Patent Application
20240247452
The present disclosure relates to a debris deflecting system for a milling machine and a method of deflecting debris away from a front end of a component of the milling machine.
A milling machine may be used to remove, mix, or reclaim material from various surfaces. The milling machine generally includes a rotary work tool disposed within a milling enclosure. Further, the work tool extends between a pair of side plates of the milling machine. Typically, the milling machine includes sensors, such as, non-contact sensors. Signals received from the sensors may be used in performing machine operations, such as, grade control. In an example, the sensors may be used to determine a depth of the work tool.
However, in some cases, debris present in front of the sensors or the side plates may lead to incorrect depth measurements by the sensors. For example, the side plate may ride up atop the debris which may lead to incorrect depth measurements by the sensors, or the sensors may read a height of the debris instead of a ground surface. Such incorrect measurements may have an undesirable impact on planned machine operations, thereby affecting productivity of the milling machine. Current debris removal operations involve increased efforts from ground operators, as the ground operators may have to clear the debris themselves, for example, using a shovel. Such debris removal operations may be exhausting for ground operators, especially when the debris are large in size.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,267,482 describes a system for removing aggregate from a natural or man-made surface includes a vehicle with a frame and a conveyor. The conveyor has an intake end and an output end. An excavation drum is connected to an underside of the frame and is enclosed within an excavation chamber, which is defined by a front plate, side plates, and a moldboard. The intake end of the conveyor that protrudes into the excavation chamber is configured to remove the aggregate from the excavation chamber, and a dust suppressant nozzle is configured to apply a foamed dust suppressant to the natural or man-made surface prior to being degraded by the excavation drum.
In an aspect of the present disclosure, a debris deflecting system for a milling machine is provided. The debris deflecting system includes at least one deflecting element disposed proximate to a component of the milling machine. The deflecting element is configured to deflect debris away from a front end of the component. The component includes at least one side plate of the milling machine and/or at least one sensor of the milling machine. The debris deflecting system also includes at least one actuating element coupled to the deflecting element. The actuating element is configured to actuate the deflecting element to deflect the debris away from the front end of the component.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a milling machine is provided. The milling machine includes a frame. The milling machine also includes a milling enclosure supported by the frame. The milling enclosure includes at least one side plate. The milling machine further include at least one sensor. The milling machine includes a debris deflecting system including at least one deflecting element disposed proximate to a component of the milling machine. The deflecting element is configured to deflect debris away from a front end of the component. The component includes the side plate and/or the sensor. The debris deflecting system also includes at least one actuating element coupled to the deflecting element. The actuating element is configured to actuate the deflecting element to deflect the debris away from the front end of the component.
In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of deflecting debris away from a front end of a component of a milling machine is provided. The component includes at least one side plate of the milling machine and/or at least one sensor of the milling machine. The method includes disposing at least one deflecting element proximate to the component of the milling machine. The method also includes actuating the deflecting element. The method further includes deflecting the debris away from the front end of the component based on an actuation of the deflecting element.
Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to
The milling machine 100 defines a first side 104 and a second opposing side (not shown for illustrative purposes) opposite the first side 104. The milling machine 100 includes a frame 108. The frame 108 supports various machine components thereon. The milling machine 100 further includes a milling enclosure 110 supported by the frame 108. The milling enclosure 110 includes one or more side plates 112. The milling enclosure 110 includes two side plates 112 (only one of the side plate 112 is shown for illustrative purposes) that are spaced apart from each other and disposed on either sides of the milling machine 100. The milling enclosure 110 is an enclosed space defined by the side plates 112, a front wall (not shown), and a rear wall (not shown). The side plates 112 are similar to each other in terms of design and functionality. Further, the side plates 112 are embodied as movable or floating side plates. The side plates 112 are movable along a vertical direction during machine operations, as per application requirements. Each side plate 112 may be hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “component 112”.
The milling machine 100 further includes a power source (not shown) that generates power. The power source may be an engine, such as, an internal combustion engine (e.g., a compression ignition diesel engine), a gas turbine engine, and the like. The power source is mounted on the frame 108. The power source is enclosed within an enclosure 114. The milling machine 100 also includes two pairs of ground engaging members 116 (in
The milling machine 100 also includes a rotor 118 for milling the surface 102. In one example, the rotor 118 may be embodied as a height adjustable rotor. The rotor 118 may include a rotatable drum (or a cylinder) and a number of cutting tools disposed on the rotatable drum. The rotor 118 extends between the side plates 112. According to a need of the application, the rotor 118 may be lowered so that the rotor 118 may contact and cut the surface 102 through forces applied by the cutting tools on the surface 102. The milling machine 100 further includes a discharge conveyor 120. Material removed from the surface 102 may enter the discharge conveyor 120 which, for example, may then transfer the removed material into a dump truck (not shown) or other suitable machine for transportation off site.
