 518.

System 500 may include a product upload module 550, which may be the same or similar to product upload module 150 of Fig. 1 a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown. Product loading module 550 (which in some constructions is part of container interface device 502) can load container 102 with product 106, such as using any of the techniques described above in connection with loading container 102 into the figure 1 (figure 4, activity 424). Product loading module 550 may receive some or all of the read data 506 and/or product usage quantity 510 as incoming information and may identify a quantity of product 106 for loading of the container 102 and then load the container 102 with the quantity of product 106 identified. Product load module 550 can identify the amount of product 106 to load container 102 in any of a number of ways. For example, the product loading module 550 can load the container 102 with the amount of product 106 previously used by the farmer 518, according to the representation in the amount of use of product 510. In another example, based on data read 506, product loading module 550 can identify the maximum amount of product 106 that can be added to product storage unit 104 to fill product storage unit 104 with the product 106 and then load the product storage unit 104 with that amount of product 106. In yet another example, produce loading module 550 may load container 102 with the amount of produce 106 for which grower 518 has paid. For example, grower 518 may pay invoice 516 and, in response to said payment, , the product loading module 550 can identify the amount of product 106 for which the farmer 518 has paid and then load the container 102 with the identified amount of product 106. It should be noted that the product storage unit 104 may or may not be full of product 106 after the product storage unit 104 is loaded by the product loading module 550. In other words, the product storage unit 104 can present empty space after the loading of said product storage unit 104 by the product loading module 550.

Prior to loading container 102, method 400, Figure 4, can determine if an attempt was made to load container 102 with a product other than product 106 previously or still present in container 102. If method 400 confirms that an attempt was made to load container 102, container 102 with the same product as previously or still present in container 102, then method 400 allows loading container 102 with product 106. If method 400 determines that an attempt was made to load container 102 with a product other than product 106 previously or still present in container 102, then method 400 prohibits loading of container 102, such as by preventing the opening of a valve at port 152. If container 102 is to be refilled with a different product, then method 400 requires removal of label 108 from container 102, washing container 102 (eg. g., triple rinse) and affixing a new label to container 102, prior to refilling container 102. In general, method 400 confirms that the type of product being added to container 102 matches the type indicated in the product type data 120 on the label 108 before allowing the addition of product to the container 102.

System 500 also includes a tag writer 520, which updates the data stored in tag 108 to reflect, for example, any one or more of the following, in any combination (FIG. 4, activity 426):

• the type of product 106 present in the container 102 after loading the container 102 by the product loading module 550, • the amount of product 106 present in the container 102 after loading the container

102 by the product load module 550, • the date and/or time that the product load module 550 loaded the container

102 with product 106, • the manufacturing lot number for product 106 with which container 102 was loaded, • for dry products, the bulk density of product 106 with which container 102 is loaded, • for liquid products, the liquid viscosity of the product 106 with which the container 102 is loaded, • the location at which the product loading module 550 loaded the container 102 with the product 106 (p. the location of the container interface device 502), • the identity of the trader who reloaded the container 102 using the product loading module 550, • the price the trader should charge the farmer 518 for the contents of the container 102 , • the price paid by the farmer 518 for the amount of product 106 added to the container 102 with the product loading module 550, • the identity of the farmer 518, and • the identity of the trader who sold the farmer the container and/or the product in it.

The container 102 is then available for use (possibly reuse) by the farmer 518 or another farmer (FIG. 4, activity 428). For example, farmer 518 can take container 102 and reinsert it into one of the receptacles 304a-h in product supply assembly 302 of Figure 3 and then use container 102 again to supply product 106 in the manner previously described. with respect to figures 1 to 3.

The method 400 of Figure 4 and the system 500 of Figure 5 have several benefits. For example, method 400 and system 500 can automatically calculate the amount of produce 106 in container 102 used by farmer 518 and/or the amount of produce 106 remaining in container 102. The ability to calculate these amounts automatically automatically according to data stored in the tag 108 and to read them from it automatically ( p. without information entered manually by the trader or farmer 518) increase the speed at which these calculations can be made and reduce or eliminate human error (both intentional and unintentional) that can arise from manually performing such calculations . Method 400 and system 500 may perform these calculations automatically to reflect product type 106 and its associated unit price. In fact, in existing systems, these calculations are often not attempted at all. Instead, returned bins are simply emptied, cleaned, fully reloaded, and the farmer is charged the price of a full bin.

One benefit of calculating the amount of produce 106 actually used by farmer 518 is that farmer 518 can be charged only for the amount of produce 106 that farmer 518 has used. For example, to comply with change of tenure legislation, this may be done by weighing the container 102, in lieu of or in addition to the use of container label 108 data. Regardless of the calculation of the amount of product actually used, charging the farmer 518 only for the amount of product 106 that the farmer 518 actually used reduces the cost of using each container for the farmer 518 and encourages the use of the container 102 by the farmer. farmer 518, since he knows that the price that farmer 518 pays for the container 102 will be limited to the amount of product 106 actually used by said farmer 518.

