SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POSITIONING A VEHICLE WITH A HITCH USING AN AUTOMATIC STEERING SYSTEM
First Claim
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1. A method for aligning a tractor and an implement, the method comprising:
- determining a position of the tractor;
determining a position of the implement;
calculating a path for the tractor using the position of the tractor and the position of the implement, the calculated path being operable to move the tractor toward the determined position of the implement; and
automatically steering the tractor along the calculated path with a control system.
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Abstract
A system and method is provided for positioning a vehicle with a hitch using an automatic steering system to align the vehicle with an implement so that the implement can be connected to the vehicle. The positions of the vehicle and the implement can be determined directly or indirectly from GPS position information. The known positions of the vehicle and implement are then used to calculate a path for the vehicle to align the vehicle with the implement. The calculated path is then provided to an automatic steering system of the vehicle to steer the vehicle along the path.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for aligning a tractor and an implement, the method comprising:
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determining a position of the tractor; determining a position of the implement; calculating a path for the tractor using the position of the tractor and the position of the implement, the calculated path being operable to move the tractor toward the determined position of the implement; and automatically steering the tractor along the calculated path with a control system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An automatic guidance system to align a tractor with an implement to be attached to the tractor, the automatic guidance system comprising:
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a global positioning system device to determine a position of the tractor; an input device, the input device being configured and positioned to enable an operator to enter information regarding a position of the implement; a first controller comprising a microprocessor to execute a computer program to calculate a path for the tractor to align the tractor and the implement in response to receiving the position of the tractor from the global positioning system device and the position of the implement entered into the input device; and a second controller comprising a microprocessor to execute a computer program to generate a control signal to steer the tractor along the path calculated by the first controller. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification