US 12,242,276 B2
Autonomous vehicle with a sensor device
Till Schulte-Rebbelmund, Augsburg (DE); and Markus Wuensch, Augsburg (DE)
Assigned to KUKA Deutschland GmbH, (DE)
Appl. No. 17/433,419
Filed by KUKA Deutschland GmbH, Augsburg (DE)
PCT Filed Feb. 4, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/052715
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 24, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/173673, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 3, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2019 202 511.0 (DE), filed on Feb. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0137635 A1, May 5, 2022
Int. Cl. G05D 1/02 (2020.01); G01S 17/86 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC G05D 1/0238 (2013.01) [G01S 17/86 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An autonomous vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle body having a receiving device designed to receive, on the vehicle body, an object to be transported;
a chassis supporting the vehicle body and having at least one driven wheel;
at least one sensor device, the sensor device having a detection region surrounding the autonomous vehicle for detecting obstacles that enter the detection region of the sensor device in the immediate surroundings of the autonomous vehicle; and
a joint arrangement designed to adjust the sensor device in relation to the vehicle body in such a way that the sensor device is selectively operable in:
a first arrangement which monitors the basic peripheral contour of the vehicle body, and
at least one second arrangement which monitors a total peripheral contour comprising the basic peripheral contour and an expansion contour of the autonomous vehicle that is formed when the object to be transported is received on the autonomous vehicle;
wherein, in the second arrangement, the sensor device is repositioned relative to the first arrangement in such a way that the object received on the autonomous vehicle is encompassed by an outwardly detecting detection region of the sensor device surrounding the total peripheral contour completely.