Machine controls for trailer loading/unloading

A control device for an excavator, the excavator including a lower traveling structure, an upper turning structure turnably mounted on the lower traveling structure, a sensor configured to recognize an object in a three-dimensional space around the excavator, and an attachment mounted on the upper turning structure, the control device comprising:

• a processing circuitry configured to, upon receipt of a predetermined command from a predetermined external device, perform a control of automatically causing the lower traveling structure to travel either toward a bed of a trailer or from the bed to a rear area of the trailer,
• wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to transmit a command to the external device, the command requesting the external device to display, in a form of a plurality of steps, a plurality of icons including respective texts corresponding to a plurality of different operations that are performed during the control of automatically causing the lower traveling structure to travel, and to indicate, with a cursor, one of the plurality of different operations that is currently in execution,
• the plurality of different operations include
• determining whether a ramp plate is installed at a rear of the trailer,
• determining, while the excavator is not on the ramp plate, whether a horizontal level of the ramp plate extending from the rear of the trailer onto ground satisfies a predetermined standard, based on an output of the sensor, and
• starting automatically causing the lower traveling structure to travel either toward the bed of the trailer or from the bed to the rear area of the trailer, in response to determining that the ramp plate is installed at the rear of the trailer and that the horizontal level of the ramp plate satisfies the predetermined standard,
• the texts corresponding to the plurality of different operations include a text indicating an operation of said determining, while the excavator is not on the ramp plate, whether the horizontal level of the ramp plate extending from the rear of the trailer onto the ground satisfies the predetermined standard, based on the output of the sensor, and
• the command further requests the external device to display an operation area for transmitting the predetermined command to the control device separately from an operation status information area in which the plurality of icons, the texts, and the cursor are displayed, the operation area including an upward arrow icon, a downward arrow icon, and directional information in text form indicating that the upward arrow icon indicates a direction toward the trailer, the upward arrow icon being configured to be operated to transmit the predetermined command to cause the processing circuitry to perform the control of automatically causing the lower traveling structure to travel toward the bed of the trailer, the downward arrow icon being configured to be operated to transmit the predetermined command to cause the processing circuitry to perform the control of automatically causing the lower traveling structure to travel toward the rear area of the trailer.