Systems and methods for spray bar control in paving machine
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsChad M. Thiesse, Andrea Fontana
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for spraying control in a paving machine comprise a screed system having an adjustable width, a position sensor configured to sense widths of the screed system, a spray bar having adjustable positions, a spray bar actuator to adjust positions of the spray bar, a spray bar sensor to sense positions of the spray bar, and a controller coupled to the position sensor, spray bar actuator and spray bar sensor that is configured to adjust the spray bar actuator depending on the sensed width. The spray bar sensor and actuator can be integrated together.
Claims20
A system for controlling spray width in a paving machine, the system comprising:
- a screed system having an adjustable width;
- a first position sensor configured to sense a first width of the screed system;
- a first spray bar having a position that is adjustable;
- a plurality of spray nozzles mounted to the first spray bar;
- a first spray bar actuator configured to adjust the position of the first spray bar;
- and
- a controller electronically coupled to the first position sensor and the first spray bar actuator, the controller configured to:
- adjust the first spray bar actuator depending on the first width sensed by the first position sensor;
- and
- operate the spray nozzles to control a spray coverage of liquid sprayed by the spray nozzles over the first width.
A spray system for a paving machine, the spray system comprising:
- a spray bar;
- a mount connected to the spray bar for coupling the spray bar to the paving machine;
- a plurality of spray nozzles coupled to the spray bar;
- an actuator coupled to the spray bar, wherein the actuator includes a position sensor to sense a position of the actuator;
- and
- a controller configured to determine an orientation of the spray bar relative to the mount and a number of spray nozzles of the plurality of spray nozzles that should be activated based on output of the position sensor during a paving operation, wherein fewer spray nozzles of the plurality of spray nozzles are activated as a distance the spray bar extends away from the paving machine decreases.
A method for spraying a coating during a paving machine operation, the method comprising:
- sensing a paving width of a screed system during the paving machine operation;
- determining a position of a spray bar from a position sensor attached to the spray bar;
- adjusting an actuator incorporating the position sensor and coupled to the spray bar to change the position of the spray bar to adjust to the paving width;
- and
- calculating a spray width for the spray bar based on the paving width, wherein the spray width is determined by adjusting a spray bar width and adjusting a total number of spray nozzles to be activated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.