Boots – shoes – and leggings
Patent
1987-05-14
1988-09-20
Ro, Bentsu
Boots, shoes, and leggings
318587, 180168, B62D 100, G05B 100
Patent
active
047730188
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a navigation system for automatically guided vehicles. More particularaly it relates to a navigation system for detecting the position and controlling the movement of a vehicle intended to be automatically guided along a path on a supporting surface such as a floor. The navigation system is comprised of at least one light source and at least one detector responsive to the light emitted from the light source, with one of the light sources and the detector mounted on and accompanying the vehicle and the other of the light sources and the detector being arranged substantially staitonarily in relation to said supporting surface. The system is further comprised of a signal processing unit having memory means in which path control information corresponding to said path is stored, comparator means adapted to compare the path control information stored in the memory means with positional information produced by said system and corresponding to the position of the vehicle on siad supporting surface. When said path control information and said positional information differ from each other, control signals are emitted for controlling the movement of the vehicle. Signal transmission means adapted to transmit said control signals to the vehicle cause it to move along said path.
The generic term "light" as used in the context and in the following description and the accompanying claims should be considered also to comprise parts of the spectrum outside the visible region.
BACKGROUND
Several different methods and devices have been suggested and used in practice for causing an unmanned vehicle (automatically guided vehicle) to move from one destination to another on a factory floor or the like along a predetermined path consisting of a wire or loop of a suitable material disposed along the path. Such a wire may be an induction line, an optically reflective line etc. The vehicle is provided with suitable means for following the wire and for correcting deviations from the predetermined path. Optical wire-tracking systems are disclosed in e.g. GB No. 1,500,970 and DE No. 2,258,764.
Wire guidance systems of the above-mentioned type however suffer from several drawbacks. First, it is often a costly and time-consuming procedure to arrange a new wire or to modify a path already arranged. Secondly, relatively complicated sensor and control devices are required on each vehicle for sensing the wire and guiding the vehicle, which increases costs especially in larger plants. Thirdly, a wire or the like disposed directly on a floor surface may be damaged by external influence or, in the case of an optically reflective wire, may become inoperative because of dust, dirt or the like on the same. Fourthly, such a wire guidance system does not provide an overall survey of all the vehicles in a system, but the wire is used only for guiding the vehicle from one destination to another.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks inherent in the above-mentioned loop guiding method by wholly or partly dispensing with the need of wires or the like in or on the supporting structure on which the vehicle is travelling.
More specifically, the invention has for its object to provide a flexible, optical navigation system for detecting the position of the vehicle and for controlling the movement thereof, especially for controlling the movement of the vehicle along a predetermined path.
Another object of the invention is to provide a navigation system by means of which the predetermined path can easily be established or modified without necessitating any substantial work efforts.
A third object of the invention is to provide a navigation system which can be combined with an already existing wire guidance system.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide a navigation system which permits establishing identity and status of the vehicle (e.g. whether the vehicle carries a load and, if so, what load it is carrying).
These and other objects are achieved
REFERENCES:
patent: 4018405 (1977-04-01), Baker
patent: 4309758 (1982-01-01), Halsall et al.
patent: 4520390 (1985-05-01), Paredes et al.
patent: 4706120 (1987-11-01), Slaughter et al.
BT Carrago Aktiebolag
Ro Bentsu
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