System and method for automatically guiding a gantry crane
First Claim
1. A method for guiding a land traveling straddle crane from a remote land station along a curved path, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing at least two GPS receivers, each of the GPS receivers having an antenna mounted to the vehicle so that the antennae are spaced apart from each other;
defining a tracking line representing a desired travel direction at a current point along a desired land travel path that can include at least one curved portion, the tracking line intersecting a vehicle centerpoint;
receiving signals from GPS satellites using a first GPS antenna fixed at a first position on the crane;
receiving signals from GPS satellites using a second GPS antenna fixed at a second position on the crane that is spaced from the first GPS antenna in a horizontal direction;
detecting a position of the first GPS antenna;
detecting a position of the second GPS antenna;
determining a rotational error as an angular difference between a vehicle centerline and the tracking line, the vehicle centerline extending in a front-rear direction through a vehicle center, the vehicle centerline having a fixed relationship relative to vehicle and the first and second GPS antennae;
steering wheels of the crane to reduce the rotational error and to guide the crane along said land travel path.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic guidance system and method are provided for a gantry crane to permit accurate tracking along a path, including a curved path. The position of the crane is determined from two spaced apart GPS receivers fixed to the crane. A guidance controller determines a plurality of error measurements from respective front, center and rear points of the crane relative to a current tracking line, which is a line tangent to the path at a current position of crane. In an embodiment, the system includes a base station that can be used to transmit data to the crane to specify a particular destination location of the drive path, or to transmit data representing the drive path itself.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for guiding a land traveling straddle crane from a remote land station along a curved path, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing at least two GPS receivers, each of the GPS receivers having an antenna mounted to the vehicle so that the antennae are spaced apart from each other; defining a tracking line representing a desired travel direction at a current point along a desired land travel path that can include at least one curved portion, the tracking line intersecting a vehicle centerpoint; receiving signals from GPS satellites using a first GPS antenna fixed at a first position on the crane; receiving signals from GPS satellites using a second GPS antenna fixed at a second position on the crane that is spaced from the first GPS antenna in a horizontal direction; detecting a position of the first GPS antenna; detecting a position of the second GPS antenna; determining a rotational error as an angular difference between a vehicle centerline and the tracking line, the vehicle centerline extending in a front-rear direction through a vehicle center, the vehicle centerline having a fixed relationship relative to vehicle and the first and second GPS antennae; steering wheels of the crane to reduce the rotational error and to guide the crane along said land travel path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for guiding a land traveling straddle crane from a remote land station, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing at least two GPS receivers, each of the GPS receivers having an antenna mounted to the crane so that the antennae are spaced apart from each other; determining a position of each of the antennae of the respective GPS receivers; determining an orientation of the land traveling crane based upon the relative positions of the GPS receivers, and steering wheels of the crane with respect to the orientation to guide the crane along a desired land travel path that can include at least one curved portion.
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10. A guided vehicle system comprising:
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a road-traveling straddle crane having a rigid frame; at least two GPS receivers, each of the receivers having an antenna mounted to the frame so that the antennae are spaced from each other; and a controller for processing position data from the two GPS receivers, the controller operable to determine an orientation of the crane based upon the relative positions of the two GPS receivers and to steer the straddle crane along a path that can include a curve portion. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for guiding a land traveling container-handling vehicle from a remote land station along a curved path, the vehicle adapted for carrying at least one container, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing at least two GPS receivers, each of the GPS receivers having an antenna mounted to the vehicle so that the antennae are spaced apart from each other; defining a tracking line representing a desired travel direction at a current point along a desired land travel path that can include at least one curved portion, the tracking line intersecting a vehicle centerpoint; receiving signals from GPS satellites using a first GPS antenna fixed at a first position on the vehicle; receiving signals from GPS satellites using a second GPS antenna fixed at a second position on the vehicle that is spaced from the first GPS antenna in a horizontal direction; detecting a position of the first GPS antenna; detecting a position of the second GPS antenna; determining a rotational error as an angular difference between a vehicle centerline and the tracking line, the vehicle centerline extending in a front-rear direction through a vehicle center, the vehicle centerline having a fixed relationship relative to vehicle and the first and second GPS antennae; steering wheels of the vehicle to reduce the rotational error and to guide the vehicle along said land travel path. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for guiding a land traveling container-handling vehicle from a remote land station, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing at least two GPS receivers, each of the GPS receivers having an antenna mounted to the vehicle so that the antennae are spaced apart from each other; determining a position of each of the antennae of the respective GPS receivers; determining an orientation of the vehicle based upon the relative positions of the GPS receivers; and steering wheels of the vehicle with respect to the orientation to guide the vehicle along a desired land travel path that can include at least one curved portion.
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24. A guided vehicle system comprising:
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a road-traveling container-handling vehicle having a rigid frame, the vehicle adapted for carrying at least one container; at least two GPS receivers, each of the receivers having an antenna mounted to the frame so that the antennae are spaced from each other; and a controller for processing position data from the two GPS receivers, the controller operable to determine an orientation of the vehicle based upon the relative positions of the two GPS receivers and to steer the vehicle along a path that can include a curve portion. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification