Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Automatic route guidance vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-24
2004-11-02
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Automatic route guidance vehicle
C701S026000, C701S209000, C701S213000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06813548
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a self-traveling vehicle which can travel by itself without guide wire or cable, based on positional information detecting a current position and map information indicating a traveling road or path.
Previously, there is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 148245/2000 a caddie cart which can travel along the pre-determined road by detecting magnetic field from the guide wire buried in surface along the road.
However, there are problems in the above-mentioned cart system. In a facility (e.g., golf course) where such a self-traveling vehicle travels, the system necessarily requires a construction of the guide lane such as guide wire. It results in a cost increase. Further, when a traveling course is to be changed, the system requires also a change of the course of the guide wire buried in road surface. It takes labor and expense so that such change of the traveling course is not easy.
The present invention is carried out for solving the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a self-traveling vehicle without requiring guide wire for travel, accordingly it is possible to change a course easily without expense or labor of the construction. Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-traveling vehicle which is safe and convenient to user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the present invention, it is preferable that a self-traveling vehicle comprises a traveling drive circuit for driving a drive source, a steering wheel drive circuit for operating a steering wheel and a receiving means for receiving signals of positional information from a satellite,
wherein said self-traveling vehicle comprising,
a calculating means for calculating current positional information based on the signals transmitted from the receiving means;
a storing means for storing a traveling road to be traveled, which is set beforehand;
a controlling circuit for controlling the traveling drive circuit and the steering wheel driving circuit in such a manner as to travel on a predetermined set road by verifying the current positional information calculated by the calculating means and the road to be traveled stored in the storing means.
More preferably, traveling directions to be traveled on said traveling road and a layout of a golf course are stored in said storing means.
More preferably, an information of said traveling road and a positional information calculated by said calculating means, both of which are stored in said storing means are displayed on a display.
More preferably, the self-traveling vehicle further comprises a braking means for braking a movement generated by said drive source and a detecting means for detecting a direction in which the self-traveling vehicle travels,
said movement is braked by said braking means when the self-traveling vehicle travels in a direction opposite to a stored direction stored in said storing means after said direction is detected by the detecting means.
More preferably, said detecting means calculates a deviation departed from said stored direction based on a position of the self-traveling vehicle within a predetermined time period.
More preferably, said direction in which the self-traveling vehicle travels is detected by the detecting means using a traveling locus.
More preferably, the self-traveling vehicle further comprises a detecting means for detecting a direction in which the self-traveling vehicle travels and a steering direction detecting means for detecting a direction in which said steering wheel is operated,
wherein said positional information is prepared after failing to detect a positional signal to be transmitted from the detecting means and the steering direction detecting means if the positional information is not received by the receiving means,
whereby the self-traveling vehicle travels based on the prepared positional information and the traveling road stored in the storing means.
More preferably, the self-traveling vehicle further comprises a velocity detecting means for detecting a velocity of the self-traveling vehicle;
wherein the more said velocity increases, the more a frequency of reading said positional information from said calculating means implemented by the controlling circuit within a predetermined time period increases.
More preferably, the controlling circuit operates the steering wheel driving circuit using a forward position having a predetermined distance calculated by the calculating means as a target.
More preferably, said controlling circuit operates the steering wheel driving circuit using said forward position,
wherein the more velocity increases, the farther said forward position is used as a target.
According to the above-mentioned structure, a self-traveling vehicle travels by driving a driving source through controlling a traveling drive circuit and at the same time by determining a travel direction through steering a steering wheel by controlling a steering wheel drive circuit. Further, the self-traveling vehicle receives positional information from a satellite by a receiving means (receiver), calculates a current position by means of calculating positional information, and deduces a current position of the vehicle on the map through combining the positional information with means of storing travel road. Then, a travel direction is calculated by collating the travel road in means of storing travel road with positional information, to control the traveling drive circuit and steering wheel drive circuit so as to travel according to the travel direction in means of storing travel road. Thus, a self-traveling vehicle travels in an indicated direction by subsequently collating the positional information by means of calculating positional information with travel road by means of storing travel road.
Further, in addition to a travel road, a layout of a golf course is stored in means of storing travel road, thereby, such self-traveling vehicle can travel along the golf course. Such information is displayed in a display screen such as LCD provided in the self-traveling vehicle, which can show players the current traveling position in a golf course.
Furthermore, when by means of calculating positional information, a current travel direction is determined to be opposite to the direction stored in means of storing travel road, a drive to drive means for traveling is stopped and travel is stopped by braking means. Thus dangerous travel can be stopped. One method to determine to be the opposite direction is to compare travel positions between the predetermined time interval and to determine the travel direction. If travel direction is opposite to what is predetermined, the vehicle is decided to travel backward and stopped. Other method to determine to be the opposite direction is to compare the locus of travel and the current direction of the travel and to calculate the direction relative to that stored in means of storing travel road so that whether the direction is forth or opposite is decided.
Further, when a receiver cannot receive a satellite signal due to a poor condition for receiving electromagnetic wave or a signal line breakage while traveling by means of calculating positional information and means of storing travel road, the current position can be obtained by calculating a virtual position after disappearance of the signal with use of means of detecting direction which detects travel direction of encoder or the like and use of steering direction detecting means which detects steering direction of the steering wheel. By these methods, a current position is assumable even if signal from a satellite can not be received and the current position becomes unclear. Thus, the vehicle can continue to travel without stop.
When a vehicle travels by means of calculating positional information and means of storing travel road, the more velocity of the self-traveling vehicle increases, the more frequently the calculating of the positional information is made within a predete
Matsumoto Kazuhisa
Matsuoka Kazuhiro
Mitsueda Hirofumi
Moriyama Kouji
Yamaguchi Setsuji
Camby Richard M.
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
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