JPS642900B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for detecting the position of a moving object, and in particular, a method for automatically measuring the position of a moving object such as a car, a ship, an aircraft, etc. The present invention relates to a method for detecting the position of a moving body that can be used for.

Several conventional methods for detecting the position of moving objects using radio waves have been put into practical use, but all of these methods require large-scale equipment and cannot be easily detected in any location. The drawback was that it could not be implemented.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a completely new method for detecting the position of a moving object that can be implemented with relatively simple equipment and can be easily implemented in any location.

In order to achieve this object, the method for detecting the position of a moving body according to the present invention is capable of detecting the position by utilizing the straightness of a light beam. A light source that emits light beams sequentially in different directions is provided at a position, a reflecting device having a light beam reflector that rotates to a known position different from the predetermined known position is provided, and the light beam is received when the light beam is received on a moving body. A light receiving device that transmits a signal is provided, and the light receiving device captures a signal of a light emission direction at the time when a light beam reception signal is transmitted, and the light receiving device emits a light receiving signal and the laser light source directs the light beam toward the reflecting device. The present invention is characterized in that a signal indicating the direction of the reflector at the time when the light beam is being emitted is captured, and the position of the moving body is detected based on these two azimuth measurement results and the positions of the two known positions.

In other words, according to the method of the present invention, automation of position detection, which is basically triangulation using the straightness of light rays, can be performed with extremely simple equipment, and therefore can be easily performed in any location. The effect is that it can be implemented. For example, by installing the light source at a predetermined known position in the center of a vast farm and installing the reflecting device at an appropriate known position commensurate with the movement range of the moving object, more accurate position detection is possible. By installing the reflecting device at an appropriately known position around one light source, the positions of a plurality of moving objects in mutually different movement ranges can be simultaneously determined by providing only one light source, and
It is also extremely economical because it can be detected with high precision.

The second invention of the present application is an improvement on the first invention of the present application, which makes it possible to detect not only the position of a moving body but also its direction, and emits light beams sequentially in different directions at a predetermined known position. A light receiving device is provided with a light source, a reflecting device that rotates to reflect a light beam at a known position different from the predetermined known position, and transmits a light reception signal when the light beam is received at two different locations on the moving body. and capture signals of light emitting directions at respective times when the light beam reception signals are transmitted by each of the light receiving devices, and at the same time, the light beams are emitted by the light source toward the reflecting device when the light reception signals are emitted by the respective light receiving devices. The present invention is characterized in that the position of the moving body is detected based on the four azimuth measurement results and the two known positions.

In other words, according to this method, the position of the moving body can be detected at two locations, so that not only the position but also the direction of the moving body can be detected simultaneously with extremely simple equipment. Furthermore, since the position of two points can be measured, the position of the moving body can be measured with higher precision by, for example, taking the average of these two positions.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the method of the present invention, in which 1 is a laser light source fixedly provided at a predetermined known position P on the ground, and 2 is a laser light source fixedly provided at a predetermined known position P on the ground. A laser beam reflecting device is provided at a known position Q, and a light receiving device 3 is provided on a vehicle, which is a moving object V. The unknown device of the light receiver 31 is indicated by R.

In the laser light source 1, a light emitting body such as a laser light emitting diode 11 is rotated by a motor 12 around a vertical axis to sequentially emit laser beams in different directions in a horizontal plane. This motor 12 is connected to a rotary encoder 13, which detects the emission azimuth α of the laser beam based on the azimuth of the reflection device 2.

On the other hand, the reflecting device 2 provided at the known position Q is constituted by a reflector 21 consisting of a flat reflecting mirror rotated around the vertical axis by a motor 22, and a rotary encoder 2 connected to the motor 22.
3 is configured to detect the azimuth angle β of the reflected light. This reflector 21 has reflective surfaces on both its front and back surfaces, and the motor 12 on the laser light source 1 side rotates 180 degrees while the laser beam is irradiating the reflector 21. The firing azimuth is determined by the motor control unit 14 from the reflector 2.
The reflector 21 is configured to stop rotating for a period of time when the reflector 21 rotates 180 degrees when the reflector 21 faces the direction of the reflector 21.

