GNSS and optical guidance and machine control

• US 9,880,562 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2016
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agjunction LLC (Kubota Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Agjunction LLC (Kubota Corporation)
• Inventors: Webber, Mark R., Jones, Keith R., McClure, John A., Roberge, Andre C., Feller, Walter J., Whitehead, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shafi, Muhammad
• Application Number:
  US15/169,534
• Publication Number:
  US 20160334804A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 701213, 701200, 701 50, 701 41, 701 23, 701 25, 701301, 701120, 34235726, 34235737, 34235752, 34235736, 34235734, 34235753, 34235776, 34235731, 700284, 700253
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 69/007 Steering or guiding of agricultural vehicles, e.g. steering of the tractor to keep the plough in the furrow
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 69/008 automatic
• CPC Class Codes: A01B 79/005 Precision agriculture
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/004 Devices for guiding or controlling the machines along a predetermined path for graders or bulldozers E02F3/841; for other soil-shifting machines E02F9/2045
• CPC Class Codes: E01H 4/00 Working on surfaces of snow or ice in order to make them suitable for traffic or sporting purposes, e.g. by compacting snow production of artificial snow F25C3/04
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/123 Drives or control devices specially adapted therefor E02F9/125 and E02F9/128 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2029 Controlling the position of implements in function of its load, e.g. modifying the attitude of implements in accordance to vehicle speed control for hydraulic or pneumatic drives E02F9/2203, E02F9/2221 and E02F9/2253 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2045 Guiding machines along a predetermined path for graders E02F3/841; machines for construction of roads E01C19/004
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2054 Fleet management
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/264 Sensors and their calibration for indicating the position of the work tool
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1656 with passive imaging devices, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/005 initial alignment, calibration or starting-up of inertial devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/04 providing carrier phase data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/24 Acquisition or tracking or demodulation of signals transmitted by the system synchronisation aspects of direct sequence spread spectrum modulation H04B1/7073
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/44 Carrier phase ambiguity resolution; Floating ambiguity; LAMBDA [Least-squares AMBiguity Decorrelation Adjustment] method
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/53 Determining attitude
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/55 : Carrier phase ambiguity resolution; Floating ambiguity; LAMBDA [Least-squares AMBiguity Decorrelation Adjustment] method
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 : comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 : using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 : using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0287 : involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0891 : specially adapted for land vehicles

Abstract

A global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) and gyroscope control system for vehicle steering control comprising a GNSS receiver and antennas at a fixed spacing to determine a vehicle position, velocity and at least one of a heading angle, a pitch angle and a roll angle based on carrier phase position differences. The system also includes a control system configured to receive the vehicle position, heading, and at least one of roll and pitch, and configured to generate a steering command to a vehicle steering system. The system includes gyroscopes for determining system attitude change with respect to multiple axes for integrating with GNSS-derived positioning information to determine vehicle position, velocity, rate-of-turn, attitude and other operating characteristics. Relative orientations and attitudes between motive and working components can be determined using optical sensors and cameras. The system can also be used to guide multiple vehicles in relation to each other.

Claims

1. A controller for steering a vehicle comprising:

one or more processors configured to;

generate one or more steering control commands to steer the vehicle to a desired position and a desired heading;

measure a position and a heading for the vehicle in response to the steering control commands;

compute a proportionality of the measured position to the desired position and a proportionality of the measured heading to the desired heading; and

generate one or more calibrated steering control commands based on the computed proportionality of the measured position to the desired position and the computed proportionality of the measured heading to the desired heading and a selectable operating parameter.

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors repeatedly generate additional calibrated steering control commands based on computed proportionalities of measured positions of the vehicle to the desired position of the vehicle and computed proportionalities of measured headings of the vehicle to the desired heading until one of the measured positions of the vehicle is within a given range of the desired position.

3. The controller of claim 1, wherein the selectable operating parameter is selected by an operator.

4. The controller of claim 1, wherein the selectable operating parameter is selected by the controller.

5. The controller of claim 1, wherein the selectable operating parameter comprises at least one of 3-D position, velocity, tilt, heading rate, rate of change of tilt angle, pitch, and radius of curvature of the vehicle.

6. The controller of claim 1, wherein the one or more calibrated steering control commands direct the vehicle toward the desired position and heading to avoid crossing a desired track.

7. The controller of claim 1, the one or more processors further configured to use a recursive adaptive algorithm to generate the one or more steering control commands based on a response of the vehicle to one or more other steering control commands.

8. The controller of claim 1, the one or more processors are further configured to:

save a desired track for the vehicle;

generate a deviation of the measured position and heading relative to the desired track; and

determine the one or more calibrated steering control commands based on the deviation.

9. The controller of claim 1, wherein the measured position and heading are based on signals received from a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and a gyroscope.

10. The controller of claim 1, the one or more processors are further configured to send the one or more calibrated steering control commands to a steering controller to adjust operation of the vehicle or an implement operably coupled to the vehicle.

11. A steering controller for a vehicle, comprising:

at least one processing device;

a memory storing a recursive adaptive algorithm which, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to;

generate one or more steering control commands to turn the vehicle to a desired position, speed and attitude;

measure a position, speed, and attitude of the vehicle turn in response to the steering control commands;

calculate a proportionality of the measured position, speed, and attitude of the vehicle turn to the desired position, speed, and attitude of the vehicle;

calculate one or more calibrated steering control commands based on the proportionality of the measured position, speed and attitude of the vehicle; and

apply the one or more calibrated steering control commands to the steering controller to steer the vehicle.

12. The steering controller of claim 11, the processing device further configured to:

calculate the calibrated steering control commands based on a first proportionality factor times a difference between the desired position and the actual position and a second proportionality factor times a difference between the desired attitude and the actual attitude.

13. The steering controller of claim 12, wherein the measured position and attitude are based on signals from a global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) receiver and a gyroscope on the vehicle.

14. The steering controller of claim 11, wherein the steering controller is configured to attach to different vehicles or implements and determine the one or more steering control commands based on one of the different vehicles or implements to which the steering controller is attached.

15. The steering controller of claim 11, the processing device to determine the one or more steering control commands based on a selectable operating parameter including at least one of tilt, heading rate, rate of change of tilt angle, pitch, and radius of curvature of the vehicle.

16. The steering controller of claim 11, the processing device to:

measure a proportional rate of turn of the vehicle in response to the one or more steering control commands; and

generate one or more additional steering control commands based, at least in part, on the measured proportional rate of turn.