Patent Grant
8989905
This application is related to pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/599,130, which was filed Feb. 14, 2005 as a PCT Application designating the United States claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application 60/554,720, and which subsequently entered the U.S. National Phase and is now pending, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/764,832, filed Jun. 19, 2007. All of the above-mentioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention generally relates to delivery vehicles and particularly to mobile concrete mixing trucks that mix and deliver concrete. More specifically, the present invention relates to the calculation and reporting of slump using sensors associated with a concrete truck.
Hitherto it has been known to use mobile concrete mixing trucks to mix concrete and to deliver that concrete to a site where the concrete may be required. Generally, the particulate concrete ingredients are loaded at a central depot. A certain amount of liquid component may be added at the central depot. Generally the majority of the liquid component is added at the central depot, but the amount of liquid is often adjusted. The adjustment is often unscientific, the driver adds water from any available water supply (sometimes there is water on the truck) by feeding a hose directly into the mixing barrel and guessing as to the water required. Operators attempt to tell by experience the correct or approximate volume of water to be added according to the volume of the particulate concrete ingredients. The adding of the correct amount of liquid component is therefore usually not precise.
It is known that if concrete is mixed with excess liquid component, the resulting concrete mix does not dry with the required structural strength. At the same time, concrete workers tend to prefer more water, since it makes concrete easier to work. Accordingly, slump tests have been devised so that a sample of the concrete mix can be tested with a slump test prior to actual usage on site. Thus, if a concrete mixing truck should deliver a concrete mix to a site, and the mix fails a slump test because it does not have sufficient liquid component, extra liquid component may be added into the mixing barrel of the concrete mixing truck to produce a required slump in a test sample prior to actual delivery of the full contents of the mixing barrel. However, if excess water is added, causing the mix to fail the slump test, the problem is more difficult to solve, because it is then necessary for the concrete mixing truck to return to the depot in order to add extra particulate concrete ingredients to correct the problem. If the extra particulate ingredients are not added within a relatively short time period after excessive liquid component has been added, then the mix will still not dry with the required strength.
In addition, if excess liquid component has been added, the customer cannot be charged an extra amount for return of the concrete mixing track to the central depot for adding additional particulate concrete ingredients to correct the problem. This, in turn, means that the concrete supply company is not producing concrete economically.
One method and apparatus for mixing concrete in a concrete mixing device to a specified slump is disclosed by Zandberg et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,663 (the '663 patent), the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This method and apparatus recognizes that the actual driving force to rotate a mixing barrel filled with particulate concrete ingredients and a liquid component is related to the volume of the liquid component added. In other words, the slump of the mix in the barrel at that time is related to the driving force required to rotate the mixing barrel. Thus, the method and apparatus monitors the torque loading on the driving means used to rotate the mixing barrel so that the mix may be optimized by adding a sufficient volume of liquid component in attempt to approach a predetermined minimum torque loading related to the amount of the particulate ingredients in the mixing barrel.
More specifically, sensors are used to determine the torque loading. The magnitude of the torque sensed may then be monitored and the results stored in a storage means. The storage means can subsequently be accessed to retrieve information therefrom which can be used, in turn, to provide processing of information relating to the mix. In one case, it may be used to provide a report concerning the mixing.
Improvements related to sensing and determining slump are desirable.
Other methods and systems for remotely monitoring sensor data in delivery vehicles are disclosed by Buckelew et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,079 (the '079 patent), the disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated herein by reference. These systems and methods remotely monitor and report sensor data associated with a delivery vehicle. More specifically, the data is collected and recorded at the delivery vehicle thus minimizing the bandwidth and transmission costs associated with transmitting data back to a dispatch center. The '079 patent enables the dispatch center to maintain a current record of the status of the delivery by monitoring the delivery data at the delivery vehicle to determine whether a transmission event has occurred. The transmission events are defined by the dispatch center to include those events that mark delivery progress. When a transmission event occurs, the sensor data and certain event data associated with the transmission event may be transmitted to the dispatch center. This enables the dispatch center to monitor the progress and the status of the delivery without being overwhelmed by unnecessary information. The '079 patent also enables data concerning the delivery vehicle and the materials being transported to be automatically monitored and recorded such that an accurate record is maintained for all activity that occurs during transport and delivery.
The '079 patent remotely gathers sensor data from delivery vehicles at a dispatch center using a highly dedicated communications device mounted on the vehicle. Such a communications device is not always compatible with status systems used in the concrete industry.
Improvements related to monitoring sensor data in delivery vehicles using industry standard status systems are desirable.
A further difficulty has arisen with the operation of concrete delivery vehicles in cold weather conditions. Typically a concrete delivery truck carries a water supply for maintaining the proper concrete slump during the delivery cycle. Unfortunately this water supply is susceptible to freezing in cold weather, and/or the water lines of the concrete truck are susceptible to freezing. The truck operator's duties should include monitoring the weather and ensuring that water supplies do not freeze; however, this is often not done and concrete trucks are damaged by frozen pipes, and/or are taken out of service to be thawed after freezing.
Accordingly, improvements are needed in cold weather management of concrete delivery vehicles.
The use of chemical additives in concrete mixing is known in the art. Chemical additives may be used to control the rate of cure of concrete, improve dispersion of cement, and otherwise affect the physical characteristics of a concrete batch. Additives further influence concrete parameters like slump and “spread”, which is a measure of the region over which the concrete spreads during a slump test, often an important measure for concrete that has a high slump reading. Spread is often used to measure self-consolidating or other high-slump concrete mixtures. Additives are often used in well-controlled environments such as prefabricated construction, but are less fully utilized in other less controlled environments such as on delivery vehicles, for the reason that the introduction of additives needs to be managed by a skilled operator.
Accordingly, improvements are needed in the use of chemical additives in connection with concrete delivery vehicles.
Published PCT Application PCT/US2005/004405, filed by the assignee of the present application, discloses an improved concrete truck management and slump measurement system that addresses many of the above needs; however, further improvement in management and delivery of concrete is advantageous.
According to one aspect of the invention, the use of chemical additives in concrete delivery truck is facilitated by providing a chemical additive supply on the concrete delivery truck capable of delivering chemical additive under the control or supervision of a remotely located skilled operator, so that the additive use may be supervised by skilled personnel.
In a related aspect, a concrete delivery truck incorporates a chemical additive supply that comprises plural additives each of which may be controllably delivered to the concrete mixture. The plural additives may include, for example, a stabilizer and a destabilizer, such that the mixture may be stabilized during transit and destabilized at the job site. The plural additives may alternatively or in addition include a concentrate and a diluent, powders, liquids or solids.
In a further related aspect, the concrete delivery truck may include an electronic identification system such as a radio frequency or bar code identification system for identifying the type of additive container installed on the chemical additive supply, so that the controller and/or a remotely located operator may accurately identify the type of additives in use. A novel chemical additive supply container may include a bar code, RF ID chip or other electronic means identifying its contents. Further, the container may include unique physical features which are compatible with installation at a particular location on the delivery vehicle, and plural locations each associated with a unique container so that the location of the containers may be known in addition to their presence on the concrete delivery vehicle.
Referring to
System 10 further comprises a processor or ready slump processor (RSP) 24 including a memory 25 electrically coupled to the hydraulic sensor 22 and the rotational sensor 20 and configured to qualify and calculate the current slump of the concrete in the mixing drum 14 based the rotational speed of the mixing drum and the hydraulic pressure required to turn the mixing drum, respectively. The rotational sensor and hydraulic sensor may be directly connected to the RSP 24 or may be coupled to an auxiliary processor that stores rotation and hydraulic pressure information for synchronous delivery to the RSP 24. The RSP 24, using memory 25, may also utilize the history of the rotational speed of the mixing drum 14 to qualify a calculation of current slump.
A communications port 26, such as one in compliance with the RS 485 modbus serial communication standard, may be configured to communicate the slump calculation to a status system 28 commonly used in the concrete industry, such as, for example, TracerNET (now a product of Trimble Navigation Limited, Sunnyvale, Calif.), which, in turn, wirelessly communicates with a central dispatch center 44. An example of a wireless status system is described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,755, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. It will be appreciated that status system 28 may be any one of a variety of commercially available status monitoring systems.
Alternatively, or in addition, a separate communication path on a licensed or unlicensed wireless frequency, e.g. a 2.4 GHz or other frequency, e.g., 900 MHz, 433 MHz, or 418 MHz frequency, may be used for communications between RSP 24 and the central dispatch office when concrete trucks are within range of the central dispatch office, permitting more extensive communication for logging, updates and the like when the truck is near to the central office, as described below. A further embodiment might include the ability for truck-to truck communication/networking for purposes of delivering programming and status information. Upon two trucks identifying each other and forming a wireless connection, the truck that contains a later software revision could download that revision to the other truck, and/or the trucks could exchange their status information so that the truck that returns first to the ready mix plant can report status information for both to the central system. RSP 24 may also be connected to the central dispatch office or other wireless nodes, via a local wireless connection, or via a cellular wireless connection. RSP 24 may over this connection directly deliver and receive programming, ticket and state information to and from the central dispatch center without the use of a status system.
Delivery vehicle 12 further includes a water supply 30 and system 10 further comprises a flow valve 32 coupled to the water supply 30 and configured to control the amount of water added to the mixing drum 14 and a flow meter 34 coupled to the flow valve 32 and configured to sense the amount of water added to the mixing drum 14. The water supply is typically pressurized by a pressurized air supply generated by the delivery truck's engine. RSP 24 is electrically coupled to the flow valve 32 and the flow meter 34 so that the RSP 24 may control the amount of water added to the mixing drum 14 to reach a desired slump. RSP 24 may also obtain data on water manually added to the drum 14 by a hose connected to the water supply, via a separate flow sensor or from status system 28. A separate embodiment might utilize a positive displacement water pump in place of a pressurized system. This would eliminate the need for repeated pressurizing, depressurizing that may occur in the present embodiment. Also, the volume of water dispensed might be more accurately achieved. It would also facilitate direct communication between the RSP and the pump.
