US 12,729,514 B2Granted

System and method of bulldozer six-way blade swing angle estimation

AssigneeHoneywell Aerospace US LLC

InventorsZhizhen Shen, Xiao Cao, Yanling Min

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Abstract

Parameters of a six-way blade coupled to a vehicle are determined based on attitude measurements determined from a plurality of inertial sensors coupled to the vehicle. The vehicle can be a bulldozer. The parameters of the six-way blade can include the swing angle of the blade with respect to an attachment member that couples the blade to the vehicle body, as well as the relative heading of the blade with respect to the heading of the vehicle body.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A system, comprising:

a vehicle comprising a body, a blade, and an attachment member that couples the blade to the body, wherein the attachment member is configured for lift movement, wherein the lift movement is defined as a rotation along a horizontal axis with respect to the body, wherein the blade is configured for swing movement, wherein the swing movement is defined as a rotation along an axis orthogonal to an axis of the lift movement with respect to the attachment member;
and
a plurality of sensors mounted on the vehicle,
wherein at least one first sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to determine attitude measurements of the blade with respect to an inertial reference frame,
wherein at least one second sensor of the plurality of sensors is configured to determine attitude measurements of the attachment member with respect to the inertial reference frame, and
at least one processor coupled to or integrated in the at least one first sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine at least one parameter of the blade based on the attitude measurements of the blade and the attitude measurements of the attachment member, wherein the at least one parameter includes a swing angle of the blade relative to the attachment member;
wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the swing angle of the blade based on the equation:
T
=
sin
⁡
(
θ
3
)
/
(
cos
⁡
(
Φ
2
)
2
*
sin
⁡
(
Φ
2
)
2
+
sin
⁡
(
θ
2
)
2
)
1
/
2
where θ2 represents a pitch angle of the attachment member, Φ2 represents a roll angle of the attachment member, and θ3 represents a pitch angle of the blade, and wherein the blade is configured to be moved based on the determined swing angle of the blade.

42 more elements

A method for determining parameters of a blade attached to a vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes a body and an attachment member that couples the blade to the body, wherein movement of the blade is defined orthogonal to an axis of motion with respect to the attachment member, wherein the attachment member is configured for lift movement, wherein the lift movement is defined as a rotation along a horizontal axis with respect to the body, wherein the blade is configured for swing movement, wherein the swing movement is defined as a rotation along an axis orthogonal to an axis of the lift movement with respect to the attachment member, the method comprising:

determining attitude measurements of the blade with respect to an inertial reference frame;
determining attitude measurements of the attachment member with respect to the inertial reference frame;
and
determining a swing angle of the blade with respect to the attachment member based on the attitude measurements of the blade and the attitude measurements of the attachment member;
wherein the swing angle of the blade is determined based on the equation:
T
=
sin
⁡
(
θ
3
)
(
cos
⁡
(
ϕ
2
)
2
*
sin
⁡
(
ϕ
2
)
2
+
sin
⁡
(
θ
2
)
2
)
1
/
2
where θ2 represents a pitch angle of the attachment member, Φ2 represents a roll angle of the attachment member, and θ3 represents a pitch angle of the blade, and wherein the blade is configured to be moved based on the determined swing angle of the blade.

39 more elements

A sensor system configured to be coupled to a vehicle, the vehicle comprising a body, a blade, and an attachment member that couples the blade to the body, the sensor system comprising:

at least one first sensor, wherein the at least one first sensor is configured to determine first attitude measurements of the blade, wherein the first attitude measurements are determined with respect to an inertial reference frame, wherein the first attitude measurements include an attitude of the blade corresponding to horizontal rotation of the blade defined orthogonal to an axis of the attachment member,
at least one second sensor, wherein the at least one second sensor is configured to determine second attitude measurements of the attachment member, wherein the second attitude measurements are determined with respect to the inertial reference frame, wherein the second attitude measurements include an attitude of the attachment member corresponding to vertical rotation of the attachment member defined orthogonal to an axis of the body,
at least one processor coupled to, or integrated in, the at least one first sensor and the at least one second sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine a swing angle of the blade relative to the attachment member based on the first attitude measurements and the second attitude measurements;
wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine the swing angle of the blade based on the equation:
T
=
sin
⁡
(
θ
3
)
/
(
cos
⁡
(
Φ
2
)
2
*
sin
⁡
(
Φ
2
)
2
+
sin
⁡
(
θ
2
)
2
)
1
/
2
where θ2 represents a pitch angle of the attachment member, Φ2 represents a roll angle of the attachment member, and θ3 represents a pitch angle of the blade, and wherein the blade is configured to be moved based on the determined swing angle of the blade.

39 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

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Abstract