US5066854A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method of and apparatus for guiding a self-steering vehicle along an optical guideway
Assignee: Maschinenfabrik Rieter AG
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Filing: 1990-02-14
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Granted: 1991-11-19
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Expires: 2010-02-14
Abstract
Abstract There are provided a method of and an apparatus for guiding a self-steering or driverless vehicle along an optical guideway. The hitherto known systems, which relate to optical scanning of an optical guideway by means of a light beam and which only transmit the signals "light" and "dark" with respect to detection of the optical guideway, are liable to disturbances and result in a too coarse or non-sensitive control. Therefore, it is suggested to scan the optical guideway by means of light pulses emitted in a predetermined frequency by sensors, whereby the intensity of the reflected light generates by means of an electronic evaluation unit a signal for controlling a steering or guiding mechanism. It is suggested to scan the optical guideway as an analog value by means of individual sensors arranged in a row and further process the determined values as digital values.
Inventors
- 👤 Urs Meyer
- 👤 Rene F. Oberhansli
- 👤 Dominik Hausler
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 08:51
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05D; G05D1/00; G05D1/02; G05D1/021; G05D1/0231; G05D1/0242; G05D1/0244; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/48; G01S7/497; G01S7/4972
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
165 words
A method of guiding a self-steering vehicle along an optical guideway, comprising the steps of: scanning the optical guideway by means of light pulses emitted in a predetermined frequency by sensors comprising the step of using a row of individual sensors providing analog measurement values and the further step of digitally processing the analog measurement values; said step of using a row of individual sensors comprising the step of using transmitters which emit light pulses and receivers which receive light pulses, said sensors being transversely arranged relative to the direction of travel of the vehicle; said step of scanning the optical guideway comprising the step of successively effecting the scanning operation in chronological sequence relative to the number of sensors; generating a signal from the intensity of the reflected light, received by said receivers, by means of an electronic evaluation unit comprising the step of evaluating the reflected light signals by means of a computer unit; and using the signal to control a steering mechanism.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
165 words
A method of guiding a self-steering vehicle along an optical guideway, comprising the steps of: scanning the optical guideway by means of light pulses emitted in a predetermined frequency by sensors comprising the step of using a row of individual sensors providing analog measurement values and the further step of digitally processing the analog measurement values; said step of using a row of individual sensors comprising the step of using transmitters which emit light pulses and receivers which receive light pulses, said sensors being transversely arranged relative to the direction of travel of the vehicle; said step of scanning the optical guideway comprising the step of successively effecting the scanning operation in chronological sequence relative to the number of sensors; generating a signal from the intensity of the reflected light, received by said receivers, by means of an electronic evaluation unit comprising the step of evaluating the reflected light signals by means of a computer unit; and using the signal to control a steering mechanism.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein: said step of automatically adjusting the sensors entails the step of adjusting current driver stages of the individual sensors to a predetermined measurement value by means of an adjustment device, and the further step of including, in the adjustment process of the transmitters and receivers, the thereafter connected electronic evaluation unit and amplifier stages arranged downstream of the receivers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method as defined in claim 2, further including the step of: using the adjustment values stored in the adjustment-value table for influencing the intensity of the emitted light pulses and for controlling components which receive the light pulses and components which transmit the light pulses.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method as defined in claim 2, further including the step of: using the adjustment values stored in the adjustment-value table as a parameter for the voltage to be applied to the current driver stages of the individual transmitters of the sensors.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method as defined in claim 4, further including the steps of: providing a constant voltage from a source of electric power; and controllably varying the voltage by means of a converter in accordance with the adjustment value called up from the adjustment-value table with respect to the sensor associated with the called up adjustment value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method as defined in claim 3, further including the step of: using the adjustment values stored in the adjustment-value table as a parameter for determining the light intensity of the reflected light received by the individual receivers of the sensors.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as defined in claim 2, further including the step of: using the adjustment values stored in the adjustment-value table as an arithmetical quantity in the evaluation of the determined measurement values.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein: said step of scanning the optical guideway by means of light pulses entails using infrared light pulses as a light signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as defined in claim 8, wherein: said step of using infrared light pulses as the light signal entails the transmitter of each sensor emitting at least 5,000 infrared light pulses per second.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as defined in claim 8, wherein: said step of using infrared light pulses as the light signal entails the transmitter of each sensor emitting 10,000 infrared light pulses per second.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein: said step of scanning the optical guideway by means of light pulses entails using ultraviolet light pulses as a light signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method as defined in claim 11, further including the steps of: emitting the ultraviolet light pulses by means of the transmitters of the sensors; providing the optical guideway in the form of a fluorescent guide strip; and receiving by means of the receivers of the sensors the reflected ultraviolet light converted into visible light.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the steps of: providing a host computer for the computer unit; and using the electronic evaluation unit for evaluating the determined measurement values in accordance with a driving order coming from the host computer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method as defined in claim 13, further including the step of: guiding the vehicle in the region of turnouts and deviations along an edge of the optical guideway in accordance with the driving order coming from the host computer.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
