Movable object proximity warning system

• US 8,779,934 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAFEmine AG (Hexagon AB)
• Original Assignee: SAFEmine AG (Hexagon AB)
• Inventors: Rothacher, Urs M., Stegmaier, Peter A.
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US13/377,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20120139743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,859 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/506, 340/539.13, 340/3.1
• US Class Current: 340/686.6
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 9/02 Anti-collision systems

Abstract

Vehicles and other objects (4a, 4b, 4c, 5, 6, 7, 8) in a surface mine (1) are equipped with monitoring devices (12) that communicate by radio in order to detect the risk of collisions. The devices (12) are equipped with GNSS-receivers (15). At least one of the objects (4a, 4b, 4c) has two devices (12a, 12b) mounted to it. Each of the two devices (12a, 12b) determines its position independently, which in turn allows to determine not only the position, but also the orientation, of the object.

Claims

1. A method for generating proximity warnings on an area by means of a monitoring apparatus comprising a plurality of monitoring devices, wherein at least some of said monitoring devices are installed on objects operating in said area, wherein at least part of said monitoring devices comprise a receiver for a radio based positioning system and a radio circuit, said method comprising the steps of:

mounting, to at least one movable first object in said area, a first and a second monitoring device at a distance from each other,

generating, by means of said first monitoring device, a first device status dataset depending on a position of said first monitoring device,

generating, by means of said second monitoring device, a second device status dataset derived from a position of said second monitoring device,

encoding, in said second device status dataset, data indicating that the second monitoring device is an auxiliary device and its device status dataset can therefore be ignored by any other devices with the exception of a main device attributed to said second monitoring device,

emitting said second device status dataset through the radio circuit of said second monitoring device,

receiving, by said first monitoring device, said second device status dataset,

deriving, in said first monitoring device, from a position of said first monitoring device and from said second device status dataset, a reserved, non-circular volume of space attributed to said at least one movable first object and encoding said non-circular volume of space in said first device status dataset, and

broadcasting said first device status dataset through the radio circuit of said first monitoring device to other monitoring devices.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

deriving, from a position of the first monitoring device and from the second device status dataset, an orientation of the at least one movable first object,

receiving, by said first monitoring device, a third device status dataset from a third monitoring device mounted to a second movable object,

determining a direction to the second movable object in respect to said orientation, and

displaying data indicative of said direction on a display of said first monitoring device.

3. A monitoring device comprising a control unit adapted and structured to carry out the method of claim 1.

4. A method for generating proximity warnings on an area by means of a monitoring apparatus comprising a plurality of monitoring devices, wherein at least some of said monitoring devices are installed on objects operating in said area, wherein at least part of said monitoring devices comprise a receiver for a radio based positioning system and a radio circuit, said method comprising the steps of:

mounting, to at least one movable first object in said area, a first and a second monitoring device at a distance from each other,

generating, by means of said first monitoring device, a first device status dataset depending on a position of said first monitoring device,

generating, by means of said second monitoring device, a second device status dataset derived from a position of said second monitoring device,

encoding, by said first and second monitoring devices, first and second reserved volumes of space in said first and second device status datasets, respectively,

emitting said second device status dataset through the radio circuit of said second monitoring device,

receiving, by said first monitoring device, said second device status dataset,

deriving, in said first monitoring device, from the position of said first monitoring device and from said second device status dataset, a non-circular third reserved volume of space attributed to said first object and encoding said third reserved volume of space in said first device status dataset,

suppressing, by said first monitoring device, any proximity warnings that would arise from a proximity of the first and the second monitoring devices,

broadcasting said first device status dataset through the radio circuit of said first monitoring device to other monitoring devices,

receiving, by a third monitoring device on an object other than said first object, said first and second device status datasets, and

determining, by the third monitoring device, proximity warnings by combining information from the first and the second device status dataset.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said first and said second reserved volumes of space are circular and overlap.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of

deriving, from a position of the first monitoring device and from the second device status dataset, an orientation of the at least one movable first object,

receiving, by said first monitoring device, a third device status dataset from a fourth monitoring device mounted to a second movable object,

determining a direction to the second movable object in respect to said orientation, and

displaying data indicative of said direction on a display of said first monitoring device.

7. A monitoring device comprising a control unit adapted and structured to carry out the method of claim 4.