Method and apparatus for prescription application of products to an agricultural field

• US 6,266,595 B1
• Filed: 08/12/1999
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Martin W. Greatline, Stanley E. Greatline
• Original Assignee: Martin W. Greatline, Stanley E. Greatline
• Inventors: Greatline, Martin W., Greatline, Stanley E.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/373,124
• Time in Patent Office: 712 Days
• Field of Search: 701/50, 701/207, 701/208, 701/210, 702/5, 111/177, 111/178, 340/200, 340/990, 342/357.17
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 17/008 Devices controlling the quantity or the distribution pattern
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 7/102 Regulating or controlling the seed rate
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3878 Hierarchical structures, e.g. layering

Abstract

A prescription farming control system includes a navigation controller and a product delivery controller for controlling the rate of operation of a number of agricultural product delivery mechanisms mounted on an applicator vehicle as a function of the global position of the vehicle in an agricultural field. Information is stored in computer memory on board the vehicle to define a number of layers corresponding to each of the delivery mechanisms, each layer defined by a number of polygons representing different levels of activity of the corresponding mechanism. Each polygon is defined by a plurality of vertices. In one approach, line segments between adjacent vertices defining each polygon for each layer are evaluated based on crossings of global coordinate axes passing through the vehicle position to determine whether the vehicle position falls within the particular polygon.

Claims

1. A prescription farming control system for use in controlling product delivery mechanisms mounted on an applicator vehicle, the delivery mechanisms operable to deliver product to spreader mechanisms for spreading products over an agricultural field, each of the product delivery mechanisms having a device controller which controls the rate of operation of the corresponding delivery mechanism in response to a control signal derived in accordance with a prescription for the field, the control system comprising:

a digital map, stored in a memory, representative of the prescription for the field, the map being defined by a number of layers, each layer containing information related to a rate of application of a product by a corresponding delivery mechanism at each of a plurality of global positions in accordance with the prescription for the field;

means for relating said information contained within each layer to control signal values to be provided to the device controller of the product delivery mechanism associated with the layer corresponding to a rate of application of the product at the plurality of global positions;

navigation means for determining the current position of the applicator vehicle on the agricultural field in global coordinates as the vehicle moves over the field; and

means for transmitting, to each device controller, selected ones of said control signal values related to one of said plurality of global positions corresponding to said determined current position of the vehicle,

wherein said information contained within each of said layers of said digital map includes a plurality of zones defined by a plurality of vertices, in which all of said plurality of global positions within each zone corresponds to a predetermined rate of application of a product by a corresponding delivery mechanism, and

wherein said means for transmitting includes a computer operable to execute a software routine for evaluating the vertices of said plurality of zones within each of said layers to determine whether said determined current position is within one of said plurality of zones.

2. The prescription farming control system according to claim 1, wherein said means for relating information includes a data table containing control signal values for each of said plurality of zones in each of said number of layers.

3. The prescription farming control system according to claim 1, wherein:

said navigation means determines said current position of the applicator vehicle in latitude and longitude coordinates; and

said software routine is operable to;

define line segments between each pair of adjacent vertices of each of said plurality of zones;

define a latitude and a longitude axis centered on said determined current position of the applicator vehicle; and

evaluate crossings of said line segments relative to said latitude and longitude axes to determine whether said current position is within one of said plurality of zones.

4. A control system for controlling functional components of a vehicle in relation to its position over a tract of land, each of the functional components capable of controllable levels of activity and having a device controller which controls the operation of the corresponding component in response to control signals derived in accordance with a predetermined program of operation, the control system comprising:

for each of the functional components, a digital map stored in a memory, the map defining a number of zones, each zone corresponding to a predetermined level of activity of the corresponding functional component;

navigation means for determining the global position of the vehicle as the vehicle moves over the tract of land;

a computer receiving the global position as an input and operable on the digital map corresponding to each of the functional components to identify which of the number of zones corresponds to the global position of the vehicle, said computer further operable to generate a control signal to the device controller for each of the functional components corresponding to said predetermined level of activity for the identified zone,

wherein each of said number of zones is a polygon defined by a plurality of vertices, with the global position of only the vertices stored in said memory; and

wherein said computer implements a software routine operable to evaluate the global position of the vehicle relative to the plurality of vertices defining a polygon to determine whether the vehicle global position falls within said polygon.

5. The control system according to claim 4, wherein:

said navigation means is operable to determine the current global position and a predicted global position of the vehicle as a function of the movement of the vehicle over the tract of land; and

said means for evaluating evaluates the predicted global position of the vehicle.

6. The control system according to claim 4, wherein:

said polygon includes a plurality of line segments between adjacent pairs of said plurality of vertices; and

said software routine is operable to;

define line segments between each pair of adjacent vertices of each of said plurality of zones;

define a latitude axis and a longitude axis centered on said global position of the applicator vehicle; and

evaluate crossings of said line segments relative to said latitude and longitude axes to determine whether said global position is within one of said plurality of zones.

7. A method for variably controlling functional components of a vehicle in relation to its position over a tract of land, each of the functional components capable of controllable levels of activity in response to control signals derived in accordance with a predetermined program of operation, comprising the steps of:

storing a digital map for each of the functional components defining a number of zones corresponding to a predetermined level of activity of the functional component, each zone defined by a plurality of vertices and line segments between successive vertices;

determining the global position of the vehicle as it moves over the tract of land;

evaluating the global position relative to the line segments defining the digital map for each of the functional components to identify in which zone of each map the global position of the vehicle falls; and

issuing control signals to each of the functional components in relation to the predetermined level of activity for the identified zone of each map.