Apparatus for guiding movement of an unmanned moving body

• US 4,862,047 A
• Filed: 01/20/1988
• Issued: 08/29/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho (Komatsu Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Komatsu Seisakusho (Komatsu Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nakano, Ichiro, Suzuki, Toru, Kato, Atsuhiko, Hosoi, Mitsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ro, Bentsu
• Application Number:
  US07/157,510
• Time in Patent Office: 587 Days
• Field of Search: 318/580, 318/587, 180/167, 180/168, 180/169, 364/424.01, 364/425, 364/450, 364/443, 364/444
• US Class Current: 318/587
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• 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 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00

Abstract

This invention is intended to periodically correct the position and posture of an automatically steerable unmanned moving body according to a guiding method with the aid of dead reckoning or the like. A plurality of sets of at least two ground marks (8) are placed on the movement passage of the unmanned moving body (1) in a spaced relation along a reference passage (15) and the ground marks (8) are visually recognized by means of a television camera (6) or the like mounted on the unmanned moving body. Then, the existent position and posture of the unmanned moving body (1) are detected with reference to the results of visual recognization and thereafter the position and posture of the unmanned moving body (1) which have been calculated in accordance with the aforesaid guiding method or the like are corrected in accordance with the thus detected results.

Claims

1. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body, wherein plural sets of at least two ground marks are placed on a movement passage of said unmanned moving body in a spaced relation along a reference passage, and wherein said unmanned moving body includes;

first detecting means for detecting the existent position and posture of the unmanned moving body,

visual recognizing means for visually recognizing presence of each of said ground marks,

memory means for storing coordinate positions of each of the ground marks,

second detecting means for obtaining a declination angle and a displacement of the unmanned moving body relative to said reference passage and a distance from a line segment which extends through the moving body to perpendicularly intersect the reference passage to the moving body with reference to at least the two ground marks which are recognized by said visual recognizing means, and detecting the existent position and posture of the unmanned moving body with reference to the thus obtained declination angle, displacement and distance as well as the content stored in said memory means, and

guiding position correcting means for correcting the position and posture detected by said first detecting means with reference to the position and posture detected by said second detecting means, when detecting output from the second detecting means is obtained.

2. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the ground marks is a ground mark having a returnable reflectivity and the unmanned moving body further comprises light emitting means for lightening a visual field of said visual recognizing means.

3. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the ground marks has a luminous property.

4. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visual recognizing means is mounted on the unmanned moving body while maintaining a properly determined depression angle.

5. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visual recognizing means comprises a television camera.

6. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visual recognizing means comprises a two-dimensional semiconductor position detector.

7. An apparatus for guiding the movement of an unmanned moving body as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first detecting means includes movement length detecting means for detecting a movement length of the unmanned moving body and movement direction detecting means for detecting the direction of movement of the unmanned moving body whereby the existent position of the unmanned moving body is calculated with reference to detection output from said first detecting means in accordance with a speculation navigation method.