Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Construction or agricultural-type vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-23
2001-06-12
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Construction or agricultural-type vehicle
C037S411000, C172S810000, C340S686100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246939
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a control of a working machine of a front-end loader having a boom and a bucket at the front portion of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND ART
A method for excavation and loading by means of a bucket of a conventional front-end loader will be explained with reference to FIG.
1
.
FIG. 1
is a side view of a wheeled front-end loader. A front-end loader
1
has a working machine
5
equipped with a boom
3
and a bucket
4
at the front portion of a vehicle body
2
. The front-end loader
1
mainly performs an operation of excavating a load
6
such as crushed rocks or earth and sand, and loading the same into a dump truck or the like. The operation of the working machine
5
of the front-end loader
1
includes a boom operation and a bucket operation. An operation of excavating and loading the load
6
into the bucket
4
is carried out by alternately performing a boom raising operation and a bucket tilting (in an ascending direction) operation while moving the front-end loader
1
toward a pile of the load
6
.
In the above conventional excavation and loading operation by means of the bucket, an operator manipulates the boom operating lever and the bucket operating lever while moving the vehicle (the front-end loader) forward to alternately perform a boom raising movement and a bucket tilting movement, thereby loading the load into the bucket. In this situation, the operator controls the boom angle and the bucket angle by his or her intuitive knowledge. The relationship between the boom angle and the bucket angle differs depending on the earth quality of the load, loading operation conditions, or the like, and has a great influence on the operation efficiency. Accordingly, the operation requires a considerably high level of skill and experience, and the quantity of load loaded into the bucket varies according to the skill of an operator, thus reducing working efficiency with unskilled operators. However, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to secure skilled operators. In addition, there arises a disadvantage that even skilled operators find it troublesome to alternately perform the boom raising operation and the bucket tilting operation, therefore causing fatigue and reducing efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above disadvantages, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for controlling angles of a working, machine, which even unskilled operators can easily and efficiently perform and offers skilled operators less fatigue in excavation and loading operations by means of a bucket.
A method for controlling angles of a working machine according to the present invention is a method for controlling angles of a working, machine of a front-end loader having a working machine including a boom attached to the front portion of a vehicle body to be ascendable and descendible, and a bucket attached to the front end portion of the boom to be vertically rotatable, and is characterized by including the steps of previously storing an automatic excavation mode expressing predetermined relationship of a bucket angle to a boom angle in excavation, during excavation, after manually setting the boom and the bucket at an automatic excavation starting position, starting an automatic excavation, and controlling the ascent of the boom and the tilt of the bucket based on the relationship between the boom angle and the bucket angle in the stored automatic excavation mode to thereby control each angle.
According to the above configuration, after the operator manually operates the working machine up to the automatic excavation starting position, the operator instructs a controller to start automatic excavation, thereby automatically tilting the bucket by predetermined amount corresponding to the boom ascending angle based on the automatic excavation mode previously stored. Consequently, excavation and loading operation becomes easy for the operator, and as a result, even unskilled workers can easily perform operations efficiently, while skilled workers can reduce fatigue because of the easier operation.
A first aspect of an apparatus for controlling angles of working machine according to the present invention is an apparatus for controlling angles of a working machine of a front-end loader including a boom attached to the front portion of a vehicle body to be ascendable and descendable, a bucket attached to the front end portion of the boom to be vertically rotatable, a boom controlling valve and a bucket controlling valve respectively controlling ascending and descending movements of the boom and tilting and dumping movements of the bucket based on operating signals from a boom operating lever and a bucket operating lever, and is characterized by including
an automatic excavation starting button for instructing the start of automatic excavation by means of the boom and the bucket,
a boom angle detecting means for detecting an ascent angle of the boom,
a bucket angle detecting means for detecting a tilt angle of the bucket,
an electromagnetic proportional control valve for inputting each control signal of the boom and the bucket, and controlling the boom controlling valve and the bucket controlling valve, and
a controller which starts an automatic excavation mode when inputting a start signal from the automatic excavation starting, button,
while outputting a control signal to cause the boom to ascend at a predetermined speed to the electromagnetic proportional control valve,
inputs the respective signals from the boom angle detecting means and the bucket angle detecting means to perform predetermined computation, and based on the previously stored automatic excavation mode, outputs a control signal to tilt the bucket at a predetermined angle in response to the ascending boom angle to the electromagnetic proportional control valve.
According to the above configuration, the operator manipulates the automatic excavation starting button, thereby starting the automatic excavation mode. Thereafter, the controller causes the boom to automatically ascend, and automatically controls the bucket at the position of the bucket angle corresponding to the angle of the ascending boom based on the automatic excavation mode which is previously set and stored, thereby carrying out excavation and loading. Thus the operation of the excavation becomes extremely easy, thereby greatly reducing the fatigue of the operator.
A second aspect of an apparatus for controlling angles of a working machine according to the present invention is an apparatus for controlling angles of a working machine of a front-end loader including a boom attached to the front portion of a vehicle body to be ascendable and descendable, a bucket attached to the front end portion of the boom to be vertically rotatable, a boom controlling valve and a bucket controlling valve respectively controlling ascending and descending movements of the boom and tilting and dumping movements of the bucket based on operating signals from a boom operating lever and a bucket operating lever, and is characterized by including
an automatic excavation starting button for instructing the start of automatic excavation by means of the boom and the bucket,
a boom angle detecting means for detecting an ascent angle of the boom,
a bucket angle detecting, means for detecting a tilt angle of the bucket,
an electromagnetic proportional control valve for inputting each control signal of the boom and the bucket, and controlling the boom controlling valve and the bucket controlling valve, and
a controller which starts an automatic excavation mode when inputting a start signal from the automatic excavation starting button,
while outputting a control signal to cause the boom to ascend in accordance with the signal from the boom operating lever to the electromagnetic proportional control valve,
inputs the respective signals from the boom angle detecting means and the bucket angle detecting means to perform predetermined computation, and based on the previously stored automatic excavation mode, ou
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Hernandez Olga
Komatsu Ltd.
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