System and method for assisting in the refilling of agricultural vehicles

A system for directing an agricultural vehicle to a refill location, the system comprising:

• a sensor configured to detect the amount of material in a container of the agricultural vehicle;
• a location determining device configured to determine a geographic location of the agricultural vehicle;
• at least one of a display, a speaker, and an automated steering system;
• and
• a processing device communicably coupled with the sensor and the location determining device and configured to determine and output navigation instructions to at least one of the display, the speaker, and the automated steering system regarding when and where to travel to refill the container based on a plurality of criteria,
• wherein the plurality of criteria corresponds with any combination of one or more of the amount of material in the container, the dimensions of a field to be covered by the agricultural vehicle, instructions for dispensing the material in the field, rate at which the material in the container is dispensed, acceptable refill locations, a status of a refilling vehicle, and a location of a refilling vehicle relative to various refill locations.

A method of directing an operator of an agricultural vehicle regarding when and where to refill a container of the agricultural vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving with a processing device a level signal containing information regarding an amount of material in the container;
• receiving with the processing device a location signal regarding a location of the agricultural vehicle;
• determining with the processing device, at least partially based on the level signal and the location signal, when the container needs to be refilled;
• determining with the processing device a refill location at which the agricultural vehicle should refill;
• and
• sending refill instructions, including when to refill the container and the refill location, to at least one of a display, a speaker, and an automated steering system.

A computer program stored on a computer readable medium device for determining information regarding refilling of a container of an agricultural vehicle, the computer program comprising:

• a first code segment executable by a processing device for obtaining information from at least one of a sensor, memory, a user interface, and a location-determining device regarding an amount of material in the container and a location of the agricultural vehicle;
• a second code segment executable by the processing device for determining if the container needs to be refilled;
• and
• a third code segment executable by the processing device for determining and sending refill instructions, including a desired refill location, to at least one of a display, a speaker, and an automated steering system.