Vehicle orientation calculating device

• US 5,337,243 A
• Filed: 11/12/1991
• Issued: 08/09/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsuji, Hiroaki, Shibata, Akihito
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIS JACQUES, JACQUES H
• Application Number:
  US07/790,444
• Time in Patent Office: 1,001 Days
• Field of Search: 364/444, 364/449, 364/450, 364/451, 364/454, 364/457, 364/518, 364/424, 342/357, 342/451, 342/461, 342/457
• US Class Current: 701/214
• CPC Class Codes: G06G 7/78 for direction-finding, locating, distance or velocity measuring, or navigation systems

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide precise calculation of a position and an orientation of a vehicle running or moving on route. Regarding the vehicle moving along a given route and with possible variations in the running orientation it is judged that the vehicle has moved substantially on a straight line when an integrated value of the orientation variations is smaller than a predetermined value. By obtaining a regression line of GPS receiving positions in the straight line, a precise orientation of the vehicle is obtained by adding a difference between the orientations of the straight line and the regression line to an original orientation of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle orientation calculating device comprising:

a) GPS (Global Positioning System) position calculating means for calculating GPS receiving positions in response to signals received from GPS satellites;

b) vehicle position calculating means for calculating a position of a vehicle, based on;

1) an angular velocity; and

2) a velocity of the vehicle;

c) straight drive detecting means, responsive to said vehicle position calculating means, for detecting whether or not the vehicle has moved in a straight line;

d) GPS trajectory calculating means, responsive to said GPS position calculating means, for obtaining a resultant regression line based on GPS receiving positions in a straight drive trajectory of the vehicle, said trajectory calculating means including;

1) means for defining lines passing through the GPS receiving positions and normal to a tentative regression line;

2) means for calculating a sum of squares of line lengths from the respective GPS receiving positions to the tentative regression line; and

3) means for determining the resultant regression line to minimize the calculated sum; and

e) vehicle orientation correcting means, responsive to said GPS trajectory calculating means, for adding;

1) an original orientation of the vehicle; and

2) an orientation difference between;

i) the orientation of the vehicle driven in said straight drive trajectory; and

ii) the resultant regression line

determined for said straight drive trajectory.

2. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 1, wherein said straight drive detecting means judges that the vehicle has moved on a straight line, when variations in the orientation of the vehicle in a predetermined drive distance are smaller than a predetermined value.

3. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 2, wherein the angular velocity of the vehicle is detected by using an angular sensor.

4. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle orientation correcting means corrects the orientation of the vehicle, only in the case where a mean value of distances between said GPS receiving positions and said regression line is smaller than a predetermined value.

5. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 4, wherein the angular velocity of the vehicle is detected by using an angular sensor.

6. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 1, wherein the angular velocity of the vehicle is detected by using an angular sensor.

8. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 3, wherein said straight drive detecting means judges that the vehicle has moved on a straight line, when variations in the orientation of the vehicle in a predetermined drive distance are smaller than a predetermined value.

9. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 8, wherein the angular velocity of the vehicle is detected by using an angular sensor.

7. A vehicle orientation calculating device comprising:

a) GPS (Global Positioning System) position calculating means for calculating GPS receiving positions in response to signals received from GPS satellites;

b) vehicle position calculating means for calculating a position of a vehicle, based on;

1) an angular velocity; and

2) a velocity of the vehicle;

c) straight drive detecting means, responsive to said vehicle position calculating means, for detecting whether or not the vehicle has moved in a straight line;

d) GPS trajectory calculating means, responsive to said GPS position calculating means, including;

1) means for calculating a plurality of mean values of GPS receiving positions, where GPS signals have been received in a period in which the vehicle is stopped at positions between a starting position and an ending position of a straight drive trajectory of the vehicle; and

2) means for obtaining a line connecting the starting position and the ending position; and

e) vehicle orientation correcting means, responsive to said GPS trajectory calculating means, for adding;

1) an original orientation of the vehicle and

2) an orientation difference between;

i) the orientation of the vehicle in said straight drive trajectory; and

ii) the line connecting said starting position and said ending position.

10. A vehicle orientation calculating device according to claim 7, wherein the angular velocity of the vehicle is detected by using an angular sensor.