The container weight 102 once returned by the farmer 518 can be used for various purposes. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, the container 102 may be weighed after it is returned by the farmer 518, to determine the actual weight of the container 102 at that time. Various application-specific data, such as the weight of the container 102 at the time prior to its purchase by the farmer 518, the bulk density and/or liquid viscosity of the product 106 in the container 102, the application rate(s) of container 102 during use by the grower 518 and the rate of product delivery assembly 302 in soil during product delivery 106 of container 102 (also referred to herein as application equipment rate ), can be automatically read from the label 108 and used to calculate the expected weight of the container 102 at the time of its return by the farmer 518. The actual and predicted weights of the container 102 can be compared with each other to identify any discrepancies between the two. These discrepancies can be used for various purposes, such as calibration and/or billing. In other words, in a construction of the present invention, a self-calibrating, closed-loop billing and supply system is achieved.

Another benefit of method 400 and system 500 is that they allow container 102 to be refilled and reused without the need to first rinse it before refilling. This is a significant advantage given that, for example, in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires triple rinsing of pesticide-laden containers prior to disposal. In existing systems, farmers generally discard the containers after each use. Consequently, each container is typically rinsed three times after each use. Triple rinsing is a tedious and lengthy process, just like the process of disposing of containers after triple rinsing. Unless the containers are recycled, which is not an option uniformly available in all areas, triple-rinse containers end up in a landfill or are incinerated. The method 400 and system 500 of Figures 4 and 5 allows container 102 to be refilled with product 106 without triple rinsing container 102, thereby saving considerable time and cost associated with triple rinsing and container disposal.

As described above, the grower 518 can remove all or some of the containers from the produce supply assembly 302 of Figure 3 and take some or all of these containers to the merchant for refilling. Accordingly, method 400 and system 500 can be applied to each of multiple farmer bins 518, such as bins 304a-h, Fig. 3 a schematic illustration of an application specific map 1000 is shown. The ability of method 400 and system 500 to automatically identify the amount of product used in each container is particularly beneficial when grower 518 brings multiple containers to the merchant for refilling. This is because multiple bins installed simultaneously in product delivery assembly 302 may deliver their respective products at different rates, and therefore deplete their respective product storage units at different rates, for various reasons, such as differences in the speeds indicated on the prescriptive map applied by the 300 system. Consequently, one or more of the containers in the product supply assembly 302 may become empty or otherwise require refilling before other containers in the same product supply assembly. It can be extremely time consuming and costly for the farmer 518 to stop the tractor/planter to which the crop supply assembly is attached to remove and replace only a single container. For example, it is estimated that a grower can lose $5,000/hr in lost efficiency and yield by shutting down a 24-row planter during the peak planting season. Rather, embodiments of the present invention allow the farmer 518 to remove all containers from the product supply assembly 302 upon determining that it is necessary or advisable to reload even just one of the containers in the product supply assembly 302, even if other containers in the same product supply assembly 302 still do not require refilling or contain more product than the container requiring refilling. This facilitates the container swapping process by allowing all containers to be replaced when the planter needs to be stopped for seed reloading, eliminating the costly alternative of having to stop the planter multiple times simply to replace product containers. The farmer 518 can then take all the containers to the trader in one visit and be sure that he will only pay for the quantities actually supplied from each of the containers. This recharge can use the method 400 and the system 500 to recharge each of the containers automatically with only the amount necessary to load said container with its respective product, as well as to charge the farmer 518 only for the amount of product loaded in each container, even if the amount of cargo varies between containers. In this way, the farmer 518 benefits from avoiding the need to stop application equipment to refill each individual container when it becomes empty and otherwise remove and replace all containers with full containers each time a replacement is required. container, thereby reducing the amount of time application equipment is down and only paying for the actual amounts of product used in each container (rather than paying the full cost of an entire container, for example).

In any of the examples described herein, the refilled container that the farmer receives at the end of method 400 need not be the same container that the farmer 518 brought to reload at the start of method 400. Instead, for example, farmer 518 may bring a container to the trader in activity 418 of method 400, after which method 400 may calculate the amount of product 106 used by farmer 518 and invoice farmer 518 accordingly. accordingly, as described above in connection with Figures 4 and 5. The method 400 and system 500 can even refill the container returned by the farmer 518 in the manner described above in connection with Figures 4 and 5. However, the merchant can provide the farmer with a different full container, instead of the container that the farmer 518 returned to the merchant. The net effect is the same as if the trader had refilled the container returned by farmer 518 and delivered the refilled container to farmer 518: farmer 518 is given a full container and pays only for the difference between the amount of product that was in the container returned by the farmer 518 to the trader and the amount of product in the full container. However, it may be beneficial to deliver a different full container to farmer 518 rather than deliver farmer 518 the same refilled container, because this may be faster and more efficient for both the trader and farmer 518. For example, the merchant may wait for another time to refill the returned container, such as when the merchant refills multiple containers with the same product in a batch, which may be more efficient for the merchant than refilling individual containers. as long as it is needed at the time individual farmers return them for recharging.

