Martin W Greatline

US Patent:

62665952, Jul 24, 2001

Filed:

Aug 12, 1999

Appl. No.:

9/373124

Inventors:

Martin W. Greatline - Hope IN
Stanley E. Greatline - Albion IL

International Classification:

G01C 2126

US Classification:

701 50

Abstract:

A prescription farming control system includes a navigation controller and a product delivery controller for controlling the rate of operation of a number of agricultural product delivery mechanisms mounted on an applicator vehicle as a function of the global position of the vehicle in an agricultural field. Information is stored in computer memory on board the vehicle to define a number of layers corresponding to each of the delivery mechanisms, each layer defined by a number of polygons representing different levels of activity of the corresponding mechanism. Each polygon is defined by a plurality of vertices. In one approach, line segments between adjacent vertices defining each polygon for each layer are evaluated based on crossings of global coordinate axes passing through the vehicle position to determine whether the vehicle position falls within the particular polygon.

US Patent:

59192429, Jul 6, 1999

Filed:

May 14, 1992

Appl. No.:

7/882811

Inventors:

Martin W. Greatline - West Salem IL
Stanley E. Greatline - Albion IL

Assignee:

Agri-line Innovations, Inc. - Albion IL

International Classification:

G01C 2114

US Classification:

701 50

Abstract:

A prescription farming control system includes a navigation controller and a product delivery controller for controlling the rate of operation of a number of agricultural product delivery mechanisms mounted on an applicator vehicle as a function of the global position of the vehicle in an agricultural field. Information is stored in computer memory on board the vehicle to define a number of layers corresponding to each of the delivery mechanisms, each layer including a number of zones representing different levels of activity of the corresponding mechanism. Each zone is defined by a plurality of vertices, rather than on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The navigation controller receives satellite positioning data to combine with pseudorange correction data received from a fixed ground station to determine a corrected accurate global position of the vehicle. A graphics coprocessor includes active invisible graphics memory page onto which each layer is sequentially drawn and interrogated. One user selected layer can be stored on an inactive visible graphics memory page for visual display and then page flipped to the active page for subsequent interrogation.