System for guiding a vehicle to a position
First Claim
1. A system for providing guidance to a vehicle on an approach to a position, comprising:
- a guidance transmitter stationed at a position, said guidance transmitter includinglight sources arranged in an array,means coupled to said light sources for defining a primary field-of-view (FOV) from which all of said light sources are visible wherein less than all of said light sources are visible from positions outside of said primary FOV, said means further dividing said light sources into a plurality of sections with each of said plurality of sections having a portion of said light sources associated therewith, anda controller coupled to said light sources for controlling operation thereof in accordance with cyclical on/off sequences, each of said cyclical on/off sequences being (i) associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of sections, (ii) identical for said portion of said light sources associated with said corresponding one of said plurality of sections, and (iii) unique for each of said plurality of sections, wherein a primary waveform of light energy is defined by said cyclical on/off sequences associated with said plurality of sections and visible from within said primary FOV, and wherein a plurality of secondary waveforms of light energy are defined by said cyclical on/off sequences visible from positions outside of said primary FOV; and
a guidance receiver mounted on a vehicle traveling towards said position, said guidance receiver includingat least one sensor for sensing light energy generated by ones of said light sources visible thereto wherein one of said primary waveform and said plurality of secondary waveforms is sensed,a database for storing a plurality of calibration waveforms wherein each of said calibration waveforms is indicative of a guidance correction signal that can be used to control navigation of the vehicle, andmeans coupled to said at last one sensor and said database for determining which one of said calibration waveforms is closest to said one of said primary waveform and said plurality of secondary waveforms so-sensed, wherein said guidance correction signal associated with said one of said calibration waveforms can be used to control navigation of the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system provides guidance to a vehicle on an approach to a position. A guidance transmitter stationed at the position includes light sources arranged in an array and a controller coupled to the light sources. The array defines a primary field-of-view (FOV) from which all light sources are visible. The light sources are divided into a plurality of sections with each section having a portion of the light sources associated therewith. Operation of each section of light sources is governed by the controller in accordance with unique cyclical on/off sequences. A primary waveform of light energy is defined by a composite of the cyclical on/off sequences visible from within the primary FOV. A plurality of secondary waveforms of light energy are defined by the cyclical on/off sequences visible from positions outside of the primary FOV. A guidance receiver mounted on a vehicle traveling towards the position of the guidance transmitter includes (i) sensor(s) for sensing light energy generated by those light sources visible thereto, (ii) a database for storing calibration waveforms indicative of corresponding guidance correction signals, and (iii) a processor for determining which one of the calibration waveforms matches or is closest to the sensed one of the primary waveform and secondary waveforms. The guidance correction signal associated with the matching calibration waveform can be used to control navigation of the vehicle.
32 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for providing guidance to a vehicle on an approach to a position, comprising:
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a guidance transmitter stationed at a position, said guidance transmitter including light sources arranged in an array, means coupled to said light sources for defining a primary field-of-view (FOV) from which all of said light sources are visible wherein less than all of said light sources are visible from positions outside of said primary FOV, said means further dividing said light sources into a plurality of sections with each of said plurality of sections having a portion of said light sources associated therewith, and a controller coupled to said light sources for controlling operation thereof in accordance with cyclical on/off sequences, each of said cyclical on/off sequences being (i) associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of sections, (ii) identical for said portion of said light sources associated with said corresponding one of said plurality of sections, and (iii) unique for each of said plurality of sections, wherein a primary waveform of light energy is defined by said cyclical on/off sequences associated with said plurality of sections and visible from within said primary FOV, and wherein a plurality of secondary waveforms of light energy are defined by said cyclical on/off sequences visible from positions outside of said primary FOV; and a guidance receiver mounted on a vehicle traveling towards said position, said guidance receiver including at least one sensor for sensing light energy generated by ones of said light sources visible thereto wherein one of said primary waveform and said plurality of secondary waveforms is sensed, a database for storing a plurality of calibration waveforms wherein each of said calibration waveforms is indicative of a guidance correction signal that can be used to control navigation of the vehicle, and means coupled to said at last one sensor and said database for determining which one of said calibration waveforms is closest to said one of said primary waveform and said plurality of secondary waveforms so-sensed, wherein said guidance correction signal associated with said one of said calibration waveforms can be used to control navigation of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for providing guidance to a vehicle on an approach to a position, comprising:
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a guidance transmitter stationed at a position, said guidance transmitter including light sources arranged in an array defined by concentric rings of said light sources, each of said light sources producing light energy having the same wavelength when turned on, means coupled to said light sources for defining a primary field-of-view (FOV) from which all of said light sources are visible wherein less than all of said light sources are visible from positions outside of said primary FOV, said means further dividing said light sources into a plurality of sections with each of said plurality of sections having a portion of said light sources associated therewith to include portions of each of said concentric rings, and a controller coupled to said light sources for controlling operation thereof in accordance with cyclical on/off sequences, each of said cyclical on/off sequences being (i) associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of sections, (ii) identical for said portion of said light sources associated with said corresponding one of said plurality of sections, and (iii) unique for each of said plurality of sections, wherein a primary waveform of light energy is defined by said cyclical on/off sequences associated with said plurality of sections and visible from within said primary FOV, and wherein a plurality of secondary waveforms of light energy are defined by said cyclical on/off sequences visible from positions outside of said primary FOV, said controller excluding outermost ones of said concentric rings of said light sources from said cyclical on/off sequences to reduce a cross-sectional area of said FOV; and a guidance receiver mounted on a vehicle traveling towards said position, said guidance receiver including at least one sensor for sensing light energy generated by ones of said light sources visible thereto wherein one of said primary waveform and said plurality of secondary waveforms is sensed, a database for storing a plurality of calibration waveforms wherein each of said calibration waveforms is indicative of a guidance correction signal that can be used to control navigation of the vehicle, and means coupled to said at last one sensor and said database for determining which one of said calibration waveforms is closest to said one of said primary waveform and said plurality of secondary waveforms so-sensed, wherein said guidance correction signal associated with said one of said calibration waveforms can be used to control navigation of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification