Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Relative location – Collision avoidance
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-02
2002-11-26
Chin, Gary (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Relative location
Collision avoidance
C701S027000, C701S098000, C701S214000, C340S903000, C340S436000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06487500
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Fields of the Invention
The invention relates generally to an apparatus and method of precisely determining the actual position and attitude of a host vehicle operating on a select course or path, such as, a highspeed highway and/or in congested traffic, or an aircraft in a landing pattern, and of multiple moving or fixed targets which represent potential collision hazards with a host vehicle, and, then, generating and displaying warning signals and avoidance maneuvers to avoid the collision and, in the absence of effective timely action by the host operator, automatically controlling the host vehicle to avoid the collisions or minimize any injuries and damage therefrom. More particularly, the invention relates to the use of a Global Positioning System (“GPS”), and a differential GPS (“DGPS”) supplemented by a Local or Psuedolite Positioning System (“LPS” or “Psuedolite”) as the primary host vehicle and target locating system with centimeter accuracy, further supplemented by any of a plurality of conventional all-weather and/or visual scanners and digital computer systems to detect, recognize, track and predict the collision impact point of all relevant potential targets, including other vehicles, fixed geographical obstructions, pedestrians and the like. More particularly, the invention further relates to multiple antennae, GPS determined vehicle attitude for use in generating automobile-on-the-highway, multiple target relative location, and collision avoidance warnings and maneuvers. More particularly, the invention further relates to an inter-vehicle and vehicle to base or satellite communication system for transmitting GPS, DGPS, and LPS position data, as well as, relevant target data to other vehicles and central or local control centers for information and control action. More particularly, the present invention still further relates to the use of neural networks and fuzzy logic rule sets for generating and developing optimal and prioritized warning and avoidance maneuvers, and generating related optimally coordinated control signals for all relevant host automobile control systems which are then automatically implemented, subject to operator intervention and override, to avoid collisions or to optimize prevention of injury or damage.
2. Discussion of Background and Prior Art
a. General
Automobile accidents are one of the most serious problems faced by our society, both in terms of personal deaths and injuries, and in financial losses suffered as a result of accidents. Human suffering caused by death or injury from such accidents is immense. In addition, the costs of medical treatment, permanent injury to accident victims resulting in loss of life opportunities, and financial losses resulting from damage to automobiles and other valuable objects or structures involved in such accidents are staggering. Providing improved systems and methods to minimize such personal and financial losses is an urgent and very important problem deserving the highest possible priority. Increasing populations and increased use of automobiles worldwide with resulting increased congestion on our highways and roadways makes development of improved control and warning systems for collision avoidance even more important. While many advances have been made in vehicle safety, including, for example, the use of seatbelts, airbags and more rigid and safer automobile body structures, much room for improvement exists in automotive systems, in general, and in automobile-on-the-highway warning and control systems, in particular.
b. Positioning Self and Multiple Targets by GPS
For example, impressive advances have been made in various areas of technology that can be applied to the automotive collision avoidance and warning system problem. One dynamic area of rapid technological development exists today in the form of GPS satellite location and tracking systems. Many patents have been issued for various applications of GPS for locating and tracking objects, and for navigation purposes. Also, such GPS systems have been augmented with earthbound pseudo-satellite (“Pseudolite”) systems and methods that provide centimeter accuracy with real time, kinematic positioning information for use in aircraft landing systems. Various configurations of GPS-based tracking and communication systems and methods, including Pseudolite systems and methods, are described in the following documents, each of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference: Logsdon, Tom, The Navstar Global Positioning System, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1992), ISBN 0-422-01040-0; Leick, Alfred, GPS Satellite Surveying, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1990), ISBN 0-471-81990-5; Hurn, Jeff, GPS—A Guide to the Next Utility, Trimble Navigation, Ltd., Sunnyvale, Calif. (1989); Hurn, Jeff, Differential GPS Explained, Trimble Navigation Ltd., Sunnyvale, Calif. (1993); Singh, M. S. and Grewal, H. K., Autonomous Vehicle Using WADGPS, IEEE Intelligent Vehicle Symposium, September, (1995); Walter, T., et.al., Flight Trials of the Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS), ION GPS-94, September, (1994); Ndili, A., GPS Pseudolite Signal Design, ION GPS-94, September, (1994); Cobb, H. S., Precision Landing Tests with Improved Integrity Beacon Pseudolites, ION GPS-95, September, (1995); Walter, T. and Euge, P., Weighted RAIM for Precision Approach, ION GPS-95, September, (1995); and U.S. Pat. Nos.: Remondi U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,363; Okamoto U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,787; Dekel U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,656; Sprague U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,816; Schuchman U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,813; Penny U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,432; Smith U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,238; Gooch U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,540; Sennott U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,125; Kass U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,934; FitzGerald U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,958; Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,224; Class U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,212; Allison U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,332; Bird U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,537; Izidon U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,302; Gildea U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,244; Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,194; Mueller U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,322; Teare U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,652; Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,842; Mansell U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844; Geier U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,829; Bertiger U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,805; Ferguson U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,566; Hatch U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,489; Fraughton U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,836; Allison U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,179; Joguet U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,655.
The most pertinent of these GPS references are those that deal with some phase of collision avoidance technology, especially in an automobile-on-the-highway environment.
(1) Providing GPS Position Data All-weather and Inter-vehicle, Detecting/Tracking Multiple Targets, and Warning of Collision
In a system to Izidon U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,302 there is disclosed a GPS based anti-collision warning system in which each vehicle is equipped with GPS to provide location and trajectory to predict collision and warn of the same. By virtue of its ability to also receive GPS position information only from similarly equipped vehicles, as well as, for itself, Izidon provides a restricted, but nonetheless, all-weather, day
ight, radar-less, and vision-less system for detecting obstacles that represent collision hazards, analyzing the target and own path and computing a trajectory for each object and self to predict a collision hazard and provide a warning to operator. Izidon discloses that fixed objects in space (land hazards) may also be stored in memory and a collision hazard therewith also warned. The reference discloses a conventional TDMA, random access, communication system using 2 ms time slices and 600 &mgr;s to transmit 300 bits of data and a 200 ms cycle time enabling 100 vehicles to participate, with each vehicle receiving the GPS position data of all other vehicles. If redundant broadcasting is used, only 50 aircraft are enabled to participate, with position updates at a 10 Hz rate, which is half the 20 Hz rate at which visual images could be processed by the human eye. However,the Izidon reference fails to disclose any automatic control mechanism, and, while it specifically states that it is applicable to aircraft, s
Lemelson Jerome H.
Pedersen Robert D.
Chin Gary
Rudy Douglas W.
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