Self-propelled road construction machine for handling paving material in a paving direction and method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine

Abstract

A self-propelled road construction machine, in particular a road finisher or a feeder, for handling paving material in a paving direction with a pulsation device configured to execute a pulsation mode in order to cause a pulsation movement of at least one swivel part in the activated pulsation mode. A method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine, comprising activating the pulsation mode.

Description

FIELD

[0001] The invention relates to a self-propelled road construction machine for handling paving material in a paving direction and to a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine.BACKGROUND

[0002] Generic self-propelled road construction machines are used in road construction in the form of a road paver, for example, to spread a material mat, in particular an asphalt mat, on the underlying ground. A typical road paver is disclosed, for example, in DE 10 2018 000 576 A1. During the ongoing working process, such road pavers can collect paving material delivered at intervals in a material hopper. It is also known, particularly in combination with one or more road pavers, to use a road construction machine in the form of a feeder as described, for example, in DE 10 2017 005 013 A1. In a paving process, feeders can serve as buffer vehicles interposed between a road paver and several transport vehicles for temporary storage of paving material, which is transferred by the feeder to one or more road pavers during the paving process. The feeder also includes a material hopper for holding paving material delivered at intervals.

[0003] In these two road construction machines, paving material can be drawn from the material hopper during the paving process by means of a so-called longitudinal conveyor, which may be a scraper belt or the like, for example, and transferred from the feeder into the material hopper of the road paver, which usually follows behind, and / or, in the case of a road paver, transported rearward in the direction of a current paving direction of the road paver for deposition on the underlying ground. Both machines thus handle or transport the paving material in the respective material hopper from the front to the rear. This direction usually also corresponds to the paving direction.

[0004] The feeder may be provided with a suitable transfer device, for example a trailed conveyor belt or the like, with which the paving material can be discharged into the material hopper of the road paver. It is possible for the road paver to have a transverse distribution device, by means of which the deposited paving material is distributed transversely to the paving direction, for example by means of transverse screw conveyors, and a paving screed, by means of which the paving material distributed on the ground surface can then be flattened and thereby compacted and smoothed.

[0005] A typical structure of a generic road construction machine suitable for carrying out the paving process described above for handling paving material in a paving direction may thus comprise a machine frame, a drive unit, a travel mechanism with at least one left travel unit and one right travel unit and a material hopper arranged at a front in a paving direction for receiving paving material. The machine frame refers in particular to a support structure of the road construction machine on which elements of the road construction machine are arranged. The drive unit refers in particular to a device that provides the drive energy required to operate the road construction machine. For example, the drive unit may comprise one or more drive motors, in particular one or more combustion engines and / or electric motors. The drive unit may also include an energy transmission system via which the drive energy generated by the one or more drive motors can be transmitted to the individual consumers of the road paver. To this end, the energy transmission system may, for example, comprise one or more hydraulic systems and / or transfer gears, in particular pump transfer gears, one or more on-board electrical systems, etc. The travel mechanism may have wheels and / or crawler tracks.

[0006] The material hopper refers to a storage space comprised by the road construction machine in which the road construction machine can temporarily receive and store paving material, in particular asphalt, delivered by a transport vehicle, for example. For this purpose, the material hopper may comprise one or more swivel parts.

[0007] The one or more swivel parts may, for example, be lateral swivel parts, specifically a left swivel part and / or a right swivel part, the terms “left” and “right” referring to a horizontal orientation perpendicular to the paving direction or forward direction of the road construction machine. The left and / or right swivel parts may each comprise a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper and a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element. These two wall elements may be positioned at an angle to each other so that the side wall element forms a wall boundary towards the respective outer side of the material hopper. These two swivel parts may further each include a rear wall element protruding vertically from the bottom wall element, which at least partially delimits the storage space of the material hopper in the rearward direction in the area of the side wall elements. In the forward direction towards the front, the side wall elements may each have a front loading edge running transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine when viewed towards the front or in the forward direction towards the front. Lips projecting in the vertical direction, for example in the form of rubber lips or the like, may be arranged on this edge in order to prevent paving material held in the material hopper from falling out. The right and / or left swivel parts may swivel about a swivel axis which, for example, runs at least essentially in the forward direction. The right and left swivel parts may therefore also be referred to as side wall swivel parts.

