Computer network for collecting and analyzing agronomic data
First Claim
1. A computer network for gathering data related to the agricultural operation of a farm, said farm having at least one field and an operations base, said network being comprised of a first, mobile computer adapted for being carried in the field and having a graphic user interface to facilitate the entry of data therein, a second fixed platform computer adapted for location at said operations base and configured to emulate the graphic user interface of said first computer so that an operator may conveniently operate both said first and second computers with substantially the same commands, and a first data link for selectively connecting said first and second computers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A client-client-server computer network includes a portable computer (client) connectable by a data link to a desktop computer (client) which transmits data through an offline batching data link to a host or system server (server) for the electronic collection, processing, and analyzing of agricultural data generated through the operation of a farm. A plurality of client-client computer sub-networks, one for each of a plurality of farms, is anticipated for connection through an offline, batching data link to a single system server such that a master data base may be assembled of data for many farms. Real time, same growing season, analyses and reports may be generated for use by any individual farmer from this master data base. The portable computer includes a nested display driven software for a graphic user interface computer, such as a Personal Digital Assistant, to simplify the data entry process. Various details of implementation include scrollable lists which have entries that are context sensitive to eliminate improbable or redundant or incorrect selections. The desktop computer includes a program for use on a Windows platform which closely emulates the graphic user inter-face provided by the portable computer such that a farmer need only become familiar with one computer program to fully operate the system. The offline batching data link, which may be a commercial messaging service, permits a single system server to efficiently communicate with many farmers without sacrificing significant amounts of system server processing time to input or output data.
137 Citations
55 Claims
- 1. A computer network for gathering data related to the agricultural operation of a farm, said farm having at least one field and an operations base, said network being comprised of a first, mobile computer adapted for being carried in the field and having a graphic user interface to facilitate the entry of data therein, a second fixed platform computer adapted for location at said operations base and configured to emulate the graphic user interface of said first computer so that an operator may conveniently operate both said first and second computers with substantially the same commands, and a first data link for selectively connecting said first and second computers.
- 12. A portable, handheld computer for gathering and processing substantially all material data related to the agricultural operation of a farm through an entire growing season, said portable computer having a graphic user interface to facilitate the entry of, processing, and access to said data in said computer, a memory for storing said data, and a stored program to provide the interactive organized visual display of said data in a variety of formats upon operator command, processing of said data in response to operator inquiry including sorting of said data, and recording of operator comments relating to future desired actions to be implemented on said farm.
- 22. In a computer network including a plurality of field computers, each of said field computers being adapted for creating a data base reflecting the agricultural operation of a farm, and a single central computer for receiving and assembling data from said field computers into a master data base, the improvement comprising an offline, batching data link interface between said field computers and said central computer to facilitate the orderly transfer of data between said computers.
- 35. A client-client-server computer network for collecting and analyzing data related to the agricultural operation of a plurality of farms comprising a plurality of client-client computer sub-networks linked to a central server computer, each of said sub-networks being comprised of a portable computer for use by an operator in a field environment, a base operations computer comprised of a fixed platform PC, and a client data link for interconnecting said portable computer with said PC, each of said sub-networks being associated with a farmer, and a server data link interconnecting each of said sub-networks to said central server computer.
- 39. A portable, handheld computer for gathering substantially all material data related to the agricultural operation of a farm through an entire growing season, said portable computer having a non-command line interface to facilitate the entry of said data into said portable computer, a memory for storing said data, and a stored program to provide the organized visual display of said data, said stored program being display driven and including a first set of displays for recording data on farming operations, a second set of displays for recording data on weather, and a third set of displays for recording data on land use.
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42. A method for collecting and storing data relating to the agricultural operation of a plurality of farms, each of said farms having an associated portable computer and fixed platform computer, comprising the steps of:
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recording on each portable computer the data related to its associated farm; communicating the data from each of said portable computers to its associated computer; and transmitting the data from each of said computers over an offline, batched data link to a central computer. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44)
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- 45. A computer readable memory for implementation in a field computer to create and maintain a data base of substantially all material data related to the agricultural operation of a farm, said memory being configured for displaying a plurality of sets of nested displays on a display screen of said field computer, and for moving between said sets of nested displays by operator command.
Specification