Further, in the moving body V, when the laser beam is incident on the light receiver 31 provided on the moving body V, the light receiver 3
The light reception signal generated by the light receiver 31 is input to the transmitter 32 and the switch 34, and the switch 34 temporarily switches the antenna to the transmitter 3 while there is a light reception signal from the light receiver 31.
2, a transmitter 32 emits a light reception signal. This light reception signal is received by the antenna of the laser light source 1 and input to the receiver 18 via the switch 17. Receiver 18 receives the light reception signal, sends a signal to transmission control section 19, and with this signal, transmission control section 1
9 temporarily switches the switch 17 to connect the antenna to the transmitter 16 and sends a transmission start signal to the transmitter 16. In response to this transmission start signal, the transmitter 16 adds an identification signal to the values of the latches 15, 15' and transmits them.

The latches 15 and 15' are used to latch the values of the rotary encoders 13 and 23 when receiving the light reception signal, respectively, in response to a signal from the transmission control section 19. In this way, when the light reception signal is emitted from the moving body V side, the azimuths α and β at that time are transmitted from the laser light source 1 side to the moving body V side together with the identification signal. This signal is received by the light receiver 35 via the antenna of the mobile body V, and the azimuth angles α and β are calculated by the calculation control unit 35.
given to 3. When the azimuth angle α is 0°, the arithmetic control unit 33 determines that reflected light has been received and sets the azimuth angle β.
If α is other than 0°, it is determined that direct light from the laser beam attenuator 1 has been received, and the azimuth α is received. Therefore, the position R of the light receiver 31 is calculated from the azimuth angles α and β using the principle of triangulation, and the traveling direction of the mobile body V is controlled so that it travels on a predetermined course.

In this embodiment, the angle information is transmitted and received using radio waves, but it is also possible to construct the system entirely using an optical system by modulating the laser beam and adding information to the laser beam.

Alternatively, the configuration may be such that angle information is constantly output from the light source 1 or the like, and information is captured when a laser beam is received.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment,
A corner cube 31 is attached to the moving body V as a light receiver 31.
A is provided. The corner cube 31a reflects the laser beam back along the incident path no matter which direction it enters, and when the laser beam is irradiated onto the corner cube 31a,
The reflected laser beam returns to the laser light source 1.
This reflected laser beam is received by a light receiver 11b fixed to the light emitter 11a, and the angle at that time is sent to the calculation control section 19a of the light source 1. This calculation section 1
The operation of 9a is configured to obtain the position of the moving object V in the same manner as the calculating section 33 of the vehicle V shown in FIG. has been done. The receiver 37 of the moving body V receives the control signal, and the drive circuit 36 controls the moving body V based on the signal.

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another embodiment, in which corner cubes 31 are placed at two positions on the moving body V.
a, 31a, and each position R ₁ and R ₂ is set to the second position.
It is calculated using a method similar to that shown in the figure, and the current position and traveling direction of the moving body V can be detected. Utilizing this, it is also possible to radio-control the mobile body V so that it travels on a predetermined course.

Incidentally, as in this embodiment, two light receivers 31a, 3
1b, as shown in Figure 3,
Due to the combination of the four azimuth angles α ₁ , α ₂ , β ₁ , β ₂ to be measured, the actual positions of the light receivers 31a, 31b R ₁ ,
Not only R ₂ but also the imaginary positions R' ₁ and R' ₂ are solutions to the equation for determining the position. For this reason, it is necessary to have a means to distinguish which of the set of R ₁ and R ₂ and the set of R' ₁ and R' ₂ is the true position.
The determination is made based on the distance between 31b and 31b. As a means of determining this combination, it is also possible to compare the orientation with the previously measured orientation and select the closest one, or furthermore, it is also possible to combine both.