The milling machine 100 further includes an operator station 122 supported by the frame 108. An operator of the milling machine 100 may sit or stand in the operator station 122 to overlook machine operations. The operator station 122 may also include different control devices that may be used for controlling one or more machine operations of the milling machine 100. The different control devices may include, but are not limited to, pedals, levers, switches, buttons, wheels, and other such devices as are known in the art.
The milling machine 100 further includes one or more sensors 124. In an example, the sensors 124 may allow measurement of a ground clearance of the milling machine 100 from the surface 102. In some examples, the sensors 124 may also be used in determining of a depth of the rotor 118 below the surface 102. The sensor 124 may include any conventional non-contact sensor. In an example, the sensor 124 may include, but is not limited to, an ultrasonic sensor or a proximity sensor. Although
The present disclosure is directed towards a debris deflecting system 200 for the milling machine 100. Specifically, the milling machine 100 includes the debris deflecting system 200 that may be used to deflect debris from a front end 128, 130 of the component 112, 124, respectively of the milling machine 100. The term “front end of the component” as used herein may relate to region at least in part facing a portion of the worksite that lies ahead of the component 112, 124 along the machine travel direction “D1”. Further, the component 112, 124 includes one or more of the side plate 112 and the sensor 124. More particularly, based on a presence of the debris, the debris deflecting system 200 may deflect the debris away from the front end 128 of the side plate 112, and/or the front end 130 of the sensor 124. The debris deflecting system 200 will now be explained in detail below with reference to
Referring to
The deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 may include one or more of a scraping device, a fluid nozzle, and a rotary brush. The deflecting element 202 may be hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “scraping device 202”. The deflecting element 204 may be hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “fluid nozzle 204”. The deflecting element 206 may be hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “fluid nozzle 206”. The deflecting element 208 may be hereinafter interchangeably referred to as “rotary brush 208”. It should be noted that the debris deflecting system 200 may include a combination of different types of deflecting elements. For example, the debris deflecting system 200 may include the scraping device 202 or the rotary brush 208 for clearing the debris from the front end 128 of the side plate 112, and the fluid nozzle 206 for clearing the debris from the front end 130 of the sensors 124.
The debris deflecting system 200 also includes one or more actuating elements 210 coupled to the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208. The actuating element 210 actuates the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 to deflect the debris away from the front end 128, 130 of the component 112, 124, respectively. It should be noted that each deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 included a corresponding actuating element 210, enabling individual actuation. In some examples, the actuating element 210 includes one or more of a lever, a hydraulic actuator, a pneumatic actuator, a swivel assembly, and a motor. It should be noted that the actuating element 210 may include any device (or combination of devices) that may cause the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 to move in any one of a forward direction (i.e., along the machine travel direction “D1”), a rearward direction (i.e., opposite the machine travel direction “D1”), an upward direction, a downward direction, sideways, or a rotary direction.
Further, the debris deflecting system 200 may include one or more components 212 to activate or deactivate the debris deflecting system 200. The component 212 may include a switch, a solenoid, and the like. In an example, the component 212 may be in direct communication with the deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208 to activate/deactivate the deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208. In another example, based on a type of the deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208, the component 212 may control the actuating element(s) 210 for required movement of the deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208.
In some examples, the actuating element 210 and the components 212 may be manually controlled by an operator or personnel so that the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 may deflect the debris away from the component 112, 124. Alternatively, the debris deflecting system 200 includes a controller 214 that transmits control signals to the actuating element 210 and the components 212. More particularly, the controller 214 may control the actuating element 210 to facilitate a movement of the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 so that the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 may effectively deflect the debris. In some examples, the controller 214 may receive input signals from the operator. Based on the input signals, the controller 214 may transmit output signals to the components 212 and/or the actuating element 210. In other examples, the controller 214 may be programmed to determine a presence of the debris at the front end 128, 130 of the components 112, 124, respectively. Based on the presence of the debris, the controller 214 may transmit output signals to the components 212 and/or the actuating element 210 to deflect the debris away from the front end 128, 130. It should be noted that the controller 214 may determine presence of the debris using imaging devices, based on generation of erroneous signals from the sensors 124, and the like, without any limitations thereto. The controller 214 may be a control circuit, a computer, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a central processing unit, or any suitable device or apparatus.