As described above, container 102 can deliver product 106 in amounts determined by a prescriptive map indicating the rate at which product 106 must be delivered at different geographic points in the field. More generally, the prescriptive map can indicate, for each of the multiple locations in the field and for each of the multiple products, the rate at which each of these products must be supplied at each of these locations. Any of these rates can be equal to zero, indicating that the corresponding product should not be dispensed at all at the corresponding location in the field.

The rate at which a product is delivered to any particular location in the field may vary from the ideal rate indicated on the prescriptive map. Consequently, the amount of product delivered at that location may vary from the desired amount. These discrepancies between the indicated speed and the actual speed can be the result of any of several causes, such as a calibration error of the meter supplying the product or irregularities in the topographical characteristics of the field.

Embodiments of the present invention can be used to determine if the indicated amount of product delivered by one or more meters in the field differs from the actual amount of product delivered by those meters and other embodiments of the present invention can be used to determine whether the indicated amount of product delivered by one or more meters at one or more locations in the field differs from the actual amount of product delivered at those places. Referring to Figure 6, there is shown a flowchart of a method 600 for making such a determination in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as mentioned in more detail below. Referring to Figure 7, there is shown a data flow diagram of a system 700 for performing the method 600 of Figure 6, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

System 700 includes a prescriptive map 702. Prescriptive map 702 may be stored in digital format and may include data representing any of the information described herein as part of a prescriptive map. A schematic illustration of prescriptive map 1100 is shown in FIG. 11, with separate values ​​illustrated in legend 1102 as described in more detail hereinafter. In general, the prescriptive maps 702 and/or 1100 may include, for example, data representing, for each of multiple locations in a field and for each of multiple products (eg, product types), the rate at which each of the multiple products should be applied (or the amount of product to be applied) at each of the multiple locations.

System 700 also includes a prescriptive map application module 704. In general, the prescriptive map application module 704 receives the prescriptive map 702 and/or the map 1100 as input information and uses the data in the prescriptive map 704 and/or the map 1100 to generate and output power supply control signals. product 706 to the product delivery assembly 302 of Figure 3, shown only in block form in Figure 7 and in greater detail in Figure 3 (Figure 6, activity 602). Product delivery control signals 706 indicate the rate at which the corresponding product should be delivered at the current time to each of the meters 306a-h in the product delivery assembly 302. For example, the control signals The product delivery system 706 may include a signal supplied to the meter 306a indicating that the meter 306a should deliver the product contained in the container into the receptacle 304a at the indicated rate. In response to this, the meter 306a attempts to deliver its product at the rate indicated in the product delivery control signal. However, as described above, the actual rate at which meter 306a delivers the corresponding product may or may not be equal to the rate indicated in the control signal received by meter 306a.

The prescriptive map application module 704 may generate the product delivery control signals 706 in any of a number of ways. For example, the prescriptive map application module 704 can identify the current location of the product supply assembly 302 and generate the product supply control signals 706 according to the prescriptive map 702 and the current location of the product supply assembly 302. . For example, the prescriptive map application module 704 may identify the product velocities on the prescriptive map 702 that correspond to the current location of the product delivery assembly 702 and generate product delivery control signals 706 indicating that the product delivery 306a-h meters in the 708 product supply assembly should produce the identified product velocities. For each product velocity identified in the prescriptive map, the prescriptive map application module 704 can identify the type of product associated with that product velocity, identify the meter in the product delivery assembly 302 attached to the container with the type of product and direct the corresponding product supply control signal to the identified meter.

The prescriptive map application module 704 may identify the current location of the product delivery assembly in any of a number of ways. For example, the prescriptive map application module 704 may receive data with geographic coordinates 720 indicating a current location (eg, geographic coordinates, also referred to herein as "geographic locations" or "geographic points") of the assembly. product supply 302. Geographic coordinate data 720 may be generated automatically, for example, using a global positioning system (GPS) module located in, on, or near product supply assembly 302 and uniquely identifying automatically detect the current location of the product supply assembly 302 and generate geographic coordinate data 720 representing the current location of the product supply assembly 302. As described above, it is possible to augment GPS data with real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning techniques, to achieve sub-centimeter accuracy in location.

