Method and system for detecting a spatial movement state of moving objects

• US 6,925,413 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Issued: 08/02/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Krieg, Dietmar, Papathanassiou, Dorothea, Neul, Reinhard, Knauss, Michael, Mueller-Fiedler, Roland
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pretlow, Demetrius R.
• Application Number:
  US10/320,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20030163282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• Field of Search: 702/150, 702/151, 702/152, 701/207, 701/213, 701/220, 701/221, 701/36, 701/38, 701/34
• US Class Current: 702/152
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01184 Fault detection or diagnostic circuits in power circuits B60R2021/01129
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0119 Plausibility check
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01327 Angular velocity or angular acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/00 Compasses; Devices for ascertaining true or magnetic north for navigation or surveying purposes using gyroscopic effect G01C19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/183 Compensation of inertial measurements, e.g. for temperature effects
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/301 by means of a mounting structure H05K3/325 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and a system for detecting the spatial movement state of moving objects, e.g., vehicles. Due to a, for example, non-cartesian arrangement of four rotational rate sensors and/or acceleration sensors, it is also possible to obtain a redundant signal in addition to the desired useful signal indicating the spatial movement state, e.g., the rotational movement and/or acceleration in space; if this redundant signal is large enough in comparison with the rotational rate actually applied, it may be used for detection of the size of the error and the defective sensor. The four sensors are mounted, for example, on a sensor platform forming a three-sided truncated pyramid so that all possible three-way combinations of sensors are mutually linearly independent. The accuracy about the vertical axis is defined by the angle of inclination of the side faces of the truncated pyramid.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a spatial movement state of a moving object, comprising:

detecting at least three components of the spatial movement state by manner of a plurality of sensors in at least three different spatial detection directions; and

combining the at least three components together to calculate a plurality of resultants;

wherein at least one of the at least three different spatial detection directions is not a cartesian coordinate in order to form a plurality of redundant sensor signals;

wherein two movement components of the at least three components are detected in two mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions, and a third movement component of the at least three components is detected in a third detection direction that is neither parallel nor perpendicular to a first detection direction and a second detection direction of the at least three different spatial detection directions, all of the at least three different spatial detection directions lying in a plane; and

wherein the moving object is a vehicle and the two mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions are each directed for detecting at least one of a rotational movement and a translational movement at least one of (a) about and (b) in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the two mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions are each directed for detecting at least one of the rotational movement and the translational movement at least one of (a) about and (b) in a direction of a vertical axis of the vehicle, and one of a plausibility signal and an error signal in an event of an error is derived from one calculated projection of a resultant onto an indicated plane for all possible combinations of the at least three components detected.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least three components include a rotational rate in one of the at least three different spatial detection directions.

3. A method of detecting a spatial movement state of a moving object, comprising:

detecting at least three components of the spatial movement state by manner of a plurality of sensors in at least three different spatial detection directions; and

combining the at least three components together to calculate a plurality of resultants;

wherein at least one of the at least three different spatial detection directions is not a cartesian coordinate in order to form a plurality of redundant sensor signals;

wherein the at least three movement components are detected in three mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions and a fourth movement component is detected in a fourth detection direction that is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the at least three different spatial detection directions; and

wherein the moving object is a vehicle and the three mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions are each directed for detecting at least one of a rotational movement and a translational movement at least one of (a) about and (b) in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the three mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions are each directed for detecting at least one of the rotational movement and the translational movement at least one of (a) about and (b) in a direction of a transverse axis of the vehicle, and the three mutually perpendicular cartesian detection directions are each directed for detecting at least one of the rotational movement and the translational movement at least one of (a) about and (b) in a direction of a vertical axis of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least three components include a rotational rate in one of the at least three different spatial detection directions.

5. A method of detecting a spatial movement state of a moving object, comprising:

detecting at least three components of the spatial movement state by manner of a plurality of sensors in at least three different spatial detection directions; and

combining the at least three components together to calculate a plurality of resultants;

wherein at least one of the at least three different spatial detection directions is not a cartesian coordinate in order to form a plurality of redundant sensor signals; and

wherein a plurality of movement components is detected in n affine detection directions, n being an element of the natural numbers.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least one redundant spatial movement state is derived by calculating the plurality of resultants by using in each case different combinations of the at least three movement components that were detected, and one of a plausibility signal and an error signal, in case of an error, is determined for the plurality of sensors from the at least one redundant spatial movement state.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least three components include a rotational rate in one of the at least three different spatial detection directions.

8. A system for detecting a spatial movement state of a moving object, comprising:

a sensor platform that is rigidly connected to the moving object and that includes at least one of at least three rotational rate sensors and a plurality of acceleration sensors in a rigid alignment relative to one another, the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors having different detection directions that are not a cartesian coordinate, a plurality of signals being derivable from the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors, each signal of the plurality of signals indicating a component of the spatial movement state in a particular detection direction; and

a computing unit for combining the plurality of signals received thereby to calculate a plurality of resultants of the component of the spatial movement state indicated by one of the plurality of signals.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the moving object is a vehicle.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein a first sensor and second sensor of at least one of the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors are arranged on the sensor platform in a common first plane and are arranged so that a first detection direction of the first sensor and a second detection direction of the second sensor are perpendicular to one another, the second detection direction of the second sensor is perpendicular to the first plane, a third sensor of at least one of the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors is mounted on the sensor platform in a second plane which forms an angle differing from 0°