Delivery vehicle 12 may further include one or more chemical additive supplies 36 and system 10 may further comprise a chemical additive flow valve 38 coupled to the chemical additive supply 36 and configured to control the amount of chemical additive added to the mixing drum 14, and a chemical additive flow meter 40 coupled to the chemical additive flow valve 38 and configured to sense the amount of chemical additive added to the mixing drum 14. In one embodiment, RSP 24 is electrically coupled to the chemical additive flow valve 38 and the chemical additive flow meter 40 so that the RSP 24 may control the amount of chemical additive added to the mixing drum 14 to reach a desired slump. Alternatively, chemical additive may be manually added by the operator and RSP 24 may monitor the addition of chemical additive and the amount added. Furthermore, colorant may be similarly controlled by RSP, and delivered from a storage tank on the vehicle.
Delivery vehicle 12 further includes an air supply 33 and system 10 may further comprise an air flow valve 35 coupled to the chemical additive supply 36 and the water supply 30 and configured to pressurize the tanks containing the chemical additive supply and the water supply. In one embodiment, RSP 24 is electrically coupled to the air flow valve so that the RSP 24 may control the pressure within the chemical additive supply and the water supply.
System 10 may also further comprise an external display, such as display 42. Display 42 actively displays RSP 24 data, such as slump values. The central dispatch center can comprise all of the necessary control devices, i.e. a batch control processor 45. Wireless communication with the central dispatch center can be made via a gateway radio base station 43. It should be noted that the status system display and the display 42 may be used separately from one another or in conjunction with one another.
A set of environmentally sealed switches 46, e.g. forming a keypad or control panel, may be provided by the RSP 24 to permit control and operator input, and to permit various override modes, such as a mode which allows the delivery vehicle 12 to be operated in a less automated manner, i.e., without using all of the automated features of system 10, by using switches 46 to control water, chemical additive, and the like. (Water and chemical additive can be added manually without having to make a manual override at the keypad, in which case the amounts added are tracked by the RSP 24.) A keypad on the status system 28 may also be used to enter data into the RSP 24 or to acknowledge messages or alerts, but switches 46 may be configured as a keypad to provide such functions directly without the use of a status system.
A horn 47 is included for the purpose of alerting the operator of such alert conditions.
Operator control of the system may also be provided by an infrared or RF key fob remote control 50, interacting with an infrared or RF signal detector 49 in communication with RSP 24. By this mechanism, the operator may deliver commands conveniently and wirelessly. Furthermore, infrared or RF signals exchanged with detector 49 may be used by the status system 28 for wireless communication with central dispatch center 44 or with a batch plant controller when the truck is at the plant.
In one embodiment of the present invention, all flow sensors and flow control devices, e.g., flow valve 32, flow meter 34, chemical additive flow valve 38, and chemical additive flow meter 40, are contained in an easy-to-mount manifold 48 while the external sensors, e.g., rotational sensor 20 and hydraulic pressure sensor 22, are provided with complete mounting kits including all cables, hardware and instructions. It should be noted that all flow sensors and flow control devices can be mounted inline, separately from one another. In another embodiment, illustrated in
In operation, the RSP 24 manages all data inputs, e.g., drum rotation, hydraulic pressure, flow, temperature, water and chemical additive flow, to calculate current slump and determine when and how much water and/or chemical additive should be added to the concrete in mixing drum 14, or in other words, to a load. (As noted, rotation and pressure may be monitored by an auxiliary processor under control of RSP 24.) The RSP 24 also controls the water flow valve 32, an optional chemical additive flow valve 38, and an air pressure valve (not shown). (Flow and water control may also be managed by another auxiliary processor under control of the RSP 24.) The RSP 24 typically uses ticket information and discharge drum rotations and motor pressure to measure the amount of concrete in the drum, but may also optionally receive data from a load cell 51 coupled to the drum for a weight-based measurement of concrete volume. Data from load cell 51 may be used to compute and display the amount of concrete poured from the truck (also known as concrete on the ground), and the remaining concrete in the drum. Weight measurements generated by load cell 51 may be calibrated by comparing the load cell measurement of weight added to the truck, to the weight added to the truck as measured by the batch plant scales.
The RSP 24 also automatically records the slump at the time the concrete is poured, to document the delivered product quality, and manages the load during the delivery cycle. The RSP 24 has three operational modes: automatic, manual and override. In the automatic mode, the RSP 24 adds water to adjust slump automatically, and may also add chemical additive in one embodiment. In the manual mode, the RSP 24 automatically calculates and displays slump, but an operator is required to instruct the RSP 24 to make any additions, if necessary. In the override mode, all control paths to the RSP 24 are disconnected, giving the operator complete responsibility for any changes and/or additions. All overrides are documented by time and location.