219 words
An apparatus for guiding a self-steering vehicle along an optical guideway, the vehicle having a steering mechanism, comprising: at least two sensors mounted at the vehicle; said at least two sensors emitting light pulses for scanning the optical guideway; each one of said at least two sensors comprising a transmitter and a receiver; voltage converter means; a source of electric power applying a substantially constant voltage to said voltage converter means; current driver stages for respective transmitters of said at least two sensors; each one of said at least two sensors having a predetermined adjustment value; said current driver stages of said transmitters being energized by a voltage applied by said voltage converter means in accordance with said predetermined adjustment values; amplifier means for each one of said receivers of said at least two sensors; pulse-width measuring means; computer means having an electronic evaluation stage; said light pulses emitted by said transmitters being reflected and received by said receivers of said at least two sensors and transmitted by means of said amplifier means to said pulse-width measuring means, determined signals of which are supplied to said electronic evaluation stage of said computer means; and control means for controlling the steering mechanism of the vehicle relative to a control signal received from said electronic evaluation stage of said computer means.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
219 words
An apparatus for guiding a self-steering vehicle along an optical guideway, the vehicle having a steering mechanism, comprising: at least two sensors mounted at the vehicle; said at least two sensors emitting light pulses for scanning the optical guideway; each one of said at least two sensors comprising a transmitter and a receiver; voltage converter means; a source of electric power applying a substantially constant voltage to said voltage converter means; current driver stages for respective transmitters of said at least two sensors; each one of said at least two sensors having a predetermined adjustment value; said current driver stages of said transmitters being energized by a voltage applied by said voltage converter means in accordance with said predetermined adjustment values; amplifier means for each one of said receivers of said at least two sensors; pulse-width measuring means; computer means having an electronic evaluation stage; said light pulses emitted by said transmitters being reflected and received by said receivers of said at least two sensors and transmitted by means of said amplifier means to said pulse-width measuring means, determined signals of which are supplied to said electronic evaluation stage of said computer means; and control means for controlling the steering mechanism of the vehicle relative to a control signal received from said electronic evaluation stage of said computer means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein: said voltage converter means constitutes a digital-to-analog converter.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein: the steering mechanism includes an adjustment motor; said adjustment motor being controlled by said control means for controlling the steering mechanism.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
71 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including: a transmit-multiplexer; said current driver stages of said transmitters being successively energized by means of said transmit-multiplexer with a voltage corresponding with the respective controlled transmitter of the associated sensor; the vehicle having a predetermined direction of vehicle travel; and said at least two sensors being mounted at the vehicle in a direction substantially transverse to said predetermined direction of vehicle travel.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 18, further including: a receive-multiplexer; an output line; and successively delivered signals from said receivers and delivered by said individual amplifier means being successively transmitted by said receive-multiplexer to said pulse-width measuring means via said output line.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
52 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein: said at least two sensors constitute at least eight sensors arranged in a row; the optical guideway having a predetermined longitudinal direction; and said row of at least eight sensors being substantially transversely arranged relative to said predetermined longitudinal direction of the optical guideway.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
48 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein: said at least two sensors constitute sixteen sensors arranged in a row; the optical guideway having a predetermined longitudinal direction; and said row of sixteen sensors being substantially transversely arranged relative to said predetermined longitudinal direction of the optical guideway.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
60 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including: sensor plate means; said transmitters together with said current driver stages and said receivers together with said amplifier means being mounted side by side in series at said sensor plate means; and said amplifier means being provided with screening means with respect to said transmitters of said at least two sensors.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
48 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 22, further including: a printed wire board provided for said electronic evaluation stage; a printed wire board provided for said computer means; plug connections; and said printed wire boards being connected to said sensor plate means by means of said plug connections.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including: a host computer; and said computer means for said at least two sensors being connected to said host computer.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-11-18 | 1995-05-20 | 1995-11-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-11-18 | 1999-05-20 | 1999-11-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-11-18 | 2003-05-20 | 2003-11-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |