Patent Grant
8727604
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 add 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 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 directly 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 store 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 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 event provides a robust means enabling the dispatch center to define events that mark the 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 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.
Generally, the present invention provides a system for calculating and reporting slump in a delivery vehicle having a mixing drum and hydraulic drive for rotating the mixing drum. The system includes a rotational sensor mounted to the mixing drum and configured to sense a rotational speed of the mixing drum, a hydraulic sensor coupled to the hydraulic drive and configured to sense a hydraulic pressure required to turn the mixing drum, and a communications port configured to communicate a slump calculation to a status system commonly used in the concrete industry. The rotational speed of the mixing drum is used to qualify a calculation of current slump based on the hydraulic pressure required to turn the mixing drum. A processor may be electrically coupled to the rotational sensor and the hydraulic sensor and configured to qualify and calculate the current slump based on the hydraulic pressure required to turn the mixing drum.
In an embodiment of this aspect, the stability of the drum rotation speed is measured and used to qualify slump readings. Specifically, unstable drum speeds are detected and the resulting variable slump readings are ignored.
The delivery vehicle may further include a liquid component source, while the system further includes a flow meter and flow valve coupled to the liquid component source. The processor is also electrically coupled to the flow meter and the flow valve and is configured to control the amount of a liquid component added to the mixing barrel to reach a desired slump.
Embodiments of this aspect include detailed controls not only for managing the introduction of fluids but also tracking manual activity adding either water or superplasticizer to the mixture, as well as evaluating the appropriateness of drum activity, the adequacy of mixing, and the details of concrete pour actions. This provision for detailed logging and tracking is also an independent aspect of the invention.
It is also an independent aspect of the invention to provide novel configurations of a concrete truck water supply to facilitate cold weather operation, and to control the same to manage cold weather conditions. The invention also features novel configurations of sensors for drum rotation detection, and novel configurations for communication of status to a central dispatch center.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a method for managing and updating slump lookup tables and/or processor code while the vehicle is in service.
Various additional objectives, advantages, and features of the invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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 directed 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, is 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, wireless 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, the status system 28 may utilize a separate communication path on a licensed wireless frequency, e.g. a 900 MHz frequency, for communications between RSP 24 and the central dispatch office when concrete trucks are within range of the central office, permitting more extensive communication for logging, updates and the like when the truck is near to the central office, as described below. RSP 24 may also be connected directly to the central office dispatcher, via a 900 MHz local wireless connection, or via a cellular wireless connection. RSP 24 may over this connection directly deliver and receive programming and status information to and from the central dispatch center without the use of a status system.
Delivery vehicle 12 further includes a water supply 30 while 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.
Similarly, and as an alternative or an option, delivery vehicle 12 may further include a superplasticizer (SP) supply 36 and system 10 may further comprise a SP flow valve 38 coupled to the SP supply 36 and configured to control the amount of SP added to the mixing drum 14, and a SP flow meter 40 coupled to the SP flow valve 38 and configured to sense the amount of SP added to the mixing drum 14. In one embodiment, RSP 24 is electrically coupled to the SP flow valve 38 and the SP flow meter 40 so that the RSP 24 may control the amount of SP added to the mixing drum 14 to reach a desired slump. Alternatively, SP may be manually added by the operator and RSP 24 may monitor the addition of SP and the amount added.
System 10 may also further comprise an optional external display, such as display 42. Display 42 actively displays RSP 24 data, such as slump values, and may be used by the status system 28 for wireless communication from central dispatch center 44 to the delivery site.
A set of environmentally sealed switches 46 may be provided by the RSP 24 to permit manual override, which allows the delivery vehicle 12 to be operated manually, i.e., without the benefit of system 10, by setting an override switch and using other switches to manually control water, superplasticizer, and the like. A keypad on the status system would typically 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.
In one embodiment of the present invention, all flow sensors and flow control devices, e.g., flow valve 32, flow meter 34, SP flow valve 38, and SP 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. In another embodiment, illustrated in
In operation, the RSP 24 manages all data inputs, e.g., drum rotation, hydraulic pressure, and water and SP flow, to calculate current slump and determine when and how much water and/or SP 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 SP 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. The RSP 24 also automatically records the slump at the time the concrete is poured, to document the delivered product quality.
