GNSS AND OPTICAL GUIDANCE AND MACHINE CONTROL

• US 20160011597A1
• Filed: 09/22/2015
• Published: 01/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agjunction LLC (Kubota Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Agjunction LLC (Kubota Corporation)
• Inventors: Webber, Mark R., Jones, Keith R., McClure, John A., Roberge, Andr C., Feller, Walter J., Whitehead, Michael L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,389,615 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 69/007 Steering or guiding of agricultural vehicles, e.g. steering of the tractor to keep the plough in the furrow
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 69/008 automatic
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/004 Devices for guiding or controlling the machines along a predetermined path for graders or bulldozers E02F3/841; for other soil-shifting machines E02F9/2045
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 4/00 Working on surfaces of snow or ice in order to make them suitable for traffic or sporting purposes, e.g. by compacting snow production of artificial snow F25C3/04
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/123 Drives or control devices specially adapted therefor E02F9/125 and E02F9/128 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2029 Controlling the position of implements in function of its load, e.g. modifying the attitude of implements in accordance to vehicle speed control for hydraulic or pneumatic drives E02F9/2203, E02F9/2221 and E02F9/2253 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2045 Guiding machines along a predetermined path for graders E02F3/841; machines for construction of roads E01C19/004
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2054 Fleet management
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/264 Sensors and their calibration for indicating the position of the work tool
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1656 with passive imaging devices, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/005 initial alignment, calibration or starting-up of inertial devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/04 providing carrier phase data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/24 Acquisition or tracking or demodulation of signals transmitted by the system synchronisation aspects of direct sequence spread spectrum modulation H04B1/7073
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/44 Carrier phase ambiguity resolution; Floating ambiguity; LAMBDA [Least-squares AMBiguity Decorrelation Adjustment] method
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/53 Determining attitude
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/55 : Carrier phase ambiguity resolution; Floating ambiguity; LAMBDA [Least-squares AMBiguity Decorrelation Adjustment] method
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 : comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 : using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 : using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0287 : involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0891 : specially adapted for land vehicles

Abstract

A global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) and gyroscope control system for vehicle steering control comprising a GNSS receiver and antennas at a fixed spacing to determine a vehicle position, velocity and at least one of a heading angle, a pitch angle and a roll angle based on carrier phase position differences. The system also includes a control system configured to receive the vehicle position, heading, and at least one of roll and pitch, and configured to generate a steering command to a vehicle steering system. The system includes gyroscopes for determining system attitude change with respect to multiple axes for integrating with GNSS-derived positioning information to determine vehicle position, velocity, rate-of-turn, attitude and other operating characteristics. Relative orientations and attitudes between motive and working components can be determined using optical sensors and cameras. The system can also be used to guide multiple vehicles in relation to each other.

Claims

1-12. -12. (canceled)

13. A GNSS-based guidance system for a vehicle comprising a motive component and a working component interconnected by an articulated connection, which system comprises:

a GNSS receiver mounted on said vehicle and configured for receiving GNSS ranging signals;

a guidance computer on said motive component and connected to said receiver;

first and second motive component antennas on said motive component and connected to said receiver;

a fixed-distance, static baseline between said first and second motive component antennas;

a variable-distance, moving baseline between said motive component and said working component, said moving baseline having variable distances corresponding to the orientations of said motive and working components in relation to each other;

a prime inertial measuring unit (IMU) on said motive component configured for sending signal outputs to said guidance computer corresponding to roll (X), pitch (Y), and yaw (Z) movements of said motive component;

an auxiliary IMU on said working component configured for sending signal outputs to said guidance computer corresponding to roll (X), pitch (Y), and yaw (Z) movements of said working component;

optical targets on said working component configured for indicating roll (X), pitch (Y), and/or yaw (Z) directional misalignments of said working component in relation to the orientation of said motive component; and

optical sensors on said motive component configured for detecting said optical targets, thus detecting roll (X), pitch (Y), and/or yaw (Z) directional misalignments of said working component in relation to the orientation of said motive component, and for sending signal outputs to said guidance computer.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a switching circuit connected to said antennas and to said receiver;

said switching circuit being configured for switching among said antennas wherein respective antennas are selectively connected to said receiver;

said guidance computer being configured for receiving GNSS-based ranging signal inputs based on relative positions of said antennas selected by said switching circuit; and

said guidance computer being configured for selecting said antennas based on GNSS-based signal quality characteristics.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

an external computer connected to said guidance computer;

said external computer being configured for transferring field data input to said guidance computer; and

said guidance computer being configured for transferring field data output to said external computer.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein:

said motive component comprises a tractor; and

said working component comprises an agricultural implement.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein:

said vehicle comprises earth-moving equipment; and

said working component comprises a ground-engaging tool.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein:

said vehicle comprises snow-grooming equipment; and

said working component comprises a snow-engaging tool.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein said optical targets comprise one of the group consisting of:

crosshair target displays, square target displays, and circular-elliptical target displays.

14. (canceled)

20. (canceled)