Construction machine with rotor load monitoring
AssigneeCaterpillar Paving Products Inc.
InventorBrian J. Schlenker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine for road work for road work, the machine can comprise: a frame, a drive system including a power source carried by the frame, a milling system driven by the power source and a controller. The milling system can comprise: a rotor configured to rotate and remove an amount of material from a working area; a drive member coupling the rotor to be driven by the power source; a tensioner assembly configured to tension the drive member; and a sensor configured to measure the tension of the drive member. The controller can be configured to, in response to a signal received from the sensor, determine if the rotor has encountered an object capable of damaging the rotor.
Claims19
A machine for road work, the machine comprising:
- a frame;
- a drive system including a power source carried by the frame;
- a milling system driven by the power source, the milling system comprising:
- a rotor configured to rotate and remove an amount of material from a working area;
- a drive member coupling the rotor to be driven by the power source;
- a tensioner assembly configured to tension the drive member, wherein tensioner assembly includes a hydraulic cylinder;
- and
- an electronic sensor configured to measure the tension of the drive member by sensing a pressure of the hydraulic cylinder, wherein the electronic sensor transmits an electronic signal indicative of the pressure;
- and
- an electronic control module configured to, in response to the electronic signal received from the electronic sensor, perform an analysis of the electronic signal and determine if the rotor has encountered an object capable of damaging the rotor.
A method of monitoring a rotor of a milling machine, the method comprising:
- providing a drive member coupling the rotor to be driven by a drive system of the milling machine;
- electronically sensing a pressure of a hydraulic cylinder indicative of a tension of the drive member;
- transmitting an electronic signal indicative of the pressure to an electronic control module;
- and
- determining, via analysis on the electronic signal by the electronic control module, if the rotor has encountered an object capable of damaging the rotor.
A system comprising:
- a frame;
- a drive system including a power source;
- a milling system driven by the power source, the milling system comprising:
- a rotor configured to rotate and remove an amount of material from a working area;
- a belt configured to couple the rotor to be driven by the power source;
- and
- a first electronic sensor configured to measure a pressure of a hydraulic cylinder tensioning the belt, wherein the electronic sensor transmits an electronic signal indicative of the pressure:
- and
- an electronic control module configured to, in response to the electronic signal received from the first electronic sensor, perform an analysis of the electronic signal and determine if the rotor has encountered an object capable of damaging the rotor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.