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US 2016/0237630 A1Published application
System and Method for Determining a State of Compaction
AssigneeCaterpillar Paving Products Inc.
InventorBenjamin Aho
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for determining a state of compaction of a work material includes a roller, a speed sensor, a pitch angle sensor, and a power loss sensor. A controller determines a three-dimensional hard earth power map based upon the speed and pitch angle of the machine and the power loss and also determines a soft earth calibration factor based upon the speed and pitch angle of the machine and the power loss. The controller determines the state of compaction of the work material based upon the speed and pitch angle of the machine, the three-dimensional hard earth power map, and the soft earth calibration factor as the machine moves along the work material.
Claims20
A system for determining a state of compaction of a work material during a compaction operation, comprising:
- a roller associated with a machine and configured to engage and compact the work material;
- a speed sensor associated with the machine operative to determine a speed of the machine;
- a pitch angle sensor associated with the machine operative to determine a pitch angle of the machine;
- a power loss sensor associated with the machine operative to determine a power loss of the machine;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- determine a plurality of hard earth calibration data points based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, and the power loss of the machine as the machine moves along a hard earth calibration surface, the plurality of hard earth calibration data points corresponding to a plurality of different speeds and a plurality of different pitch angles;
- determine a three-dimensional hard earth power map based upon the plurality of hard earth calibration data points;
- determine at least one soft earth calibration data point based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, and the power loss of the machine as the machine moves along a soft earth calibration surface;
- determine a soft earth calibration factor based upon the at least one soft earth calibration data point;
- and
- determine the state of compaction of the work material based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, the three-dimensional hard earth power map, and the soft earth calibration factor as the machine moves along the work material.
9 more elements
A controller-implemented method for determining a state of compaction of a work material during a compaction operation, comprising:
- moving a machine along a along a hard earth calibration surface at plurality of different speeds and a plurality of different pitch angles;
- determining a plurality of hard earth calibration data points based upon a speed of the machine, a pitch angle of the machine, and a power loss of the machine as the machine moves along the hard earth calibration surface, the plurality of hard earth calibration data points corresponding to the plurality of different speeds and the plurality of different pitch angles;
- determining a three-dimensional hard earth power map based upon the plurality of hard earth calibration data points;
- moving the machine along a soft earth calibration surface;
- determining at least one soft earth calibration data point based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, and the power loss of the machine as the machine moves along a soft earth calibration surface;
- determining a soft earth calibration factor based upon the at least one soft earth calibration data point;
- and
- moving the machine along the work material;
- determining the state of compaction of the work material based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, the three-dimensional hard earth power map, and the soft earth calibration factor as the machine moves along the work material.
6 more elements
A machine comprising:
- a prime mover;
- a roller associated with a machine and configured to engage and compact a work material;
- a speed sensor associated with the machine operative to determine a speed of the machine;
- a pitch angle sensor associated with the machine operative to determine a pitch angle of the machine;
- a power loss sensor associated with the machine operative to determine a power loss of the machine;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- determine a plurality of hard earth calibration data points based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, and the power loss of the machine as the machine moves along a hard earth calibration surface, the plurality of hard earth calibration data points corresponding to a plurality of different speeds and a plurality of different pitch angles;
- determine a three-dimensional hard earth power map based upon the plurality of hard earth calibration data points;
- determine at least one soft earth calibration data point based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, and the power loss of the machine as the machine moves along a soft earth calibration surface;
- determine a soft earth calibration factor based upon the at least one soft earth calibration data point;
- and
- determine a state of compaction of the work material based upon the speed of the machine, the pitch angle of the machine, the three-dimensional hard earth power map, and the soft earth calibration factor as the machine moves along the work material.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.