Vehicle for driving along a lead line

• US 4,588,041 A
• Filed: 03/22/1984
• Issued: 05/13/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Tsuchihashi, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Koczo, Michael
• Application Number:
  US06/592,281
• Time in Patent Office: 782 Days
• Field of Search: 180/168, 180/167, 180/169
• US Class Current: 180/168
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0265 using buried wires

Abstract

A vehicle having front and rear wheels which may be freely steered, and driving along a lead line. The vehicle has position detectors for detecting deviations of the front and rear end of the vehicle from the lead line and is driven such that the front wheels and the rear wheels are individually steered in response to outputs from the position detectors.

Claims

1. A vehicle which is driven along a lead line, comprising:

a main body having a front and rear wheels which are independently steered;

first and second position detecting means which are mounted to front and rear portions of said main body and include means for respectively detecting deviations from the same lead line; and

steering means for individually steering said front and rear wheels in accordance with outputs from said first and second position detecting means.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, in which said lead line comprises a wire through which an AC current flows, and said first and second position detecting means comprise coils for respectively detecting a magnetic field intensity from said lead line.

3. A vehicle according to claim 1, in which said steering means include means to steer said front and rear wheels to the left when said first or second position detecting means detects a deviation thereof to a right side of said lead line, and includes means to steer said front and rear wheels to the right when said first or second position detecting means detects a deviation thereof to a left side of said lead line.

4. The vehicle of claim 3 wherein said steering means includes separate steering motors and steering angle detector means for said front and rear wheels.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 including programmed steering control circuit means operatively connected to said steering motors for controlling said steering motors and operatively connected to said position detecting means and said steering detector means for receiving position and steering angle signals therefrom.