# US 7,610,122 B2 · Mobile station for an unmanned vehicle > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 7,610,122 B2 - Document ID: US7610122B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 11/204,571 - Filed: 2005-08-16 - Published: 2007-02-22 - Granted: 2009-10-27 - Earliest claimed: 2005-08-16 - Assignees: Deere & Company - Inventors: Noel Wayne Anderson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7610122B2 ## CPC - A01B 79/005: {Precision agriculture} - G05D 1/0225: {involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay (parking aids B62D15/027)} - A01B: SOIL WORKING IN AGRICULTURE OR FORESTRY; PARTS, DETAILS, OR ACCESSORIES OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINES OR IMPLEMENTS, IN GENERAL (making or covering furrows or holes for sowing, planting or manuring A01C5/00; mowers convertible to soil working apparatus or capable of soil working A01D42/04; mowers combined with soil working implements A01D43/12; soil working for engineering purposes E01, E02, E21) - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES ## Abstract A mobile station for an unmanned vehicle comprises a vehicular storage area for storing a vehicle during transit or at rest. A first wireless transceiver communicates a status or command between the vehicle and the mobile station during at least one of vehicular deployment and rest. A station controller manages a management plan of the vehicle comprising at least one of retooling the vehicle, loading a payload on the vehicle, and recharging or refueling of the vehicle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A mobile station for supporting a deployment of unmanned vehicles, the mobile station comprising: a vehicle that secures to an interior of the mobile station during transit of the mobile station, the vehicle being unmanned and comprising vehicle electronics; a revolving storage device storing transportable modules that include payloads and implements associated with the payloads; a retooling system coupled to the revolving storage device that supports a switching of the implements associated with the payloads; a station electronics module comprising a station controller and a management planner, the management planner creating a management plan based on data that is collected by the vehicle electronics, the station controller managing the management plan created by the management planner for the vehicle, wherein the management plan includes an agronomic management plan. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, wherein the station electronics module further comprises: a first wireless communications device in the vehicle electronics that transmits the management plan to a second wireless communications device in the station electronics module. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle electronics comprises a plan manager that couples and decouples at least one implement to perform a particular task consistent with the agronomic management plan. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, wherein the agronomic management plan includes agricultural data associated with planting, growing, harvesting and crop management. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle electronics further comprises a soil moisture sensor including metallic probes that measure a volumetric water content of soil by transmission and reception of electromagnetic energy into the soil. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The mobile station according to claim 5, wherein the agronomic management plan further comprises at least one of irrigating a certain portion of a field, applying a fertilizer payload, conducting genetic tests, disbursing fungicide to material portion of a field having a low chlorophyll content. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, wherein the payloads include one or more crop inputs selected from the group consisting of seed, fertilizer, herbicides, fungicides, miticides, pesticides, water, nutrients, trace minerals, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and chemicals. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, further comprising a loading system that comprises at least one of a pneumatic loading system, an auger loading system, a gravity-fed loading system, and a belt loading system, to load the payloads on the vehicle. ### Claim 9 (depends on 2) The mobile station according to claim 2, wherein the management planner determines information including an implement plan, a payload plan, a refueling plan, and a path plan, that is transmitted from the second communications device to the first wireless communications device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, the electronics module further comprising: a vehicular guidance system comprising: a location-determining receiver that determines a location of the vehicle outside of the mobile station based on a global positioning system receiver; an optical positioning system that determines position data for the vehicle within an interior of the mobile station with reference to at least one of a recharging system, a loading system, and a retooling system; and a guidance data processing module including an obstacle detection module that guides the vehicle in accordance with a plan path. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising: a container for storing a payload for disbursement in a designated field in accordance with an agricultural management plan. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, further comprising: a security manager comprising an identification and authentication system that opens the door of the mobile station upon receipt of a vehicle identifier transmitted by the vehicle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The mobile station according to claim 12, wherein the security manager further comprises an intrusion detection system that determines whether an intrusion event has occurred and reports the intrusion event to an end user via a communications network, the intrusion event comprising a person or entity violating a boundary or perimeter of the mobile station. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1 further comprising: a first coupling unit attached to the vehicle; a second coupling unit attached to a transportable module and engagable with the first coupling unit, wherein the transportable module comprises at least one of an implement, a tool, a payload, and a crop input. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The mobile station according to claim 14 further comprising: a storage assembly for storing a group of transportable modules and generally aligning the first coupling unit with the second coupling unit by rotation or other movement of the storage assembly. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1, further comprising a recharging system that recharges the vehicle with electrical energy. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The mobile station according to claim 1 wherein the mobile station comprises a shipping container, and wherein the vehicle is secured to an interior portion of the mobile station.