# How Farm Machines Stay Straight on Slopes for Different Tasks > This patent describes how a smart farm machine uses GPS and ground slope data to precisely adjust its tools sideways, ensuring follow-up tasks like fertilizing perfectly align with earlier tasks like seeding, even when working at different depths or heights. - **Patent:** US 20210161059 - **Original title:** Guidance working depth compensation - **Owner:** AGCO International - **Status:** Active - **Times cited:** 4 - **Field:** agriculture, software, telecommunications, robotics, automotive ## What it does The patent describes a mobile machine, like a tractor, that uses a receiver with an antenna to get its exact position (Claim 1). It records the machine's location and the depth a tool (implement) is working at during a first pass over a field (Claim 1). For a later pass, perhaps with a different tool or task, the machine's computing system calculates new "reference points" for a second path. These points consider the previously recorded data, the slope of the ground, and the desired working depth or height for the new task (Claim 1). Based on these calculated reference points, the machine then precisely shifts its implement sideways (adjusts its "lateral position") to ensure it follows the correct path relative to the first pass (Claim 1). For example, if a farmer first seeds deep in the soil, the system can then guide a sprayer to apply fertilizer directly above those seeds, even if the sprayer is working above ground and the field has a slope. ## What it does NOT cover - Does not cover systems that adjust implement position only based on the current machine's path without considering a previously recorded path or ground slope. - Does not cover systems that adjust implement position solely based on visual sensors without using position information and recorded working depth. - Does not cover machines where the implement cannot be shifted laterally relative to the machine's forward movement. - Does not cover single-stage farming operations that do not involve distinct functions over non-overlapping intervals of time. - Does not cover systems that only adjust the working depth of an implement, rather than its lateral position. ## The clever bit The cleverness lies in precisely calculating a second path's reference points by combining the first path's recorded position and depth with ground slope data and the second path's desired working depth or height. This allows for accurate alignment of different tasks, even when they occur at different vertical positions relative to the ground. ## Real-world examples 1. AGCO Fendt VarioGuide systems 2. John Deere AutoTrac systems 3. Case IH AFS AccuGuide 4. Precision planting equipment 5. Automated fertilizer applicators ## Why it matters This technology is crucial for precision agriculture, allowing farmers to perform multiple tasks on the same field with high accuracy. By compensating for ground slope and varying working depths, it ensures that subsequent operations, like fertilizing or weeding, are precisely aligned with initial operations like seeding. This precision can reduce waste of resources like seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides, leading to more efficient and environmentally friendly farming practices. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does How Farm Machines Stay Straight on Slopes for Different Tasks cover? This patent describes how a smart farm machine uses GPS and ground slope data to precisely adjust its tools sideways, ensuring follow-up tasks like fertilizing perfectly align with earlier tasks like seeding, even when working at different depths or heights. ### Who owns patent US 20210161059? This patent is owned by AGCO International. ### When does this patent expire? This patent is expected to expire on April 30, 2038, when the invention enters the public domain. ### What is patent US 20210161059 cited by? This patent has been cited by 4 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This technology is crucial for precision agriculture, allowing farmers to perform multiple tasks on the same field with high accuracy. By compensating for ground slope and varying working depths, it ensures that subsequent operations, like fertilizing or weeding, are precisely aligned with initial operations like seeding. This precision can reduce waste of resources like seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides, leading to more efficient and environmentally friendly farming practices. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover systems that adjust implement position only based on the current machine's path without considering a previously recorded path or ground slope. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20210161059/guidance-working-depth-compensation **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US20210161059 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How Farm Tractors Automatically Turn at the End of a Row](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7747370/method-for-creating-end-of-row-turns-for-agricultural-vehicles) — This patent describes a GPS-guided system for agricultural vehicles that automatically calculates and offers multiple turn options at the end of a crop row, allowing the operator to choose the best path. - [How Farm Vehicles Plant Evenly in Odd-Shaped Fields](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8296052/method-for-avoiding-point-rows-for-quadrilateral-fields-using-autoguidance) — This patent describes a smart system for farm vehicles that plans planting paths in fields with non-parallel sides, automatically turning off parts of the planter to avoid wasting seeds by replanting. - [How a Drone Can Fly Ahead of a Moving Vehicle](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10133281/leading-drone-system) — This patent describes a system where a drone flies a non-linear path, deliberately spaced from a moving ground or water vehicle, using the vehicle's future path information to stay ahead or in a specific relative position. - [How Vehicles and Drones Find Their Way Using Many Sensors](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10107627/adaptive-navigation-for-airborne-ground-and-dismount-applications-anagda) — This patent describes a layered computer system that combines data from many different sensors and an Inertial Measurement Unit to precisely determine a mobile platform's position, velocity, and orientation, even in challenging environments. - [How a Drone Flies Ahead of a Moving Ground or Water Vehicle](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20180321681/leading-drone-method) — This patent describes a method where an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flies ahead of a mobile base station, like a boat or ground vehicle, by predicting the base station's future path and scouting the area in advance.