System 700 also includes an application-specific map module 710 that detects the actual amounts of product delivered by meters 306a-h in product delivery assembly 302 and generates an application-specific map 712 representing those amounts. (FIG. 6, activity 604). A schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is provided in Figure 10, with the values ​​illustrated in legend 1002. For example, application-specific map module 710 may use any of the techniques described above in connection with system 200 and method 300 of Figures 2 and 3, respectively, to generate the application-specific map. For example, each of the meters 306a-h may include a processor and memory that record the amount of product that is dispensed at each of multiple times. Such amounts may be stored on the respective label on each container and/or transmitted and stored in measurement data 334. Measurement data 334 may include application-specific map 712 or map 1000 and/or be used to generate the application specific map 712 or map 1000. In general, the application-specific map 712 and/or map 1000 contain data for each of multiple points in the field and for each of multiple products, the amount of each product actually delivered (represented as through measurements obtained by the meters 306a-h) at each of the multiple points in the field. Therefore, the structure of the application-specific map 712 may be the same or similar to the structure of the prescriptive map 702 and the structure of the application-specific map 1000 may be the same or similar to that of the prescriptive map 1100. For each point in the field and product, the 702 prescriptive map indicates the amount of product to be dispensed at that point in the field, such as at a linear location along a furrow or at a point latitude and longitude, while the application specific map 712 indicates the amount of product that was actually dispensed at the same point in the field. Similarly, each region illustrated in Figure 11 of the prescriptive map 1100 designates the geographic location and prescribed amount (as indicated in legend 1102, as one of 28.0 units to 34.0 units of a product for that geographic location), while that the individual "bars" or rounded rectangles in the application-specific map 1000 of Figure 10 correspond to intervals of measured application-specific quantities, with values ​​according to the designation in legend 1002, along adjacent furrows in a field. The present invention is highly compatible with precision farming techniques involving synchronized crop and seed delivery, such as those described in one or more of US Patent No. 7,270,065 and US Patent Application Publication No. ° 2017/0000022 by Larry M. Conrad, as well as US Patent No. 6,938,564, and US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2018/0014456 and 2018/0092296 to Conrad et al., for example. Although rows of rounded rectangles of application-specific values ​​are shown in Figure 10 for ease of illustration, those skilled in the art, upon reviewing the present application, will appreciate that quantities can be measured, recorded, and/or illustrated. application specific map separated into application specific map 712 and/or map 1000 and/or in table format, as determined more desirable, subject solely to the accuracy of product dispensing quantity measurements based on the geographic location of the particular dispensing equipment.

System 700 also includes a cross check module 714. The crosscheck module 714 receives the prescriptive map 702 (as the prescriptive data represented in the prescriptive map 1100, Figure 11) and the application-specific map 712 (as the application-specific data represented in the application-specific map 1000, figure 10) as input data and compares both maps 702 and 712 to generate a difference map 716 (figure 6, activity 606). For example, for each place-product pair on the prescriptive map 702 and the application-specific map 712, the crosscheck module 714 may subtract the rate (or quantity) of product on the application-specific map 712 from the velocity (or amount) of the corresponding product in the prescriptive map 702 and store the resulting difference in association with the pair of place and product in the difference map 716. Accordingly, the difference map 716 may include data indicating, for each product and location pair, the difference (which may be zero) between the rate at which the product was actually applied (or the amount of product applied) in the field and the rate at which the product was to be applied (or the amount of product to be applied) at that location. It should be noted that the application-specific data depicted on the application-specific map 1000 of Figure 10 may be more accurate than the ranges of values ​​indicated in the legend 1002 and the clusters illustrated on the map 1000. It should also be noted that the mentioned intervals can be configured by the user as desired, such as selecting more or fewer intervals to be displayed on the application specific map 1000 or selecting different numerical increments for each interval, in some constructions with a slight overlap and in other constructions without any overlap. It should also be noted that a difference map created by overlaying (or other combination of) an application-specific map like map 1000 and a prescriptive map like map 1100 may display non-0 differences with different colors or other indications. visual and/or machine perceptible.

Although the elements of the system 700 of Figure 7 are shown as independent elements, any of these elements can be combined with each other or divided into additional elements. Likewise, any of the elements of Figure 7 can be integrated into the system 300 of Figure 3 in various ways. For example, the prescriptive map application module 704 may be part of the product delivery assembly 302. In another example, the application specific map module 710 may be part of the meters 306a-h. In some constructions, portions of the difference map 716 are used to generate warnings or error messages to a farmer or other user via I/O device 336, Figure 3 shows a schematic illustration of an application specific map 1000. For example, differences greater than a preselected percentage, such as errors greater than two percent or three percent of the prescribed product application, may cause a warning light or error message to be displayed to the grower.

While the above description may refer to "velocities" and "quantities" separately, it should be understood that any velocity can alternatively be represented as a quantity or converted to a quantity and vice versa. Therefore, it is to be understood that any reference herein to a rate equally applies to a quantity and that any reference herein to a quantity equally applies to a rate.

Although method 600 and system 700 of Figures 6 and 7 were described above as a comparison of data associated with geospatial coordinates, this is merely illustrative and does not represent a requirement of the present invention. More generally, method 600 and system 700 can monitor the actual amounts of product delivered by particular meters in the field and compare those actual amounts to the amounts of product indicated by the application-specific map 712. Method 600 and system 700 can compare these amounts with each other, with or without reference to geospatial coordinates, to identify any differences between the amounts of product indicated for field application and the actual amounts of product applied to the field by the meters. For example, for each meter, method 600 and system 700 can compare the total amount of product actually applied by that meter in the field to the total amount of product indicated on prescriptive map 702 for application by that meter in the field, to generate the difference map 716, which may include the resulting differences for each of the gauges, without any associated geospatial coordinates.

Method 600 and system 700 of Figures 6 and 7 have several advantages. For example, if any of the products supplied by product supply assembly 302 are judged to have performed less than satisfactorily at a particular location, difference map 716 can be used to determine whether the actual quantity of product supplied at said location was different from the quantity indicated. This information can be extremely helpful in diagnosing the cause of the performance problem. For example, if, based on the difference map 716, it is determined that there was no (or negligible) difference between the amount of product indicated and applied, then this difference can be ruled out as the cause of the problem.

As described above, container 102 may change tenure over time. These changes may include, for example, any one or more of the following in any combination: changes in ownership, changes in control rights (eg, as specified in licenses and/or lease agreements), changes in tenure and other changes of possession. Any of these possession changes is indicated as a "touch", for the purpose of ease of explanation herein, and can be tracked through data on possession by an entity, according to one aspect of the present invention. Traceability levels can be achieved in the chain of ownership. For example, as described above in connection with reloading container 102 in method 400 of Figure 4 and system 500 of Figure 5, a farmer may be in possession of container 102 at one time, then said farmer may handing over possession of the container 102 to a trader thereafter for reloading and the trader may return the container 102 back to the farmer at a still later time, after having reloaded the container 102. In this example, ownership of the containers changes over time from the farmer to the trader and then back to the farmer again. Each of these possession changes is an example of a "touch," as the term is used herein, that can be stored as possession data by an entity.

Embodiments of the present invention can be used to track these touches over time and store information describing such touches, such as data on ownership by an entity, in the container label 108 itself and/or in the data. measurement 334, Figure 3, that is stored by the server 332. In some constructions, container memory 110, Figure 1, includes touch history data 126, also referred to herein as entity possession data. The touch history data 126 may include, for each of one or more touches, data representing that touch, such as any one or more of the following:

• the time of the tag, • the place of the tag, • the type of tag (eg, change of ownership, rights or other type of possession), • the entity (if applicable), e.g. eg, person or organization, from which title, rights or possession of the container 102 has been transferred, • the entity (if applicable), e.g. eg, person or organization, to which ownership, rights or possession of the container 102 has been transferred, and • the target of the touch (eg. g., purchase of container 102, refill of container 102, return of container 102).

Any data representing an entity in the touch history data 126 may represent that entity in any of a number of ways, such as by real name, a username, a unique identifier, or any combination thereof.

Since the touch history data 126 may include this data for multiple touches, such touch history data 126 may include data representing a history of touching the container 102, such as a history of changes of ownership, control, and/or possession. of the container 102 in time.

Examples of times when touch history data 126 may be updated include:

• obtaining container 102 by the farmer in activity 206 of the method

200 of figure 2 or in the activity 406 of the method 400 of figure 4, • obtaining the container 102 by the merchant in the activity 418 of the method

400 of figure 4 and • return of the container 102 by the merchant to the farmer in the activity

428 From method 400 of FIG. 4, a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown.

The ability to track touches allows the embodiments of the present invention to perform various other functions. For example, embodiments of the present invention may use touch history 126 to control and/or prohibit "sideways" handovers of container 102 in a distribution channel. An example of a lateral transfer, as that term is used herein, is the transfer of possession, title or control of container 102 from one trader to another trader rather than from a trader to a farmer (which would constitute a "downward" transfer). » instead of a lateral transfer). Another example of a lateral move is the transfer of possession, title or control of the container 102 from one farmer to another farmer or to a distributor. One aspect of the present invention is to designate, for each container, a specific user for the specific product that is placed in that container. In some constructions, the specific authorized user will be both a grower in charge of one or more fields and an approved operator for supply equipment acting on behalf of the grower responsible as the current approved user. One technique for designating containers for use by or on behalf of a specific user for a specific product is to generate and/or store authorization codes for such approved users on an RFID tag affixed to each container.

While contracts can be used to prohibit lateral transfers to some extent, contracts have limitations. To address this problem, embodiments of the present invention may use technological means to control or prohibit lateral handovers of the container 102. For example, as described above, container 102 may include a container identification 122, which can be validated to determine if container identification 122 is authorized to supply product 106. Also, the container label 108 may include a license identification (not shown), representing or otherwise corresponding to a license that entitles the grower to use the container 102 in connection with a particular product supply assembly, such as the product delivery assembly 302 of FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000. In other words, a particular license can be associated with both product delivery assembly 302 and container 102, thereby linking the use of container 102 with product delivery assembly 302. The product delivery assembly product 302 may store the same license ID as container 102 or may be otherwise configured to be associated with said license ID. Before product dispensing assembly 302 dispenses product 106 from container 102, said product delivery assembly 302 may determine whether the label of container 108 includes the license identification associated with product delivery assembly 302 and then allow container 102 to dispense product 106 only if said container 102 includes the identification of the license (and prohibit the container 102 from supplying the product 106 otherwise).

