Articulated machine proximity system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9738216-B2
Application number	US-201615148406-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 6, 2016
Priority date	Dec 28, 2011
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

In one embodiment, a towed implement proximity system, the system comprising: a first device comprising a transceiver, the first device configured to: transmit a signal; receive a first signal at a first angle and a second signal at a second angle responsive to the transmitted signal, the first and second signals comprising first information and second information, respectively, the first and second information each corresponding to respective positional information; and a controller coupled to the first device, the controller configured to determine a relative position in three axes between a first machine and a second machine based on the first and second information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An articulated machine proximity system, the system comprising:
a first device comprising a transceiver, the first device configured to—
transmit a signal, and
receive a first signal and a second signal responsive to the transmitted signal, the first signal carrying first information indicating a location of a first signal source, the second signal carrying second information indicating a location of a second signal source; and

a controller coupled to the first device, the controller configured to determine a relative position between a first machine and a second machine using a triangulation computation based on the first information and the second information.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first information includes coordinate information relating to the first signal source and the second information includes coordinate information relating to the second signal source.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to cause a component of the first machine to align with a component of the second machine.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to alert an operator when the relative position between the first machine and the second machine closes to within a threshold distance.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to alert the operator by providing a visual alert, an audio alert, or a combination of both.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to automatically cause one of the first machine or the second machine to modify a current manner of movement responsive to the relative position between the first machine and the second machine closing to within a threshold distance.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the relative position between the first machine and the second machine comprises a relative position between a first component of a towing vehicle and a second component of a vehicle towed by the towing vehicle.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the first component comprises an unloading auger of a combine harvester machine and the second component comprises a frame of a baler.

9. An articulated machine proximity system, the system comprising:
a first device on a first machine, the first device configured to—
transmit a signal, and
receive a first response signal and a second response signal responsive to the transmitted signal;

a second device on a second machine, the second device configured to receive the signal from the first device and provide the first response signal responsive to the signal from the first device, the first response signal comprising first position information;
a third device on the second machine, the third device configured to receive the signal from the first device and provide the second response signal responsive to the signal from the first device, the second response signal comprising second position information; and
a controller coupled to the first device, the controller configured to determine a relative position between a first machine and a second machine using a triangulation computation based on the first and second position information.

Assignees

• Agco Corp

Inventors

• Kendrick Patrick
• Retzlaff Lawrence
• Johnson Gerald R
• Guhr Quentin

Classifications

• B60Q1/305 Primary

  Indicating devices for towed vehicles · CPC title

• A01F15/08 Primary

  Details · CPC title

• B60D2001/008

  specially adapted for implements, e.g. towed tools · CPC title

• B60D1/58

  Auxiliary devices · CPC title

• B60D1/62

  involving supply lines, electric circuits or the like · CPC title