[0008] Additionally or alternatively, the swivel part may be a front flap. In particular, this refers to an element arranged in the front area of the material hopper, usually essentially plate-shaped, which may also form part of the bottom wall of the material hopper or may have a bottom wall element. The front flap may be arranged essentially centrally in relation to the width of the material hopper, particularly when viewed in the forward direction of the road construction machine. In contrast to the above-mentioned right and / or left swivel parts, the front flap may swivel about a horizontal swivel axis extending transversely to the forward direction and, in the swiveled-up position, may also form a sliding surface oriented towards the longitudinal conveyor for paving material in the material hopper, in particular in the central area of the front loading edge. As such, the front flap may also be referred to as a front flap swivel part. Towards the front when viewed in the forward direction, the front flap may also have a front loading edge running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the machine. Lips projecting in the vertical direction, for example in the form of rubber lips or the like, may be arranged on this edge in order to prevent paving material held in the material hopper from falling out.

[0009] It is possible that the right and left swivel parts with their respective bottom wall elements both at least partially overlap with the front flap or its bottom wall element, if present, when projected into a virtual horizontal reference plane. In this case in particular, it is also possible that a swivel segment is provided in the respective bottom wall element of the right and left swivel parts, which may swivel relative to the remaining wall element, at least the bottom wall element. This is described, for example, in DE 10 2023 207 500 A1.

[0010] A channel-like recess or depression may be provided in the bottom of the material hopper, usually in the center, through which paving material stored in the material hopper can be removed from the material hopper by a longitudinal conveyor extending to the rear against the forward direction within the depression, and conveyed backwards against the forward direction for deposition on the underlying ground in the case of a road construction machine configured as a road paver or for transfer in the case of a road construction machine configured as a feeder. The longitudinal conveyor extending along the longitudinal axis of the machine may therefore be configured to transport paving material from the material hopper to the rear in the paving direction. The swivel part or parts may each have an inner edge facing the longitudinal conveyor, via which paving material can fall from the respective swivel part onto a receiving surface of the longitudinal conveyor. In the case of the right and left swivel parts, this inner edge may also run in the longitudinal or forward direction of the road construction machine, i.e., extend in this direction. In the case of the front flap, this inner edge may, in particular, run horizontally and transversely to the forward direction or parallel to a pitch axis of the road construction machine, i.e., extend transversely to this forward direction.

[0011] The paving material used may be comparatively tough and sticky, especially if it is asphalt. This property of the paving material used may even increase the longer the paving material remains in the material hopper, as this reduces the often comparatively high delivery temperature of the paving material to the road construction machine in the material hopper and the toughness / stickiness of the paving material increases further. It is therefore already known that the swivel parts may be adjustable, in particular swivel, within an adjustment range between a swiveled-down filling position up to a swiveled-up maximum emptying position in order to move paving material onto the longitudinal conveyor. In the filling position, for example, the swivel part or parts with their respective bottom wall elements may lie essentially in one or more horizontal planes, for example in order to obtain a maximum storage volume of the material hopper. For the two side wall elements in particular, it is possible that these lie in a common horizontal plane in the filling position and the front flap lies in a horizontal plane vertically below this plane (or at least partially at an angle to it, but still comparatively flat). The side wall elements and, if present, the rear wall elements of the swivel parts may then, for example, lie at least essentially in a vertical plane or protrude vertically from the bottom wall elements. If the one or more swivel parts can each swivel between their filling position and their maximum emptying position, they may each be mounted on the remaining road construction machine in a correspondingly adjustable manner, for example via one or more swivel joints. They may then be adjustable between these positions about a swivel axis defined by the respective swivel joints. In this case, the swivel axis refers in particular to an axis of movement. It is possible that one or more axle elements are also provided coaxially to this axis of movement as part of one or more joints. The swivel axes of the two swivel parts of the side wall elements may, in particular, extend in the horizontal and / or forward or paving direction and, for example, be offset from the respective outer side of the road paver in the direction of the inner edge, ideally adjacent to the longitudinal conveyor or even partially overlapping it. In particular, the swivel axes may therefore extend such that the side wall elements with their upper vertical edges move closer and closer together on a circular path as the swivel adjustment increases from the filling position towards the maximum emptying position. The front flap, on the other hand, may swivel up horizontally and transversely to the forward direction, and against the forward direction. By swiveling the swivel parts upward toward the maximum emptying position, the bottom wall elements of the individual swivel parts may increasingly form a kind of funnel through which the paving material in the material hopper is guided towards the longitudinal conveyor, which in particular extends centrally, driven by gravity.

