Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090312911 | METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC USER-CONFIGURABLE STEERING PARAMETER CONTROL - A vehicle guidance system and method for automatically adjusting an amount of a user-configurable steering parameter applied to at least one steerable wheel of a vehicle. The vehicle guidance system may comprise a computing device for receiving a desired angle of the steerable wheel, measuring the actual angle of the steerable wheel, and comparing the actual angle with the desired angle. The computing device may then decrease the user-configurable steering parameter automatically if over-steering has occurred, meaning the actual angle of the wheel is determined to be greater than the desired angle of the wheel and angled in the same direction as the desired angle, or the computing device may increase the user-configurable steering parameter automatically if under-steering has occurred, meaning the actual angle of the wheel is determined to be less than the desired angle of the wheel or is angled in the opposite direction as the desired angle. | 12-17-2009 |
20090312948 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR USING POSITION/ATTITUDE INFORMATION TO ENHANCE A VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEM - An enhanced vehicle guidance system comprising a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and a data processor with a memory component and a computing device. The method of enhancing a vehicle's guidance system may comprise calculating the altitude, latitude, and longitude of a GNSS receiver for each of a plurality of positions; calculating the incline angle between adjacent points; and using the calculated incline angles to infer the attitude of the vehicle at any of the plurality of positions. The attitude may be used to calculated an inertial correction factor to compensate for GNSS position inaccuracies induced as a result of the vehicle rolling and pitching on uneven terrain. The altitude, latitude, longitude, and attitude of the plurality of positions may be stored in the memory such that the system may look-up the attitude for a given position without recalculating the attitude and without using an inertial sensor. | 12-17-2009 |
20100152943 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE OF VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS - A vehicle guidance system includes a location determining component for determining locations of the vehicle; a weight sensor for sensing a weight associated with the vehicle; a steering actuator for steering at least one wheel of the vehicle; and a computing device in communication with the location determining component, the weight sensor, and the steering actuator. The computing device receives cartographic data representative of a desired path for the vehicle, receives location information from the location determining component, controls operation of the steering actuator in order to guide the vehicle along the desired path, and adjusts a steering parameter at least partially based on the weight sensed by the weight sensor. | 06-17-2010 |
20120150439 | Automatic Determination of Tire Height for Improving Guidance Performance - A system and method improve guidance system performance. An accuracy improvement module (AIM) can be configured to compare observed and expected inclination compensation factors (ICFs) at a plurality of inclination angles to detect an inaccuracy in antenna height. In response to detecting an inaccuracy, an AIM can determine a revised antenna height that more accurately represents the height of an antenna above ground. A proposed antenna height can be determined using an observed ICF. A fixed vehicle body height can be subtracted from the proposed antenna height to provide a proposed tire radius. The proposed tire radius can be compared to a table of standard tire radii to determine a tire radius value, which can then be added to the fixed vehicle body height to provide a revised antenna height. The revised antenna height can improve the accuracy or calculated ground positions, thereby improving guidance system performance. | 06-14-2012 |
20130103260 | METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC USER-CONFIGURABLE STEERING PARAMETER CONTROL - A vehicle guidance system and method for automatically adjusting an amount of a user-configurable steering parameter applied to at least one steerable wheel of a vehicle. The vehicle guidance system may comprise a computing device for receiving a desired angle of the steerable wheel, measuring the actual angle of the steerable wheel, and comparing the actual angle with the desired angle. The computing device may then decrease the user-configurable steering parameter automatically if over-steering has occurred, meaning the actual angle of the wheel is determined to be greater than the desired angle of the wheel and angled in the same direction as the desired angle, or the computing device may increase the user-configurable steering parameter automatically if under-steering has occurred, meaning the actual angle of the wheel is determined to be less than the desired angle of the wheel or is angled in the opposite direction as the desired angle. | 04-25-2013 |
20130158772 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SWITCHING DISPLAY MODES IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES - A display system for an agricultural vehicle includes a display for displaying a representation of the vehicle's location in a field in which the vehicle is operating and a control device for receiving an indication of an operating state of the vehicle and for controlling a viewing mode of the display according to the operating state. | 06-20-2013 |
20130166132 | Auto-Guidance - Auto-guidance may be provided. First, location information may be received and a location of a machine may be determined based on the location information. Once the location of the machine is determined, an auto-guidance data file may be loaded based on the determined location of the machine. | 06-27-2013 |
20130169785 | METHOD OF DETECTING AND IMPROVING OPERATOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ON AGRICULTURAL MACHINES - Methods, systems and apparatus are presented that can warn a machine operator of an object in a machine path when an operator is not looking in the machine travel direction. A situational awareness detector (SAD) can be configured to determine operator orientation and operator sight direction or field of view. A SAD can be configured to determine machine or implement travel path and whether an object of interest such as a boundary, pond, rock pile, etc. is positioned within the travel path. By comparing operator line of sight or field of view with machine and/or implement travel path, a SAD can determine operator awareness of the object in the travel path. If an operator is unaware of the object, an alert can be provided. If a determination is made that an operator is aware of an object, a system of the invention can refrain from providing an alert. | 07-04-2013 |
20140107884 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SWITCHING DISPLAY MODES IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES - A display system for an agricultural vehicle includes a display for displaying a representation of the vehicle's location in a field in which the vehicle is operating and a control device for receiving an indication of an operating state of the vehicle and for controlling a viewing mode of the display according to the operating state. | 04-17-2014 |
20140172224 | SPEED CONTROL IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS - Speed control in agricultural vehicle guidance systems may be provided. First, an auto-guidance processor may be loaded with a wayline. A drive component coupled to the auto-guidance processor may be engaged to cause the agricultural vehicle to traverse the wayline. The wayline may define a path for the agricultural vehicle to travel within an area. The auto-guidance processor may receive inclination data. The agricultural vehicle's speed may be altered as the agricultural machine traverses the wayline based upon the inclination data. | 06-19-2014 |
20140172225 | SPEED CONTROL IN AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS - Speed control in agricultural vehicle guidance systems may be provided. First, an auto-guidance processor may be loaded with a wayline and topographical data of an area where an agricultural vehicle may be located. A drive component coupled to the auto-guidance processor may be engaged to cause the agricultural vehicle to traverse the wayline. The wayline may define a path for the agricultural vehicle to travel within the area. The agricultural vehicle's speed may be altered as the agricultural machine traverses the wayline based upon the topographical data. | 06-19-2014 |