Patent ID: 7706948

Claim:
A method for creating swath paths comprising the following steps: providing a vehicle with an associated implement; providing a vehicle guidance system having a vehicle position receiver; providing a swath generation apparatus (SGA) having a processing capability and an SGA memory device, the SGA being communicatively coupled to the guidance system; providing an operator input device; communicating a set of predetermined parameters to the SGA; defining within the SGA a coordinate system for vehicle position; establishing a baseline swath path for the SGA, the baseline swath path being configured with a starting point and an end point and defined by a plurality of position data points; and calculating, by the processing capability of the SGA by an iterative process using the predetermined parameters, at least one swath path adjacent to the baseline swath path and defined by a plurality of position data points generally parallel to a previous swath path of the baseline swath path or at least one adjacent swath path and spaced apart from the previous swath path by a swath width, the at least one adjacent swath path having a curvature slightly differing from the curvature of the previous swath path and the at least one adjacent swath path beginning at an end point of the previous swath path wherein the interconnected swath paths form a continuous spiral swath path; wherein the step of calculating by an iterative process using the predetermined parameters further comprises: monitoring at plurality of adjacent position data points adjacent the end point of the previous swath path and a plurality of adjacent position data points adjacent the starting point of the at least one adjacent swath path; determining within the SGA a radius of curvature for each series of the plurality of adjacent position data points in the previous swath path; comparing within the SGA the radius of curvature for each series of the plurality of adjacent position data points to the minimum turning radius; and adjusting one or more of the plurality of adjacent position data points for which the radius of curvature is substantially less than the minimum turning radius so that curvature in the previous swath path has a radius of curvature equal to or greater than the minimum turning radius.