Sensor system for independently evaluating the accuracy of the data of the sensor system

• US 9,558,157 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2012
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Steinhardt, Nico, Winner, Hermann
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Harry
• Application Number:
  US14/353,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20140300512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,560 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.32, 342/357.31
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01C 1/00 Apparatus, or methods of use thereof, for testing or treating seed, roots, or the like, prior to sowing or planting
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/16 by integrating acceleration or speed, i.e. inertial navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/165 combined with non-inertial navigation instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 1/00 Measuring arrangements giving results other than momentary value of variable, of general application G01D3/00 takes precedence; in tariff metering apparatus G01D4/00; transducers not specially adapted for a specific variable G01D5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/47 the supplementary measurement being an inertial measurement, e.g. tightly coupled inertial
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/49 whereby the further system is an inertial position system, e.g. loosely-coupled
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/18 for evaluating statistical data , e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04

Abstract

A sensor system, having a plurality of sensor elements configured such that they sense at least to some extent different primary measured variables use at least to some extent different measurement principles, a signal processing device. The signal processing device is configured to evaluate the sensor signals from the sensor elements at least to some extent collectively and rates the information quality of the sensor signals, wherein the signal processing device provides a piece of information about the accuracy of at least one datum of a physical variable. The signal processing device is configured such that the information about the accuracy is described in at least one characteristic quantity or a set of characteristic quantities.

Claims

1. A sensor system, comprising:

a plurality of sensor elements configured to sense different primary measured variables or use different measurement principles;

a signal processing device configured to evaluate sensor signals from the sensor elements collectively and to rate the information quality of the sensor signals;

wherein the signal processing device provides information about the accuracy of at least one datum of a physical variable;

the signal processing device in a form such that the information about the accuracy is described in at least one characteristic quantity; and

in that the signal processing device is configured to perform an anticipatory or a predictive calculation of at least one accuracy measure for at least one value of a physical variable, wherein the at least one value of the physical variable and the associated accuracy measure are based on a probable or a predictive presence thereof at or after one or more signal processing steps before one or more of the signal processing steps are performed.

2. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device further comprises at least one sensor information source channel configured to forward and process at least one output signal from at least one of the sensor elements.

3. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

in that the signal processing device provides the at least one characteristic quantity in each case for the at least one datum of a physical variable after or at successive signal processing steps of the signal processing device; and

the at least one datum of the at least one characteristic quantity is dependent on how an associated or a preceding signal processing step influences the at least one datum of the physical variable to which the at least one characteristic quantity relates.

4. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

in that the signal processing device is configured such that the at least one characteristic quantity is defined as at least one of the following variables in order to describe a data quality;

a noise characteristic quantity,

an offset/bias characteristic quantity,

a scale factor characteristic quantity,

a nonlinearity characteristic quantity,

an offset and/or scale factor drift characteristic quantity,

a bandwidth/cutoff frequency characteristic quantity, and

a delay/dead time characteristic quantity.

5. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

in that the signal processing device is configured such that the at least one characteristic quantity forms a set of the characteristic quantities and includes at least three or all of the following variables;

a data quality,

a noise characteristic quantity,

an offset/bias characteristic quantity,

a scale factor characteristic quantity,

a nonlinearity characteristic quantity,

an offset and/or scale factor drift characteristic quantity,

a bandwidth/cutoff frequency characteristic quantity, and

a delay/dead time characteristic quantity.

6. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured to provide the at least one characteristic quantity for each of the at least one datum of a defined physical variable after or at each signal processing step.

7. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured to provide the at least one characteristic quantity for each of the at least one datum of a plurality of defined physical variables, which are output variables from the sensor elements, at or after each essential signal processing step and for each sensor signal, for the output of at least one sensor element of the plurality of sensor elements.

8. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that a set of the at least one characteristic quantity directly forms an accuracy measure, or an accuracy measure is described indirectly on the basis of a plurality of the characteristic quantities from the set of characteristic quantities.

9. The sensor system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that the accuracy measure is rated in respect of a threshold value and then the at least one datum of a physical variable is assigned a rating in respect of the accuracy, based upon whether the relevant datum of the physical variable is provided with sufficient or insufficient accuracy, and the rating of the accuracy is taken into account in at least one of the subsequent signal processing steps.

10. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that, in the course of the anticipatory or the predictive calculation, the signal processing device relates the probable or predictive presence of the accuracy measure to a defined period of time from a current instant to a defined instant in the future, the defined instant in the future occurring at or after a signal processing step.

11. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that, in the course of the anticipatory or predictive calculation, the signal processing device uses data or measurement data that are available in the sensor system.

12. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that the anticipatory or the predictive calculation is performed repeatedly or at least twice in succession, the repetition or the succession being based on successive signal processing steps, and the repeated or the at least twice-successive predictive calculation relating to the same instant or signal processing step in the future at or after which the predicted accuracy measure is present, wherein potentially newly added measurement data from one or more sensor information from the sensor elements are taken into account in the course of the repeated calculation.

13. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that, in the course of the anticipatory or the predictive calculation, the defined period of time from a current instant to a defined instant in the future or a defined number of signal processing steps, before the signal processing steps are performed, are prescribed and, on the basis thereof, the accuracy measure is calculated for a value of a physical variable at instant in the future or at or after this future signal processing step and at the same time or thereafter the accuracy measure is rated in respect of a threshold value.

14. The sensor system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising in that the signal processing device is configured such that, in the course of the anticipatory or the predictive calculation, the accuracy measure is prescribed for a value that is present in the future for a physical variable and, on the basis thereof, the defined period of time from a current instant to a defined instant in the future is calculated or a defined number of future signal processing steps are calculated, until the accuracy measure drops below or rises above a fined threshold value.