CONTROL APPARATUS FOR AUTONOMOUSLY NAVIGATING UTILITY VEHICLE
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating turnable utility vehicle equipped with a body and a prime mover mounted on the body to make the vehicle travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire in order to work autonomously in work mode, comprising:
- a pair of magnetic sensors installed spaced apart from each other in a lateral direction of the body on the body of the vehicle, each of the pair of magnetic sensors detecting a magnetic field strength generated by electric current passing through the boundary wire;
a turning angle detector configured to detect a turning angle of the vehicle;
a travel distance detector configured to detect a travel distance of the vehicle;
a travel controlling unit configured to control the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the boundary wire in trace mode to be executed before the work mode, based on the magnetic field strength detected by one of the magnetic sensors while positioning other of the magnetic sensors inside the boundary wire;
a route generating unit configured to generate a travel route along a boundary of the working area, based on the turning angle detected by the turning angle detector and the travel distance detected by the travel distance detector in the trace mode;
a memory unit configured to memorize the magnetic field strengths detected by the other of the magnetic sensor in the trace mode in association with the travel route; and
a position identifying unit configured to identify a position of the vehicle in the work mode by comparing the magnetic field strengths detected by the pair of magnetic sensors with the magnetic field strengths memorized in the memory unit.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In an apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle travelling about a working area delineated by a boundary wire, there are provided with a pair of magnetic sensors, a turning angle detector, a travel distance detector, a travel controlling unit controlling the vehicle to travel along the boundary wire based on the magnetic field strength detected by one of the magnetic sensors while positioning other of the magnetic sensors inside the boundary wire, a route generating unit generating a travel route along a boundary of the working area based on the turning angle and the travel distance, a memory unit memorizing the magnetic field strengths detected by the other of the magnetic sensor in association with the travel route, and a position identifying unit identifying a position of the vehicle by comparing the detected magnetic field strengths with the memorized magnetic field strengths.
11 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating turnable utility vehicle equipped with a body and a prime mover mounted on the body to make the vehicle travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire in order to work autonomously in work mode, comprising:
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a pair of magnetic sensors installed spaced apart from each other in a lateral direction of the body on the body of the vehicle, each of the pair of magnetic sensors detecting a magnetic field strength generated by electric current passing through the boundary wire; a turning angle detector configured to detect a turning angle of the vehicle; a travel distance detector configured to detect a travel distance of the vehicle; a travel controlling unit configured to control the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the boundary wire in trace mode to be executed before the work mode, based on the magnetic field strength detected by one of the magnetic sensors while positioning other of the magnetic sensors inside the boundary wire; a route generating unit configured to generate a travel route along a boundary of the working area, based on the turning angle detected by the turning angle detector and the travel distance detected by the travel distance detector in the trace mode; a memory unit configured to memorize the magnetic field strengths detected by the other of the magnetic sensor in the trace mode in association with the travel route; and a position identifying unit configured to identify a position of the vehicle in the work mode by comparing the magnetic field strengths detected by the pair of magnetic sensors with the magnetic field strengths memorized in the memory unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating turnable utility vehicle equipped with a body and a prime mover mounted on the body to make the vehicle travel about a working area delineated by a boundary wire in order to work autonomously in work mode, the vehicle including a pair of magnetic sensors installed spaced apart from each other in a lateral direction of the body on the body of the vehicle, each of the pair of magnetic sensors detecting a magnetic field strength generated by electric current passing through the boundary wire,
comprising the steps of: -
detecting a turning angle of the vehicle; detecting a travel distance of the vehicle; controlling the prime mover to make the vehicle travel along the boundary wire in trace mode to be executed before the work mode, based on the magnetic field strength detected by one of the magnetic sensors while positioning other of the magnetic sensors inside the boundary wire; generating a travel route along a boundary of the working area, based on the turning angle detected in the step of detecting the turning angle and the travel distance detected in the step of detecting the travel distance in the trace mode; memorizing the magnetic field strengths detected by the other of the magnetic sensor in the trace mode in association with the travel route; and identifying a position of the vehicle in the work mode by comparing the magnetic field strengths detected by the pair of magnetic sensors with the magnetic field strengths memorized in the memory unit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification