Distributed and autonomous control system for guided-path vehicles

Number: 10357721
Published: 2019-07-23
Filed: 2017-06-28
Assignee: DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
Inventors: Bloemsma; Allan, Willcox; William
CPC: A63G7/00; A63G21/04; A63G21/06; G05D1/00
Verdict: High Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Distributed autonomous control system guided-path vehicles grant.

Abstract

A ride control system that uses a state determination assembly to determine vehicle position and speed of the vehicle. The control system automatically prevents collisions between the controlled vehicle and other vehicles and obstacles along the vehicle's path without human operator intervention based on its position and speed as well as that of the other vehicles and the position and current operating state of upcoming obstacles. The control system automatically maintains a predetermined clearance between the controlled vehicle and other vehicles and obstacles, such as on a ride path, without human operator intervention regardless of vehicle inertia. The control system may be configured to automatically position and/or park a vehicle anywhere along the ride path with a high degree of accuracy in a minimum amount of parking time, without human operator intervention, and regardless of vehicle inertia.

Background

BACKGROUND1. Field of the Description(1) The present description relates, in general, to controlling guided-path vehicles or vessels such as those that travel upon or are coupled to a track. More particularly, the present description relates to a new control system and associated control method for use in effectively and safely controlling vehicles to avoid vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-obstacle collisions. The control system and method are particularly well-suited for use in amusement and theme parks to control speed and position of vehicles such as those taking the form of water craft or vessels guided through a body of water via coupling to a guide track. The vehicles (which include water vessels such as semi-submersibles and surface craft) are all considered “guided-path vehicles,” whether they ride directly on a track or are guided to follow a path defined by a track or the like.2. Relevant Background(2) There are numerous applications where it is desirable to provide effective and accurate control over vehicles designed to travel on a path in a guided manner. For example, amusement and theme parks often include multiple rides that include passenger vehicles that travel upon tracks or that are guided using a track or similar guide path structure through a space. These ride vehicles often include onboard drive systems to move the vehicles along the track-based path with an onboard operator providing input to cause the vehicle to accelerate and brake along the path and

Claims

1. A park ride with distributed and autonomous control of vehicles, comprising: a ride path; a plurality of vehicles each constrained to move along the ride path and each including a drive system for moving the vehicle at a speed within a range of speeds; and a control assembly provided on each of the vehicles, wherein each of the control assemblies includes: a transceiver transmitting messages with state data for a sending one of the vehicles to other ones of the vehicles and for receiving messages with the state data from the other ones of the vehicles, a distance determination module processing the state data for the sending one of the vehicles and the state data from at least one of the other ones of the vehicles to determine a distance between the sending one of the vehicles and the at least one of the other ones of the vehicles, a control module generating a drive control signal for the drive system, based on the distance, that modifies the speed of the sending one of the vehicles, and a state determination mechanism operating to determine a speed and an acceleration of the sending one of the vehicles, wherein the state data includes the speed and the acceleration of the sending one of the vehicles, and wherein the control module generates the drive control signal based on the speed and the acceleration of the sending one of the vehicles. | 7. A park ride with distributed and autonomous control of vehicles, comprising: a ride path; a plurality of vehicles each constrained to move along the ride path and each including a drive system for moving the vehicle at a speed within a range of speeds; a control assembly provided on each of the vehicles, wherein each of the control assemblies includes: a transceiver transmitting messages with state data for a sending one of the vehicles to other ones of the vehicles and for receiving messages with the state data from the other ones of the vehicles, a distance determination module processing the state data for the sending one of the vehicles and the state data from at least one of the other ones of the vehicles to determine a distance between the sending one of the vehicles and the at least one of the other ones of the vehicles, and a control module generating a drive control signal for the drive system, based on the distance, that modifies the speed of the sending one of the vehicles; and an obstacle with a state change mechanism and an obstacle control assembly, wherein the obstacle control assembly operates to communicate obstacle state data to the vehicles that includes a position of the obstacle and an operating state of the obstacle, operates to determine a distance between the obstacle and at least one of the vehicles, and operates the state change mechanism based on the determined distance to modify the operating state of the obstacle. | 10. A vehicle control method, comprising: determining a state of a first vehicle and a state of a second vehicle, wherein the first and second vehicles are constrained to travel along a ride path, wherein the state of the first vehicle comprises a current location of the first vehicle, and wherein the state of the second vehicle comprises a current location of the second vehicle; transmitting a message with the state of the second vehicle to the first vehicle; receiving the message at the first vehicle; at the first vehicle, processing the message to identify the current location of the second vehicle and to determine a distance between the first and second vehicles based on the current locations of the first and second vehicles; and based on the distance, modifying operations of a drive system of the first vehicle. | 15. A vehicle control method, comprising: determining a state of a first vehicle and a state of a second vehicle, wherein the first and second vehicles are constrained to travel along a ride path, wherein the state of the first vehicle comprises a current location of the first vehicle, and wherein the state of the second vehicle comprises a current location of the second vehicle; transmitting a message with the state of the second vehicle to the first vehicle; receiving the message at the first vehicle; at the first vehicle, processing the message to identify the current location of the second vehicle and to determine a distance between the first and second vehicles based on the current locations of the first and second vehicles; based on the distance, modifying operations of a drive system of the first vehicle; and receiving at the first vehicle a message from an obstacle on the ride path, processing the message from the obstacle to determine a location of the obstacle and an operating state of the obstacle, determining a distance between the obstacle and the first vehicle based on the locations of the obstacle and the first vehicle, and based on the distance between the obstacle and the first vehicle and the operating state of the obstacle modifying operations of the drive system of the first vehicle. | 16. A ride with distributed control of vehicles, comprising: a first vehicle; and a second vehicle, wherein the first and second vehicles each includes a drive system and a control assembly, wherein each of the control assemblies includes: a transceiver transmitting messages with state data for a sending one of the first and second vehicles and for receiving messages with the state data from the other one of the first and second vehicles, a distance determination module processing the state data for the sending one of the first and second vehicles and the state data from at least one of the other one of the first and second vehicles to determine a distance between the first and second vehicles, and a control module generating a drive control signal for the drive system, based on the distance, that controls a speed of the sending one of the first and second vehicles, wherein the state data includes a position of the sending one of the vehicles, wherein the control assembly further includes a state determination mechanism determining the position, and wherein the drive control signal is further generated by the control module based on parameters of the vehicle and parameters of the drive system. | 19. A ride with distributed control of vehicles, comprising: a first vehicle; a second vehicle, wherein the first and second vehicles each includes a drive system and a control assembly, wherein each of the control assemblies includes: a transceiver transmitting messages with state data for a sending one of the first and second vehicles and for receiving messages with the state data from the other one of the first and second vehicles, a distance determination module processing the state data for the sending one of the first and second vehicles and the state data from at least one of the other one of the first and second vehicles to determine a distance between the first and second vehicles, and a control module generating a drive control signal for the drive system, based on the distance, that controls a speed of the sending one of the first and second vehicles, wherein the state data includes a position of the sending one of the vehicles, and wherein the control assembly further includes a state determination mechanism determining the position; and an obstacle with a state change mechanism and an obstacle control assembly, wherein the obstacle control assembly operates to communicate obstacle state data to the first and second vehicles that includes a position of the obstacle and an operating state of the obstacle, operates to determine a distance between the obstacle and at least one of the first and second vehicles, and operates the state change mechanism based on the determined distance to modify the operating state of the obstacle.