Device for determining the contour of a road surface

• US 6,452,684 B1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Issued: 09/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TSD Integrated Controls LLC (Topcon Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Road Ware BV
• Inventors: Mennink, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hoa Q.
• Application Number:
  US09/719,122
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 356/601, 356/608, 356/606, 356/603, 356/4.08, 356/141.3, 332/87, 33/86, 104/7.1, 404/84.05, 250/559.19, 250/559.22
• US Class Current: 356/601
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/82 Ground surface
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/00 Indexing codes relating to the type of sensors based on the principle of their operation
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/006 by laser or ultrasound

Abstract

Device for determining a desired contour of a ground surface, for instance a road surface, relative to the actual contour of that ground surface, at least comprising measuring unit for generating along a determined distance from a ground surface actual values for the height and position of a number of points of that ground surface relative to a determined reference point, wherein the measuring unit comprise

a laser light source which can be placed at a measuring point above the ground surface and which is adapted to generate a laser beam moving over the determined distance from the ground surface,

sensor for detecting the laser beam reflected by the ground surface to the measuring point,

time-measuring unit for determining the transit time of said laser beam between the laser light source and the sensor, and

processing system for generating from signals from the laser light source, the sensor and the time-measuring unit of actual values for the height and the position of a number of points of this ground surface relative to the measuring point, and for calculating from these actual values of values for height and position of a number of points on a desired contour of this ground surface.

Claims

1. Device for determining a desired contour of a ground surface relative to the actual contour of that ground surface, at least comprising measuring means for generating along a determined distance from a ground surface actual values for the height and position of a number of points of that ground surface relative to a determined reference point, characterized in that the measuring means comprise

a laser light source which can be placed at a measuring point above the ground surface and which is adapted to generate a laser beam moving over said determined distance from the ground surface,

sensor means for detecting the laser beam reflected by the ground surface to the measuring point,

time-measuring means for determining the transit time of said laser beam between the laser light source and the sensor means, and

processing means for generating from signals from the laser light source, the sensor means and the time-measuring means of actual values for the height and the position of a number of points of this ground surface relative to the measuring point, and for calculating from these actual values of values for height and position of a number of points on a desired contour of this ground surface.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the processing means (19) are adapted to separately calculate for each of the number of points on a desired contour of the ground surface the values for height and position of these points.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the processing means (19) comprise memory means for storing values for the actual position (X_j, X_j+1) of a number of predetermined points of a ground surface and the predetermined value for the desired height (h_j, h_j+1) of these points, and the processing means (19) are adapted to calculate the value for a desired height of points located between these predetermined points (X_j, X_j+1) compatible with this predetermined value for the desired height of these points.

4. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the processing means (19) are adapted for feeding the calculated values for height and position of a number of points on a desired contour of said ground surface to a control circuit (20) of the finishing beam (10) of an asphalt spreader.