GNSS and optical guidance and machine control

• US 9,886,038 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2016
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• 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:
  US15/152,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20160252909A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 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, 172179
• 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. An automatic steering system for use in an agricultural vehicle, comprising:

a controller configured to;

send one or more steering control commands for a desired track to a vehicle steering control mechanism to steer the agricultural vehicle, the desired track including a desired position and desired heading;

receive data from one or more sensors indicating a response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands, the data including a measured position and a measured heading;

determine a position and heading deviation of the agricultural vehicle from the desired track based on a difference between the measured position and measured heading from the one or more sensors and the desired position and desired heading indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands;

derive one or more calibration values based on the position and heading deviation of the agricultural vehicle;

generate additional steering control commands for additional desired positions and desired headings based on the one or more calibration values and additional calibration values derived from additional position and heading deviations of the agricultural vehicle;

send the additional steering control commands to the steering control mechanism to steer the agricultural vehicle along the desired track; and

determine the additional position and heading deviations of the agricultural vehicle from the additional desired positions and desired headings based on differences between additional measured positions and measured headings from the one or more sensors and the additional desired positions and desired headings.

2. The automatic steering system of claim 1, the controller further to:

determine an expected location of the agricultural vehicle on the track line;

determine a measured location of the agricultural vehicle relative to the track line based on the data from one or more sensors indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands; and

calculate a response error based on a difference between the expected location and the measured location.

3. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the data from one or more sensors indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands includes:

a position of the agricultural vehicle from one or more global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) receivers on the agricultural vehicle; and

an attitude of the agricultural vehicle from one or more gyroscopes on the agricultural vehicle.

4. The automatic steering system of claim 1, the controller further configured to:

determine a first expected position of the agricultural vehicle;

receive a first measured position of the agricultural vehicle from a global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS);

determine a first position deviation by the agricultural vehicle from the desired track based on a difference between the first expected position and the first measured position;

determine a first expected attitude of the agricultural vehicle;

receive a first measured attitude of the agricultural vehicle from one or more gyroscopes;

determine a first attitude deviation based on a difference between the first expected attitude and the first measured attitude;

send a first set of one or more steering control commands to the vehicle steering control mechanism based on the first position deviation and the first attitude deviation;

determine a second expected position and attitude of the agricultural vehicle based on the first set of one or more steering control commands;

receive a second measured position of the agricultural vehicle from the GNSS and a second measured attitude of the agricultural vehicle from the one or more gyroscopes;

determine a second position deviation based on a difference between the second expected position and the second measured position and determine a second attitude deviation based on a difference between the second expected attitude and the second measured attitude; and

send a second set of one or more steering control commands to the vehicle steering control mechanism based on the second position and attitude deviations.

5. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the data from one or more sensors indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands includes an attitude of the agricultural vehicle.

6. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the data from one or more sensors indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands includes a velocity of the agricultural vehicle.

7. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the data from one or more sensors indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands includes a rate-of-turn of the agricultural vehicle.

8. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the data from one or more sensors indicating the response by the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands comprises at least one of global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) data, gyroscope data, accelerometer data, compass data, magnetic sensor data, inclinometer data, and radar data.

9. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of one or more global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) receivers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more accelerometers, one or more compasses, one or more magnetic sensors, one or more inclinometers, and one or more radar devices in a self-contained, unitary enclosure.

10. The automatic steering system of claim 1, the controller further configured to:

calculate a response time of the agricultural vehicle to the one or more steering control commands, and

generate the additional steering control commands based, in part, on the response time.

11. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configurable to operate independently of a vehicle or implement and is configurable to operate with any one of multiple different agricultural vehicles or agricultural implements, and the controller dynamically calibrates different steering control commands based on an attached one of the different agricultural vehicles or agricultural implements.

12. The automatic steering system of claim 1, the controller to:

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

adjust the rate of turn using a proportional steering control command based on differences between measured position and attitude values and expected position and attitude values.

13. The automatic steering system of claim 1 wherein the agricultural vehicle is a tractor.

14. The automatic steering system of claim 1 wherein the agricultural vehicle is an implement attached to a tractor.

15. The automatic steering system of claim 1, wherein the position and heading data comprises at least one of global navigation satellite sensor system (GNSS) data, gyroscope data, accelerometer data, and compass data.