Location based tractor control
First Claim
1. A system for controlling the position of an agricultural tool coupled to an agricultural vehicle, the tool being moveable by a positioning assembly configured to position the tool with respect to the soil of an agricultural field in response to tool position signals, the system comprising:
- a location signal generation circuit supported by the vehicle and configured to receive positioning signals and to generate location signals therefrom which are representative of the geographic location of the tool;
a memory circuit configured to store geo-referenced tool position data including desired tool positions; and
a control circuit coupled to the location signal generation circuit, the memory circuit and the positioning assembly, the control circuit configured to receive the location signals, correlate the location signals with the geo-referenced tool position data, and generate the tool position signals based on the correlated data to change the position of the tool.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A global positioning system (GPS) based soil tillage system is disclosed herein. The system includes an agricultural implement such as a plow having electro-hydraulically controlled plow elements which may include plow points, furrowers, ripple coulters, disks, sweeps, tines, etc. The system also includes a control system for monitoring the location of the implement relative to the field, and determining the desired tilling orientation between the plow element and the soil. More specifically, the control system determines the location of the implement based upon a GPS signal, compares the location to a location stored in a data file, and looks up the desired tilling orientation in the data file associated with the location. Based upon the tilling orientation selected from the data file, the control system applies appropriate signals to the electro-hydraulic controls which move the plow elements to the desired orientation. The system can also be used for applications other than tilling where there is an interaction with the soil. For example, control of the depth of ground opening of a seed planting implement may also be provided with the disclosed system.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system for controlling the position of an agricultural tool coupled to an agricultural vehicle, the tool being moveable by a positioning assembly configured to position the tool with respect to the soil of an agricultural field in response to tool position signals, the system comprising:
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a location signal generation circuit supported by the vehicle and configured to receive positioning signals and to generate location signals therefrom which are representative of the geographic location of the tool; a memory circuit configured to store geo-referenced tool position data including desired tool positions; and a control circuit coupled to the location signal generation circuit, the memory circuit and the positioning assembly, the control circuit configured to receive the location signals, correlate the location signals with the geo-referenced tool position data, and generate the tool position signals based on the correlated data to change the position of the tool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for controlling the position of an agricultural tool coupled to an agricultural vehicle, the tool being moveable by a positioning assembly configured to position the tool with respect to the soil of an agricultural field in response to tool position signals, the system comprising:
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means for receiving positioning signals and generating location signals therefrom which are representative of the geographic location of the tool; means for storing geo-referenced tool position data including desired tool positions; and means for receiving the location signals, correlating the location signals with the geo-referenced tool position data, and generating the tool position signals based on the correlated data to change the position of the tool. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of controlling the position of an agricultural tool coupled to an agricultural vehicle, the tool being moveable in response to tool position signals, the method comprising:
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receiving positioning signals and generating location signals therefrom which are representative of the geographic location of the tool; storing geo-referenced tool position data including desired tool positions; correlating the location signals with the geo-referenced tool position data; and generating the tool position signals based on the correlated data to change the position of the tool. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification