Method and system for transferring material between vehicles

A system for managing the unloading of a lead vehicle, the method comprising:

• a first location-determining receiver for determining a lead vehicle location of a lead vehicle;
• a second location-determining receiver for determining a follower vehicle location of a follower vehicle;
• a wireless device for transmitting the lead vehicle location to the follower vehicle;
• an alarm module for alerting an operator of the lead vehicle if the follower vehicle location is within a predefined radius and predetermined angle of the lead vehicle location;
• a data processor for aligning a target offset between the lead vehicle and the follower vehicle if the operator accepts the jointly coordinated movement, the target offset and heading based on a first vehicle identifier of the follower vehicle, a second vehicle identifier of the lead vehicle, and target offset stored in a data storage device associated with the lead vehicle;
• a fill state detector for estimating a fill state of an agricultural material harvested by the lead vehicle and stored in a storage container associated with the lead vehicle;
• and
• a wireless device for transmitting the estimated fill state and lead vehicle location to the follower vehicle or a fleet of follower vehicles such that an available one of the follower vehicles can approach the lead vehicle to facilitate unloading of the lead vehicle that has a fill status equal to or greater than approximately seventy-five percent of the maximum storage capacity of storage container.

A method for managing the unloading or transferring of agricultural material between a plurality of vehicles, the method comprising:

• determining a lead vehicle location of a lead vehicle;
• receiving a follower vehicle location of a follower vehicle;
• alerting an operator of the lead vehicle of an availability of the follower vehicle in a proximity zone for an unloading assignment or pairing with the lead vehicle to unload the lead vehicle if the follower vehicle location is within a predefined radius of the lead vehicle location and a predetermined angular difference with respect to a heading of the lead vehicle, where the proximity zone and the predefined radius are distinct from a target offset between the vehicles during an unloading period;
• providing an operator of the lead vehicle with a user interface response mechanism in response to a received data message request from the follower vehicle within the predefined radius and predetermined angular distance such that the operator can accept or reject jointly coordinated movement of the lead vehicle and follower vehicle for unloading the lead vehicle during the unloading period;
• and
• transmitting an alignment data message to the follower vehicle to maintain the target offset between the lead vehicle and the follower vehicle if the operator accepts the jointly coordinated movement, the target offset based on a first vehicle identifier of the follower vehicle, a second vehicle identifier of the lead vehicle, and preset target offset stored in at data storage device associated with the lead vehicle.