Patent ID: 9415953
Filing Date: 2016-08-16
CPC Classification: A01D,B60P,B60R,B62D,B65B,B65G,G05D,G06K,G06T,H04N

Claim Text:
1. A method for facilitating the transfer of material from a transferring vehicle having a material distribution end to a receiving vehicle having a bin to store transferred material, the method comprising the steps of: a. capturing image data representing a field of view containing a material distribution end and a bin with a single imaging device; b. identifying and locating the bin, c. detecting a representation of the fill level or volumetric distribution of the material in the bin; d. sending the representation and the location of the bin to an alignment module; e. generating commands in the alignment module capable of being used by at least one of the receiving vehicle and the transferring vehicle to align the material distribution end over a current target area of the bin requiring the material; f. determining subsequent target areas of the bin that require material based on the representation of the fill level or volumetric distribution of the material in the bin and a desired fill pattern to fill the bin; g. transferring the material from the transferring vehicle to the current target area of the bin of the receiving vehicle; h. detecting when the current target area of the bin is filled with the material; and i. repeating steps e-h until the subsequent target areas of the bin are filled per the desired fill pattern.