SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSISTING IN THE REFILLING OF AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES
First Claim
1. A system for directing an agricultural vehicle to a refill location, the system comprising:
- at least one input configured to receive at least one of a level signal regarding an amount of material in a container of the agricultural vehicle and a location signal indicating a geographic location of the agricultural vehicle;
a processing device communicably coupled with the input and configured to determine navigation instructions regarding when and where to travel to refill the container based on at least one of the level signal and the location signal; and
at least one output configured to output the navigation instructions to at least one of a display, an automated steering system, and a speaker.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for directing when and where an agricultural vehicle should refill a container thereof may comprise a sensor for detecting an amount of material in the container, a location determining device, and a processing device communicably coupled with the sensor and the location determining device, as well as a display, a speaker, and/or an automated steering system. The processing device may use information regarding the amount of material in the container, the location of the agricultural vehicle, and a variety of other factors to determine when the container needs to be refilled and to determine a refill location at which the agricultural vehicle should refill. The processing device may send these refill instructions to the display, the speaker, and/or the automated steering system. The processing device may also alert a refill vehicle to travel to the determined refill location, if necessary.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for directing an agricultural vehicle to a refill location, the system comprising:
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at least one input configured to receive at least one of a level signal regarding an amount of material in a container of the agricultural vehicle and a location signal indicating a geographic location of the agricultural vehicle; a processing device communicably coupled with the input and configured to determine navigation instructions regarding when and where to travel to refill the container based on at least one of the level signal and the location signal; and at least one output configured to output the navigation instructions to at least one of a display, an automated steering system, and a speaker. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for directing an agricultural vehicle to a refill location, the system comprising:
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a sensor configured to detect the amount of material in a container of the agricultural vehicle; a location determining device configured to determine a geographic location of the agricultural vehicle; at least one of a display, a speaker, and an automated steering system; and a processing device communicably coupled with the sensor and the location determining device and configured to determine and output navigation instructions to at least one of the display, the speaker, and the automated steering system regarding when and where to travel to refill the container based on a plurality of criteria, wherein the plurality of criteria corresponds with any combination of one or more of the amount of material in the container, the dimensions of a field to be covered by the agricultural vehicle, instructions for dispensing the material in the field, rate at which the material in the container is dispensed, acceptable refill locations, a status of a refilling vehicle, and a location of a refilling vehicle relative to various refill locations. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. A method of directing an operator of an agricultural vehicle regarding when and where to refill a container of the agricultural vehicle, the method comprising:
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receiving with a processing device a level signal containing information regarding an amount of material in the container; receiving with the processing device a location signal regarding a location of the agricultural vehicle; determining with the processing device, at least partially based on the level signal and the location signal, when the container needs to be refilled; determining with the processing device a refill location at which the agricultural vehicle should refill; and sending refill instructions, including when to refill the container and the refill location, to at least one of a display, a speaker, and an automated steering system. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer program stored on a computer readable medium device for determining information regarding refilling of a container of an agricultural vehicle, the computer program comprising:
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a first code segment executable by a processing device for obtaining information from at least one of a sensor, memory, a user interface, and a location-determining device regarding an amount of material in the container and a location of the agricultural vehicle; a second code segment executable by the processing device for determining if the container needs to be refilled; and a third code segment executable by the processing device for determining and sending refill instructions, including a desired refill location, to at least one of a display, a speaker, and an automated steering system. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification