Measuring system for testing the position of a vehicle and sensing device therefore
First Claim
1. A measuring system for detecting the actual position and driving direction of a computer guided vehicle relative to a desired position and driving direction for the vehicle along a predetermined desired path of travel for the vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of first optical beacons located and orientated adjacent the path of travel of the vehicle such that they will be observable in a first viewing direction from said vehicle while said vehicle is moving approximately along said desired path of travel;
a plurality of second optical beacons located above or in the plane of travel of the vehicle and along the desired travel path, said second beacons oriented such that they will be observable in a second viewing direction from said vehicle while said vehicle is moving along said desired path;
sensors on board the vehicle for optically detecting said beacons and generating signals indicative of the angular directions of said beacons relative to reference axes that are related to the desired position and direction of travel of the vehicle;
a computer for receiving said signals from said sensors and processing said signals in accordance with a program that calculates the actual position and driving direction of the vehicle relative to a desired position and driving direction of travel of the vehicle;
said sensors comprising a first camera aimed in a first viewing direction approximately along the driving direction of the vehicle and a second camera directed in a second viewing direction extending perpendicular to the plane of the vehicle travel path, said cameras including optical systems adapted to view and image the location of said beacons.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A measuring system for testing the position of a vehicle (1) includes a number of optical beacons (6 and 7), a sensing device (10) which is mounted on the vehicle (1) and which generates a position signal when sensing light reflected from a beacon (65 or 7), and a computer processing unit (14) for calculating, starting from the information received from the sensing device (10), the deviation of the vehicle relative to the desired position and driving direction of the vehicle. The sensing device (10) includes two cameras which are mounted on the vehicle, namely, a first camera which is directed approximately along the driving direction, and a second camera which is directed along a direction vertically upward or downward relative to the plane including the path of travel of the vehicle. At least one of the beacons (6) is placed in such a way that, during the motion of the vehicle approximately along the desires path, the beacon can be seen by the sensing device (10) along the driving direction of the vehicle. At least another one of the beacons (7) is positioned along the desired path, but is observable in the direction above or below the aforementioned plane of the path, and is situated above or below the sensing device (10), depending whether the second camera is directed upwards or downwards relative to the plane of the path or travel, each camera may include its own light projector.
104 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A measuring system for detecting the actual position and driving direction of a computer guided vehicle relative to a desired position and driving direction for the vehicle along a predetermined desired path of travel for the vehicle, comprising:
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a plurality of first optical beacons located and orientated adjacent the path of travel of the vehicle such that they will be observable in a first viewing direction from said vehicle while said vehicle is moving approximately along said desired path of travel; a plurality of second optical beacons located above or in the plane of travel of the vehicle and along the desired travel path, said second beacons oriented such that they will be observable in a second viewing direction from said vehicle while said vehicle is moving along said desired path; sensors on board the vehicle for optically detecting said beacons and generating signals indicative of the angular directions of said beacons relative to reference axes that are related to the desired position and direction of travel of the vehicle; a computer for receiving said signals from said sensors and processing said signals in accordance with a program that calculates the actual position and driving direction of the vehicle relative to a desired position and driving direction of travel of the vehicle; said sensors comprising a first camera aimed in a first viewing direction approximately along the driving direction of the vehicle and a second camera directed in a second viewing direction extending perpendicular to the plane of the vehicle travel path, said cameras including optical systems adapted to view and image the location of said beacons. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification