Vehicle guidance system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9826674-B2
Application number	US-201514798098-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2015
Priority date	Jul 25, 2014
Publication date	Nov 28, 2017
Grant date	Nov 28, 2017

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method comprising receiving input corresponding to a first contour wayline to enable auto-steer traversal by a vehicle over a field; generating a plurality of contour waylines based on the first contour wayline; identifying a non-drivable section among the plurality of contour waylines, the identifying based on information corresponding to a time for the vehicle to reach a minimum turning radius and the minimum turning radius; and generating an alternative contour wayline section for the identified non-drivable section.

First claim

At least the following is claimed:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving, by a vehicle guidance system, input corresponding to a first contour wayline to enable auto-steer traversal by the vehicle over a field;
generating, by the vehicle guidance system, a plurality of contour waylines based on the first contour wayline;
identifying, by the vehicle guidance system, a non-drivable section among the plurality of contour waylines, the identifying based on information corresponding to a time for the vehicle to reach a minimum turning radius;
generating, by the vehicle guidance system, an alternative contour wayline section for the identified non-drivable section; and
causing, by the vehicle guidance system, the auto-steer traversal by the vehicle of the field according to the plurality of contour waylines and according to the alternative contour wayline section for the non-drivable section,
wherein identifying the non-drivable section comprises logically scanning the plurality of contour waylines with a defined geometrical area and detecting when the defined geometrical area intersects two contiguous sections of one of the plurality of contour waylines.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the non-drivable section is further based on information corresponding to speed of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising determining a speed for which the vehicle is to traverse the alternative contour wayline section.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising causing the auto-steer traversal by the vehicle of the field according to the alternative contour wayline section in place of the non-drivable section based on the determined speed.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the non-drivable section is without operator intervention.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined geometrical area is based on one or more curved sections.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the alternative contour wayline section for the identified non-drivable section occurs before the vehicle reaches the non-drivable section.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-drivable section comprises a section that the vehicle physically cannot turn on when navigating according to the associated contour line.

9. A system, comprising:
a vehicle comprising a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and a controller coupled to the GNSS receiver and a vehicle drive system, the controller configured to:
receive input corresponding to a first contour wayline to enable auto-steer traversal by the vehicle over a field;
generate a plurality of contour waylines based on the first contour wayline;
identify a non-drivable section among the plurality of contour waylines by logically scanning the plurality of contour waylines with a defined geometrical area and determining when the defined geometrical area intersects two contiguous sections of one of the plurality of contour waylines, the identifying based on information corresponding to a time for the vehicle to reach a minimum turning radius;
generate an alternative contour wayline section for the identified non-drivable section; and
cause the vehicle drive system to auto-steer across the field according to the plurality of contour waylines and according to the alternative contour wayline section for the non-drivable section.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to identify the non-drivable section based on information corresponding to speed of the vehicle.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a speed for which the vehicle is to traverse the alternative contour wayline section.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the vehicle drive system to auto-steer across the field according to the alternative contour wayline section in place of the non-drivable section based on the determined speed.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to identify the non-drivable section without operator intervention.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the defined geometrical area is based on one or more curved sections.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to generate the alternative contour wayline section for the identified non-drivable section before the vehicle reaches the non-drivable section.

Assignees

• Agco Corp

Inventors

• Matthews Paul Ross

Classifications

• A01B69/004

  automatic · CPC title

• A01B69/00

  Steering of agricultural machines or implements; Guiding agricultural machines or implements on a desired track · CPC title

• A01B79/005 Primary

  Precision agriculture · CPC title

• G01C21/005

  with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching (G01C21/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A01B69/007

  Steering or guiding of agricultural vehicles, e.g. steering of the tractor to keep the plough in the furrow · CPC title