Dynamic spray buffer calculation

• US 8,571,764 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGCO Corporation
• Original Assignee: AGCO Corporation
• Inventors: Peterson, John, Wollenhaupt, Nyle Curtis
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRUSHABER, FREDERICK M
• Application Number:
  US13/280,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20130103211A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 701/50
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 7/0089 Regulating or controlling systems the delivery being related to the movement of a vehicle B05B9/06

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method that comprises retrieving by a processing unit an application plan from memory, the application plan comprising coordinates for a buffer area associated with dispensing a product onto a field; receiving information from a weather station, the information corresponding to substantially current climatic conditions detected by the weather station in the field; responsive to receiving the information from the weather station, adjusting the application plan; and causing an agricultural machine to operate according to the adjusted application plan.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

retrieving by a processing unit an application plan from memory, the application plan comprising coordinates for a buffer area associated with dispensing a product onto a field while avoiding the buffer area;

receiving information from a weather station, the information corresponding to substantially current climatic conditions detected by the weather station in the field;

responsive to receiving the information from the weather station and subsequent to commencement of the dispensing of the product onto the field according to the application plan, adjusting the application plan by changing the coordinates to thereby reconfigure the buffer area; and

causing an agricultural machine to operate according to the adjusted application plan, including steering the machine to follow an adjusted path that is in compliance with the adjusted application plan, the adjusted path avoiding the reconfigured buffer area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieving, receiving, adjusting, and causing occur prior to the commencement of the dispensing of the product onto the field according to the application plan.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieving, receiving, adjusting, and causing occur subsequent to the commencement of the dispensing of the product onto the field according to the application plan.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a graphical user interface in association with one or more of the retrieving, receiving, adjusting, and causing.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the application plan into the memory via a wireless communication signal or upload via a memory device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the information from the weather station comprises receiving one or any combination of wind speed, wind direction, wind turbulence, temperature, or humidity from one or more sensors residing on the agricultural machine or in the field.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing an agricultural machine to operate according to the adjusted application plan further comprises causing at least one boom section to dispense the product while simultaneously causing at least one other boom section to not dispense the product.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing in memory the adjusted application plan.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the agricultural machine to operate according to the adjusted application plan comprises adjusting settings corresponding to one or any combination of nozzle size, nozzle type, pressure of the product, machine ground speed, machine direction, on or off controls of boom sections, on or off controls of nozzles, boom height controls, or agricultural machine controls.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the agricultural machine to operate according to the adjusted application plan comprises implementing drift control products.

11. A system, comprising:

a memory comprising logic; and

a processing unit configured by the logic to;

retrieve an application plan from memory, the application plan comprising coordinates for a buffer area associated with a field and a dispensing plan implemented by an agricultural machine for dispensing a product onto the field while avoiding the buffer area;

receive information from a weather station, the information corresponding to substantially current climatic conditions detected in the field;

responsive to receiving the information from the weather station and subsequent to commencement of the dispensing of the product onto the field according to the application plan, adjust the application plan by changing the coordinates to thereby reconfigure the buffer area; and

actuate machine controls of the agricultural machine to operate according to the adjusted application plan, including steering the machine to follow an adjusted path that is in compliance with the adjusted application plan, the adjusted path avoiding the reconfigured buffer area.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to retrieve, receive, adjust, and actuate prior to the commencement of the dispensing of the product onto the field according to the application plan.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to retrieve, receive, adjust, and actuate in real time while traversing the field, dispensing product onto the field, or a combination of both.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to receive the application plan into the memory via a wireless communication signal or upload via a memory device.

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising the weather station communicatively coupled to the processing unit, wherein the weather station comprises sensors configured to receive one or any combination of wind speed, wind direction, wind turbulence, temperature, or humidity as detected in the field.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the logic comprises buffer calculation logic, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to adjust the application plan by adjusting coordinates of the buffer area or a plurality of buffer areas, the plurality of buffer areas including at least the buffer area.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to adjust and actuate based on detection of a moving geofence.

18. The system of claim 11, further comprising machine controls coupled to the processing unit, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to actuate by adjusting settings of one or any combination of nozzle size, nozzle type, pressure of the product, machine ground speed, machine direction, on or off controls of boom sections, on or off controls of nozzles, boom height controls, or agricultural machine controls.

19. The system of claim 11, further comprising a positioning system coupled to the processing unit, wherein the processing unit is further configured by the logic to actuate machine controls corresponding to automatically steer the agricultural machine, adjust the speed of the agricultural machine, or a combination of both in accordance with the adjusted application plan.

20. A command and control system for a sprayer machine, the command and control system comprising:

a weather station residing on the sprayer machine, the weather station comprising one or more sensors that detect climatic conditions in a field;

machine controls, the machine controls including controls that affect the dispensing of product from a sprayer assembly of the sprayer machine;

a positioning system, the positioning system configured to automatically navigate the sprayer machine through the field; and

a computer system, the computer system comprising a processing unit and memory encoded with logic, the processing unit configured to execute the logic to;

retrieve an application plan from memory, the application plan comprising coordinates for a buffer area associated with the field and a dispensing plan implemented by a sprayer machine for dispensing a product onto the field;

receive information from the weather station, the information corresponding to substantially current climatic conditions detected in the field;

responsive to receive the information from the weather station, adjust the coordinates of the buffer area in the application plan;

communicating the adjusted coordinates to the positioning system to adjust the navigation of the sprayer machine in response to the adjusted coordinates, wherein adjusting the navigation of the sprayer machine includes steering the machine to follow an adjusted path that avoids the buffer area defined by the coordinates; and

adjust the controls of the sprayer assembly based on adjusted coordinates of the buffer area.