Boots – shoes – and leggings
Patent
1992-06-19
1994-08-30
Black, Thomas G.
Boots, shoes, and leggings
364449, 364565, 36457101, G06F 1550
Patent
active
053434005
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a relative direction detecting method for detecting the relative travel direction of a vehicle.
2. Background Art
In recent years, various vehicular navigation systems capable of informing the driver of the current location of the vehicle have been developed. One known navigation system of this type detects the distance traveled and the relative travel direction of the vehicle at fixed time intervals, successively calculates the vector sum of these detection results, and displays the current location of the vehicle by means of an appropriate display device on the basis of the calculated result and the given initial vehicle location information.
Japanese Patent Application Public Disclosure No. Hei 1-304312 discloses a navigation system of this type in which the difference between the number of revolutions of left and right wheels occurring when a vehicle changes its travel direction is detected by means of a pair of sensors for detecting the rotational speed of the wheels, and then the travel locus vector of the vehicle is obtained at fixed time intervals on the basis of the difference, whereby the relative travel direction of the vehicle is calculated by calculating the sum of the resulting vectors.
However, if the time interval is set relatively long in the case where calculation of the travel locus vectors of the vehicle is carried out at fixed time intervals, the distance per vector becomes long so that there is a possibility that gentle curves during the interval will not be detected when the vehicle is traveling fast.
On the contrary, if the time interval is set relatively short, although the minor changes in the travel locus vectors will be shown accurately, unnecessary calculations will be carried out during, for example, travel of the vehicle in a straight line. As a result, the load on the computer system becomes unnecessarily large, so that it becomes necessary to install a calculation system with unnecessarily large processing capacity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for detecting the relative travel direction of a vehicle which is capable of efficiently calculating the travel locus vectors of the vehicle. Disclosure of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting the relative travel direction of a vehicle on the basis of the travel locus vectors of the vehicle calculated on the basis of data indicating the rotational angle of a pair of wheels and is characterized in that the aforesaid time interval is changed in accordance with the traveling speed and turning angle of the vehicle.
The time intervals for calculating the travel locus vectors are made shorter when the vehicle speed is fast or when the turning angle of the vehicle is large, whereby the travel locus vectors are calculated at suitable time intervals for the current traveling condition of the vehicle .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the vehicular relative travel direction detecting system according to the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a data processing program which is carried out in the data processing unit of FIG. 1.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a detecting system for detecting the relative travel direction of a vehicle according to the present invention. The relative travel direction detecting system 1 is for detecting the relative travel direction of a vehicle 6 which has a right-front wheel 2, a left-front wheel 3, a right-rear wheel 4, and a left-rear wheel 5. The detecting system 1 has a first sensor 11 for producing a first detection signal S.sub.1 with a period corresponding to the rotational speed of the right-front wheel 2 and a second sensor 12 for producing a second detection signal S.sub.2 with a period corresponding to the rotational speed of the left-front wheel 3.
The first and second sensors 11 and 12 are speed sensors o
REFERENCES:
patent: Re33025 (1989-08-01), Matsumoto et al.
patent: 4055750 (1977-10-01), Jellinek
patent: 4633407 (1986-12-01), Freinstein et al.
patent: 4788645 (1988-11-01), Zavoli et al.
patent: 5058023 (1991-10-01), Kozikaro
patent: 5179526 (1993-01-01), Zimmer et al.
Black Thomas G.
Day Julie D.
Zexel Corporation
LandOfFree
Method for detecting relative travel direction of a vehicle does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method for detecting relative travel direction of a vehicle, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method for detecting relative travel direction of a vehicle will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-34293