Robotic Vehicle Controller
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A control system is provided for automatically moving a machine along a desired path.
167 Citations
57 Claims
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1-21. -21. (canceled)
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22. A method of moving a machine along a desired path comprising:
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storing path data indicating a desired path of travel for the machine; storing a plurality of GPS locations linked to particular points along the desired path; automatically moving the machine along the desired path using the stored path data; detecting GPS location signals at a plurality of locations along the path actually traveled by the machine during the automatically moving step; transmitting a GPS reference signal to the machine; determining a corrected GPS location at each of the plurality of locations along the path actually traveled by the machine based on detected GPS location signals and the GPS reference signal; comparing the corrected GPS location at each of the plurality of locations along the path actually traveled by the machine with the corresponding stored GPS location that was linked to particular points along the desired path; correcting the position of the machine if it is determined that the vehicle has moved away from the desired path by a predetermined amount based on the comparing step; and charging a fee based on usage of the GPS reference signal. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29-39. -39. (canceled)
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40. A method of moving a machine along a desired path comprising:
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storing path data indicating a desired path of travel for the machine; storing a plurality of GPS locations linked to particular points along the desired path; automatically moving the machine along the desired path using the stored path data; detecting GPS locations at a plurality of locations along the path actually traveled by the machine during the automatically moving step within an accuracy of about 30 cm or less without the use of a GPS reference signal to correct the detected GPS location signals; comparing the detected GPS location at the plurality of locations along the path actually traveled by the machine with the corresponding stored GPS location that were linked to particular points along the desired path; and correcting the position of the machine if it is determined that the vehicle has moved away from the desired path by a predetermined amount based on the comparing step. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A self-propelled vehicle comprising:
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a frame; a plurality of wheels coupled to the frame; a motor supported by the frame, the motor being coupled to at least one drive wheel selected from the plurality of wheels to provide power to rotate the at least one drive wheel; a controller coupled to the motor, the controller being configured to adjust an output of the motor to control the speed and direction of rotation of the at least one drive wheel to control movement of the vehicle; a GPS receiver coupled to the frame to detect GPS location signals, the GPS receiver being coupled to the controller; means for recording control signals to the at least one drive wheel as the vehicle is driven by an operator over a desired path during a manual mode to provide stored path data; means for storing a plurality of GPS locations which are linked to particular points along the desired path as the vehicle is driven by an operator over the desired path during the manual mode; means for automatically moving the vehicle by using the stored path data is used to control the at least one drive wheel to move the machine along the desired path without operator control; means for detecting GPS location signals at a plurality of locations along the path traveled by the vehicle; means for comparing the GPS location signals at a plurality of locations along the traveled path with the corresponding stored GPS locations linked to particular points along the desired path; and means for correcting a position of the vehicle if it is determined that the vehicle has moved away from the desired path by a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 55, 56)
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48-50. -50. (canceled)
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54. (canceled)
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57-65. -65. (canceled)
Specification