Moving body posture angle processing device

• US 8,758,275 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2009
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan)
• Original Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Government of Japan)
• Inventors: Kourogi, Masakatsu, Kurata, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eiseman, Adam
• Application Number:
  US13/001,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20110105957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,818 Days
• Field of Search: 600/547, 600/587, 600/594, 600/595
• US Class Current: 600/595
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/00 Gyroscopes; Turn-sensitive devices using vibrating masses; Turn-sensitive devices without moving masses; Measuring angular rate using gyroscopic effects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/188 for accumulated errors, e.g. by coupling inertial systems with absolute positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator

Abstract

A moving body attitude angle processing apparatus capable of reducing cumulative errors in continuously measuring the attitude angle of a moving body is provided. The moving body attitude angle processing apparatus estimates the attitude angle of a moving body in accordance with outputs from an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, and a gyro sensor that are mounted to the moving body, and outputs the attitude angle thus estimated. The moving body attitude angle processing apparatus includes: a gyro sensor that outputs an angular velocity vector; an acceleration sensor that outputs an acceleration vector; a magnetic sensor that outputs a magnetic field vector; a movement state determining device that determines a movement state of a moving body in accordance with an output from the acceleration sensor; and a gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device that, when the movement state determining device determines the movement state to have been detected as a stationary state of the moving body, carries out a process of estimating a zero-point output of the gyro sensor in accordance with the output from the acceleration sensor, an output from the magnetic sensor, and an output from the gyro sensor.

Claims

1. A moving body attitude angle processing apparatus for estimating an attitude angle of a moving body in accordance with outputs from an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, and a gyro sensor that are mounted to the moving body, and for outputting the attitude angle thus estimated, the moving body attitude angle processing apparatus comprising:

a gyro sensor that outputs an angular velocity vector;

an acceleration sensor that outputs an acceleration vector;

a magnetic sensor that outputs a magnetic field vector of an ambient magnetic field that is different from a geomagnetic field;

a movement state determining device that determines a movement state of a moving body in accordance with an output from the acceleration sensor;

a gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device that, when the movement state determining device determines the movement state to have been detected as a stationary state of the moving body, carries out a process of estimating a zero-point output of the gyro sensor in accordance with the output from the acceleration sensor, an output from the magnetic sensor, and an output from the gyro sensor, the gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device is embodied by an extended Kalman filter having, as its components, only a gravitational acceleration vector, a magnetic field vector of the ambient magnetic field, an angular velocity vector, and an offset value of zero-point output of angular velocity by the gyro sensor,

a zero point of the gyro sensor being corrected by utilizing an output from the gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device; and

an attitude angle estimating device that estimates the attitude angle in accordance with the outputs from the acceleration sensor, the magnetic sensor, and the gyro sensor.

2. The moving body attitude angle processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the attitude angle estimating device corrects an output of estimation of an attitude angle of the moving body in accordance with the output from the gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device.

3. A moving body attitude angle processing apparatus for estimating an attitude angle of a moving body in accordance with outputs from an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, and a gyro sensor that are mounted to the moving body, and for outputting the attitude angle thus estimated, the moving body attitude angle processing apparatus comprising:

a gyro sensor that outputs an angular velocity vector;

an acceleration sensor that outputs an acceleration vector;

a magnetic sensor that outputs a magnetic field vector of an ambient magnetic field that is different from a geomagnetic field;

a movement state determining device that determines a movement state of a moving body in accordance with an output from the acceleration sensor and an output from the gyro sensor;

a gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device that, when the movement state determining device determines the movement state to have been detected as a stationary state of the moving body, carries out a process of estimating a zero-point output of the gyro sensor in accordance with the output from the acceleration sensor, an output from the magnetic sensor, and the output from the gyro sensor, the gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device is embodied by an extended Kalman filter having, as its components, only a gravitational acceleration vector, a magnetic field vector of the ambient magnetic field, an angular velocity vector, and an offset value of zero-point output of angular velocity by the gyro sensor,

a zero point of the gyro sensor being corrected by utilizing an output from the gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device; and

an attitude angle estimating device that estimates the attitude angle in accordance with the outputs from the acceleration sensor, the magnetic sensor, and the gyro sensor.

4. The moving body attitude angle processing apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the attitude angle estimating device corrects an output of estimation of an attitude angle of the moving body in accordance with the output from the gyro-sensor zero-point output estimating device.