Although laser beams are used in all of the embodiments described above, infrared rays, visible rays, and ultraviolet rays may also be used.

Further, it is possible to have an improved configuration so that the reflecting device 2 can be installed at an appropriate location depending on the traveling course of the moving body.

That is, first, the installation position Q of the reflecting device 2 is measured, and then this reflecting device 2 is used to detect the position of the moving object.

For this purpose, a light receiving device is fixedly installed at a fixed known position different from the position Q, and this light receiving device is used to first detect the position Q of the reflecting device 2.
This calculation method is contrary to the method shown in the explanation of the embodiment, and it is sufficient to solve an equation to find the position of the reflecting device 2 from the known position of the light receiving device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings illustrate embodiments of the method for detecting the position of a moving body according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment. It is an explanatory view of another example. 1... Laser light source, 2... Reflection device, 3...
Light receiving device, 21...Reflector, 31a, 31b...
Corner cube, P...Predetermined known position, Q...Known position, V...Moving object.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for detecting the position of a moving body V, in which a light source 1 that emits light beams sequentially in different directions is provided at a predetermined known position P, and a light source 1 is provided at a known position Q different from the predetermined known position P. A reflecting device 2 having a rotating light beam reflector 21 is provided, and a light receiving device 3 is provided which transmits a light reception signal when a light beam is received on the moving body V, and the time point when the light reception signal is transmitted by the light receiving device 3. At the same time, the light receiving device 3 emits a light reception signal and the light source 1 receives a light emitting direction signal.
captures the signal indicating the direction of the reflector 21 at the time when the light beam is being emitted toward the reflector 2, and calculates the direction of the moving body V based on these two azimuth measurement results and the two known positions P and Q. A method for detecting the position of a moving object, the method comprising detecting the position. 2. A corner cube 31a is provided as a light receiving signal transmitting means in the light receiving device 3 on the moving body V, and the corner cube 31a that reflects the light beam so as to return along the incident path is provided, and the reflected light returning from the corner cube 31a to the light source 1 is transmitted to the light receiving device. The method for detecting the position of a moving object according to claim 1, wherein the method is used as a signal. 3. After configuring the reflecting device 2 to be movable and providing a light receiving device at another fixed position and detecting a known position Q of the reflecting device 2 using this light receiving device, the reflecting device 2 at this known position Q is 3. The method for detecting the position of a moving body according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the position of the moving body 3 is detected using the following method. 4. A method for detecting the position of a moving object, in which a light source 1 that sequentially emits light beams in different directions is provided at a predetermined known position P, and a light beam reflector 21 that rotates to a known position Q different from the predetermined known position P is provided. A reflecting device 2 is provided, and light receiving devices 3, 3 are provided for transmitting a light receiving signal when the light beam is received at two different locations on the moving body V, and each of the light receiving devices 3 transmits a light receiving signal. In addition to taking in the signals of the light emitting direction at each time point, the signal of the reflector 21 at each time point when the light reception signal is emitted by each of the light receiving devices 3 and the light beam is emitted toward the reflecting device 2 by the light source 1 is captured. A method for detecting the position of a moving body, characterized in that the position and orientation of the moving body V are detected based on the four azimuth measurement results and the two known positions P and Q. 5 A corner cube 31 that reflects the laser beam to at least one of the two light receiving devices 3 on the moving body V so as to return along the incident path.
a, 31b, this corner cube 3
5. The method for detecting the position of a moving object according to claim 4, wherein reflected light returning from the laser beam 1 from 1a, 31b is used as the light reception signal. 6. After configuring the reflecting device 2 to be movable and providing a light receiving device at another fixed position and detecting the known position Q of the reflecting device 2 using this light receiving device, the reflecting device 2 at the known position Q is 6. The method for detecting the position of a moving body according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the position of the moving body V is detected using the following method.