[0012] If configured as a road paver, the road construction machine may further include the transverse conveyor, which distributes the ground material coming from the longitudinal conveyor and deposited on the underlying ground transversely to the paving direction. The transverse conveyor may be, for example, two opposing screw conveyors with their respective rotation axes running horizontally and transversely to the paving or forward direction. The transverse conveyor may be height-adjustable relative to the machine frame of the road paver.

[0013] Typically, the road construction machine configured as a road paver may also have a paving screed that is pulled by the road paver over the paving material placed on the underlying ground and distributed transversely by means of drawbars during paving operation. The paving screed may be configured to smooth and / or compact the ground material placed on the underlying ground. The paving screed may comprise one or more smoothing plates and / or vibration excitation devices, side plates etc. for this purpose. The screed may be supported on the road paver or the tractor of the road paver in a floating manner via the drawbars. The road paver may comprise a locking device with which the paving screed can be at least temporarily locked in its relative position to the tractor, in particular also during operation.

[0014] During use of such a road construction machine, it can happen that paving material sticks in the material hopper during the unloading process. This can mean that this material has to be pushed towards the longitudinal conveyor manually by an assistant, for example with a shovel.

[0015] Against this background, it is an object of the invention to provide a way of improving the unloading process of a material hopper with swivel parts, as described above.

[0016] The object is achieved with a self-propelled road construction machine for handling paving material in a paving direction and with a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine according to the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are cited in the dependent claims.SUMMARY

[0017] According to one aspect of the invention, to achieve the object, a generic road construction machine, in particular as described above, especially in the form of a road paver or a feeder, may comprise a pulsation device controlled by a control unit, which is configured to execute a pulsation mode. An essential aspect of the pulsation device may be that it causes a pulsation movement of at least one swivel part, in particular the left and / or right swivel parts and / or the front flap, from a current adjustment position of the at least one swivel part within the adjustment range when in the activated pulsation mode. A pulsation movement thus refers in particular to a jerky movement, in particular oscillating within a movement window, and / or a vibrating transitional movement and / or a change in movement of the at least one swivel part, in order to detach paving material which may adhere to the respective swivel part. With the aid of the pulsation device, a pulsation movement of the respective swivel part can thus be induced in particular, with the aid of which paving material adhering to the respective swivel part via frictional and / or adhesive forces can be detached and / or loosened, in particular by utilizing mass moments of inertia, so that this paving material can slide onto the longitudinal conveyor in an improved manner, for example from the current swivel position of the swivel part or parts and / or by further swiveling up the swivel part or parts in the direction of their respective maximum raised emptying position. The pulsation device may be controlled by the control unit configured for this purpose. Accordingly, the control unit is preferably configured in particular such that it controls activation and / or deactivation and / or the duration and / or the intensity of the pulsation mode or thus the pulsation mode of the pulsation device.

[0018] The at least one swivel part may in particular be a left swivel part with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element and a front loading edge extending at the front and transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one swivel part may be a right swivel part with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element and a front loading edge extending at the front and transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine. It is also possible that the at least one swivel part is additionally or alternatively a front flap with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper and a front loading edge extending at the front and transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine. It is preferred if the material hopper comprises at least one right and one left swivel part. It may be ideal if the material hopper has a front flap as a swivel part, especially in addition to the right and left swivel parts. The road construction machine may be configured such that in pulsation mode only the front flap performs a pulsation movement controlled by the control unit, i.e., the control unit is configured to operate only the front flap in a pulsation mode. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that in pulsation mode a pulsation movement of only the right and / or left swivel part is controlled by the control unit, i.e., the control unit is configured to operate only the right and / or left swivel part in a pulsation mode. Finally, the control unit may be configured to operate all swivel parts of the material hopper in a pulsation mode.

[0019] When the pulsation mode is activated, the pulsation device may be driven by a drive unit. This may be done using hydraulic, pneumatic and / or electric drive energy, for example. The pulsation device may comprise one or more actuators and / or motors.

[0020] It may be preferred if an actuator is provided to drive the adjustment movement of the at least one swivel part, in particular the right and / or left swivel part and / or the front flap, from the respective swiveled-down filling position in the direction of and in particular up to the respective swiveled-up maximum emptying position. Such an actuator may be configured such that it only drives the swivel-up movement in the direction of the maximum emptying position and a return movement in the direction of the filling position is achieved, for example, due to the dead weight of the respective swivel part. Alternatively, the actuator may also be configured such that it drives both the swiveling up of the respective swivel part in the direction of and in particular up to the maximum emptying position and the swiveling down of the respective swivel part in the direction of and in particular to the filling position.

[0021] It is possible that the drive unit of the pulsation device is configured and provided separately from the actuator. This variant will also be explained in more detail below. However, it is also possible that this one or more actuators are simultaneously also a part of the pulsation device or form the drive unit of the pulsation device and, in pulsation mode, drive a pulsation movement of the one or more swivel parts, in particular of the right and / or left swivel parts and / or of the front flap, in particular about the respective swivel axis of the respective swivel part. In particular for this embodiment, it is possible that the pulsation movement generated by the pulsation device on the respective swivel part is an alternating back and forth movement in and against the adjustment direction of the one or more respective swivel parts or a jerky movement between an adjustment in or against the adjustment in the direction of the maximum filling position and a stopping of the adjustment movement, in particular for example with a frequency of <10 Hz (based on a movement cycle of either a back and forth adjustment together or a pulsating adjustment in one adjustment direction). For this embodiment, it is in particular possible that the pulsation device is configured such that the pulsation movement in the activated pulsation mode takes place with a frequency of, for example, five to twenty movement pulses, in particular movement change pulses, in particular movement direction change pulses or movement changes, per second. Additionally or alternatively, it is advantageous if the pulsation device is configured such that the movement changes of the one or more swivel parts occurring in the activated pulsation mode occur in each case in relation to the respective swivel angle adjustment about their respective swivel axis and alternating in and against the swivel movement in the direction of the maximum emptying position in a range of not more than 2°, in particular 1°. If, on the other hand, the pulsation device is configured or controlled by the control unit such that the pulsation movement takes place in the form of stepped jumps in or against the direction of movement towards the maximum emptying position, it may be advantageous if each individual jump is a swivel movement of the respective swivel part about its respective swivel axis of not more than 1° and / or an activated pulsation process carried out by the pulsation device at once is not more than 4°.

[0022] The actuator of one or more swivel parts, in particular the right and left swivel parts and / or the front flap, may be a linear actuator, in particular a hydraulic cylinder. There may also be more than one such linear actuator, in particular hydraulic cylinders, per swivel part to drive the adjustment movement and possibly also the pulsation movement. The hydraulic cylinders may be single-acting or double-acting hydraulic cylinders. Additionally or alternatively, 4 / 3-way valves and / or proportional valves with or without metering edge separation may be used to generate the pulsation movement. If there is more than one hydraulic cylinder per swivel part to drive the adjustment movement, and in particular also the pulsation movement, the hydraulic cylinders for each swivel part are preferably operated in a coordinated manner, in particular with the aid of a control unit.

