Driving simulator

• US 4,196,528 A
• Filed: 01/25/1978
• Issued: 04/08/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dr-Ing Reiner Foerst Gesellschaft Mit Beschrankter Haftung
• Original Assignee: Dr-Ing Reiner Foerst Gesellschaft Mit Beschrankter Haftung
• Inventors: Foerst, Reiner
• Primary Examiner(s): Hum, Vance Y.
• Application Number:
  US05/872,062
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: 35/11 R, 35/11 A, 35/12 N, 273/1 E, 273/85 G, 273/86 B, 273/DIG. 28, 272/100, 272/73, 272/DIG. 5, 272/DIG. 6
• US Class Current: 434/61
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/05 the view from a vehicle being simulated G09B9/052, G09B9/058 take precedence

Abstract

The devices of the simulation include several individual driving simulators of the same kind, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,138 Foerst issued Mar. 7, 1978 being connected to each other via signal lines; each one including computing devices, computing the speed, the parallel track position, the track angle, the sloping position in case of the vehicle being a bike, and the centrifugal acceleration; an interface device transferring the computed data into video signals; a road picture generator; vehicle picture generators; noise generators; an error detection device, and a control device for the simulation of an accident.

Claims

1. A device for the simulation of a ride on a curved road using a screen for the picture of the road perspectively observed by the driver, as well as using a program for the generation of the road picture, as well as using control devices such as accelerator pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, gear shift lever and ruler, which devices influence the road picture, said device comprising:

several individual simulators of the same kind being connected to each other via signal lines and comprising additional control devices, which generate and display to every driver the parallel track positions, the sloping positions, the speeds, and the noises of the other simulated vehicles using the screen and the loud speaker, means for generating respectively a picture angle, a distance z and track angle with connections, including;

signal lines for the signals x of the parallel track positions, γ

of the picture angle, z of the distance, and V of the speed from every individual simulator to every other individual simulator, and wherein every individual simulator includes vehicle picture generators for the extraneous vehicle,

a subtraction device in every vehicle picture generator computing the difference Δ

z from the distances z of the own vehicle and that of the extraneous vehicle,

another subtraction device in every vehicle picture generator computing the difference Δ

V from the speed V of the own vehicle and that of the extraneous vehicle,

signal lines for the signal x, γ

, Δ

z and Δ

V as inputs to the vehicle picture generator, and

further signal lines for the signals of the own vehicle x of the parallel track position, β

of the track angle, and γ

of the picture angle as inputs to the vehicle picture generator.

2. A device for the simulation of a ride on a curved road using a screen for the picture of the road perspectively observed by the driver, as well as using a program for the generation of the road picture, as well as using control devices such as accelerator pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, gear shift lever and ruler, which devices influence the road picture, said device comprising:

several individual simulators of the same kind being connected to each other via signal lines and comprising additional control devices, which generate and display to every driver the parallel track positions, the sloping positions, the speeds, the track angle and the noises of the other simulated vehicles using the screen and the loud speaker, said individual simulator being designed for simulating a bike and including

a computing device computing the sloping position γ

, the parallel track position x, and the track angle β

, using the ruler angle, the speed, the time and the dynamical behavior of a ride on a bike, a mechanical control device, turning the picture around a point in the vertical symmetrical line in an angle corresponding to the sloping position, a limiting device, limiting the sloping position γ

at an adjustable maximum value, a scratching noise generator, to which a scratching signal s is supplied when the maximum value is reached, a control device for a fall simulation, simulating a fall in the maximum of the sloping position at increasing sloping position, and a fall noise generator, generating at a fall a corresponding noise.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bike simulator is designed for simulating a bicycle and includes a tachometer which supplies the speed signal and which is connected to a wheel of a fitness tool which is driven by muscular power of the driver.

4. A device for the simulation of a ride on a curved road using a screen for the picture of the road perspectively observed by the driver, as well as using a program for the generation of the road picture, as well as using control devices such as accelerator pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, gear shift lever and ruler, which devices influence the road picture, said device comprising:

several individual simulators of the same kind being connected to each other via signal lines and comprising additional control devices, which generate and display to every driver the parallel track positions, the sloping positions, the speeds, and the noises of the other simulated vehicles using the screen and the loud speaker, each individual simulator including;

an error detection device, supplying an error measuring signal, when the picture of the front part of the vehicle touches the picture of any other vehicle, said error detection device including;

a speed difference detection device, causing only the simulator of that vehicle with the higher speed to supply an error measuring signal in case of the two vehicles touching each other and so simulate an accident, and providing a signal to the concerned extraneous simulator for the error measuring signal, and wherein said control device for the simulation of an accident includes signal inputs, the signals being supplied by the error measuring devices of all extraneous simulators.

5. A device for the simulation of a ride on a curved road using a screen for the picture of the road perspectively observed by the driver, as well as using a program for the generation of the road picture, as well as using control devices such as accelerator pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, gear shift lever and ruler, which devices influence the road picture, said device comprising:

several individual simulators of the same kind being connected to each other via signal lines and comprising additional control devices, which generate and display to every driver the parallel track positions, the sloping positions, the speeds, and the noises of the other simulated vehicles using the screen and the loud speaker, means for respectively providing signals of engine rotations, centrifugal accelerations, horn bottom, distances and noise generations, said devices for the generation of noises including;

signal connection lines from any individual simulator to any other individual simulator for the signals of the engine rotations n, the centrifugal accelerations b_F, the horn bottom h and the distance z, as many noise generators for every individual simulator as the total of participants, being supplied individually by the transferred signals for the generation of the extraneous noises in the own simulator, a subtraction device for any extraneous noise generator in which the distance signal z of the own vehicle relative to the extraneous vehicle is computed by subtraction of the distances z, and a control unit, controlling the volume of the extraneous noises depending on the values of these distance differences.

6. A device for the simulation of a ride on a curved road using a screen for the picture of the road perspectively observed by the driver, as well as using a program for the generation of the road picture, as well as using control devices such as accelerator pedal, brake pedal, clutch pedal, gear shift lever and ruler, which devices influence the road picture, said device comprising:

several individual simulators of the same kind being connected to each other via signal lines and comprising additional control devices, which generate and display to every driver the parallel track positions, the sloping positions, the speeds, and the noises of the other simulated vehicles using the screen and the loud speaker, apparatus for implementing Doppler-effect, structure defining distance signals, means for detecting when the distance signal crosses zero, said individual simulators including;

connection lines for the speed signals from any individual simulator to all other individual simulators, a subtraction device for any two individual simulators, computing the signal Δ

V of the speed difference between the own and the extraneous vehicle by subtracting the difference V, a flip-flop for any two individual simulators, being controlled by the distance signal Δ

z and jumping from one state into the other with a hysteresis when the distances signal crosses zero, and a control unit controlling the frequency of the noise of any extraneous participant depending on the speed difference and the state of the flip-flop according to the Doppler-effect.