Control system for automatic guided vehicles
A control system is described for guiding a vehicle over a floor along a long, narrow stripe of reflective material applied to the floor to define a desired path for the vehicle to travel, comprising: means for generating light and directing the light toward the reflective material; a generally linear array of light sensors mountable on the vehicle generally transverse to the stripe of reflective material, each sensor having a field of view and generating an output signal generally proportional to the portion of the sensor's field of view occupied by the reflective material; reference signal means for generating a reference signal with an amplitude generally unidirectionally and progressively changing over a preselected time period; means for comparing each of the sensor output signals to the reference signal during the preselected time period, and generating a binary output signal having binary states for each of the sensors, the binary output signal in one binary state indicating if the amplitude of the sensor output signal is above the reference signal and in the other binary state indicating if the amplitude of the sensor output signal is below the reference signal; and means for sampling the value of each of the sensor binary output signals on a plurality of sampling occasions during the preselected time period and combining the sampled values of the sensor binary output signals for each sampling occasion in a predetermined order to generate a byte.
- Assignee:
- Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, CA
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4811229
- OSTI ID:
- 5934555
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Apparatus for controlling generator for vehicle
Vehicle performance monitor and method
Related Subjects
330600* -- Advanced Propulsion Systems-- Vehicle Design Factors
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990220 -- Computers
Computerized Models
& Computer Programs-- (1987-1989)
AUTOMATION
CALCULATION METHODS
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
DESIGN
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
OPERATION
ORIENTATION
PULSE CIRCUITS
SIGNAL CONDITIONERS
VEHICLES