Travel distance measurement device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9336683-B2
Application number	US-201214342995-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2012
Priority date	Jan 10, 2012
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

A travel distance measurement device includes a transmitting antenna that is disposed in a vehicle and emits a transmission signal, as a radio wave, toward a ground surface, a receiving antenna that is disposed in the vicinity of the transmitting antenna, and receives a radio wave reflected from the ground surface and acquires a reflection signal, a distance calculator (an IQ demodulator and a phase conversion integrator) that calculates the travel distance of the vehicle on the basis of the acquired reflection signal, a gyro sensor that measures a predetermined parameter regarding curve traveling of the vehicle, and a correcting operation unit that corrects the calculated travel distance on the basis of the measured parameter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A travel distance measurement device comprising:
a transmitter that is disposed in a vehicle and emits a transmission signal, as a radio wave, toward a ground surface;
a receiver that is disposed in a vicinity of said transmitter, and receives a radio wave emitted from said transmitter and reflected from said ground surface and acquires a reflection signal;
a distance calculator that calculates a travel distance of said vehicle on a basis of the reflection signal acquired by said receiver;
a curve parameter measuring unit that measures a predetermined parameter regarding curve traveling of said vehicle; and
circuitry configured to correct the travel distance calculated by said distance calculator on a basis of the parameter measured by said curve parameter measuring unit,
wherein said vehicle is a railroad vehicle including railway bogies;
wherein said circuitry configured to correct corrects the travel distance calculated by said distance calculator on a basis of the parameter measured by said curve parameter measuring unit, a distance between the railway bogies, and a distance between said travel distance measurement device and each of the railway bogies.

2. The travel distance measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein the travel distance measurement device is outfitted to an underfloor area between the railway bogies.

3. The travel distance measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein said curve parameter measuring unit is a gyro sensor that measures a rotation angular speed of said vehicle.

4. The travel distance measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein said distance calculator calculates a phase by carrying out orthogonal detection on said reflection signal using said transmission signal, and integrates said phase over an interval of 2π or more to calculate the travel distance.

5. The travel distance measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein said distance calculator includes:
a multiplier that multiplies said reflection signal by said transmission signal;
a Doppler detector that detects a Doppler signal from the signal which is multiplied by said transmission signal by said multiplier; and
a speed integrator that calculates a speed of said vehicle from the Doppler signal detected by said Doppler detector, and that calculates the travel distance by integrating said speed.

6. A travel distance measurement device comprising:
a transmitter that is disposed in a vehicle and emits a transmission signal, as a radio wave, toward a ground surface;
a receiver that is disposed in a vicinity of said transmitter, and receives a radio wave emitted from said transmitter and reflected from said ground surface and acquires a reflection signal;
a distance calculator that calculates a travel distance of said vehicle on a basis of the reflection signal acquired by said receiver;
a curve parameter measuring unit that measures a predetermined parameter regarding curve traveling of said vehicle; and
circuitry configured to correct the travel distance calculated by said distance calculator on a basis of the parameter measured by said curve parameter measuring unit,
wherein said distance calculator calculates a phase by carrying out orthogonal detection on said reflection signal using said transmission signal, and integrates said phase over an interval of 2π or more to calculate the travel distance.

7. A travel distance measurement method performed by a travel distance measurement device, comprising:
emitting, from a vehicle which is a railroad vehicle including railway bogies, a transmission signal as a radio wave toward a ground surface;
receiving a radio wave which has been emitted and reflected from said ground surface and acquiring a reflection signal;
calculating a travel distance of said vehicle on a basis of the reflection signal which was acquired;
measuring a predetermined parameter regarding curve traveling of said vehicle; and
correcting the travel distance which has been calculated on a basis of the parameter which has been measured,
wherein the correcting corrects the travel distance calculated on a basis of the parameter which has been measured, a distance between the railway bogies, and a distance between said travel distance measurement device and each of the railway bogies.

8. A travel distance measurement method, comprising:
emitting, from a vehicle, a transmission signal as a radio wave toward a ground surface;
receiving a radio wave which has been emitted and reflected from said ground surface and acquiring a reflection signal;
calculating a travel distance of said vehicle on a basis of the reflection signal which was acquired;
measuring a predetermined parameter regarding curve traveling of said vehicle; and
correcting the travel distance which has been calculated on a basis of the parameter which has been measured,
wherein said calculating of the travel distance calculates a phase by carrying out orthogonal detection on said reflection signal using said transmission signal, and integrates said phase over an interval of 2π or more to calculate the travel distance.

Assignees

• Inomata Kenji
• Tsujita Wataru
• Tahara Kazuhiro
• Nagashima Seiya
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Inomata Kenji
• Tsujita Wataru
• Tahara Kazuhiro
• Nagashima Seiya

Classifications

• G01S13/60 Primary

  wherein the transmitter and receiver are mounted on the moving object, e.g. for determining ground speed, drift angle, ground track (G01S13/64 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01S13/86

  Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder · CPC title

• G01C22/02

  by conversion into electric waveforms and subsequent integration, e.g. using tachometer generator {(G01C22/002, G01C22/004, G01C22/006 take precedence)} · CPC title

• G08G1/123 Primary

  indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; {Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, trams}(transmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968) · CPC title