[0023] In addition or as an alternative to the simultaneous use of the actuator of the respective swivel part as the drive of the pulsation device, it is also possible that the pulsation device has a pulsation drive which is separate from and can be operated independently of the actuator and in particular is controlled by the control unit, in particular also comprising a vibration excitation device separate from the actuator. These vibration excitation devices may be, for example, one or more vibration exciters, in particular imbalance exciters, comprising a separate motor, for example an electric, hydraulic or pneumatic motor. An imbalance exciter refers in particular to a device with a rotary shaft, preferably driven by a motor and rotating about a rotation axis, on which an eccentric or imbalance mass is arranged. The vibration exciter may be connected to one of the swivel parts, for example flanged to it, and thus transmit the vibrations it generates directly to the respective swivel part. The vibration exciter is preferably arranged on the underside of the respective swivel part opposite the interior of the material hopper. Additionally or alternatively, the vibration exciter may be, for example, an impact mechanism with a ram or comparable impact contact element, which can be used to trigger impacts on the respective swivel part. It is possible and preferred that both the right swivel part and the left swivel part each comprise their own such pulsation device, i.e., that one such pulsation device is arranged on each of the two swivel parts.

[0024] The pulsation device may be configured and operated such that the activated pulsation mode only acts on one swivel part or simultaneously on two or more of the swivel parts. Alternatively, however, it may be advantageous if the jerking device is configured such that the pulsation mode on the left swivel part can be activated independently of the pulsation mode on the right swivel part and / or independently on the front flap, and thus the activated pulsation mode can be activated and / or deactivated individually and independently of one another on the respective swivel parts. Additionally or alternatively, the actuator of a swivel part, for example the right swivel part and / or the front flap, can be controlled by the control unit independently of the actuator of another swivel part, for example the left swivel part and / or the front flap.

[0025] It is possible that a hydraulic circuit is provided that supplies the pulsation device with hydraulic energy for drive purposes in the activated pulsation mode. This circuit may be a hydraulic circuit configured only for driving the pulsation device or may be a hydraulic circuit via which one or more other consumers of hydraulic drive energy are also driven. In particular, this hydraulic circuit may be configured as an open hydraulic circuit. The hydraulic circuit may therefore be configured in particular to drive an adjustment movement of the actuator and / or to drive the vibration exciter.

[0026] It is also possible that the hydraulic circuit comprises a pressurized fluid reservoir, wherein the hydraulic circuit may then be configured such that the pulsation device is driven using hydraulic energy stored in the pressurized fluid reservoir. The pressurized fluid reservoir may be charged with hydraulic fluid, for example, recuperatively from the lowering movement of the swivel parts and / or from other hydraulic circuits of the road paver.

[0027] Activation and / or deactivation of the pulsation mode may be manually commanded to the control unit by an operator of the road paver, for example via an input at a suitable user interface of the road paver, such as a control panel with one or more manually operable input devices, a suitable remote control, for example also by means of a computer program installed on a smart device, etc. However, it may be advantageous if the control unit automatically controls the pulsation device, i.e., the operation of the pulsation device, in particular in addition to or as an alternative to manual activation and / or deactivation, in particular the sequence of a pulsation process. The control unit may be in signal transmission connection with the user interface. The control unit may, for example, be a computer device with one or more computer programs suitable for controlling the pulsation device. In particular, the control unit may be configured such that it controls partially or fully automated operation of the pulsation device. Processes and / or operating states of the pulsation device controlled by the control unit may be, for example, switching on and / or off and / or activation and / or deactivation and / or the duration and / or intensity of an activated pulsation mode and / or the movement pattern, for example a single pulse, a stepped movement pattern, an alternating movement pattern, etc., as explained in more detail below in particular. Additionally or alternatively, it may also be possible to activate / deactivate the pulsation mode across machines, i.e., from one machine for another machine. In the present context, this may include, for example, the operation of a paving train in which a feeder and a road paver are operated together as a road construction machine. For this application in particular, it is possible to initialize the pulsation mode on the road paver from the feeder or vice versa. A suitable communication connection may be provided for this purpose, via which one or more corresponding control commands can be transmitted from one machine to the other.