Consequently, if someone tries to serve product 106 from a product delivery assembly that does not contain (or is otherwise configured to recognize) the corresponding license identification in container 102, that product delivery assembly will not be able to serve. the product 106 of the container. This feature can be used to prohibit side handovers, because even if one party side-hands the container 102 to another party, the receiving party will not be able to deliver the product 106 from the container 102, because the product supply assembly of the party receiving the container 102 will not authorize its use.

Another feature activated by the identification of the container 122 is the ability to prohibit the use of the container 102 once the amount of product 106 in the container 102 decreases below a predetermined limit. More specifically, as described above, upon validation of container 102 (as in activity 212 of method 200 of Figure 2), container 102 can be used to deliver product 106 in any of the ways described in the present. As product 106 is dispensed from container 102, the change in quantity of product 106 in container 102 can be tracked and updated on the container 108 label, as described above in connection with Figures 1-3. System 300 can repeatedly determine (relative to product quantity data 118) whether the quantity of product 106 in container 102 is equal to or less than a predetermined limit (the value of which may itself be stored in the label 108). ). The default limit can be any value, and in particular can be equal to or similar to zero. If system 300 determines that the amount of product 106 in container 102 is equal to or less than the predetermined limit, system 300 may disable use of container 102, such as by storing data (not illustrated) in container 110 memory that indicate that said container 102 is deactivated.

Any attempt to use or validate container 102 while container 102 is disabled will be a failed attempt. For example, the validation process (activity

212 in Figure 2) may determine if container 102 is in a disabled state and may not validate container 102 in response to determining that container 102 is disabled.

If container 102 is deactivated, container 102 can be activated for further use only through an authorized container 102 refill agent, as in activity 202 in Figure 2, activity 402 in Figure 4, or activity 424 in Figure 4 shows a schematic illustration of an application specific map 1000. For example, in some embodiments of the present invention, after placing the tag 108 in the off state, it is no longer possible for the tag 108 to go into the on state. In other words, the deactivation of the tag 108 can be an irreversible activity. In such embodiments, to reactivate the container 102 it is necessary to install a new label in the activated state in the container 102. Consequently, the attempt to validate the container 102 (as in activity 212 in Figure 2) will be successful, because the new label of the container 102 will be determined to be in the activated state and the container 102 can be used for delivery. of the product. In other embodiments, the ability to change the state of the tag 108 from disabled to enabled may exist, but only some parties, such as authorized resellers, will have the ability to perform the change of state 108 from disabled to enabled. An advantage of disabling the use of container 102 once the amount of product falls below the predetermined limit is that doing so prevents container 102 from being used to apply unauthorized product inserted into container 102 through a process of unauthorized recharge.

Another problem with existing agricultural product application systems is the variation in application accuracy over time for various reasons. For example, granular products are packaged and labeled for application by weight, but the devices that measure these products do so based on product volume, not weight. Consequently, as the bulk density of a product changes, the measured weight of the product changes for a specific volume of product moving through the meter.

Different manufacturing lots or lot numbers of the same granular product may have different bulk densities. For optimum application accuracy, granular application meters should be calibrated each time a product with a different bulk density is dispensed through the meter. However, this recalibration is lengthy and tedious. A similar problem occurs when the liquid viscosity of a liquid product changes, creating a similar need for recalibration.

Embodiments of the present invention may use the product bulk density information on the container label 108 to automatically recalibrate a meter when attaching a container to the meter. For example, these modalities can automatically select a specific calibration algorithm that they use to recalibrate the meter, and then automatically recalibrate the meter using the selected algorithm. These modalities can select a specific calibration algorithm from among multiple calibration algorithms, each of which corresponds to a particular bulk density. It is to be understood that any reference herein to the bulk density of a granular product may equally apply to the liquid viscosity of a liquid product.

More specifically, with respect to Figure 8, there is shown a data flow diagram of a method 800 for automatically recalibrating a meter (such as any of the meters 306a-h), in accordance with an embodiment hereof. invention. Although method 800 of Figure 8 is described herein as applied to meter 306a, method 800 can be applied to any meter.

The recalibration method of meters 800 includes loading the container 102 with the product 106 (figure 8, activity 802), updating the label of the container 108 with product information (figure 8, activity 804), obtaining the container 102 by the farmer (figure 8, activity 806), attachment of the container 102 to the product supply assembly 302 by the farmer (figure 8, activity 808) and reading some or all of the data from the tag 108 in the container 102 by the tag reader 310 (FIG. 8, activity 810). Activities 802 through 810 in method 800 of Figure 8 can be performed in the same or similar way to activities 802 through 810 in method 200 of Figure 2 and will therefore not be described in detail. at the moment.

