Patent ID: 9612597
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: G01D,G01P,G05D

Claim:
1. An apparatus for controlling operation of an autonomously navigating utility vehicle adapted to run a working area defined by a laid boundary wire autonomously to perform working, comprising: a pair of magnetic sensors installed on either sides of the vehicle at positions laterally symmetrical with respect to a straight forward direction center line of the vehicle to produce outputs indicating intensity of magnetic field of the boundary wire; an angular velocity sensor adapted to produce an output indicating angular velocity around a vertical axis of the vehicle, when the vehicle turns, whose time-integrated value indicates a turn angle around the vertical axis; and a controller that controls operation of the vehicle; wherein the controller controls the vehicle to move to a prescribed position at which an angle of the straight forward direction center line relative to a direction of the laid wire becomes a reference angle based on the outputs of the magnetic sensors, and to turn by a predetermined angle, and calibrates the output of the angular velocity sensor by the outputs of the angular velocity sensor obtained at the turning.