Apparatus and method for automated positioning of a vehicle

• US 10,300,804 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2015
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Salasoo, Lembit
• Primary Examiner(s): Troost, Aaron L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schneider, Paula L
• Application Number:
  US14/966,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20160318415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,264 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations

Abstract

An apparatus for positioning a vehicle includes an alignment sensor that has a field of view and a vehicle alignment system operatively connected to the alignment sensor and to at least one positioning system of the vehicle. Movement of the vehicle varies an appearance of a fiducial surface within the alignment sensor'"'"'s field of view. The vehicle alignment system is configured to implement a method that includes monitoring the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor, comparing the appearance of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark appearances, and operating the at least one positioning system based on a determination by the vehicle alignment system of whether the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor satisfies a pre-determined target appearance that corresponds to a desired location and position of the vehicle relative to a fixed location.

Claims

1. An apparatus for positioning a vehicle, comprising:

an alignment sensor that has a field of view; and

a vehicle alignment system including at least one controller operatively connected to the alignment sensor and to at least one positioning system of the vehicle, the at least one controller configured to control vehicle positioning;

wherein movement of the vehicle varies an appearance of a fiducial surface within the field of view of the alignment sensor, the fiducial surface positioned at a fixed location off board the vehicle;

wherein to control vehicle positioning the at least one controller is configured to monitor the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor, compare the appearance of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark appearances of the same fiducial surface to determine if the appearance of the fiducial surface matches one of the benchmark appearances of the fiducial surface, and operate the at least one positioning system based on a determination of whether the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor satisfies a pre-determined target appearance that corresponds to a designated location and position of the vehicle relative to the fixed location; and

wherein the controller is configured to monitor the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor at an unknown distance or orientation from the fiducial surface, and if the appearance of the fiducial surface matches one of the benchmark appearances of the fiducial surface, to store known distance or orientation information associated with the benchmark appearance in memory based on the match.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each benchmark appearance in the set of benchmark appearances includes at least two markers disposed at different positions within the benchmark appearance.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least some of the at least two markers differ from each other in at least one of shape, size or color.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each of the at least two markers differs from the other markers in at least one of shape, size, orientation, or color.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the target appearance shows the at least two markers at relative positions that are unique among the benchmarked appearances.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one of the orientations or the shapes of the at least two markers vary among at least some of the benchmarked appearances.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the vehicle positioning in an open loop mode.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the vehicle positioning in a stepped open loop mode.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a distance sensor operatively connected to the at least one controller, wherein the at least one controller is configured to implement control of the vehicle positioning responsive to a sensor output of the distance sensor relating to a distance between the vehicle and the fiducial surface.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is configured to implement control of the vehicle positioning responsive to a sensor output of the alignment sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the fiducial surface includes a plurality of markers;

wherein the fiducial surface includes multiple planes or layers disposed in parallel or at angles to each other; and

wherein at least one of the plurality of markers is disposed on a different plane or layer than another of the plurality of markers.

12. An apparatus for positioning a vehicle, comprising:

an alignment sensor that has a field of view;

a distance sensor;

a vehicle alignment system including at least one controller operatively connected to receive visual data from the alignment sensor, distance data from the distance sensor, and to operate at least one positioning system of the vehicle; and

a fiducial surface configured to be positioned at a fixed location off-board the vehicle, the fiducial surface including a battery receiver opening into which a battery can be transferred from the vehicle;

wherein movement of the vehicle varies an appearance of the fiducial surface within the field of view of the alignment sensor;

wherein the at least one controller is configured to initiate control of vehicle positioning responsive to the distance data from the distance sensor indicating that the vehicle has approached within a first threshold distance from the fixed location;

wherein to control vehicle positioning the at least one controller is configured to receive the visual data that includes the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor, compare the appearance of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark appearances of the same fiducial surface stored in memory, determine whether the appearance of the fiducial surface matches, approaches, or diverges from a pre-determined target appearance of the same fiducial surface stored in memory that corresponds to a designated location and position of the vehicle relative to the fixed location, and operate the at least one positioning system until either the appearance of the fiducial surface matches the pre-determined target appearance or the appearance of the fiducial surface cannot be made to approach the pre-determined target appearance; and

wherein the benchmark appearances are different views of the same fiducial surface taken at different known distances and orientations of the vehicle relative to the fiducial surface and stored in memory.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each benchmark appearance of the set of benchmark appearances includes at least two markers disposed at different positions within the benchmark appearance.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein at least some of the at least two markers differ from each other in at least one of shape, size or color.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each of the at least two markers differs from the other markers in at least one of shape, size, orientation, or color.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the target appearance shows the at least two markers at relative positions that are unique among the benchmarked appearances.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein at least one of the orientations or the shapes of the at least two markers vary among at least some of the benchmarked appearances.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein at least the fiducial surface is on a battery exchange apparatus apart from the vehicle.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

the fiducial surface includes a plurality of markers;

wherein the fiducial surface includes multiple planes or layers disposed in parallel or at angles to each other; and

wherein at least one of the plurality of markers is disposed on a different plane or layer than another of the plurality of markers.

20. A method for positioning a vehicle, comprising:

generating sensor data of a fiducial surface using an alignment sensor that has a field of view, wherein an appearance of the fiducial surface within the field of view of the alignment sensor depends on a position of the vehicle relative to a fixed location; and

operating at least one positioning system of the vehicle, under control of a vehicle alignment system that is operatively connected to receive the sensor data from the alignment sensor;

wherein the vehicle alignment system is configured to obtain an image of the fiducial surface, to compare the image of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark images of the same fiducial surface to determine if the image of the fiducial surface matches one of the benchmark images of the fiducial surface, and to operate the at least one positioning system based on a determination by the vehicle alignment system of whether the image of the fiducial surface matches, approaches, or diverges from a pre-determined target image that corresponds to a desired location and position of the vehicle relative to the fixed location; and

wherein the vehicle alignment system is configured to obtain images of the fiducial surface at an unknown distance or orientation from the fiducial surface, and if one of the images of the fiducial surfaces matches one of the benchmark images of the fiducial surface, to store known distance or orientation information associated with the benchmark image in memory based on the match.