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 SP in one embodiment. In the manual mode, the RSP 24 automatically calculates 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 SP 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
Next, in block 68, the current slump is compared to the customer-specified or desired slump. If the current slump is not equal to the customer-specified slump, a liquid component, e.g., water, is automatically added to arrive at the customer-specified slump. Furthermore, superplasticizer may be automatically added to meet customer requirements as specified in a ticket or entered by the operator. (SP typically makes concrete easier to work, and also affects the relationship between slump and drum motor pressure, but has a limited life. Thus, in the detailed embodiment noted below the addition of SP is manually controlled, although the job ticket and status information may permit automatic addition of SP in some embodiments.) As seen at block 70, water is added, while as seen at block 74, a SP is added. Once water or a SP is added, the amount of water or SP added is documented, as indicated in blocks 72 and 76, respectively. Control is then looped back to block 66 wherein the current slump is again calculated.
Once the current slump is substantially equal to the customer-specified or desired slump in block 68, the load may be delivered and control is passed to block 78. In block 78, the slump level of the poured product is captured and reported, as well as the time, location and amount of product delivered. Automatic mode 64 ends in block 80.
Referring now to
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. Further information on states of the ready slump processor and state changes appears below in connection with
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 “leak” flag is set to prevent any future automatic pressurization of the water tank. If water flow is detected in step 150, 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 156, 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 processing continues to step 152 in which the system determines if the user has requested super plasticizer flow. If super plasticizer flow is detected, after step 152, in step 154 it is verified that the super plasticizer valve is currently open. If the valve is open, this indicates that normal operation is proceeding, but that the operator has decided to manually add super plasticizer. In this situation, in the illustrated embodiment, processing continues to step 160 and the system is disarmed, so that no further water will be automatically added. This is done because superplasticizer affects the relationship of pressure and slump. If the super plasticizer valve is not open in step 154, then in error has occurred, because super plasticizer flow is detected without the valve having been opened. In this situation, at step 146 the air system is depressurized and an error event is logged, and the system is disarmed.
If the above tests are passed, then processing arrives at step 162, and it is determined whether a valid slump calculation is available. In the absence of a valid slump calculation, no further processing is performed. If the current slump calculation is valid, then it is determined whether the current slump is above the target value in step 164. If the current slump is above the target value, then in step 165 and event is logged and in step 166 an instruction is delivered to terminate any currently ongoing automatic water delivery. If the current slump is not above target, water may need to be added. 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 above. (The 80% parameter, and many others used by the ready slump processor, are adjustable via a parameter table stored by the ready slump processor, which is reviewed in detail below.) 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
Following step 176 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.
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 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 in incompletely mixed.
In any case where discharge rotation is detected, in step 204 the air pressure for 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 to 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, three-quarters of a turn of discharge rotation are required to begin discharging concrete. Thus, when discharge rotation begins from this initial condition, the ready slump processor subtracts 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.
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
Referring now to
In addition to circulating water, the arrangement of
The arrangement of
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.
Referring now to
As noted above, the processor will transition from the in service state to the at plant state at the behest of the status system. Until this transition is requested, no state changes will occur. However, when the status system makes this transition, in step 324 a log entry is made and a status change is made to the at plant state.
Referring now to
After a ticket has been logged, in step 332 a two-hour action timer is initiated, which ensures that action is taken on a ticket within two hours of its receipt by the vehicle. Finally, in step 334 the ready slump processor state is changed to ticketed.
Referring now to
If a pressure spike is detected in step 336, then in step 342 the water system is depressurized if need be, since concrete loading will also involve refilling of the water and super plasticizer tanks of the concrete truck, which will need to be depressurized. In step 344, a status change to loading is logged, and that status is then applicable to further actions of the concrete truck. In step 345, a six-hour completion timer is initiated in step 364 as is a five-hour pour timer.