Referring to
Next, in block 56, the status system 28 on-board computer activates the RSP 24 providing job ticket information, e.g., amount of material or concrete, and the customer-specific or desired slump. Other ticket information and vehicle information could also be received, such as job location as well as delivery vehicle 12 location and speed.
In block 58, the RSP 24 continuously interacts with the status system 28 to report accurate, reliable product quality data back to the central dispatch center 44. Product quality data may include the exact slump level reading at the time of delivery, levels of water and/or chemical additive added to the concrete during the delivery process, and the amount, location and time of concrete delivered. The process 52 ends in block 60.
Further details of the management of the RSP 24 of slump and its collection of detailed status information is provided below with reference to
Referring to
Block 67 determines if chemical additive has been manually added. If chemical additive has been added, then the current slump characteristics are captured and reported. Automatic water management may be disabled in the event of manual addition of additive, as such additives alter the behavior of the concrete and its need for water. However, expected introductions of additive may be handled differently; for example, addition of additive may not end water management, but merely alter the tables and parameters used in water management. Thus, as long as chemical additive has not been added, or is added in a known manner, automatic water management remains enabled, and in this case, the process moves to block 68, where the current slump is compared to the customer-specified or desired slump. If the current slump is less than to the customer-specified slump, a liquid component, e.g., water, is automatically added 70 to move toward the customer-specified slump. (The amount of water added may be less than the amount computed to create the desired slump, in order to avoid over-watering.) It should be noted that the RSP could meter the amount of chemical additive added to the mixture over time, according to a recipe. (Chemical additive typically makes concrete easier to work, and also affects the relationship between slump and drum motor pressure, but has a limited life.) Furthermore, the RSP could manage the introduction of colorant, similarly in accordance with a recipe. Once water is added, the amount of water added is documented, as indicated in block 72. Control is then looped back to block 66 wherein the current slump is again calculated. It should be noted, that once a chemical additive has been added, the relationship between slump and drum motor pressure is altered, and RSP 24 accordingly may adjust its calculations to account for these changes, or alternatively, discontinue automatically adding water to adjust slump after the addition of additive, and instead simply display slump, drum rotation, hydraulic pressure, flow, and/or temperature.
Once the current slump is substantially equal to the customer-specified or desired slump in block 68, the load is ready for delivery and control is passed to block 78. In block 78, the slump level of the product is captured and reported, as well as the time, location and amount of product delivered. The slump level can be captured and reported at any number of times during the process, as well as the time, location and amount of product delivered. Automatic mode 64 ends in block 80.
Referring now to
In a first step 100, information received on one of those channels is refreshed. Next in step 102, the channel data is received. Channel data may be pressure, rotation, temperature, tilt, and/or truck acceleration/deceleration sensor information, water flow sensor information and valve states, or communications to or requests for information from the vehicle status system 28, such as relating to tickets, driver inputs and feedback, manual controls, vehicle speed information, status system state information, GPS information, and other potential communications. Communications with the status system may include messaging communications requesting statistics for display on the status system or for delivery to the central dispatch center, or may include new software downloads or new slump lookup table downloads.
For messaging communications, code or slump table downloads, in step 104 the ready slump processor completes the appropriate processing, and then returns to step 100 to refresh the next channel. For other types of information, processing of the ready slump processor proceeds to step 106 where changes are implemented and data is logged, in accordance with the current state of the ready slump processor.
In addition to processing state changes, process management 108 by the ready slump processor involves other activities shown on
As noted in
Referring now to
Referring now to
The water management routine also monitors for water leaks by passing through steps 140, 142 and 144. In step 140 it is determined whether the water valve is currently open, e.g., due to the water management processor adding water in response to a prior request for water, or a manual request for water by the operator (e.g., manually adding water to the load or cleaning the drum or truck after delivery). If the valve is open, then in step 142 it is determined whether water flow is being detected by the flow sensor. If the water valve is open and there is no detected water flow, then an error is occurring and processing continues to step 146 at which time the water tank is depressurized, an error event is logged, and a “no flow” flag is set to prevent any future automatic pressurization of the water tank. If water flow is detected in step 142, then processing continues to step 148.
Returning to step 140, if the water valve is not open, then in step 144 is determined whether water flow is nevertheless occurring. If so, then an error has occurred and processing again proceeds to step 146, the system is disarmed, the water delivery system is depressurized, a “leak” flag is set and an error event is logged.
If water flow is not detected in step 144, then processing continues to step 148. Processing continues past step 148 only if the system is armed. The water management system must be armed in accordance with various conditions discussed below, for water to be automatically added by the ready slump processor. If the system is not armed in step 148, then in step 166, any previously requested water addition is terminated.
