US 7,254,485 B2Granted

Soil and topography surveying

AssigneeDeere & Company

InventorsDaniel James Rooney, Marek Dudka, Mark Andrew Cheyne

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Methods of characterizing subsurface conditions in a selected geographic region previously associated as a whole with a specific subsurface material characteristic reference profile such as from a USDA-NRCS soil survey. The method includes deploying a sensing tool at selected positions within the geographic region to determine a depth-referenced subsurface material characteristic such as soil type or strata, comparing the determined subsurface material characteristic to the subsurface material characteristic reference profile associated with the geographic region to determine a correlation between the subsurface material characteristic reference profile and the depth-referenced subsurface material characteristic, and then deciding whether to deploy the tool at another position, and at what optimum position to deploy the tool, by considering the correlation.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A method of characterizing subsurface conditions in a selected geographic region previously associated as a whole with a specific subsurface material characteristic reference profile, the method comprising deploying a sensing tool at a selected position within the geographic region, the tool constructed to be responsive to a selected subsurface material attribute;

determining, from a signal received from the deployed tool, a depth-referenced subsurface material characteristic at the selected position;
comparing the determined subsurface material characteristic to the subsurface material characteristic reference profile associated with the geographic region to determine a correlation between the subsurface material characteristic reference profile and the depth-referenced subsurface material characteristic as determined from the signal received from the deployed tool;
and then deploying the tool at another position within said geographic region by considering the correlation determined from said selected position.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/102,030Filed 7 Apr 2005 · continuation
Priority: 1 Nov 2001
Published: US 2005/0192752 A11 Sep 2005
Granted: 7 Aug 2007
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G01V 11/00
Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more
A01C 21/007
Methods of fertilising , sowing or planting: determining fertilization requirements
G01V
Geophysics
A01C
Planting

Family

Application09/998,863Parent of this continuation · filed 1 Nov 2001
Application10/436,615Parent of this continuation · filed 13 May 2003
US 6,597,992 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 22 Jul 2003
US 2005/0192752 A1Pre-grant publication · published 1 Sep 2005
US 6,959,245 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2003/0083819 A1Published application
US 2003/0200028 A1Published application
US 7,254,485 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.