Referring now to
If the available data collected indicate a complete batch of concrete has been loaded in the concrete truck, then in step 358 the ready slump processor evaluates loading activity collected to determine the type of load that has been placed into the drum. If the loading activity indicates that a dry load has been loaded in the drum, then a 45 turn mix counter is initiated in step 360. If the loading activity indicates that a wet load has been placed in the drum, then a 15 turn mix counter is initiated in step 362. The evaluation of whether a whether a wet or dry batch has been loaded into the truck is based on the way the truck was loaded. Specifically, the total amount of time to load the truck is computed, using increases in motor hydraulic pressure as indicative of loading, or alternatively using vibrations detected by an accelerometer attached to the drum or truck as indicative of continuing loading. A premixed or wet load of concrete may be loaded substantially faster and therefore a short load time is indicative of a wet load of concrete, whereas a dry load of unmixed concrete is loaded more slowly and therefore a long load time is indicative of a dry load.
After initiation of the mix counter in step 360 or step 362, in step 366 the water system is pressurized, so that water will thereafter be available for manual or automatic slump management of the concrete load. Next in step 368, a 20 minute timer is initiated, which is used to arm the automatic water system 20 minutes after loading. Finally, and step 370 a status change is logged reflecting that the truck is now loaded and the status of the truck is changed to loaded.
Referring now to
In the loaded state, the user may elect to reset the drum counters, if for example the loading sequence has been done in multiple batches or the drum has been emptied and reloaded, and the operator desires to correct the drum counters to accurately reflect the initial state of the load. If a counter reset is requested in step 371, in step 372 the requested reset is performed.
In step 373, it is determined whether the 20 minute timer for arming the water system, initiated upon transition from the loading state, has expired. When this timer expires, in step 374, the water system is armed (so long as it has not been disabled) so that automatic slump management will be performed by the water system.
The ready slump processor in the loaded state continuously evaluates the drum rotation direction, so that discharge drum rotation indicative of pouring will be detected. In the absence of discharge direction drum rotation, as determined in step 376, the ready slump processor proceeds to step 378, and determines whether the status system has indicated that the truck has departed from the plant. This may be indicated by the operator manually entering status information, or may be indicated by the GPS location of the truck as detected by the status system. If the truck has not left the concrete plant than processing continues to step 380 in which the five-hour timer is evaluated. If that timer has expired then step 382 an error is logged.
Once the truck does leave the plant, in step 384 the water system may be the depressurized, depending upon user settings configuring the ready slump processor. Thereafter in step 386 the water system will be armed (if it has not been disabled) to enable continuing management of concrete slump during travel to the job site. Finally in step 388, a status change is logged in the status of the ready slump processor is changed to the to_job state.
Returning to step 376, if drum rotation in the discharge direction is detected, this indicates that concrete is being discharged, either at the job site, or as part of adjusting a batch of concrete at the plant, or testing a batch of concrete at the plant. Since not all discharges indicate pouring at the job site, initially, an evaluation is made whether a large quantity of concrete has been discharged. Specifically, in step 390 it is determined whether greater than three yards of concrete, or greater than half of the current load of concrete in the drum, have been discharged. If not, then the concrete truck will remain in the loaded state, as such a small discharge may not be related to pouring at the job site. Once a large enough quantity of concrete is discharged, however, then it is assumed that the concrete truck is pouring concrete at the job site, even though movement of the truck to the job site has not been captured by the status system (potentially because the job site is very close to the concrete plant, or the status system has not operated properly).
When it is determined that pouring at the job site has begun, in step 392 the water system is pressurized (if no leak has been flagged), to permit the use of water for truck cleaning, as part of the concrete pour operation. Then in step 394 the water system is disarmed to terminate the automatic addition of water for slump management. Then in step 396 the current slump reading is logged, so that the log reflects the slump of the concrete when first poured. Finally in step 398, a state change is logged and the state of the ready slump processor is changed to the begin pour state.
Referring now to
Arrival at the job site according to the status system, even in the absence of drum rotation, indicates transition to the on_job state. Therefore, in step 404, if the status system indicates arrival at the job site, then in step 405 the water system is pressurized (if no leak has been detected), and in step 406 a state change is logged and the state of the ready slump processor is changed to the on_job state.
In the event that neither of the conditions of step 400 or 404 are met, then in step 408 it is determined whether the five-hour timer has expired. If so, then in step 410 an error is logged and the system is restarted; otherwise, the ready slump processor remains in the to_job state and processing is completed until the next pass through the main loop of
Referring now to
If in step 412 discharge drum rotation is not detected, then the system will remain in the on job state, and in step 420, the five-hour timer is evaluated. If the five-hour timer expires then in step 422 in error is generated and the system is restarted.
