Patent Application
20250237035
The present invention relates generally to heavy equipment and more specifically to a control system for automatic excavator bucket leveling and load dumping, which improves digging efficiency by preventing material in the bucket from being expelled, when the bucket is swung.
Reducing fatigue of a heavy equipment operator results in greater productivity for their employer. One way to reduce operator fatigue is to automate the operations of leveling a bucket with a load in it and automating the bucket dump process. Automatically, leveling the bucket, or dumping contents in the bucket are preferably achieved by toggling a switch, or pressing a button. Toggling a switch or actuation of a button is less work and less fatiguing than operating a joystick. When bucket the level button is pressed or toggled, the bucket will keep level unless an automatic function command is overridden by the operator. It is important to keep the bucket level, when a boom swings in a horizontal plane, before the load is dumped to prevent the contents of the bucket from spilling out when the bucket is swung. As a result of the automated operation of bucket leveling and automatic dump, energy consumption is reduced. It appears that the prior art does not teach or suggest automatically leveling a bucket or dumping the bucket of an excavator.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a control system for automatic excavator bucket leveling and load dumping, which automates leveling of a bucket and dumping the contents of the bucket by pressing or toggling a switch to reduce operator fatigue and which improves digging efficiency by preventing material in the bucket from being expelled, when the bucket is swung.
The present invention provides a control system for automatic excavator bucket leveling and load dumping, which improves digging efficiency. The control system for automatic excavator bucket leveling and load dumping (control system for an excavator bucket)
preferably includes a controller, a bucket angle sensor, an excavator angle sensor and at least one switch. The controller preferably includes an absolute angle routine, a bucket leveling routine, an automatic load dumping routine and a joystick monitoring routine. The bucket angle sensor is mounted to the bucket. The excavator angle sensor is mounted to an excavator body. A value of buckle angle relative to the horizontal plane is input into the controller from the buckle angle sensor and a value of excavator angle relative to the horizontal plane is input into the controller from the excavator angle sensor. A value of the buckle angle of the bucket angle sensor is combined with a value of the excavator angle of the excavator body to provide an
absolute bucket angle. The absolute angle routine calculates an absolute bucket angle from the buckle angle value and the excavator angle value. A value of the absolute bucket angle is used by the controller to level the bucket through retracting or extending a bucket actuator.
The bucket leveling routine is activated when the bucket level switch is activated. The bucket leveling routine preferably includes the steps of checking the absolute buckle angle relative to the horizontal plane in a first leveling decision block.
If the bucket is level relative to the horizontal plane, then continue monitoring a joystick of the excavator, the bucket angle sensor and the excavator angle sensor; and loop back to the controller. If the bucket is not level relative to the horizontal plane, then proceed to a second leveling decision block. If the absolute bucket angle is positive relative to the horizontal plane, then extend bucket actuator and return to the first leveling decision block. If the absolute bucket angle is not positive relative to the horizontal plane, then retract the bucket actuator and return to the first leveling decision block.
The automatic load dumping routine is activated when the bucket dump switch is activated. The automatic load dumping routine preferably includes the steps of checking for a full retraction of the bucket in a first dump decision block. If the bucket is fully retracted then continue monitoring the joystick, the bucket angle sensor and the excavator sensor; and then loop back to the controller. If the bucket is not fully retracted,
then check to see if excavator is on level ground in a second dump decision block. If the excavator is on level ground, then retract the bucket actuator and return to the first dump decision block. If excavator is not on level ground, then check to see if the excavator is on a downhill slope in a third dump decision block.
If the excavator is on a downhill slope then retract the bucket actuator and return to the first dump decision block. If the excavator is not on a downhill slope then retract the bucket actuator, and then proceed to a fourth dump decision block. Angle alpha is defined as the bucket angle relative to the ground when the excavator is on level ground and the bucket actuator is fully retracted. Angle beta is the actual bucket angle relative to the horizontal plane. If angle beta is greater than angle alpha, then continue monitoring the joystick, the bucket angle sensor and the excavator angle sensor, and loop back to the controller. If angle alpha is greater than angle beta, then retract bucket actuator.
The bucket level switch and the bucket dump switch are at least one switch. The at least one switch could be a single toggle switch or two push button switches. The toggle switch would have an automatic level position and a bucket dump position. The toggle switch would be normally placed in the automatic level position. With two push buttons, the automatic bucket level could be switched on or off and the bucket dump position could be could be actuated through a momentary switch.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a control system for automatic excavator bucket leveling and load dumping, which automates leveling of a bucket and load dumping of the bucket by pressing or toggling a switch to reduce operator fatigue.
Finally, it is another object of the present invention to provide a control system for automatic excavator bucket leveling and load dumping, which improves digging efficiency by preventing material in the bucket from being expelled, when the bucket is swung.
These and additional objects, advantages, features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the following specification.
bucket leveling routine of a control system for an excavator bucket in accordance with the present invention.
With reference now to the drawings, and particularly to
controller 10 to level the bucket 106 through retracting or extending the bucket actuator 104. A hydraulic control circuit 108 receives an instruction from the controller 10 and sends hydraulic fluid to the bucket actuator 104 to retract or extend the bucket 106.
With reference to
With reference to
and the excavator sensor 18 in process block 40; and then loop back to the controller 10. If the bucket 106 is not fully retracted, then check to see if excavator 100 is on level ground in decision block 42. If the excavator is on level ground, then retract the bucket actuator 104 in process block 44 and return to the decision block 38. If excavator 100 is not on level ground, then check to see if the excavator 100 is on a downhill slope in decision block 46.
If the excavator 100 is on a downhill slope then retract the bucket actuator 104 in process block 44 and return to decision block 38. If the excavator 100 is not on a downhill slope then retract the bucket actuator 104 in process block 48, and then proceed to decision block 50. Angle alpha is defined as the bucket angle relative to the ground when the excavator is on level ground and the bucket actuator is fully retracted. Angle beta is the actual bucket angle relative to the horizontal plane. If angle beta is greater than angle alpha, then continue monitoring the joystick 102, the bucket angle sensor 16 and the excavator angle sensor 18 in process block 40 and loop back to the controller 10. If angle alpha is greater than angle beta, then retract bucket actuator 104 in process block 48.
The bucket level switch 12 and the bucket dump switch 14 are at least one switch. The at least one switch could be a single toggle switch or two push button switches. The toggle switch would have an automatic level position and a bucket dump position. The toggle switch would be normally placed in the automatic level
position. With two push buttons, bucket leveling could be switched on or off, and the bucket dumping could be actuated through a momentary switch.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