If the system is armed, then in step 152 it is determined whether the chemical additive valve has been manually opened, e.g., due to the operator adding a chemical additive in order to make working with the concrete easier. If the valve is open, then in step 154 it is determined whether chemical additive flow is being detected by the flow sensor. If the chemical additive valve is open and there is no detected chemical additive flow, then an error is occurring and processing continues to step 146 at which time the chemical additive tank is depressurized, an error event is logged, and a “no flow” flag is set to prevent any future automatic pressurization of the chemical additive tank. If chemical additive flow is detected in step 154, then processing continues to step 160. In step 160 the amount of chemical additive added is logged. If the additive delivered is not expected or contrary to recipe, or the water management otherwise can no longer proceed, the system is disarmed and the process then moves to step block 166. whereby termination of automatic water delivery is executed. If the additive delivered is according to recipe, or the RSP includes programming to continue water management with the additive included, then the system will not be disarmed.
Returning to step 152, if the chemical additive valve is not open, then in step 156 it is determined whether chemical additive flow is nevertheless occurring. If so, then an error has occurred and processing again proceeds to step 146, the system is disarmed, the chemical additive delivery system is depressurized, a “leak” flag is set and an error event is logged. If there is no chemical additive flow then the process moves to block 162.
If the above tests are passed, then processing arrives at step 162, and it is determined whether the current slump is above target. If the slump is equal to or above target, the current slump characteristics are logged in step 165, and the process moves to block 166. If the current slump is below target the process moves to step 164, it is then determined whether there is a valid slump calculation available. If there is a valid slump calculation available, then in the process moves to block 167. If there is not a valid slump calculation, then no further processing takes place and the water management process proceeds to step 165. In step 167, it is determined whether the slump is too far below the target value. If so, processing continues from step 167 to step 168, in which a specified percentage, e.g. 80%, of the water needed to reach the desired slump is computed, utilizing in the slump tables and computations discussed herein. (The 80% parameter, and many others used by the ready slump processor, are adjustable via a parameter table stored by the ready slump processor.) Then, in step 169, the water tank is pressurized and an instruction is generated requesting delivery of the computed water amount, and the event is logged.
Referring now to
One example of slump calculation is described herein; in this example, at a stable drum speed (as managed in
It will be noted that the relationship between pressure and drum speed varies non-linearly; therefore, to accurately compute slump at a different drum speed than the reference speed of the table, a compensation must be performed. While the mixing performed in transit from the plant is often at a relatively stable speed of three to six rpm, in some situations much faster mixing speeds may be used. For example, in some plants a truck, after loading, moves to a “slump rack”, where the truck is used to perform some portion of batch processing. Frequently, at the slump rack, the truck will perform high speed mixing, then adjust the load, then perform more high speed mixing and finally slow down the drum to travel speed and depart. If the slump calculations in RSP 24 are tied to a specific drum speed, the RSP 24 will have difficulty computing slump during this initial handling, which can require manual management of the load by the driver, manual addition of water, etc. and can lead to overwatering or other difficulties. To avoid such manual management, RSP 24 needs to be able to compute slump at widely varying drum speeds, potentially including speeds above ten rpm, i.e., much faster than the reference speed for the lookup table.
In order to support such higher mixing rates, an rpm compensation may be utilized. For this computation, each truck is assigned a calibrated rpm factor (RPMF), which represents the decrease in average hydraulic pressure caused by an increase in drum speed of 1 rpm. The RPMF for a given concrete truck is typically between 4 and 10, but the range may be different for different trucks and mixtures. RPMF is used to adjust the average hydraulic pressure measured from the drum at speeds other than the reference pressure of the table. In this way, the RSP 24 can compute the average pressure that would be measured at the reference drum speed, and this average pressure can then be used with the stored table to determine slump.
Where the reference pressure of the table in the RSP 24 is 3 rpm, the relationship between hydraulic pressure and drum speed is approximately linear over the range from 0 to 6 rpm. Thus, a drum speed increase from 3 to 4 rpm decreases average pressure by approximately 1*RPMF and a drum speed increase from 3 to 5 rpm decreases average pressure by approximately 2*RPMF. A drum speed decrease from 3 to 2 rpm increases average pressure by approximately 1*RPMF.
Because there is a nonlinear relationship between drum speed and pressure, this linear approximation of average pressure change is accurate only at speeds near to the reference speed of 3 rpm. At higher drum speeds, the RPMF increases. For the purposes of slump calculation, the increase in the RPMF is handled in a piecewise linear fashion. Specifically, at drum speeds from 6 to 10 rpm, the RPMF is doubled and above 10 rpm, the RPMF is quadrupled.
Thus, for example, if the current average drum speed is 12 rpm, then the increase in average pressure that would be expected at a drum speed of 2 rpm is computed as follows:
For the 2 rpm decrease from 12 to 10 rpm, pressure increases 2*4*RPMF
For the 4 rpm decrease from 10 to 6 rpm, pressure increases 4*2*RPMF
For the 3 rpm decrease from 6 to 3 rpm, pressure increases 3*RPMF
Total=19*RPMF
If the RPMF for the particular truck is 6 and the measured pressure at 12 rpm is 1500, then the pressure decrease to be expected would be 19*RPMF=114, and the expected pressure at 3 rpm would be 1500−114=1386.
