초록 ▼

An airplane or other vehicle is to be used for repeated traverses over an assigned area successively in respective different ones of a plurality of parallel paths displaced laterally one from another. Path alignment apparatus carried by the vehicle cooperates with delivery means that dispenses a mat

An airplane or other vehicle is to be used for repeated traverses over an assigned area successively in respective different ones of a plurality of parallel paths displaced laterally one from another. Path alignment apparatus carried by the vehicle cooperates with delivery means that dispenses a material along each of the paths in a swath of predetermined width. The material includes an agent that presents characteristic radiation at a predetermined frequency. A sensing means is oriented to view the path of approach of the vehicle for detecting the radiation and developing a discriminated signal which distinguishes between presence and absence of the radiation. Developed by range-finding means is a distance signal that represents location of the vehicle relative to the location of the path being approached. Also included are indication means for response to the discriminated signal and the distance signal in order to develop an information signal that represents the degree of departure as between a longitudinal edge margin of a previously dispensed swath and a new swath being approached by the vehicle. As a result, it is possible for the operator of the vehicle to cause the dispensing of the material in successive swaths with a minimum of either overlap or underlap as between successively displaced swaths.

대표청구항 ▼

For use in a vehicle capable of repeated traverses over an assigned area successively in respective different ones of a plurality of parallel paths displaced laterally one from another and including delivery means carried by said vehicle for dispensing a material along each of said paths in a swath

For use in a vehicle capable of repeated traverses over an assigned area successively in respective different ones of a plurality of parallel paths displaced laterally one from another and including delivery means carried by said vehicle for dispensing a material along each of said paths in a swath of predetermined width, path alignment apparatus comprising: sensing means carried by said vehicle and oriented to view the path of approach of said vehicle for detecting characteristic radiation at a predetermined frequency, presented by said material deposited in a previous swath, and developing a discriminated signal which distinguishes between presence and absence of said radiation over the fixed horizontal angular extent of the field of view from said vehicle; range-finding means carried by said vehicle for developing a distance signal, representative of slant range from said vehicle, that represents location of said vehicle relative to the location of said path being approached and viewed along said horizontal angular extent; and indication means carried by said vehicle and responsive to and correlating, by comparison thereof, said discriminated signal and said distance signal for developing an information signal that represents the degree of departure as between longitudinal edge margins of a previously dispensed swath and a new swath being approached by said vehicle, thereby permitting said degree of departure in response to said information signal to be indicated for changing the path of said vehicle relative to a previous one of said swaths.