Apparatus and method for automated positioning of a vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10300804-B2
Application number	US-201514966723-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2015
Priority date	Apr 29, 2015
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

An apparatus for positioning a vehicle includes an alignment sensor that has a field of view and a vehicle alignment system operatively connected to the alignment sensor and to at least one positioning system of the vehicle. Movement of the vehicle varies an appearance of a fiducial surface within the alignment sensor's field of view. The vehicle alignment system is configured to implement a method that includes monitoring the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor, comparing the appearance of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark appearances, and operating the at least one positioning system based on a determination by the vehicle alignment system of whether the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor satisfies a pre-determined target appearance that corresponds to a desired location and position of the vehicle relative to a fixed location.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for positioning a vehicle, comprising:
an alignment sensor that has a field of view; and
a vehicle alignment system including at least one controller operatively connected to the alignment sensor and to at least one positioning system of the vehicle, the at least one controller configured to control vehicle positioning;
wherein movement of the vehicle varies an appearance of a fiducial surface within the field of view of the alignment sensor, the fiducial surface positioned at a fixed location off board the vehicle;
wherein to control vehicle positioning the at least one controller is configured to monitor the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor, compare the appearance of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark appearances of the same fiducial surface to determine if the appearance of the fiducial surface matches one of the benchmark appearances of the fiducial surface, and operate the at least one positioning system based on a determination of whether the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor satisfies a pre-determined target appearance that corresponds to a designated location and position of the vehicle relative to the fixed location; and
wherein the controller is configured to monitor the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor at an unknown distance or orientation from the fiducial surface, and if the appearance of the fiducial surface matches one of the benchmark appearances of the fiducial surface, to store known distance or orientation information associated with the benchmark appearance in memory based on the match.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each benchmark appearance in the set of benchmark appearances includes at least two markers disposed at different positions within the benchmark appearance.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein at least some of the at least two markers differ from each other in at least one of shape, size or color.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein each of the at least two markers differs from the other markers in at least one of shape, size, orientation, or color.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the target appearance shows the at least two markers at relative positions that are unique among the benchmarked appearances.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the orientations or the shapes of the at least two markers vary among at least some of the benchmarked appearances.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the vehicle positioning in an open loop mode.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to control the vehicle positioning in a stepped open loop mode.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a distance sensor operatively connected to the at least one controller, wherein the at least one controller is configured to implement control of the vehicle positioning responsive to a sensor output of the distance sensor relating to a distance between the vehicle and the fiducial surface.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to implement control of the vehicle positioning responsive to a sensor output of the alignment sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the fiducial surface includes a plurality of markers;
wherein the fiducial surface includes multiple planes or layers disposed in parallel or at angles to each other; and
wherein at least one of the plurality of markers is disposed on a different plane or layer than another of the plurality of markers.

12. An apparatus for positioning a vehicle, comprising:
an alignment sensor that has a field of view;
a distance sensor;
a vehicle alignment system including at least one controller operatively connected to receive visual data from the alignment sensor, distance data from the distance sensor, and to operate at least one positioning system of the vehicle; and
a fiducial surface configured to be positioned at a fixed location off-board the vehicle, the fiducial surface including a battery receiver opening into which a battery can be transferred from the vehicle;
wherein movement of the vehicle varies an appearance of the fiducial surface within the field of view of the alignment sensor;
wherein the at least one controller is configured to initiate control of vehicle positioning responsive to the distance data from the distance sensor indicating that the vehicle has approached within a first threshold distance from the fixed location;
wherein to control vehicle positioning the at least one controller is configured to receive the visual data that includes the appearance of the fiducial surface to the alignment sensor, compare the appearance of the fiducial surface to a pre-determined set of benchmark appearances of the same fiducial surface stored in memory, determine whether the appearance of the fiducial surface matches, approaches, or diverges from a pre-determined target appearance of the same fiducial surface stored in memory that corresponds to a designated location and position of the vehicle relative to the fixed location, and operate the at least one positioning system until either the appearance of the fiducial surface matches the pre-determined target appearance or the appearance of the fiducial surface cannot be made to approach the pre-determined target appearance; and
wherein the benchmark appearances are different views of the same fiducial surface taken at different known distances and orientations of the vehicle relative to the fiducial surface and stored in memory.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein each benchmark appearance of the set of benchmark appearances includes at least two markers disposed at different positions within the benchmark appearance.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein at least some of the at least two markers differ from each other in at least one of shape, size or color.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein each of the at least two markers differs from the other markers in at least one of shape, size, orientation, or color.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the target appearance shows the at least two markers at relative positions that are unique among the benchmarked appearances.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the orientations or the shapes of the at least two markers vary among at least some of the benchmarked appearances.

18. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein at least the fiducial surface is on a battery exchange apparatus apart from the vehicle.

19. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein:
the fiducial surface includes a plurality of markers;
wherein the fiducial surface includes multiple planes or layers disposed in parallel or at angles to each other; and
wherein at least one of the plurality of markers is disposed on a different plane or layer than another of the plurality of markers.

20. A method for positioning a vehicle, comprising:
generating sensor data of a fiducial surface using an alignment sensor that has a field of view, wherein an appearance of the fiducial surface within the field of view of the alignment sensor depends on a position of the vehicle relative to a fixed location; and
operating at least one positioning system of the vehicle, under control of a vehicle alignment system that is operatively connected to receive the sensor data from the alignment sensor;
wherein the vehicle alignment system is configured to obtain an i

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Salasoo Lembit

Classifications

• G05D1/0234

  using optical markers or beacons (optical beacons per se G01S1/70) · CPC title

• G05D1/0225 Primary

  involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay (parking aids B62D15/027) · CPC title

• B60L11/1833 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60L11/1822

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• G05D2201/0213

  Physics · mapped topic