As a second example, if the current average drum speed is 1 rpm, then the decrease in average pressure that would be expected at a drum speed of 3 rpm is computed as follows:
For the 2 rpm increase from 2 to 3 rpm, pressure decreases by 2*RPMF
If the RPMF for the particular truck is 8 and the measured pressure at 2 rpm is 1200, then the pressure increase to be expected would be RPMF=8, and the expected pressure at 3 rpm would be 1200+8=1216.
The expected pressure at 3 rpm, computed in this manner, can then be used with the pressure/slump table in RSP 24 to identify the current slump.
As noted, the rpm factor RPMF is different from one truck to another. This is for a variety of reasons including the buildup in the drum of the truck, fin shape, hydraulic efficiency variation, and others. Calibrating and re-calibrating the RPMF for each truck in a fleet could be a burdensome process. However, the need for such may be reduced by the use of a self calibration process, based upon a theory of slump continuity. The theory of slump continuity is that, over a short period of time, absent extraneous factors such as addition of water or mixture, slump remains relatively constant even if drum speed changes. Therefore the rpm compensation described above may be tested whenever there is a drum speed change, by comparing an observed change in average pressure caused by the drum speed change, to the predicted change in average pressure. If the predicted pressure change is erroneous, the rpm factor RMPF may be adjusted.
Drum speed changes may occur at various times in a typical delivery cycle, however, one common time that there is a drum speed change is during the load process and slump rack premixing described above. Specifically, at the slump rack the truck will perform high speed mixing, then adjust the load, then more high speed mixing, and finally slow down the drum to a travel speed of 3-6 rpm, and depart. Thus, this process presents an opportunity to observe a transition from a high drum speed to a low drum speed, and compare the computed pressure measurement change to the actual pressure measurement change for that transition.
The self calibration proceeds as follows: when a drum speed change from a higher to a lower speed occurs, the average pressure at the higher speed (before the speed change) is used to compute a predicted pressure at 3 rpm, and the average pressure at the lower speed (after the speed change) is similarly used to compute a predicted pressure at 3 rpm, in each case using the process described above. If the predicted 3 rpm pressure derived from the higher speed is larger than the predicted 3 rpm pressure derived from the lower speed, this indicates that the RPMF overestimating the pressure increase caused by speed reduction, and the RPMF is reduced so that the two predicted 3 rpm pressures are equal. If the predicted 3 rpm pressure derived from the lower speed is larger than the predicted 3 rpm pressure derived from the higher speed, this indicates that the RPMF is underestimating the pressure increase caused by speed reduction, and the RPMF is increased so that two predicted 3 rpm pressures are equal.
There are several safety limits applied to this self calibration process, to ensure stability. First, the maximum amount that the self calibration can adjust the rpm factor is plus or minus 25% of the default value programmed for the truck. If greater adjustments are required a technician must alter the default value or permit larger adjustments. Furthermore, the maximum change to the rpm factor RPMF that the self calibration can implement during a single delivery cycle is 0.25.
Returning now to
Following step 177 or step 180, or following step 170 if the drum speed is not stable, in step 182 a periodic timer is evaluated. This periodic timer is used to periodically log slump readings, whether or not these slump ratings are valid. The period of the timer may be for example one minute or four minutes. When the periodic timer expires, processing continues from step 182 to step 184, and the maximum and minimum slump values read during the previous period are logged, and/or the status of the slump calculations is logged. Thereafter in step 186 the periodic timer is reset. Whether or not slump readings are logged in step 184, in step 188 any computed slump measurement is stored within the ready slump processor for later use by other processing steps, and the slump management process returns.
Referring now to
In step 194 of the drum management process, rotation of the drum in discharge direction is detected. If there is discharge rotation, then in step 196, the current truck speed is evaluated. If the truck is moving at a speed in excess of a limit (typically the truck would not move faster than one or two mph during a pour operation), then the discharge is likely unintended, and in step 198 the horn is sounded indicating that a discharge operation is being performed inappropriately.
Assuming the truck is not moving during the discharge, then a second test is performed in step 200, to determine whether concrete mixing is currently underway, i.e., whether the ready slump processor is currently counting time or drum turns. If so, then in step 202, a log entry is generated indicating an unmixed pour indicating that the concrete being poured appears to have been incompletely mixed.
In any case where discharge rotation is detected, in step 204 the water system is pressurized (assuming a leak has not been previously flagged) so that water may be used for cleaning of the concrete truck.
After step 204, it is determined whether the current discharge rotation event is the first discharge detected in the current delivery process. If, in step 206, the current discharge is the first discharge detected, then in step 208 the current slump calculations and current drum speed are logged. Also, in step 210, the water delivery system is disarmed so that water management will be discontinued, as discussed above with reference to
In the typical initial condition of a pour, the drum has been mixing concrete by rotating in the charging direction for a substantial number of turns. In this condition, number of turns of discharge rotation are required to begin discharging concrete. (Typically three-quarters of a turn are required to begin discharge on rear-loading trucks, but a potentially different number of turns may be required on some trucks, particularly front loading trucks.) Thus, when discharge rotation begins from this initial condition, the ready slump processor subtracts, e.g., three-quarters of a turn from the detected number of discharge turns, to compute the amount of concrete discharged.
It will be appreciated that, after an initial discharge, the operator may discontinue discharge temporarily, e.g., to move from one pour location to another at the job site. In such an event, typically the drum will be reversed, and again rotate in the charge direction. In such a situation, the ready slump processor tracks the amount of rotation in the charge direction after an initial discharge. When the drum again begins rotating in the discharge direction for a subsequent discharge, then the amount of immediately prior rotation in the charge direction (maximum three-quarters of a turn) is subtracted from the number of turns of discharge rotation, to compute the amount of concrete discharged. In this way, the ready slump processor arrives at an accurate calculation of the amount of concrete discharged by the drum. The net turns operation noted in step 212 will occur each time the discharge rotation is detected, so that a total of the amount of concrete discharge can be generated that is reflective of each discharge rotation performed by the drum. As an alternative or in addition to the computations in
After the steps noted above, drum management proceeds to step 214, in which the drum speed stability is evaluated. In step 214, it is determined whether the pressure and speed of the drum hydraulic motor have been measured for a full drum rotation. If so, then in step 215 a flag is set indicating that the current rotation speed is stable. Following this step, in step 216 it is determined whether initial mixing turns are being counted by the ready slump processor. If so, then in step 218 it is determined whether a turn has been completed. If a turn has been completed then in step 220 the turn count is decremented and in step 222 it is determined whether the current turn count has reached the number needed for initial mixing. If initial mixing has been completed then in step 224 a flag is set to indicate that the initial turns been completed, and in step 226 completion of mixing is logged.
If in step 214 pressure and speed have not been measured for a full rotation of the drum, then in step 227 the current pressure and speed measurements are compared to stored pressure and speed measurements for the current drum rotation, to determine if pressure and speed are stable. If the pressure and speed are stable, then the current speed and pressure readings are stored in the history (step 229) such that pressure and speed readings will continue to accumulate until a full drum rotation has been completed. If, however, the current drum pressure and speed measurements are not stable as compared to prior measurements for the same drum rotation, then the drum rotation speed or pressure are not stable, and in step 230 the stored pressure and speed measurements are erased, and the current reading is stored, so that the current reading may be compared to future readings to attempt to accumulate a new full drum rotation of pressure and speed measurements that are stable and usable for a slump measurement. It has been found that accurate slump measurement is not only dependent upon rotation speed as well as pressure, but that stable drum speed is needed for slump measurement accuracy. Thus, the steps in
Referring now to
It will be noted that a transition may be made from the loaded state or the to_job state directly to the begin_pour state, in the event that the status system does not properly identify the departure of the truck from the plant and the arrival of the truck at the job site (such as if the job site is very close to the plant). The finish_pour state 316 indicates that the concrete truck has finished pouring concrete at the job site. The leave_job state 318 indicates the concrete truck has left the job site after a pour.
It will be noted that transition may occur from the begin_pour state directly to the leave_job state in the circumstance that the concrete truck leaves the job site before completely emptying its concrete load. It will also be noted that the ready slump processor can return to the begin_pour state from the finish_pour state or the leave_job state in the event that the concrete truck returns to the job site or recommences pouring concrete at the job site. Finally, it will be noted that a transition may occur from either the finish_pour state or the leave_job state to the at_plant state in the event that the concrete truck returns to the plant. The concrete truck may not empty its entire load of concrete before returning to the plant, and this circumstance is allowed by the ready slump processor. Furthermore, as will be discussed in more detail below, the truck may discharge a partial portion of its load while at the plant without transitioning to the begin pour state, which may occur if a slump test is being performed or if a partial portion of the concrete in the truck is being discharged in order to add additional concrete to correct the slump of the concrete in the drum.
The embodiment 325 of
The embodiment 329 of
The embodiment 331 of
The embodiment 333 of
Referring now to
The admixture containers 402 may include level sensing instruments coupled to RSP 24 to permit RSP 24 to determine the amount of admixture contained in or dispensed from the containers 402
The containers 402 may take a variety of forms. They may be fixed tanks, coupled to external pumps for filling and emptying. The containers may disposable, and be punctured upon installation to permit emptying. The containers may be couplable to mechanical systems to permit dispensing of the mixture therein, e.g., the container may be in the form of a barrel, including a plunger therein, driven by a plunger drive in the manner of a syringe to dispense mixture from the container. Withdrawal of the plunger could be used to facilitate filling of the container in the same manner as is used on a syringe, obviating the need for a pump. Alternatively, the containers 402 may be collapsible, in which case the container is compressed by an external mechanical system to dispense mixture therefrom. The external mechanical system may comprise a tank into which the container is installed, which may be pressurized by pressurized air from the vehicle to collapse the container.
As noted, the admixture containers could include chemical additives of any type as specified by a cement or additive manufacturer, or may in addition or alternatively include colorant.
