Automatic side view mirror tracking system with real-time angle calculation
First Claim
1. An automatic mirror position tracking system for use on an articulated vehicle having a first portion and a second portion, the system comprising:
- (a) a mirror moveably mounted on the first portion of the articulated vehicle;
(b) a drive mechanism coupled to the mirror for moving the mirror in response to a control signal;
(c) first, second and third pairs of ultrasonic transducers, each said pair of ultrasonic transducers being arranged to transmit and receive in conjunction ultrasonic signals reflected off said second portion, each said ultrasonic transducer in each said ultrasonic transducer pair being directed at a horizontal angle in the range of 10°
-15°
away from the other transducer of said transducer pair, and each said ultrasonic transducer pair being arranged to receive reflected ultrasonic signals from at least two other ultrasonic transducer pairs; and
, (d) a control circuit for generating said control signal in response to sensory output signals of said first, second and third ultrasonic transducer pairs, said control circuit being configured to carry out real time calculation of angles between first and second portions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic side view mirror tracking system for an articulated vehicle relies upon three sets of ultrasonic transducers to develop distance measurements between two portions of the articulated vehicle. The angle between the portion of the articulated vehicle is calculated by relying on trigonometric algorithms depending only on the spacing of the transducers and the distance measurements developed by the ultrasonic transducers. Each transducer pair is configured so that both transducers are used for both transmission and reception. The transducer pairs are configured to receive reflected signals originated by other transducer pairs as well as the same transducer pair.
79 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An automatic mirror position tracking system for use on an articulated vehicle having a first portion and a second portion, the system comprising:
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(a) a mirror moveably mounted on the first portion of the articulated vehicle;
(b) a drive mechanism coupled to the mirror for moving the mirror in response to a control signal;
(c) first, second and third pairs of ultrasonic transducers, each said pair of ultrasonic transducers being arranged to transmit and receive in conjunction ultrasonic signals reflected off said second portion, each said ultrasonic transducer in each said ultrasonic transducer pair being directed at a horizontal angle in the range of 10°
-15°
away from the other transducer of said transducer pair, and each said ultrasonic transducer pair being arranged to receive reflected ultrasonic signals from at least two other ultrasonic transducer pairs; and
,(d) a control circuit for generating said control signal in response to sensory output signals of said first, second and third ultrasonic transducer pairs, said control circuit being configured to carry out real time calculation of angles between first and second portions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18)
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14. A method of adjusting a mirror to track changes in vehicle position for an articulated vehicle having first and second portions by using a system having a mirror, a motor arranged to move said mirror, position detecting means for determining actual mirror position, distance measuring means, and a control circuit, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) obtaining vehicle distance measurements;
(b) calculating an angle between said first and second portions using at least one trigonometric algorithm;
(c) determining desired mirror position based upon said calculated angle;
(d) determining actual mirror position based upon said position detecting means; and
,(e) adjusting said mirror based upon a comparison of said desired mirror position and said actual mirror position;
wherein each transducer pair has one transducer configured only for transmission and a second transducer configured only for reception so that step (a) further comprises emitting ultrasonic radiation from one transducer of each said transducer pair and receiving ultrasonic radiation from a plurality of sources at each ultrasonic transducer pair;
wherein step (a) comprises the sub-step of emitting ultrasonic radiation from at least three ultrasonic transducers;
wherein step (b) comprises using only data obtained from said distance measuring step and distances between said ultrasonic transducers; and
,wherein step (a) further comprises directing the transducers of each said transducer pair at a 10°
-15°
alignment with respect to each other.- View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification