US 2006/0224308 A1Published application

System and method for determining a position of a vehicle

AssigneeDeere & Company, a Delaware corporation

InventorsMark Schmidt, Kenneth Hunt, David Holm, Scott Stephens

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Abstract

A time estimator determines a first aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a first beacon and receipt of a return signal, a second aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a second beacon and receipt of a return signal, and a third aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a third beacon and receipt of a return signal. A bias compensator compensates for bias delay associated with at least one of the first transmitter, the first beacon, the second beacon and the third beacon. A converter converts the first aggregate elapsed time, the second aggregate elapsed time, and the third aggregate elapsed time into position curves. A data processor estimates a position of the vehicle at a confluence or intersection of the position curves.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method for determining the position of a vehicle, the method comprising:

transmitting a first transmission signal from a transmitter at a vehicle toward one or more beacons associated with a work area;
determining a first aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a first beacon and a return signal from the first beacon to the vehicle with compensation for bias delay associated with at least one of the transmitter and the first beacon;
converting the first aggregate elapsed time into a first position curve in at least two spatial dimensions for vehicle;
determining a second aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a second beacon and a return signal from the second beacon to the vehicle with compensation for bias delay associated with at least one of the transmitter and the second beacon;
converting the second aggregate elapsed time into a second position curve in at least two spatial dimensions for vehicle;
determining a third aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a third beacon and a return signal from the third beacon to the vehicle with compensation for bias delay associated with at least one of the transmitter and the third beacon;
converting the third aggregate elapsed time into a third position curve in at least two spatial dimensions for vehicle;
and
estimating a position of the vehicle at a confluence or intersection of the first position curve, the second position curve, and the third position curve.

6 more elements

A system for determining the position of a vehicle, the system comprising:

a first transmitter for transmitting a first transmission signal from a transmitter at a vehicle toward one or more beacons associated with the work area;
a time estimator for determining a first aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a first beacon and a return signal from the first beacon to the vehicle, a second aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a second beacon and a return signal from the second beacon to the vehicle, a third aggregate elapsed time between the transmission of the first transmission signal to a third beacon and a return signal from the third beacon to the vehicle;
a bias compensator for compensation for bias delay associated with at least one of the transmitter, the first beacon, the second beacon and the third beacon;
a converter for converting the first aggregate elapsed time into a first position curve in at least two spatial dimensions for vehicle, the second aggregate elapsed time into a second position curve in at least two spatial dimensions for vehicle, and the third aggregate elapsed time into a third position curve in at least two spatial dimensions for vehicle;
and
a data processor for estimating a position of the vehicle at a confluence or intersection of the first position curve, the second position curve, and the third position curve.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.