Further, the deflecting element 202 may be coupled to the side plate 112 by a mounting arrangement 216. In an example, the mounting arrangement 216 may include a bracket that couples the deflecting element 202 to the side plate 112. Alternatively, the deflecting element 202 may be coupled to the frame 108 using a suitable mounting arrangement. It should be noted that a design of the deflecting element 202 as shown in
Further, the deflecting element 202 may be actuated by the actuating element 210 (see
Further, the deflecting element 204 and the fluid pipe 218 may be coupled to the side plate 112 by a mounting arrangement 222. In an example, the mounting arrangement 222 may include a number of clamps that couple the deflecting element 204 to the side plate 112. Alternatively, the deflecting element 204 may be coupled to the frame 108 by a suitable mounting arrangement. Further, the deflecting element 206 and the fluid pipe 220 may be coupled to the sensor mount 126 by a mounting arrangement 224. In an example, the mounting arrangement 224 may include a number of clamps that couple the deflecting element 206 to the sensor mount 126. It should be noted that a design of each deflecting element 204, 206 as shown in
Further, each actuating element 210 (see
Further, the deflecting element 208 may be actuated by the actuating element 210 (see
It is further contemplated that more than one type of deflecting element can be used together, for example, the fluid nozzle 204 could be used together with the rotary brush 208 to clear debris in front of front end 128.
The present disclosure relates to the debris deflecting system 200 associated with the milling machine 100. The debris deflecting system 200 includes one or more of the deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208. The deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208 may deflect the debris away from the front end 128, 130 of the components 112, 124, respectively of the milling machine 100. Thus, the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 may prevent accumulation of the debris in front of the sensors 124 or the side plates 112 of the milling machine 100, otherwise thereby preventing incorrect rotor depth measurements (or any other measurements) using the sensors 124. Further, the debris deflecting system 200 may improve productivity of machine operations, such as, grade control by preventing miscalculations of depth measurements or any other measurements that may influence machine operations.
The debris deflecting system 200 may also minimize human efforts as ground operators may not have to manually clear off the debris using shovels or other such devices. Further, the debris deflecting system 200 may be retrofitted on existing milling machines with minimal modifications. Moreover, the debris deflecting system 200 as described herein provides a low cost means of preventing deposition of the debris in front of the sensors 124 or the side plates 112.
Referring to
At step 602, the one or more deflecting elements 202, 204, 206, 208 are disposed proximate to the component 112, 124 of the milling machine 100.
At step 604, the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 is actuated. At step 606, the debris are deflected away from the front end 128, 130 of the component 112, 124 based on the actuation of the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208.
In some examples, the controller 214 controls the one or more actuating elements 210 coupled to the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208. The actuating element 210 actuates the deflecting element 202, 204, 206, 208 to deflect the debris away from the front end 128, 130 of the component 112, 124.
In an example, the deflecting element 202 includes the scraping device 202. In another example, the deflecting element 204, 206 includes the fluid nozzle 204, 206. The fluid nozzle 204, 206 ejects the fluid flow “F1” to deflect the debris away from the front end 128, 130 of the component 112, 124, respectively. Also, the position of the fluid nozzle 204, 206 can be adjusted for altering the direction “D2” of the fluid flow “F1” ejected by the fluid nozzle 204, 206. In yet another example, the deflecting element 208 includes the rotary brush 208.
Unless explicitly excluded, the use of the singular to describe a component, structure, or operation does not exclude the use of plural such components, structures, or operations or their equivalents. The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “at least one” or the term “one or more,” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of the term “at least one” followed by a list of one or more items (for example, “at least one of A and B” or one or more of A and B”) is to be construed to mean one item selected from the listed items (A or B) or any combination of two or more of the listed items (A and B; A, A and B; A, B and B), unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Similarly, as used herein, the word “or” refers to any possible permutation of a set of items. For example, the phrase “A, B, or C” refers to at least one of A, B, C, or any combination thereof, such as any of: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B, and C; or multiple of any item such as A and A; B, B, and C; A, A, B, C, and C; etc.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed work machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
