METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING VEHICLE MOVEMENTS

Abstract

In a method and a device for visualizing the movement of a vehicle, the vehicle includes at least one display unit coupled with a control and evaluation unit, and the control and evaluation unit is coupled with at least one track-following system for guiding the vehicle along driving routes, and the control and evaluation unit detects at least one characteristic orientation parameter that describes the orientation of the vehicle, and the control and evaluation unit—with consideration for the at least one characteristic orientation parameter of the vehicle—determines a virtual future driving track of the vehicle and this virtual future driving track is visualized in the display unit. In this manner, the operator of the vehicle obtains information about, at the least, which future driving track his vehicle will move on if the current vehicle orientation is maintained, and with consideration for characteristic parameters of the vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the schematic view of a tractor with a track-following system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows the schematic view of the display unit of the tractor in FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the structure of the display unit in FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a further detailed view of the display unit in FIG. 2 in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle 1 designed as a tractor 2, to the front region of which a front attachment 4 designed as a cutting mechanism 3 is assigned, to harvest a crop 6 growing in a territory 5 to be worked. Tractor 2 includes a GPS locating device 7 known per se, which receives position signals 9 generated by GPS satellites 8 and, based on these, generates position signals 10 of tractor 2. In addition, at least one control and evaluation unit 12 is located within reach of operator 13 in driver's cab 11 of tractor 2, which includes at least one display unit 14, an input unit 15, and a programming module 16, as shown in its schematic enlargement in FIG. 1.

In addition, tractor 2 includes a steering system 17 which can be controlled automatically, so that tractor 2 can move automatically on predefined driving routes 18 in territory 5 to be worked. In the simplest case, this automated guidance of vehicle 1 can be carried out by storing driving routes 18 to be worked in control and evaluation unit 12, these driving routes 18 being generated externally or in control and evaluation unit 12 itself. If they are generated externally, external driving route signals 19 are then typically transmitted to evaluation and control unit 12 via remote data transfer. With consideration for position signals 10 of tractor 2 generated by GPS locating device 7, “steering signals” 20 are generated in control and evaluation unit 12 and are transmitted to steering system 17, so that vehicle 1 can be guided automatically on a defined driving route 18 in territory 5 to be worked. Systems of this type are referred to in general as track-following systems 48. It is within the scope of the present invention that position signals 10 of vehicle 1 can also be generated in territory 5 to be worked using optoelectrical locating devices 21, such as a laser scanner 22 which detects a crop edge 23. It is also within the framework of the present invention that vehicle 1 depicted as tractor 2 is any type of agricultural working machine, such as a combine harvester or any type of vehicle designed for non-agricultural applications, such as vehicles used in the construction industry.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of vehicle 1 designed as a tractor 2, and an enlarged depiction of inventive display unit 14. Shown at the left in FIG. 2 is ground drive 24 of tractor 2 with front wheels 26 steerably located on front axle 25 and rear wheels 28 mounted rigidly on rear axle 27. A steering angle sensor 30 used to detect steering angle 31 is assigned to steering wheel 29 of tractor 2 and/or steered front wheels 26 in a manner that is known per se and will therefore not be described in greater detail. Detected steering angle signals Z are transmitted to programming module 16 of control and evaluation unit 12 and simultaneously represent one of the inventive characteristic orientation parameters 32 of vehicle 1.

In addition, the geometries of tractor 2, e.g., wheel base 33, the maximum permissible steering angle and the minimum turning circle 34 associated therewith, are known, and are also stored in programming module 16 of control and evaluation unit 12 as a component of inventive characteristic orientation parameters 32. If vehicle 1 does not include steering angle sensors 30, it is within the scope of the present invention that the orientation of vehicle 1 can also be determined by determining the yaw rate and the associated ground speed vG of vehicle 1. In a further embodiment of the present invention, it can also be provided that characteristic orientation parameters 32—which will be described in greater detail below—can include orientation 35 of vehicle 1 and orientation 36 of driving route 18 to be traveled, which are also transmitted to control and evaluation unit 12.

