Material tracking for milling machines
AssigneeCaterpillar Paving Products Inc.
InventorColton J. Hirman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A milling machine includes a cutting rotor, a foldable conveyor, a sensor, and a controller. The cutting rotor is configured to mill material beneath the milling machine. The foldable conveyor is configured to receive and dispose the milled material and includes a first section and a second section foldable with respect to the first section at a fold structure. The sensor is positioned on the milling machine and configured to sense a value indicative of a force acting on the second section. The controller is configured to determine an amount of the milled material within the second section of the foldable conveyor using the value indicative of the force.
Claims19
A method for tracking an amount of milled material for a milling machine, the method comprising:
- milling paving material using a cutting rotor of the milling machine to form the milled material;
- providing the milled material to a foldable conveyor of the milling machine, the foldable conveyor comprising a first section and a second section foldable with respect to the first section at a fold structure that forms a pivoting joint between the first section and the second section;
- sensing, via a sensor positioned at the fold structure, a value indicative of a force acting on the second section of the foldable conveyor;
- and
- determining, via a controller, the amount of the milled material using the value indicative of the force acting on the second section.
A system for tracking a load for a milling machine, the system comprising:
- a sensor, wherein the milling machine comprises a foldable conveyor that comprises a first section and a second section foldable with respect to the first section at a fold structure, and wherein the sensor is positioned on the fold structure and is configured to sense a value indicative of a force acting on the second section;
- and
- a controller configured to determine an amount of material within the foldable conveyor using the value indicative of the force acting on the second section while the milling machine is milling the material.
A milling machine comprising:
- a cutting rotor configured to mill material beneath the milling machine;
- a foldable conveyor configured to receive and dispose the milled material, the foldable conveyor comprising a first section and a second section foldable with respect to the first section at a fold structure, wherein the fold structure comprises one or more links connected between the first section and the second section;
- a sensor positioned on the fold structure to sense a force on the one or more links and configured to sense a value indicative of a force acting on the second section;
- and
- a controller configured to determine an amount of the milled material within the second section of the foldable conveyor using the value indicative of the force.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.