Apparatus and method for determing a condition of a road
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorPaul T. Corcoran
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method to determine a condition of a road traversed by at least one load hauling machine including at least one parameter sensor adapted to sense a parameter of the load hauling machine and responsively deliver a parameter signal, and a control system adapted to monitor a condition of a plurality of tires and responsively generate a calibration signal.
Claims21
An apparatus for determining a condition of a road traversed by at least one load hauling machine having a plurality of tires in contact with said road, comprising:
- at least one parameter sensor connected to said load hauling machine, said at least one parameter sensor being adapted to sense a parameter of said load hauling machine and responsively deliver a parameter signal;
- and
- a control system connected to said load hauling machine, said control system being adapted to monitor a condition of said tires and responsively generate a calibration signal, and to receive said parameter signal and determine a condition of said road in response to said parameter signal and said calibration signal.
A method for determining a condition of a road traversed by at least one load hauling machine having a plurality of tires in contact with said road, including the steps of:
- sensing at least one parameter of said load hauling machine and responsively delivering a parameter signal;
- determining a machine motion resistance in response to said parameter signal;
- monitoring a condition of said tires and responsively generating a calibration signal;
- and
- receiving said calibration signal and determining a condition of said road in response to said machine motion resistance and said calibration signal.
A method for determining a condition of a road traversed by at least one load hauling machine having a plurality of tires in contact with said road, including the steps of:
- traversing a reference section of said road, said reference section being in a known and controlled condition;
- sensing at least one parameter of said load hauling machine and responsively delivering a parameter signal;
- determining a load on said tires;
- determining a machine motion resistance relative to the load in response to said parameter signal;
- comparing said machine motion resistance relative to said load to a reference machine motion resistance;
- and
- generating a calibration signal in response to a difference between said machine motion resistance relative to said load and said reference machine motion resistance;
- and determining a condition of said road in response to said calibration signal.
An apparatus for determining a condition of a road traversed by at least one load hauling machine having a plurality of tires in contact with said road, comprising:
- a slope sensor adapted to sense a slope of the grade of said road and deliver a responsive slope signal;
- a power sensor adapted to sense a power delivered by said load hauling machine and deliver a responsive power signal;
- an acceleration sensor adapted to sense an acceleration of said load hauling machine and deliver a responsive acceleration signal;
- a position sensor adapted to sense a position of said load hauling machine and deliver a responsive position signal;
- and
- a control system connected to said load hauling machine, said control system being adapted to monitor a condition of said tires and responsively generate a calibration signal, and to receive said slope signal, said power signal, said acceleration signal, and said position signal and determine a condition of said road in response to said slope signal, said power signal, said acceleration signal, said position signal, and said calibration signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.