Sensor unit system

• US 8,682,541 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2012
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Best, Gregory C., Maynard, Kurtis L., Cameron, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan Q
• Application Number:
  US13/708,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20130103271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 701/50, 701/468, 701/408, 340/10.4, 340/10.1, 342/458, 342/387, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/16 Applications of indicating, registering, or weighing devices in crane hooks B66C1/40; in safety gear B66C15/00; weighing-apparatus G01G; remote indicating in general G08
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/18 Control systems or devices exclusively for rope, cable, or chain winding mechanisms B66D1/40
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/40 Applications of devices for transmitting control pulses; Applications of remote control devices control in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/46 Position indicators for suspended loads or for crane elements
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 15/045 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/02 Systems using reflection of radio waves, e.g. primary radar systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A mobile construction device sensor unit system is disclosed. In one embodiment, a point-to-point radio ranging system coupled with a mobile construction device. A position determining component coupled with the point-to-point radio ranging system is configured for determining a position of the sensor unit in at least two dimensions based on communications between the point-to-point radio ranging system and a plurality of tags respectively located at a plurality of knowable locations within an operating environment of the mobile construction device. A communications link controller communicatively coupled with the position determining component is configured for wirelessly providing information, including the sensor unit position, to a receiving unit located apart from the sensor unit.

Claims

1. A mobile construction device sensor unit system:

a point-to-point radio ranging system coupled with said mobile construction device;

a position determining component coupled with said point-to-point radio ranging system and configured for determining a position of said sensor unit in at least two dimensions based on communications between said point-to-point radio ranging system and a plurality of tags respectively located at a plurality of knowable locations within an operating environment of said mobile construction device; and

a communications link controller communicatively coupled with said position determining component and configured for providing information, including said sensor unit position, to a receiving unit located apart from said sensor unit.

2. The sensor unit system of claim 1 wherein said position determining component is configured to determine a respective signal strength from each of said plurality of tags.

3. The sensor unit system of claim 1 wherein said position determining component is configured to determine a direction to each of said plurality of tags.

4. The sensor unit system of claim 1 wherein said position determining component is configured to determine a respective round trip time of flight indicating the time elapsed between the transmission of a respective signal to each of said plurality of tags and the receiving of a respective response from each of said plurality of tags.

5. The sensor unit system of claim 1, wherein said position determining component is configured to determine distance between said point-to-point radio ranging system and a tag of said plurality of tags based on a phase measurement of a signal from said tag.

6. The sensor unit system of claim 5, wherein said phase measurement comprises a measurement of integer wavelengths and a fractional wavelength in a signal received from said tag.

7. The sensor unit system of claim 1 wherein said communications link controller is configured to wirelessly communicate said sensor unit position with a display unit via a wireless data transmission link, wherein said display unit and said sensor unit are physically separate entities, said wireless data transmission link selected from the group consisting of:

a cellular wireless data transmission link, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 compliant data transmission link, an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant data transmission link, an IEEE 802.16 compliant data transmission link, and a short range wireless data transmission link operating in the Instrument Scientific and Medical (ISM) band of the radio frequency spectrum in the 2400-2484 MHz range.

8. The sensor unit system of claim 7 wherein said display unit comprises a second communications link controller configured to wirelessly communicate with said sensor unit and a third communications link controller configured to wirelessly communicate with said receiving unit via another communication network using a second wireless data transmission link.

9. The sensor unit system of claim 8 wherein said third communications link controller is configured to wirelessly communicate with another communication network using a second wireless connection selected from the group consisting of a WiFi connection, a WiMAX connection, a WWAN connection, an IEEE 802.11 compliant connection, a cellular telephone connection, a two-way radio connection, a satellite-based cellular connection, and a mesh networking connection.

10. The sensor unit system of claim 7 further comprising:

a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver configured for determining a position in at least two dimensions.

11. The sensor unit system of claim 10 wherein said GNSS receiver is communicatively coupled with said display unit via said wireless data transmission link.

12. The sensor unit system of claim 1, wherein said mobile construction device comprises a vehicle located on a construction site.

13. The sensor unit system of claim 1, wherein said mobile construction device comprises a lifting device and wherein said point-to-point radio ranging system is coupled with a load line of said lifting device.

14. The sensor unit system of claim 1, further comprising:

a load monitor coupled with a housing and configured for monitoring a load coupled with a load line of said mobile construction device, including monitoring a load position and a load orientation of said load.

15. The sensor unit system of claim 14, wherein said load monitor is further configured for monitoring for load related hazards in a vicinity of said load.