For illustrative purposes, it is assumed that container 102 is inserted into receptacle 304a and thereby engages meter 306a. Method 800 automatically adjusts the application rate and/or calibration of meter 306a based on the type and/or bulk density of product 106 in container 102 (FIG. 8, activity 812). It is to be understood that any reference herein to application rate adjustment and calibration of meter 306a includes application rate adjustment only, calibration adjustment only, or application rate adjustment and meter calibration. 306a meter.

For example, product label 108 may include product bulk density data 128 representing the product bulk density 106 in container 102. For example, bulk density data 128 may be recorded on tag 108 at or near the time container 102 is loaded with product 106, as in load activity 802 of method 800 of Figure 8 or A schematic illustration of an application-specific map 1000 is shown in reload activity 424 of method 400 of Figure 4 . The method 800 can read the bulk density data 128 on the tag 108 and automatically adjust the application rate and calibration of the meter 306a, in whole or in part, based on the bulk density represented by the bulk density data 128. Similarly, method 800 can read data about product type 120 on tag 108 and automatically adjust the application rate and calibration of meter 306a, in whole or in part, based on the product type represented by the data. about product type 120.

For example, method 800 may access multiple algorithms, each of which corresponds to a particular product type, bulk density, or combination of product type and bulk density. Method 800 can:

• identify the product type of the product 106, select the algorithm corresponding to that type of product, and automatically adjust the rate of application and calibration of the meter 306a using the selected algorithm, • identify the bulk density of the product, select the corresponding algorithm to that bulk density and automatically adjust the application rate and calibration of the 306 meter using the selected algorithm, or • identify the product type and bulk density of the product 106, select the algorithm corresponding to that combination of product type and bulk density, and automatically adjust the rate of application and meter calibration using the selected algorithm.

Embodiments of the present invention can be used to accumulate various data from container 102 and multiple containers, including container 102 and other containers (not illustrated). For example, with respect to Fig. 9, there is shown a flow chart of a method 900 for accumulating information from multiple containers, including container 102, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The method of data accumulation 900 includes loading the container 102 with the product 106 (figure 9, activity 902), updating the label of the container 108 with product information (figure 9, activity 904), obtaining the container 102 by the farmer (figure 9, activity 906) and attachment of the container 102 to the product supply assembly 302 by the farmer, figure 3 (figure 9, activity 908). Activities 902 to 908 in method 900 of Figure 9 can be performed in the same or similar way to activities 202 to 208 in method 200 of Figure 2 and therefore will not be described in detail. at the moment.

As container 102 dispenses product (via corresponding meter 306a) (FIG. 9, activity 910), system 300 uses a product metering module 322 to measure the amount of product 106 that is dispensed from container 102. , as described above with respect to Figures 2 to 3. Additionally, method 900 updates the product 118 quantity data on the label 108 to reflect the quantity of product 106 supplied and/or the quantity of product 106 remaining in the product storage unit 104 (FIG. 9, activity 912). , as described above in relation to Figures 2 to 3.

Method 900 updates various application-specific data 124 on label 108, as well as product quantity data 118 while dispensing said 106 from container 102 (FIG. 9, activity 914), as described above. with reference to figures 2 to 3. Method 900 may transmit data from tag 108 to server 332 (FIG. 9, activity 916) and/or to at least one I/O device 336, as described above in connection with Figures 2-3.

Method 900 can also be applied to one or more containers, in addition to container 102. For example, activities 902 through 916 can be applied to these containers to monitor, store, and transmit data (such as product quantity data and specific data). application) from these containers to server 332, in the manner described above with respect to container 102. Therefore, server 332 may receive any of this data not only from container 102, but from one or more additional containers over time. Server 332 may store any of this data in metering data store 334. Accordingly, metering data store 334 may include data received from multiple containers over time.

The server 332 may accumulate the data received from the multiple containers in any of a number of ways (FIG. 9, activity 918). For example, server 332 may accumulate some or all of the data received from a particular container (such as container 102), such as by creating an application-specific map based on data received from the particular container, generating statistical data (such as sums , averages and standard deviations) based on the data received from the particular container and storing the container identification of the particular container (or other unique identifier) ​​associated with the data received from the particular container, to identify all such data as received from the same container.

In another example, server 332 may accumulate data from two or more containers. For example, server 332 may generate statistical data (such as sums, averages, and standard deviations) based on data received from multiple containers. In another example, server 332 may generate a combined application-specific map for a specific field, incorporating application-specific data from multiple containers, such as all containers used by a particular agricultural supply appliance in the specific field.

Embodiments of the present invention can facilitate this accumulation of data in any of a number of ways. For example, the tags in the multiple containers can store their data in the same data format or in a uniform format. For example, the same types of data (eg, product type and product quantity) can be stored in the same format (eg, using the same field names) in all tags. Consequently, when server 332 receives data from multiple labels, server 332 can easily accumulate this data, since server 332 can easily identify data of the same type (eg, product quantity) from all containers. This allows the 900 method to accumulate data from all bins, product supply assemblies, and growers, without the need for farms to perform manual data entry and reporting (often more prone to errors and inconsistencies). . This is a significant advantage over existing systems, where container data is stored in non-uniform formats and must be manually entered and reported by farmers, which routinely results in errors, delays and non-reporting of data. .

It is to be understood that while the invention has been described above and illustrated in the drawings in terms of particular embodiments, the foregoing embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and do not limit or define the scope of the invention. Various other embodiments are also within the scope of the claims, including but not limited to the following. For example, the elements and components described herein can be further divided into additional components or joined together to form fewer components that perform the same functions. While specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is merely for convenience as each of the features may be combined with all or any of the other features in accordance with the invention. . Substitutions of elements from one modality described to another are also foreseen and contemplated in an absolute manner. Likewise, it must be understood that the drawings are not necessarily illustrated to scale, but are naturally only conceptual.

Any of the functions described herein may be implemented using means for performing said functions. These means include, but are not limited to, any of the components described herein, such as the computer components described below.

For example, the techniques described above may be implemented in hardware, one or more computer programs tangibly stored on one or more computer-readable media, firmware, or any combination of these. The techniques described above may be implemented in one or more computer programs running on (or run through) a programmable computer, including any combination of any number of the following: a processor, a readable storage medium and/or writable by the processor (including, for example, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), an input device, and an output device. A program code can be applied to the information entered using the input device, to perform the described functions and generate a product using the output device.

Embodiments of the present invention include features that can/are only implementable using one or more computers, computer processors, and/or other elements of a computer system. Mental and/or manual implementation of these features is impossible or impractical. For example, embodiments of the present invention automatically keep track of the amount of product delivered by a container in a field, automatically update data in an electronic memory representing said amounts of product delivered, and automatically wirelessly transmit this data. to a server through a digital electronic network for storage and processing. Some features can only be realized by computers and other machines and cannot be realized manually or mentally by humans.

Any claim herein affirmatively requiring a computer, processor, memory or similar computing elements is intended to require such elements and such elements are not to be construed as not being present or necessary in such claims. It is not intended and should not be construed that such claims include methods and/or systems lacking the mentioned computing elements. For example, any method claim herein that mentions that the claimed method is performed by a computer, processor, memory, and/or similar computing element, is to be construed only as inclusive of methods that are performed by the or the aforementioned computer elements, as intended. For example, such a method claim should not be construed as encompassing a method performed mentally or by hand (eg. g., with pencil and paper). Similarly, any product claim herein stating that the claimed product includes a computer, processor, memory, and/or similar computing element is to be construed only as inclusive of products that include the computing element(s). mentioned, as intended. Said product claim should not be construed as encompassing, for example, a product that does not include the aforementioned computing element(s).

Each computer program within the scope of the subsequent claims can be implemented in any programming language, such as assembly language, machine language, a high-level procedural programming language, or an object-oriented programming language. For example, the programming language may be a compiled or interpreted programming language.

Each of these computer programs can be implemented in a computer program product tangibly presented on a machine-readable storage device, for execution by a computer processor. The method steps of the invention may be performed on one or more computer processors executing a program tangibly presented on a computer-readable medium, to perform functions of the invention by acting on input information and generating output. Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general and specific microprocessors. Typically, the processor receives (reads) instructions and data from memory (such as read-only memory and/or random access memory) and writes (stores) instructions and data in memory. Storage devices suitable for the tangible presentation of this data and computer program instructions include, for example, all forms of non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices, including EPROMs, EEPROMs, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard drives and removable disks, magneto-optical disks and CD-ROMs. Any of the above can be supplemented with or incorporated into specially designed ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). A computer can also generally receive (read) programs and data from a non-transient computer-readable storage medium, such as an external disk (not shown) or removable disk, and write (store) data and programs on it. These elements will also be found on a conventional desktop or workstation computer, as well as other computers suitable for running software that implement the methods described herein, which can be used in conjunction with any digital print engine or marking engine. , display, or other reticular output device capable of producing grayscale or color pixels on paper, film, screen, or other production media.

For example, any data described herein may be implemented in one or more data structures tangibly stored on a non-transient computer-readable medium. Embodiments of the invention may store this data in one or more of these data structures and read the data from one or more of these structures.

SUMMARY

A system and method that automatically monitors product usage, such as the type and amount of agricultural and/or horticultural product stored in and dispensed from a container over time and/or by geographic location. The 5 monitored data is stored in memory, such as on a label on the container, and can be transmitted to a server for storage, accumulation, and analysis. The container may be authenticated prior to its authorization for use for the benefit of a current user in the product supply. The container can be recharged after confirmation of authorization codes on labels of the recharging equipment and the container. The container can be automatically calibrated based on the bulk density or other parameter of the product in the container. Data from multiple containers can be accumulated automatically. Application-specific data from individual containers can be used to verify product application rate and treated area coverage, independent of operator input.