Controlling a positioning system for an agricultural implement
First Claim
1. An apparatus for conditioning at least one control signal transmitted by a controller and normally received by a positioning system and configured to cause movement of an agricultural implement relative to a frame towards at least one desired position, the positioning system having a positioning response time for causing the agricultural implement to respond to said at least one control signal, the apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to:
- intercept said at least one control signal; and
in response to said intercept of said at least one control signal, produce at least one output signal for receipt by the positioning system instead of said at least one control signal, said at least one output signal representing a plurality of active times during which said positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which said positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times;
wherein each of said plurality of inactive times has a respective time length determined to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to said positioning response time.
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Abstract
A method for conditioning at least one control signal transmitted by a controller is disclosed. The method involves intercepting the control signal and producing at least one output signal for receipt by the positioning system instead of the control signal in response to the control signal. The output signal represents a plurality of active times during which the positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which the positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times. Each of the plurality of inactive times is sufficiently long to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to a positioning response time of the positioning system. Other methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for conditioning at least one control signal transmitted by a controller and normally received by a positioning system and configured to cause movement of an agricultural implement relative to a frame towards at least one desired position, the positioning system having a positioning response time for causing the agricultural implement to respond to said at least one control signal, the apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to:
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intercept said at least one control signal; and in response to said intercept of said at least one control signal, produce at least one output signal for receipt by the positioning system instead of said at least one control signal, said at least one output signal representing a plurality of active times during which said positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which said positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times; wherein each of said plurality of inactive times has a respective time length determined to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to said positioning response time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 26, 27)
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20. A method for conditioning at least one control signal transmitted by a controller and normally received by a positioning system and configured to cause movement of an agricultural implement relative to a frame towards at least one desired position, the positioning system having a positioning response time for causing the agricultural implement to respond to said at least one control signal, the method comprising:
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intercepting said at least one control signal; and in response to intercepting said at least one control signal, producing at least one output signal for receipt by the positioning system instead of said at least one control signal, said at least one output signal representing a plurality of active times during which said positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which said positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times; wherein each of said plurality of inactive times has a respective time length determined to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to said positioning response time. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon codes which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to condition at least one control signal transmitted by a controller and normally received by a positioning system and configured to cause movement of an agricultural implement relative to a frame towards at least one desired position, the positioning system having a positioning response time for causing the agricultural implement to respond to said at least one control signal, wherein the codes, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
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intercept said at least one control signal; and in response to said intercept of said at least one control signal, produce at least one output signal for receipt by the positioning system instead of said at least one control signal, said at least one output signal representing a plurality of active times during which said positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which said positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times; wherein each of said plurality of inactive times has a respective time length determined to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to said positioning response time.
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23. An agricultural implement control system for moving an agricultural implement up and down or for holding the agricultural implement at a height above the ground over which an agricultural vehicle is driven, the agricultural implement control system comprising:
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a positioning system operably configured to move the agricultural implement up or down or to not move the agricultural implement up or down, in response to at least one control signal; a controller operably configured to produce said at least one control signal; and a conditioner operably configured to; intercept said at least one control signal; and in response to said intercept of said at least one control signal, produce at least one output signal for receipt by the positioning system instead of said at least one control signal, said at least one output signal representing a plurality of active times during which said positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which said positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times; wherein each of said plurality of inactive times has a respective time length determined to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to a positioning response time for causing the agricultural implement to respond to said at least one control signal. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. An apparatus for producing at least one control signal for controlling a positioning system, the positioning system having a positioning response time for causing an agricultural implement to move in response to said at least one control signal, the apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to:
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receive at least one position signal representing at least one position of the agricultural implement; receive at least one desired position signal representing at least one desired position of the agricultural implement; derive said at least one control signal from at least one difference between said at least one position and said at least one desired position; and produce said at least one control signal for receipt by said positioning system, said at least one control signal representing a plurality of active times during which said positioning system is instructed to move the agricultural implement towards the at least one desired position and a plurality of inactive times during which said positioning system is instructed not to move, each active time being followed by a respective one of the plurality of inactive times; wherein each of said plurality of inactive times has a respective time length determined to permit the agricultural implement to settle into a fixed position due to said positioning response time.
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Specification