Referring other
After this discharge amount tracking, an evaluation can be made to determine whether the drum has been emptied, as set forth in step 428. Specifically, the drum is considered emptied when the net discharge turns would discharge 2½ times the measured amount of concrete in the load. The load is also considered emptied when the average hydraulic pressure in the drum motor falls below a threshold pressure indicating rotation of an empty drum, for example 350 PSI. If either of these conditions is met, the drum is considered to be empty, and in step 430 a flag is set indicating that the concrete truck is empty. In addition, in step 432, a status change is logged and the state of the ready slump processor changes to the finish pour state.
If the conditions in step 428 are not met, then the drum is not considered to be empty. In such a situation, the ready slump processor evaluates, in step 434, whether the concrete truck has departed from the job site. If so, then ready slump processor proceeds to step 436, in which a determination is made, based on total water flow detected, whether the truck has been cleaned. If the amount of water discharged, as measured by the ready slump processor statistics, indicates that the truck has been cleaned, than in step 438, the water system is depressurized. Next, because departure from the job site requires change of state of the ready slump processor, processing proceeds from step 438, or step 436, to step 440 in which a change of state is logged, and the ready slump processor is changed to the leave_job state.
In the absence of an empty drum condition, or departure from the job site, the ready slump processor will remain in the begin_pour state. In these conditions, the six-hour completion timer 442 is evaluated, and if completion is not been indicated within that six-hour time period then in step 444 an error is logged and the system is restarted.
Referring other
If the conditions of steps 442 or 444 are not met, then the ready slump processor evaluates status system activity to determine whether the concrete truck has returned to the plant. In step 450, it is determined whether the status system has indicated that the concrete truck is at the plant, and that there has been sufficient time for statistics from the previous job cycle to be uploaded. This time period may be for example 2½ minutes. If the status system indicates that the concrete truck is at the plant and there has been sufficient time for statistics to be uploaded to the central dispatch office, then processing continues to step 452, and all delivery cycle statistics are cleared, after which a state change is logged in step 454 and the state of the ready slump processor is returned to the at_plant state, to begin a new delivery cycle.
If the concrete truck is not yet arrived at plant, but has left the job site, this activity is also detected. Specifically, in step 456, if the status system indicates that the concrete truck has left the job site, then in step 458 it is determined whether sufficient water has been discharged from the water system to indicate that the truck was cleaned while at the job site. If so, than water should not be needed, and in step 460 the water system is depressurized. If sufficient water has not yet been discharged for cleaning of the truck, it is assumed that water will be needed to clean truck at some other location than the job site, and water system is not depressurized. After step 458 or 460, in step 462 a state change is logged and the status of the ready slump processor is changed to the leave_job state.
If the concrete truck does not leave the job site in the finish pour state, then the ready slump processor will remain in the finish pour state. In this condition, processing will continue to step 464, in which the six-hour completion timer is assessed to determine if this timer has expired. If the completion timer expires than in step 466 an error is logged and the system is restarted.
Referring now to
In step 476 the ready slump processor evaluates status system communication, to determine whether the concrete truck has returned to the plant. If the status system indicates that the concrete truck has returned to the plant, the delivery cycle statistics are cleared and, in step 480, a state change is logged and the state of the ready slump processor is changed to the at_plant state, ready for another delivery cycle.
If no further pouring of concrete and no return to the plant occur in the leave_job state, the ready slump processor will remain in the leave job state, and, in this condition, processing will continue to step 482 in which the six-hour timer is evaluated. If the six-hour timer expires, then in step 444 an error is logged and the system is restarted.
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 statistics and parameters involved in a specific embodiment of the invention, include the following:
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 signalled 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.
This has been a description of the present invention, along with the methods of practicing the present invention as currently known. However, the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims, wherein we claim:
The application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/599,130, which was filed Sep. 20, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,473, which is a U.S. National Phase of PCT/US2005/004405 filed Feb. 14, 2005 which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/554,720, filed Feb. 13, 2004. All of the above-mentioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Child | 12857881 | US |