16. The sensor unit system of claim 14, wherein said load monitor is selected from the group of a camera, a plurality of cameras, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser scanner, a bar code scanner, a radio frequency identification device transceiver, and an inertial sensor.

17. The sensor unit system of claim 14, wherein said load monitor is configured for monitoring for one or more object identifiers coupled with said load or one or more other objects in a field of view of said load monitor from said sensor unit.

18. The sensor unit system of claim 14, further comprising:

a collision monitor coupled with said housing and configured monitoring for collision related hazards in a vicinity of said mobile construction device.

19. The sensor unit system of claim 18, further comprising:

an avoidance action initiator coupled with said housing configured for initiating at least one hazard avoidance action in response to a monitored occurrence of said collision related hazard.

20. The sensor unit system of claim 14, further comprising:

a power source coupled with said housing and configured for providing electrical power for operating electrical components of said sensor unit.

21. The sensor unit system of claim 14, further comprising:

a load line positioner coupled with said housing and configured for adjustably positioning said sensor unit along said load line.

22. The sensor unit system of claim 14, further comprising:

a lift plan generator coupled with said housing and configured for generating a lift plan for lifting said load to a destination associated with said load.

23. A method for providing mobile construction device location data, said method comprising:

coupling a point-to-point radio ranging system of a sensor unit with a mobile construction device;

coupling a position determining component with said point-to-point radio ranging system, said position determining component configured for determining a position of said sensor unit in at least two dimensions based on communications between said point-to-point radio ranging system and a plurality of tags respectively located at a plurality of knowable locations within an operating environment of said mobile construction device; and

communicatively coupling a communications link controller with said position determining component, said communications link controller configured for providing information, including said sensor unit position, to a receiving unit located apart from said sensor unit.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

configuring said position determining component to determine a respective signal strength from each of said plurality of tags.

25. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

using said position determining component to determine a direction to each of said plurality of tags.

26. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

configuring said position determining component to determine a respective round trip time of flight indicating the time elapsed between the transmission of a respective signal to each of said plurality of tags and the receiving of a respective response from each of said plurality of tags.

27. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

configuring said position determining component to determine distance between said point-to-point radio ranging system and a tag of said plurality of tags based on a phase measurement from a signal of said tag.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said phase measurement comprises a measurement of integer wavelengths and a fractional wavelength in a signal received from said tag.

29. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

configuring said communications link controller to wirelessly communicate said sensor unit position with a display unit via a wireless data transmission link, wherein said display unit and said sensor unit are physically separate entities, said wireless data transmission link selected from the group consisting of;

a cellular wireless data transmission link, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 compliant data transmission link, an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant data transmission link, an IEEE 802.16 compliant data transmission link, and a short range wireless data transmission link operating in the Instrument Scientific and Medical (ISM) band of the radio frequency spectrum in the 2400-2484 MHz range.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

configuring a second communications link controller of said display unit to wirelessly communicate with said sensor unit; and

configuring a third communications link controller of said display unit to wirelessly communicate with said receiving unit via another communication network using a second wireless data transmission link.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein said third communications link controller is configured to wirelessly communicate with another communication network using a second wireless connection selected from the group consisting of a WiFi connection, a WiMAX connection, a WWAN connection, an IEEE 802.11 compliant connection, a cellular telephone connection, a two-way radio connection, a satellite-based cellular connection, and a mesh networking connection.

32. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

configuring a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver coupled with said mobile construction device to determine a position of said mobile construction device in at least two dimensions.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising:

communicatively coupling said GNSS receiver with said display unit via said wireless data transmission link.

34. The method of claim 23 wherein said mobile construction device comprises a vehicle located on a construction site.

35. The method of claim 23 wherein said mobile construction device comprises a lifting device and wherein said point-to-point radio ranging system is disposed in a housing coupled with a load line of said lifting device.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising:

configuring a load monitor coupled with said housing for monitoring a load coupled with said load line, including monitoring a load position and a load orientation of said load.

37. The method of claim 36 further comprising:

configuring said load monitor to monitor for load related hazards in a vicinity of said load.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein said load monitor is selected from the group of a camera, a plurality of cameras, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser scanner, a bar code scanner, a radio frequency identification device transceiver, and an inertial sensor.

39. The method of claim 36 further comprising:

configuring said load monitor for monitoring for one or more object identifiers coupled with said load or one or more other objects in a field of view of said load monitor from said lifting device sensor unit.

40. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

configuring a collision monitor coupled with said housing for monitoring a collision related hazards in a vicinity of said lifting device.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising:

configuring an avoidance action initiator coupled with said housing for initiating at least one hazard avoidance action in response to a monitored occurrence of said collision related hazard.

42. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

coupling a power source configured for providing electrical power for operating electrical components of said sensor unit with said housing.

43. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

coupling a load line positioner with said housing; and

configuring said load line positioner for adjustably positioning said sensor unit along said load line.

44. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

coupling a lift plan generator coupled with said housing; and

configuring said lift plan generator for generating a lift plan for lifting said load to a destination associated with said load.

45. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer executable code for directing a processor to execute a method for providing mobile construction device location data, said method comprising:

receiving communications between a point-to-point radio ranging system coupled with a sensor unit of a mobile construction device and a plurality of tags respectively located at a plurality of knowable locations within an operating environment of said mobile construction device;

using a position determining component coupled with said point-to-point radio ranging system to determine a position of said sensor unit in at least two dimensions; and

providing information, including said sensor unit position, to a receiving unit located apart from said sensor unit using a communications link controller communicatively coupled with said position determining component.

46. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said method further comprises:

using said position determining component to determine a respective signal strength of a respective signal from each of said plurality of tags.

47. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said method further comprises:

using said position determining component to determine a direction to each of said plurality of tags.

48. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said method further comprises:

using said position determining component to determine a respective round trip time of flight indicating the time elapsed between the transmission of a respective signal to each of said plurality of tags and the receiving of a respective response from each of said plurality of tags.

49. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said method further comprises:

using said position determining component to determine distance between said point-to-point radio ranging system and a tag of said plurality of tags based on a phase measurement from a signal of said tag.

50. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 49 wherein said phase measurement comprises a measurement of integer wavelengths and a fractional wavelength in a signal received from said tag.

51. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said method further comprises:

using said communications link controller to wirelessly communicate said sensor unit position with a display unit via a wireless data transmission link, wherein said display unit and said sensor unit are physically separate entities, said wireless data transmission link selected from the group consisting of;

a cellular wireless data transmission link, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 compliant data transmission link, an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant data transmission link, an IEEE 802.16 compliant data transmission link, and a short range wireless data transmission link operating in the Instrument Scientific and Medical (ISM) band of the radio frequency spectrum in the 2400-2484 MHz range.

52. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 51 wherein said method further comprises:

using a second communications link controller of said display unit to wirelessly communicate with said sensor unit; and

using a third communications link controller of said display unit to wirelessly communicate with said receiving unit via another communication network using a second wireless data transmission link.

53. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 52 wherein said third communications link controller is configured to wirelessly communicate with another communication network using a second wireless connection selected from the group consisting of a WiFi connection, a WiMAX connection, a WWAN connection, an IEEE 802.11 compliant connection, a cellular telephone connection, a two-way radio connection, a satellite-based cellular connection, and a mesh networking connection.

54. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 51 wherein said method further comprises:

using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver coupled with said mobile construction device to determine a position of said mobile construction device in at least two dimensions.

55. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 54 wherein said method further comprises:

communicatively coupling said GNSS receiver with said display unit via said wireless data transmission link.

56. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said mobile construction device comprises a vehicle located on a construction site.

57. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 45 wherein said mobile construction device comprises a lifting device and wherein said point-to-point radio ranging system is disposed in a housing coupled with a load line of said lifting device.

58. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 57 wherein said method further comprises:

using a load monitor coupled with said housing for monitoring a load coupled with said load line, including monitoring a load position and a load orientation of said load.

59. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 58 wherein said method further comprises:

using said load monitor to monitor for load related hazards in a vicinity of said load.

60. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 58, wherein said load monitor is selected from the group of a camera, a plurality of cameras, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser scanner, a bar code scanner, a radio frequency identification device transceiver, and an inertial sensor.

61. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 58 wherein said method further comprises:

using said load monitor for monitoring for one or more object identifiers coupled with said load or one or more other objects in a field of view of said load monitor from said lifting device sensor unit.

62. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 57 wherein said method further comprises:

using a collision monitor coupled with said housing for monitoring a collision related hazards in a vicinity of said lifting device.

63. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 62 wherein said method further comprises:

using an avoidance action initiator coupled with said housing for initiating at least one hazard avoidance action in response to a monitored occurrence of said collision related hazard.

64. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 57 wherein said method further comprises:

using a load line positioner coupled with said housing to adjustably positioning said sensor unit along said load line.

65. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 57 wherein said method further comprises:

using a lift plan generator coupled with said housing to generate a lift plan for lifting said load to a destination associated with said load.