According to the present invention, a virtual future driving track 37 is determined in programming module 16 based on available characteristic orientation parameters 32 of vehicle 1. Mathematical relationships known per se can thereby take all previously described characteristic orientation parameters 32 into account, or only a selection thereof. A model having a simple mathematical structure would result, e.g., when this virtual future driving track 37 would be determined based solely on steering angle 31 that was determined, and on vehicle geometry 33. The shape of virtual future driving track 37 that is determined will reflect the actual conditions that much more precisely the greater the number of characteristic orientation parameters 32 is that are taken into account in its determination.

Given, e.g., that smallest possible turning circle 34 of vehicle 1 is also taken into account, it can be ensured that programming module 16 does not generate virtual future driving tracks 37 that vehicle 1 cannot work for technical, design-related reasons. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, virtual future driving track 37 of vehicle 1 that is determined is visualized in a manner such that vehicle 1 designed as tractor 2 is first depicted in display unit 14, and virtual future driving track 37 that was determined is assigned to the front thereof, as viewed in direction of travel FR, so that operator 13 of tractor 2 is shown clearly which driving track 37 tractor 1 would move along if the currently valid characteristic orientation parameters 32 were maintained.

Programming module 16 of control and evaluation unit 12 can also be designed such that it determines virtual future driving track 37 continually depending on characteristic orientation parameters 32, i.e., it updates and displays its shape continually. In the simplest case, virtual future driving track 37 is visualized such that it is depicted as a guide line 38 with a radius of curvature R1 determined based on characteristic orientation parameters 32; radius of curvature R1 is influenced decisively by steering angle 31 or the yaw rate. A visualization that operator 13 of vehicle 2 can comprehend quickly is attained when virtual future driving track 37 is always assigned, as guide line 38, to the front of vehicle 2 as viewed in direction of travel FR and, in the simplest case, to the center, so that guide line 38 always extends ahead of vehicle 1 shown.

In FIG. 3, only display unit 14 of control and evaluation unit 12 is shown, for simplicity. A large number of driving routes 18 is first displayed in display unit 14, which were defined previously in a route planning system 39 that is integrated in control and evaluation unit 12 or is separate therefrom. Driving routes 18 can be designed straight, as shown, or they can be positioned in parallel with each other. It is also feasible, however, that driving routes 18 are designed curved in shape and are displaced relative to each other in a non-parallel manner. In addition, two different instantaneous positions of a tractor 2 are shown in display unit 14; inventive virtual future driving route 37 is assigned to the front of each of the symbolic depictions of the tractor. In the depiction shown at the left, virtual future driving route 37 extends nearly parallel with predefined driving route 18. In the other depiction, tractor 2 travels transversely to predefined driving routes 18; again, virtual future driving route 37 determined based on characteristic orientation parameters 32 is assigned to the front of the depiction of the tractor.

In a display structured in this manner, operator 13 can immediately see the deviation between predefined driving route 18 and virtual future driving route 37 that was determined, and he can carry out suitable steering measures to navigate vehicle 1 such that it reaches predefined driving route 18 once more, with a small amount of steering effort. In an agricultural application, a display principle of this type is of great help to operator 13 of an agricultural working machine in particular when vehicle 1 is located in header 40 and approaches the next predefined driving route 18 to be traveled. In this case, operator 13 can use the display directly as a navigation tool. A particularly effective navigation tool is provided when, in addition to virtual future driving route 37, driving route 49 for the smallest possible turning circle 34 is visualized in display unit 14.

Operator 13 of vehicle 1 can therefore make more efficient use of the manueverability of vehicle 1 as he navigates toward the next driving route 18. The display of driving route 49 that represents smallest possible turning circle 34 is significant in header 40 in particular, since operator 13 is provided with a means for estimating which of the closest driving routes 18 to be worked next can even be reached by vehicle 1 given its technical capabilities.

