System and method for creating agricultural tramlines

• US 9,043,951 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2013
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intelligent Agricultural Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: Appareo Systems LLC (AGCO Corporation)
• Inventors: Tolstedt, Jonathan L., Giese, Christopher L.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US13/945,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20150025752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 684 Days
• Field of Search: 701/50, 701/408, 701/410, 701/468, 701/532, 111/200
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 21/005 Following a specific plan, e.g. pattern
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/087 Tramlining
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0044 by providing the operator with a computer generated representation of the environment of the vehicle, e.g. virtual reality, maps maps used for automatic navigation G05D1/0274; flight directors G01C23/005
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS

Abstract

A system for creating an agricultural tramline, comprising an agricultural planter, an application executing on a computer terminal, one or more seeding units mounted on the planter, a location sensor, and a planter control system, whereby an operator can use the application to create a file specifying the location of a desired agricultural tramline on a plot of land, which is downloaded from the computer terminal to the planter control system, and where the planter control system uses the location of the desired agricultural tramline and location information from the location sensor to enable and disable the plurality of seeding units, such that the area of land corresponding to the desired agricultural tramline is not planted with seed.

Claims

1. A system for creating an agricultural tramline, comprising

an agricultural planting machine;

a computer terminal;

an application executing on the computer terminal;

a plurality of seeding units mounted on the agricultural planting machine;

a location sensor mounted on the agricultural planting machine;

a control system mounted on the agricultural planting machine; and

whereby an operator can use the application to create a file specifying the location of a desired agricultural tramline on a plot of land, the file is downloaded from the computer terminal to the control system, the control system calculates a unit location for each of the plurality of seeding units based on the location sensor and independent of a dimension of the agricultural planting machine, and the control system uses the location of the desired agricultural tramline and unit location information to enable and disable the plurality of seeding units when they are coincident with the location of the desired agricultural tramline, such that the area of land corresponding to the desired agricultural tramline is not planted with seed.

2. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 1, where the computer terminal is a desktop computer.

3. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 1, where the computer terminal is a mobile device.

4. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 1, where the computer terminal is a display that is mounted in the cab of the vehicle.

5. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 1, where the location sensor is a GNSS receiver.

6. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 5, where the GNSS receiver is capable of receiving an augmentation signal, whereby the augmentation signal allows the GNSS receiver to calculate a more accurate geospatial location than is possible without the augmentation signal.

7. A system for creating an agricultural tramline, comprising

an agricultural planting machine;

a computer terminal;

an application executing on the computer terminal;

a plurality of seeding units mounted on the agricultural planting machine;

a control system mounted on the agricultural planting machine; and

whereby an operator can use the application to create a file specifying the location of a desired agricultural tramline on a plot of land in relation to a boundary of the plot of land, the file is downloaded from the computer terminal to the control system, the control system calculates a precise unit location for each of the plurality of seeding units based on the location sensor and independent of a dimension of the agricultural planting machine, and the control system uses the relative location of the desired agricultural tramline and unit location information to enable and disable the plurality of seeding units when they are coincident with the location of the desired agricultural tramline, such that the area of land corresponding to the desired agricultural tramline is not planted with seed.

8. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 7, where the computer terminal is a desktop computer.

9. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 7, where the computer terminal is a mobile device.

10. The system for creating an agricultural tramline of claim 7, where the computer terminal is a display that is mounted in the cab of the vehicle.

11. A method for creating an agricultural tramline, comprising the steps of

creating a tramline definition file defining the desired geographic location of one or more agricultural tramlines within a plot of land;

equipping an agricultural planting machine with a control system which can enable and disable the planting function of each of a series of individual seeding units mounted on the agricultural planting machine;

equipping the agricultural planting machine with a location sensor;

transferring the tramline definition file to the control system;

commanding the control system to obtain the current geographic location of the agricultural planting machine;

commanding the control system to calculate the geographic locations of each of the series of individual seeding units based on the current geographic location of the agricultural planting machine;

commanding the control system to compare the geographic locations of each of the series of individual seeding units to the desired geographic location of the one or more agricultural tramlines defined by the file;

commanding the control system to disable any individual seeding unit that is coincident with the desired geographic location of the one or more agricultural tramlines, and enable the remaining individual seeding units;

wherein the step of commanding the control system to disable any individual seeding unit is done independent of a dimension of the agricultural planting machine; and

whereby an area in the plot of land that is coincident with the desired geographic location of the one or more agricultural tramlines is not seeded, while the remaining area of the plot of land is seeded, such that an agricultural tramline is created.

12. A method for creating an agricultural tramline, comprising the steps of

creating a tramline definition file defining the desired location of one or more agricultural tramlines within a plot of land and the shape and dimensions of the plot of land, wherein the desired location of the one or more agricultural tramlines is expressed as a relative offset from a boundary of the plot of land;

equipping an agricultural planting machine with a control system which can enable and disable the planting function of each of a series of individual seeding units mounted on the agricultural planting machine;

transferring the tramline definition file to the control system;

commanding the control system to track the number of passes the agricultural planting machine makes through the plot of land relative to the boundary of the plot of land;

commanding the control system to compare the desired location of the one or more agricultural tramlines defined by the file with the number of passes;

commanding the control system to disable any individual seeding unit that is coincident with the desired location of the one or more agricultural tramlines based on the comparison of desired tramline locations and the number of passes, and enable the remaining individual seeding units;

wherein the step of commanding the control system to disable any individual seeding unit is done independent of a dimension of the agricultural planting machine; and

whereby an area in the plot of land that is coincident with the desired location of the one or more agricultural tramlines is not seeded, while the remaining area of the plot of land is seeded, such that an agricultural tramline is created.