and 90°

to the first plane and has a third detection direction which is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the first detection direction and the second detection direction, and the first detection direction, the second detection direction, and the third detection direction lie in a common third plane.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the sensor platform is mounted in a vehicle, the first sensor is an out-of-plane rotational rate detector and the second sensor is an in-plane rotational rate detector, the first sensor and the second sensor are each configured to detect a first rotational movement component about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a second rotational movement component about a vertical axis of the vehicle, the computing unit derives at least one of a plausibility signal and an error signal, in case of an error, from a projection of a calculated resultant onto the common third plane for all possible combinations of the at least three movement components thus detected.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor platform includes at least one of four rotational rate sensors and four acceleration sensors, a first sensor, a second sensor, and a third sensor of the sensor platform lie in a common first plane, the first sensor and the second sensor include a first detection direction and a second detection direction in a first plane, the first detection direction and the second detection direction are perpendicular to one another, the third sensor includes a third detection direction fixed on the first plane, and a fourth sensor is mounted on the sensor platform in a second plane at an inclination to the first plane so that a fourth detection direction of the fourth sensor is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the first detection direction, the second detection direction, nor the third detection directions.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the sensor platform is mounted in a vehicle, the first sensor and the second sensor are each an out-of-plane rotational rate sensor, the third sensor is an in-plane rotational rate sensor, the first sensor detects a rotational movement about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the second sensor detects a rotational movement about a transverse axis of the vehicle, the third sensor detects a rotational movement about a vertical axis of the vehicle, and the computing unit calculates a rotational movement of the vehicle in space as a resultant of four different combinations of signal components from signal components received from the first sensor, the second sensor, the third sensor, and the fourth sensor and derives one of a plausibility signal and an error signal, in case of an error, from a comparison of the signal components.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor platform is configured in a form of a three-sided truncated pyramid and includes four sensors that are at least one of four rotational rate sensors and four acceleration sensors, each of the four sensors are mounted parallel to three side faces of the a three-sided truncated pyramid and parallel to one of a top face and a base face of the three-sided truncated pyramid, and detection directions of the four sensors are not cartesian coordinates so that all possible three-way combinations of the signal components derived from the four sensors are linearly independent of one another.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the sensor platform is mounted in a vehicle, all of the four sensors are in-plane rotational rate sensors, and a center axis of the truncated pyramid is aligned in a direction of a vertical axis of the vehicle, so that the fourth sensor mounted parallel to one of the top face and the base face of the truncated pyramid detects a rotational movement of the vehicle about the vertical axis.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein an accuracy of the signal components detected by the four sensors is preselectable by selecting an angle of inclination of side faces of the three-sided truncated pyramid.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein for detection of a spatial rotational movement and a spatial translational movement, the sensor platform includes a first truncated pyramid on which the four rotational rate sensors are mounted and includes a second truncated pyramid on which the four acceleration sensors are mounted in a same manner as the four rotational rate sensors on the first truncated pyramid.

18. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor platform is configured in a form of a four-sided truncated pyramid on which are mounted five sensors that are at least one of five rotational rate sensors and five acceleration sensors, the five sensors are each arranged parallel to four side faces of the four-sided truncated pyramid and parallel to one of a top face and a base face of the four-sided truncated pyramid, and detection directions of the four sensors are not cartesian coordinates, so that all possible three-way combinations of signal components derived from the five sensors are linearly independent.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the sensor platform is mounted in a vehicle, the five sensors are in-plane rotational rate sensors and a center axis of the truncated pyramid is aligned in a direction of a vertical axis of the vehicle, so that a fifth sensor mounted parallel to one of the top face and the base face of the truncated pyramid detects a rotational movement of the vehicle about the vertical axis of the vehicle.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein an accuracy of signal components detected by the five sensors is preselectable by selecting an angle of inclination of side faces of the four-sided truncated pyramid.

21. The system of claim 8, wherein for exclusive detection of a spatial translational movement, the plurality of acceleration sensors detect linear accelerations in particular detection directions.

22. The system of claim 8, wherein for detection of a spatial rotational movement and a spatial translational movement, at least one of the acceleration sensors is mounted on the sensor platform in addition to each rotational rate sensor.

23. The system of claim 8, wherein for detecting a spatial rotational rate and a spatial translational movement, a plurality of universal sensors are mounted on a truncated pyramid, each of the plurality of universal sensors being able to measure an acceleration rate and a rotational rate simultaneously based on measurement principle thereof.

24. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensor platform includes a board-shaped substrate and at least one truncated pyramid manufactured as an injection-molded part on which at least one of the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors are fixedly mounted, the at least one truncated pyramid being fixedly joined to the board-shaped substrate.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the board-shaped substrate is a printed circuit board, at least one of the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors being glued onto the truncated pyramid, the truncated pyramid is glued to the printed circuit board, and a plurality of electric contacts of at least one of the at least three rotational rate sensors and the plurality of acceleration sensors are joined to a plurality of printed conductors of the printed circuit board by a plurality of flexible connecting lines.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the at least one truncated pyramid has a vibration damping due to a suitable mounting on the board-shaped substrate.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the vibration damping is implemented by an adhesive bond between the at least one truncated pyramid and the board-shaped substrate.