Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Construction or agricultural-type vehicle
Patent
1997-03-19
1999-08-24
Zanelli, Michael
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Construction or agricultural-type vehicle
414699, E02F 343
Patent
active
059419210
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to controlling automated bucket loaders, such as Load-Haul-Dump loaders or LHDs as they are known in the mining industry. More particularly, the invention relates to a tactile control system and method for loaders which have hydraulic actuators for carrying out the loading operation and to loaders comprising such control system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bucket loaders, such as LHDs, are vehicles having buckets at their front end, which are usually operated by hydraulic actuators or cylinders and which are used to load bulk material, such as rock, into the bucket and transport or haul the same to an unloading area where the material is dumped from the bucket. Normally such loaders are operated by skilled operators who control the many different operations of the working cycle of the vehicle. While sitting in the operator's cabin of the machine the operator can see and "feel" the reaction of the machine when filling the bucket. It is also possible to operate such loaders under computer control from a distance using a remote control device working with radio signals. However, any such operation usually proceeds according to a pre-programmed or predetermined loading cycle and cannot adjust the loader in response to some particular conditions, such as encountering an oversize rock or the like.
Attempts have also been made to tele-operate the loader by installing a TV camera on the vehicle and observing the pile of material to be loaded through such camera while loading the bucket. Such an operation is described by D. Kumar and Nick Vagenas in an article entitled "Performance evaluation of an automatic load-haul dump vehicle" published in the CIM Bulletin, Volume 86, No. 974, pp 39-42, October 1993. This operation cannot be considered as truly automatic since it still requires an operator positioned at a remote location to view the pile of material to be loaded through the TV camera and to operate the loader accordingly. The loader itself does not react automatically to the various loading conditions that may be encountered during such loading operation. In this instance the operator loses all "feeling" of the machine and must rely completely on his sense of vision to interpret the effectiveness of the vehicle's performance. Such vehicles are, therefore, subject to more abuse and usually require more maintenance.
It should be mentioned that when performing the loading cycle there are two objectives to be met: (1) obtaining an efficient loading of the bucket, which should be as full as possible each time the loading takes place, and (2) minimizing the abuse of the vehicle which increases the cost of vehicle maintenance and vehicle down time and thus significantly affects overall productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a tactile control system and method for automated bucket loading of a loader, such as LHD, whereby the forces exerted on the bucket during its loading, namely the tactile action-reaction between the bucket and the payload pile, provide immediate feedback control of the loading operation.
Another object of the invention is to provide control of various parameters within the operation of the loader so as to minimize the abuse of the vehicle during the loading cycle.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof.
The tactile control system of the present invention is used with loaders, such as LHDs, which have at least one hydraulic cylinder for imparting a tilting trajectory motion to the bucket when loading said bucket with payload, such as a pile of rock, which in mining industry is called "muck".
The basic principle of the system is to use sensor feedback provided by pressure and extension sensors located on the hydraulic cylinder(s) to control the trajectory of the bucket within the muck pile. Additional sensors can then be added to provide further control of the loading cycle and of the vehicle's operation. The vehicle must, of co
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Dasys Andrew
Drouin Andre
Geoffroy Louis
Noranda Inc.
Zanelli Michael
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