Steering control system for moving vehicle
First Claim
1. A steering control system for a moving vehicle provided with means for detecting the present position and advance direction of the moving vehicle with respect to reference points disposed at several locations in and around a region in which a predetermined working operation is to be conducted by said vehicle, and a steering control means which controls the steering of the moving vehicle to cause said vehicle to travel along a predetermined traveling course in said region on the basis of information detected by said detecting means as well as information that defines said traveling course, comprising:
- an obstacle sensor installed on said moving vehicle for detecting presence of an obstacle in an uncontacted manner;
roundabout steering control means responsive to a signal from said sensor for causing said vehicle to detour around said obstacle while maintaining the distance between said obstacle and the moving vehicle at a predetermined value;
switching means for selecting said roundabout steering control means to control the steering of said vehicle when said sensor detects the presence of an obstacle on said predetermined traveling course, said switching means being operative thereafter to select said steering control means for controlling the steering of said vehicle along said predetermined traveling course after said vehicle completes its said detour around said obstacle under the control of said roundabout steering control means; and
means for stopping the moving vehicle in response to an obstacle detection signal from said sensor, said switching means being responsive to an output of a timer which detects a continuance of the obstacle detection signal for at least a predetermined period of time.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A steering control system for a moving vehicle causes the vehicle to travel along a predetermined traveling course in a region in which a predetermined working operation, such as grass cutting or the like, is to be performed by the vehicle as it moves along the traveling course. An obstacle sensor is mounted on the vehicle, and when the sensor detects presence of an obstacle on the predetermined traveling course, the steering control system operates to cause the vehicle to leave the predetermined traveling course and to detour around the obstacle while maintaining a substantially constant distance between the obstacle and the moving vehicle. The control system is also operative to determine whether the obstacle is stationary or movable and, upon completion of the vehicle travel along the predetermined course, is operative to determine whether a movable obstacle has been removed from the predetermined course and, if so, causes the vehicle to perform its working operation in that portion of the region in which the working operation was not previously performed due to its detour around the obstacle.
90 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A steering control system for a moving vehicle provided with means for detecting the present position and advance direction of the moving vehicle with respect to reference points disposed at several locations in and around a region in which a predetermined working operation is to be conducted by said vehicle, and a steering control means which controls the steering of the moving vehicle to cause said vehicle to travel along a predetermined traveling course in said region on the basis of information detected by said detecting means as well as information that defines said traveling course, comprising:
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an obstacle sensor installed on said moving vehicle for detecting presence of an obstacle in an uncontacted manner; roundabout steering control means responsive to a signal from said sensor for causing said vehicle to detour around said obstacle while maintaining the distance between said obstacle and the moving vehicle at a predetermined value; switching means for selecting said roundabout steering control means to control the steering of said vehicle when said sensor detects the presence of an obstacle on said predetermined traveling course, said switching means being operative thereafter to select said steering control means for controlling the steering of said vehicle along said predetermined traveling course after said vehicle completes its said detour around said obstacle under the control of said roundabout steering control means; and means for stopping the moving vehicle in response to an obstacle detection signal from said sensor, said switching means being responsive to an output of a timer which detects a continuance of the obstacle detection signal for at least a predetermined period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A steering control system for a moving vehicle wherein a light beam emitted from the moving vehicle is scanned around an axis on the moving vehicle along the circumferential direction thereof, and the light beam is reflected by light-reflecting means disposed at several points around a region in which a predetermined working operation is to be conducted by said vehicle as said vehicle moves along a predetermined traveling course in said region, the reflected light being received at said axis on the vehicle to detect the position of the moving vehicle in said region, said system comprising:
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azimuth detection means for detecting the azimuths of the respective light-reflecting means with respect to an advance direction of the moving vehicle on the basis of a beam receiving interval of the light reflected by said light-reflecting means; position calculation means for calculating the current position of the moving vehicle in said region based on the detected azimuths; normal steering control means for normally controlling the steering of said vehicle so as to cause said moving vehicle to travel along said predetermined traveling course on the basis of the calculated current position of the vehicle as well as on the basis of information that defines said predetermined traveling course; an obstacle sensor installed on said moving vehicle for detecting an obstacle on said predetermined traveling course in an uncontacted manner; roundabout steering control means for causing said moving vehicle to leave said predetermined traveling course and to detour around said obstacle in response to an obstacle detection signal from said sensor; and switching means for selecting said roundabout steering control means to control the steering of said vehicle when an obstacle is detected on said predetermined traveling cause by said obstacle sensor, said switching means being operative subsequently to select said normal steering control means for controlling steering of said vehicle along said predetermined traveling course after said vehicle completes said detour around said obstacle; said position calculation means being kept in operation during the time said roundabout steering control means is operative to control the steering of said vehicle, completion of said detour being determined by an output of said position calculation means indicating that the then current position of the moving vehicle is on said predetermined traveling course along which said vehicle was traveling just before said roundabout steering control means was selected. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification