System and method for sonic positioning
First Claim
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1. A system for determining the position of an object within a gas-filled space, said system comprising:
- one or more beacons placed at positions throughout said space, each of said beacons including sound generating means for emitting sound into said space;
wherein said object comprises;
means for determining the positions of said one or more beacons;
means for determining the distance between each of said one or more beacons and said object, said means for determining the distance comprising;
means for measuring the time required for a sound generated by one of said beacons to reach said object; and
means for converting said measured time to a distance; and
means for determining from said distances the position of said object within said space.
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Abstract
A system and method for determining the position of an automatically guided vehicle within a workspace is disclosed which operates by detecting sounds generated by beacons placed within the workspace. The time for the beacon sounds to reach the vehicle is measured and a distance to each beacon is determined. From these measured distances and the known positions of the beacons, the vehicle can determine its relative position.
236 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A system for determining the position of an object within a gas-filled space, said system comprising:
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one or more beacons placed at positions throughout said space, each of said beacons including sound generating means for emitting sound into said space; wherein said object comprises; means for determining the positions of said one or more beacons; means for determining the distance between each of said one or more beacons and said object, said means for determining the distance comprising; means for measuring the time required for a sound generated by one of said beacons to reach said object; and means for converting said measured time to a distance; and means for determining from said distances the position of said object within said space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for determining an object position for an object within a gas-filled space in which one or more beacons have been placed, each beacon having a beacon position, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing within said object information regarding the position of said one or more beacons; causing one or more of said beacons to generate a sound; measuring a sonic travel time required for each said sound to travel from each said beacon to said object; calculating from said sonic travel time the distance between each said beacon and said object; and determining from said distances from each of said beacons to said object and from said beacon positions the position of said object relative to said one or more beacons. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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37. A method for determining object positions for a plurality of objects within a gas-filled space in which two or more beacons have been placed, each beacon having a beacon position, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing within each of said objects information regarding the position of said one or more beacons; placing within each beacon and within each said object a clock; synchronizing said clocks; designating a time at which each beacon is to generate a sound; causing each said beacon to generate said sound at said designated time; measuring a sonic travel time required for each said sound to travel from each said beacon to said object; calculating from said sonic travel time the distance between each said beacon and each said object; and determining from said distances from each of said beacons to each of said objects and from said beacon positions the positions of each said object relative to said one or more beacons.
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Specification