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US 7,689,351 B2Granted
Virtual profilograph for road surface quality assessment
AssigneeTopcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
InventorSteven Daniel McCain
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeTopcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
InventorSteven Daniel McCain
Estimating the term…
A virtual profilograph is disclosed that can provide measurements indicative of the ride quality of a roadway as the road is being constructed. As a result, a more timely, less costly indication of the ride quality of a roadway is obtained as compared to prior methods. In a first embodiment a Global Navigation Satellite System antenna is attached to a vehicle. When the vehicle travels over a roadway, measurements of the position of the antenna are recorded at different times. A profile of the roadway is created by measuring the elevation of the antenna as a function of the distance traveled from a starting point. In another embodiment, tilt sensors are used to measure the slope of the roadway and the tilt of the vehicle so that a precise orientation of the vehicle and, hence, the contours of the roadway, can be determined.
A method for use with a first vehicle adapted to move across a surface, said first vehicle comprising a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antenna receiver, said method comprising:
Apparatus for use with a first vehicle adapted to move across a surface, said first vehicle comprising a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antenna, said apparatus comprising:
A computer readable medium storing computer program instructions which, when executed on a processor, define the steps of:
A virtual profilograph comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.