System and method for active vibration cancellation for use in a snow plow
OwnerMichael G D'Andrea, John Cronininventors
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Abstract
A system of actively introducing opposite phase vibrations to reduce or cancel vibrations caused by operating a snow plow and a method of actively introducing such opposite phase vibrations.
Claims21
A system mounted on a snow plow including a vehicle, a moldboard, and a frame interconnecting the moldboard to the vehicle for substantially negating the transmission of vibrations from the moldboard to said vehicle, the system including:
- at least one vibration sensor adapted to sense the magnitude of vibrations of said moldboard;
- a vibration inducing assembly adapted to impart vibrations at a location in said snow plow;
- a controller operationally connected to said at least one vibration sensor and configured to monitor the magnitude of vibrations of said moldboard as sensed by said at least one vibration sensor, programmed with a calculation of the time interval for a vibration to travel from said at least one sensor through said plow to said location, operationally connected to said vibration inducing assembly, and configured to provide opposite phase vibration instructions to said vibration inducing assembly in response to the magnitude of vibrations monitored, wherein the instructions are based at least in part on said calculation and wherein said vibration inducing assembly is configured to impart vibrations at said location in said snow plow in accordance with the instructions.
A method of inducing active vibration cancellation in a snow plow including a vehicle and a plow assembly, said plow assembly moveable between an upper position and a lower position where said plow assembly is positioned so as to function in displacing frozen water, the method comprising:
- monitoring a magnitude of vibrations of said plow assembly in both a lateral direction and a forward-rearward direction as said vehicle moves and when said plow assembly is in the lower position and is displacing frozen water;
- and
- in response to the monitored magnitude of plow assembly vibrations, inducing vibrations in said plow assembly that substantially cancel the monitored plow assembly vibrations.
A method of inducing active vibration cancellation in a snow plow including a vehicle and a plow assembly, said plow assembly moveable between an upper position and a lower position where said plow assembly is positioned so as to function in displacing frozen water, the method comprising:
- mounting at least one vibration sensor on said plow assembly at a sensor position, said at least one vibration sensor adapted to sense the magnitude of vibrations in a substantially vertical direction, a substantially horizontal direction, and a substantially fore-aft direction;
- selecting a vibration inducing position in said plow assembly;
- determining a time duration of propagation of a vibration from said sensor position through said plow assembly to said vibration inducing position;
- monitoring a magnitude of vibrations sensed by said at least one vibration sensor in at least one of said directions as said vehicle moves;
- and
- in response to the monitored magnitude of vibrations, inducing vibrations in said plow assembly at said vibration inducing position of a substantially equal and opposite magnitude to said monitored magnitude after a time delay substantially equal to the determined propagation time duration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.