US 12,360,538 B1Granted

Operations of articulating boom assemblies

AssigneeAltec Industries, Inc.

InventorsTimothy J. Mourlam, Michael A. Fleming, JD Casias, Aaron B. Beck, Jonathan Westin Sykes

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Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for improved control of articulating boom assemblies are disclosed herein. Automated functions, such as auto ground and auto stow functions, may be provided to automatically move an articulating boom assembly to the desired position. When an automated function is requested, a series of waypoints may be generated, and the boom assembly may move a boom tip thereof through each of the series of waypoints. Using the machine geometry of the boom assembly and the pose of the boom assembly when the automated function is requested may enable the waypoints to be determined. The automated functions may enable the boom assembly to be moved faster than when manually operated and also eliminates the need for the operator to provide a series of complex inputs required to move each joint of the articulating boom assembly to reach the desired position.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A method for automatically moving an articulating boom assembly, the articulating boom assembly comprising an upper boom coupled to a lower boom at a first end and coupled to a boom tip at a second end, comprising:

receiving, via an input device located proximate a base of the articulating boom assembly, user input indicative of an end position for the boom tip,
wherein the input device comprises a first input for commanding a first predefined end position and a second input for commanding a second predefined end position,
wherein the first predefined end position is a ground position of the articulating boom assembly and the second predefined end position is a stowed position of the articulating boom assembly,
wherein at least one of the first input or the second input is a momentary input, and
wherein the end position is one of the first predefined end position or the second predefined end position;
determining, based on the user input, a first coordinate location of the end position;
generating a flight path from a second coordinate location of a starting position of the boom tip to the end position,
wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of coordinate waypoints between the first coordinate location and the second coordinate location;
automatically moving the articulating boom assembly to move the boom tip through each of the plurality of coordinate waypoints to the end position;
and
responsive to reaching one of the end position or a predefined distance to the end position, stopping motion of the articulating boom assembly.

8 more elements

A system for automatically moving a boom assembly, comprising:

a boom assembly base supporting the boom assembly, the boom assembly comprising at least one boom section;
at least one boom component,
wherein the at least one boom component comprises at least one of a boom tip, a jib tip, or a joint of the boom assembly;
at least one processor;
and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to carry out actions, comprising:
receiving, via an input device located proximate the boom assembly base, user input indicative of an end position of the at least one boom component,
wherein the input device comprises a first input for commanding a first predefined end position and a second input for commanding a second predefined end position,
wherein the first predefined end position is a ground position of the boom assembly and the second predefined end position is a stowed position of the boom assembly,
wherein at least one of the first input or the second input is a momentary input, and
wherein the end position is one of the first predefined end position or the second predefined end position;
generating a flight path from a start position of the at least one boom component to the end position,
wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints between the start position and the end position;
automatically moving the boom assembly through the flight path;
and
when the at least one boom component reaches the end position, stopping movement of the boom assembly.

13 more elements

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method of automatically moving a boom assembly, comprising:

receiving, via an input device located proximate a base of the boom assembly, user input indicative of an end position for a boom tip of the boom assembly,
wherein the input device comprises a first input for commanding a first predefined end position and a second input for commanding a second predefined end position,
wherein the first predefined end position is a ground position of the boom assembly and the second predefined end position is a stowed position of the boom assembly,
wherein at least one of the first input or the second input is a momentary input, and
wherein the end position is one of the first predefined end position or the second predefined end position,
wherein the boom assembly comprises a lower boom coupled to an upper boom at a first end of the upper boom,
wherein the boom tip is coupled to a second end of the upper boom;
responsive to receiving the user input, determining a flight path for the boom tip from a start position of the boom tip to the end position,
wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints between the start position and the end position;
automatically moving the boom assembly to thereby move the boom tip through each of the plurality of waypoints and to the end position;
and
when the boom tip reaches the end position, stopping further movement of the boom assembly.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.