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of the structure of the display of inventive virtual future driving track 37, in a schematic depiction. A contoured driving route 18 composed of a curved line is shown. To describe driving route 18 mathematically, driving route 18 must first be subdivided into a large number of support points 41, then the instantaneous curvature 43 of driving route 18 is determined for contour section 42 located between adjacent support points 41. The definition of these curves 43 will describe the overall shape of driving route 18 that much better the more support points 41 there are and, therefore, the more contour sections 42 are formed on predefined driving route 17. In this manner, it is possible to also depict predefined driving route 18 such that curvature 43 of driving route 18 that occurs in a certain contour section 42 is displayable next to or on top of the actual contour of driving route 18 in display unit 14 of control and evaluation unit 12. A visualization structure that provides a particularly good overview results when track curvature 43 of a contour section 42 of driving route 18 visualized in display unit 14 corresponds to the instantaneous position of vehicle 1 on predefined driving route 18 (depiction A in FIG. 4).

The overview provided by the display can be improved even further by designing it such that the instantaneous position of vehicle 1 on driving route 18 in display unit 14 defines a foot 44 at which the visualization of track curvature 43 of particular contour section 42 starts and extends in direction of travel FR of vehicle 1 (depiction B in FIG. 4). A highly flexible use of inventive control and evaluation unit 12 results when determined curvatures 43 of driving routes 18 are stored in control and evaluation unit 12, e.g., in programming module 16, such that they can be edited and called up repeatedly. In this manner, track curvatures 43 that have already been determined can be used once more to depict parallel and identically contoured driving routes 18 or sections thereof, without the need to subdivide them once more into contour sections 42 and to calculate particular curvature 43. The flexibility of the system is increased further, e.g., by the fact that radii of curvature R2 of driving routes 18 that have been determined and stored can be edited using input unit 15, thereby giving operator 13 of vehicle 1 the option to change the shape of a driving route 18 immediately by entering radii of curvature R2.

Given that curvature 43 of a contour section 42 of predefined driving route 18 determined in this manner is calculated using a selection of or all of the characteristic orientation parameters 32 described above in the manner described for determining virtual future driving track 37, the result that is obtained is a target driving track 45 (depiction C in FIG. 4), which now takes the driving route-specific data and vehicle-specific data into account, thereby making it possible for particular vehicle 1 to work target driving track 45 determined in this manner more precisely, since it is better aligned with its technical capabilities. An improved overview is attained in this context when the display of predefined driving route 18 is suppressed when newly determined target driving track 45 is displayed.

According to the depiction D in FIG. 4, in a further advantageous embodiment, the visualization by display unit 14 can be designed such that target driving track 45 determined depending on characteristic orientation parameters 32 and virtual future driving track 37 determined with consideration for characteristic orientation parameters 32 are displayed together. A particularly advantageous embodiment also results in this case when the instantaneous position of vehicle 1, target driving track 45 that is determined, and virtual future driving track 37 of vehicle 1 are visualized together such that target driving track 45 and virtual future driving track 37 of vehicle 1 in direction of travel FR of vehicle 1 are assigned as curve sections 46, 47 to the instantaneous position of vehicle 1. In addition, the length with which curve sections 46, 47 and displayable track curvature 43 are shown in display unit 14 can be varied, e.g., by entering a length via input unit 15. It would also be feasible for the length that is displayed to be defined depending on ground speed. In this case, the length could represent, e.g., the length of a route that vehicle 1 will cover in a defined window of time, e.g., in the next 10 seconds.

It lies within the abilities of one skilled in the art to modify the method described and the associated device in a manner not shown or to use it in applications other than those described, in order to obtain the effects described, without leaving the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the type described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a method and device for displaying vehicle movements, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for visualizing a movement of a vehicle having at least one display unit which is coupled with a control and evaluation unit and at least one track-following system for guiding the vehicle along driving routes and coupled with the control and evaluation unit, the method comprising the steps of detecting by the control and evaluation unit at least one characteristic orientation parameter that describes an orientation of the vehicle; determining by the control and evaluation unit, with consideration for the at least one characteristic orientation parameter of the vehicle, a virtual future driving track of the vehicle; and visualizing the virtual future driving track in the at least one display unit.

2. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising including in the characteristic orientation parameter a parameter selected from the group consisting of a wheel base of the vehicle and a minimum turning circle of the vehicle, and an instantaneous steering angle.

3. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising including in the characteristic orientation parameter a parameter selected from the group consisting of a wheel base of the vehicle and a minimum turning circle of the vehicle, and a combination of a yaw rate and a ground speed of the vehicle.

4. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising including in the characteristic orientation parameter an orientation of the vehicle and an orientation of a driving route to be driven.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said determining and displaying includes determining the virtual future driving track and displaying the determined virtual future driving track continually.

6. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising changing a radius of curvature of the visualized virtual future driving track depending on a parameter selected from the group consisting of a steering angle and a yaw rate.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said displaying includes displaying the virtual future driving track such that a current position of the vehicle is visualized in the display unit, and the virtual future driving track extends ahead of the visualized current position of the vehicle in a direction of travel of the vehicle as a guide line of the visualized current position of the vehicle.

8. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising visualizing one or more driving routes of the track-following system and the virtual future driving track in the display which is a same display.

9. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising subdividing a driving route to be driven along the vehicle into a large number of virtual support points; determining a track curvature for a contour section of the driving route located between adjacent ones of the support ports; and visualizing it in the display unit.

10. A method as defined in claim 9; and further comprising displaying in the display unit an element selected from the group consisting of the driving route, the track curvature of the contour section, and both.

11. A method as defined in claim 10; and further comprising providing the track curvature of the contour section of the driving route visualized in the display unit so that it corresponds to an instantaneous position of the vehicle on the driving route.

12. A method as defined in claim 11; and further comprising defining by the instantaneous position of the vehicle on the driving route in the display unit a foot in which a visualization of the curvature of a particular contour section starts and extends in a direction of travel of the vehicle.

13. A method as defined in claim 9; and further comprising storing the determined curvature of the contour sections of the driving routes in an editable manner in the control and evaluation unit; and calling the stored determined curvatures up repeatedly.

14. A method as defined in claim 13; and further comprising modifying radii of curvature of the stored curvatures.

15. A method as defined in claim 7; and further comprising deriving a target driving track of the vehicle from the curvature that was determined and at least one characteristic orientation parameter of the vehicle.

16. A method as defined in claim 15; and further comprising visualizing the determined target driving track in the display unit, while simultaneously suppressing a display of a particular driving route.

17. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising visualizing a target driving track and the virtual future driving track of the vehicle on the display which is the same display.

18. A method as defined in claim 17; and further comprising visualizing together an instantaneous position of the vehicle, the target driving track that is determined and the virtual future driving track of the vehicle, such that the target driving track and the virtual future driving track of the vehicle in a direction of travel of the vehicle are assigned as curved sections to an instantaneous position of the vehicle.

19. A method as defined in claim 18; and further comprising providing a length of the visualized curve sections of the target driving track, the virtual future driving track, and a curvature of contour sections of driving routes so that they are selectable.

20. A method as defined in claim 1; and further comprising visualizing in the display unit a driving route capable of being traveled with a smallest possible turning circle.

21. A device for visualizing a movement of a vehicle, comprising a display unit; a control and evaluation unit coupled with said display unit; at least one track-following system for guiding the vehicle along driving routes and coupled with said control and evaluation unit, said control and evaluation unit being configured so as to visualize in the display unit at least one element selected from the group consisting of a virtual future driving track of the vehicle, a target driving track of the vehicle, a curvature of a driving route, and a combination thereof, with consideration of at least one characteristic orientation parameter of the vehicle.