The benefits of site specific product application control are well known in the industry. Some product application variables that may be controlled according to location within a field may include product type and product rate. The product rate may be related to an amount in weight per unit area, or to a spacing between units such as individual seeds. The product type and rate prescribed for an area may be dependent on factors such as soil type, historic yield data, and historic or expected precipitation. It has been found that application of agricultural products in such a prescribed manner can increase yields and/or reduce farming input costs to improve overall profits. Implements that use this type of technology include seeding, planting, fertilizing, and spraying equipment. On other equipment, such as harvest equipment, there may be data collection systems to collect data to be used with a prescription farming system. The prescription farming system generally includes some device for tracking location within a field, such as GPS, and a mechanism to control the product rate, type, or other parameters to be controlled according to a prescription which is commonly recorded on a prescription map corresponding to the area of the field.
An implement configured for prescription farming typically has a control system in which the prescription map is stored, or capable of reading prescription map data stored on a device such as a disk or PCcard. The map can be displayed for the operator to view in the operator's cab. Commonly color coding may be used on the map to illustrate differences in product rate or type corresponding to different areas of the field.
Critical farming operations such as seeding or planting must typically be performed within a short window of time in order for the crop to mature within the growing season and for best yield amount and quality. Since speed and efficiency are important in farming operations, there may be more than one implement operating in a field at one time. A problem arises when each such implement is using independent precision farming systems, whereby each implement system operates without the knowledge of the other implement's operation. Two or more of the implements may apply product to the same location, or the implements may altogether miss a location resulting in zero product being applied to that location, each of which could adversely affect yield.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds