Slope compensation system for rotary drill machines

A method of compensating for a slope of a work surface on which a machine is disposed while drilling holes in the work surface with a rotary drill mechanism operatively associated with a leveling system, the rotary drill mechanism defining a bit projection, the method comprising:

• accessing characteristics of the machine, the characteristics including a position of a machine reference relative to the rotary drill mechanism, the leveling system, and a position sensor;
• accessing coordinates of a desired map drill hole;
• determining current coordinates of the machine reference based upon position signals from the position sensor;
• determining a current slope of the machine based upon slope signals from a slope sensor;
• determining a dynamic offset to compensate for movement of the rotary drill mechanism upon operation of the leveling system, the dynamic offset defining a shift of an intersection of the bit projection with the work surface from a
• transport target location to a second location that intersects with the desired map drill hole, the transport target location being offset from the second location, and the dynamic offset being based upon the characteristics of the machine and the current slope of the machine;
• generating a drive command to propel the machine and move the machine reference to a position at which the bit projection intersects with the transport target location;
• and
• generating a leveling command to operate the leveling system to move the machine to a desired orientation at which the bit projection intersects with the desired map drill hole.

A machine comprising:

• a ground engaging drive mechanism operatively connected to the machine and configured to propel the machine about a work site;
• a leveling system operatively connected to the machine and configured to move the machine to a desired orientation;
• a rotary drill mechanism operatively connected to the leveling system and configured to drill holes in a work surface, the rotary drill mechanism defining a bit projection;
• a position sensor operatively associated with the machine and configured to generate position signals indicative of a position of the machine;
• a slope sensor operatively associated with the machine and configured to generate slope signals indicative of a slope of the work surface adjacent the machine;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• access characteristics of the machine, the characteristics including a position of a machine reference relative to the rotary drill mechanism, the leveling system, and the position sensor;
• access coordinates of a desired map drill hole;
• determine current coordinates of the machine reference based upon the position signals from the position sensor;
• determine a current slope of the machine based upon the slope signals from the slope sensor;
• determine a dynamic offset to compensate for movement of the rotary drill mechanism upon operation of the leveling system, the dynamic offset defining a shift of an intersection of the bit projection with the work surface from a transport target location to a second location that intersects with the desired map drill hole, the transport target location being offset from the second location, and the dynamic offset being based upon the characteristics of the machine and the current slope of the machine;
• generate a drive command to propel the machine and move the machine reference to a position at which the bit projection intersects with the transport target location;
• and
• generate a leveling command to operate the leveling system to move the machine to the desired orientation at which the bit projection intersects with the desired map drill hole.