Patent ID: 8755976

Claim:
A device for steering a second agricultural machine which can be steered over a field relative to a first agricultural machine, the device comprising: a distance meter which is mounted on the second agricultural machine and is configured for being operated to record measured values with regard to direction and distance of one or more objects adjacent to the distance meter over a horizontal region, said measured values being derived from detected propagation times of signals transmitted and received by the distance meter; and an evaluating means which is connected to the distance meter, and is designed to output a steering signal for causing guidance of the second agricultural machine relative to the first agricultural machine, on the basis of the measured values of the distance meter, where the evaluating means is configured for being operated, with reference to a plurality of measured values recorded temporally successively by the distance meter, to select from the recorded measured values the measured values which can be assigned to the first agricultural machine, the measured values assigned to the first agricultural machine being derived from detected propagation times of signals transmitted and received by the distance meter that are substantially consistent over a course of motion of the first agricultural machine and the second agricultural machine, where the evaluating means is further configured for being operated to use the measured values assigned to the first agricultural machine to generate the steering signal for the second agricultural machine, and where the evaluating means is further configured for being operated to select from the recorded measured values the measured values which can be assigned to one or more different objects which are adjacent to the second agricultural machine, the measured values assigned to the one or more different objects being derived from detected propagation times of signals transmitted and received by the distance meter that are inconsistent over the course of motion of the first agricultural machine and the second agricultural machine.