Identification tags 408 could be required on the containers of chemical additive. The identification tags 408 could be in the form of RFID or bar coding. The tags could be used to insure that the correct admixture has been loaded on the truck. The use of uniquely shaped and sized chemical additive containers could insure that the containers are placed in the right place on the truck. Each intake valve 404 could be specific to a particular type, size and shape chemical additive container. In each case, the information on the additives installed is delivered to the RSP 24 for use in conjunction with its operations in controlling mixing and additives. The tagging or other system can thereby insure that the RSP 24 properly identifies the chemical additives in the containers.
The Ready Slump Processor 24 could receive load information regarding chemical additions directly from the ticket (dispatch software) or via batch commands before or after the batching has been completed. Information transmitted to the RSP 24 via cellular, 418, 433, or 900 MHZ radio. Also 2.4 GHZ or any other wireless transmission. Logic embedded in the ADS 400 will instruct when dispensing of the chemicals can take place (at plant after batching, en route to the jobsite or on the jobsite). Separate mixing methods may be sent to the RSP 24 along with amount of chemicals being dispensed. In cases where more than one chemical is being added to a load, proper sequencing order may also be transmitted to the RSP 24. Based on load monitoring ability of the RSP 24 and various sensors throughout the ADS 400, alerts may be sent back to inform personnel of specific concerns or actions that may need to be taken with the load. The RSP 24 can make automatic adjustments by addition of chemical additives to the load when certain criteria are met. Various chemicals and water additions may be loaded into the truck externally via a standpipe or other external device.
Referring now to
Chemical additive additions may be initiated remotely. Specifically, commands may be sent via a communication device to the RSP 24 while the vehicle is en route to a job site or at the job. The RSP 24 could control the opening and closing of the intake valves 404 and the measurement of the various additives into the truck along with ensuring mix completion.
All activity associated with the load can be stored in a database. It can be possible to calculate how much of each chemical additive has been put into each load. This information could be sent to the ready mix producer who may bill customers for admixture usage. The information can also be used for analysis on mix, driver and plant performance. It would also be possible to bill readymix producers based on usage run through the ADS 400. The ADS 400 could interface with a printer in the truck to supply customer with receipt of additives dispatched into the truck after the initial batch. The ADS 400 could also allow for inventory of additives on the truck.
The ADS 400 may lock out drum control until certain actions have been taken. For loads that require an admixture to be added on the jobsite, the ADS 400 will not allow the drum to turn in the discharge direction until admixture has been added and mixed. The ADS 400 can automatically purge lines after chemical additions and could allow for admixes to be refilled and reloaded.
Referring now to
Using a temperature sensor, temperature readings taken from the mixing drum, can be utilized as a factor when calculating the slump profile. It should also be noted that a separate device could be used in measuring the ambient air temperature. Furthermore, the load temperature may be used to identify, from among a group of loads, which are hottest and thus determine the order in which the loads should be poured. Furthermore, the time left until a load will set, and the effect or need for additives, can be derived from load temperature. Finally, the temperature profile measured by the sensor as the drum is rotating may be used to identify the load size as noted above.
As noted above, various statistics and parameters are used by the ready slump processor in operation. These statistics and parameters are available for upload from the processor to the central office, and can be downloaded to the processor, as part of a messaging operation. Some values are overwritten repeatedly during processing, but others are retained until the completion of a delivery cycle, as is elaborated above. The above-referenced US Patent application incorporates a specific listing of statistics and parameters for one specific embodiment of the invention, and other selections of parameters and statistics may be gathered as well.
While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in some detail, it is not the intention of the Applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications other than those specifically mentioned herein will readily appear to those skilled in the art.
For example, the status monitoring and tracking system may aid the operator in managing drum rotation speed, e.g., by suggesting drum transmission shifts during highway driving, and managing high speed and reduced speed rotation for mixing. Furthermore, fast mixing may be requested by the ready slump processor when the concrete is over-wet, i.e., has an excessive slump, since fast mixing will speed drying. It will be further appreciated that automatic control of drum speed or of the drum transmission could facilitate such operations.
The computation of mixing speed and/or the automatic addition of water, may also take into account the distance to the job site; the concrete may be brought to a higher slump when further from the job site so that the slump will be retained during transit.
Further sensors may be incorporated, e.g., an accelerometer sensor or vibration sensor such as shown in
A warning may be provided prior to the automatic addition of water, so that the operator may prevent automatic addition of water before it starts, if so desired.
Finally, the drum management process might be made synchronous to drum rotation, i.e., to capture pressure at each amount of angular motion of the drum. Angular motion of the drum might be signaled by the magnetic sensor detecting a magnet on the drum passing the sensor, or may be signaled from a given number of “ticks” of the speed sensor built into the motor, or may be signaled by an auxiliary processor coupled to a wireless accelerometer based drum rotation sensor. To facilitate such operation it may be fruitful to position the magnetic sensors at angularly equal spacing so that the signal generated by a magnet passing a sensor is reflective of a given amount of angular rotation of the drum.
While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. For example, all of the above concepts can apply to both front and rear discharge trucks.
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