[0028] In particular in cases where the pulsation device is driven using a hydraulic circuit, the control unit may be configured such that it controls the operation of the pulsation device with a predefined frequency and / or a predefined travel, in particular cylinder stroke. This may be done, for example, by controlling a valve actuation of one or more actuating valves of the pulsation device.

[0029] It may be advantageous if the control unit is configured such that it activates and / or deactivates the pulsation mode, in particular automatically, depending on at least one operating parameter and / or at least one operating parameter change. Such an operating parameter may be, for example, a current swivel angle of the right and / or left swivel part and / or the front flap, in particular in relation to an initial swivel angle position, for example the angular position of the respective swivel part in the filling position, or a defined reference swivel angle, again preferably the position of the swivel part in the filling position. The pulsation mode may be activated by the control unit, for example, when a defined swivel angle of the respective swivel part is reached or exceeded. Additionally or alternatively, this may also refer to exceeding of a defined swivel angle difference between a current swivel angle and a defined reference swivel angle, wherein the defined reference swivel angle may be a swivel angle that is statically defined or individually defined during the running process. For example, the reference swivel angle may be defined by being the swivel angle at which a swivel movement of the respective swivel part was last stopped, i.e., stopped before the current swivel movement. Additionally or alternatively, it may be possible for the control unit to monitor the elapse of a defined time interval after a reference event has been exceeded and use this as a trigger to activate the pulsation mode. Such a reference event may, for example, be a docking of a loading vehicle to the road paver or the occurrence of the collision between the transport vehicle and the road paver, which in this case is typically brought about in a deliberate and controlled manner, and / or the termination of a loading process of the material hopper by a transport vehicle, for example by releasing an existing collision between these two vehicles, and / or a time period or a time interval from a previous pulsation or from a termination and / or activation of a previous, in particular the last previous, activated pulsation mode and / or a manual input by an operator via an input device, for example an input device as already described above. The aforementioned events may therefore also be used by the control unit as trigger events for activating and / or deactivating the pulsation mode. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of these events may be the cause of the intensity and / or duration and / or type of movement pattern, i.e., the intensity and / or duration and / or type of movement pattern may be varied by the control unit depending on the respective trigger event.

[0030] For the pulsation mode triggered by the control unit, it is possible that a certain minimum number of pulses is always triggered with an activation, in particular, for example, at least three, especially at least five. The pulsation mode may therefore be characterized by a defined, predetermined sequence of several pulses.

[0031] The road construction machine may comprise a sensor device which may be configured to detect one or more variables, in particular an operating parameter and / or a change in an operating parameter and / or the occurrence of a reference and / or trigger event, as described above, and / or an exclusion event, as described below. Herein, a variable may in particular be a position and / or position change, a state or the like, in particular of at least one swivel part.

[0032] At this point, it is particularly preferred if the sensor device is configured to detect a current swivel angle and / or a current swivel angle change of at least the righthand and / or lefthand swivel parts and / or the front flap within the respective adjustment range. A current swivel angle may be determined, for example, in relation to a reference position, for example defined by the swivel angle position of the respective swivel part in the swiveled-down filling position. To determine the current swivel angle and / or swivel angle change, the sensor device may, for example, comprise one or more angle sensors configured to detect an angular position and / or an angular position change of at least one swivel part. For example, an angle measurement may be carried out on a swivel bearing pin of a swivel joint of the respective swivel part. In addition to such, in particular direct, angle determination, the angle sensor may also be configured for indirect swivel angle and / or swivel angle change determination. This type of swivel angle detection may, for example, extend to elements whose relative position and / or state changes directly or indirectly in correlation with the current swivel angle of the respective swivel part. This may be done particularly preferably, for example, with the aid of a displacement measuring device on and / or in a linear actuator or a corresponding part, in particular one or more hydraulic cylinders of the actuator.

[0033] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor device may also be configured such that it detects or records the reaching of a defined end position, in particular a stop position, of the respective swivel part and / or a part moving in correlation with it. For example, one or more stop sensors may be included in the sensor device for this purpose. A particularly preferred position for detecting a defined end position may be, for example, the filling position and / or the maximum emptying position of the respective swivel part.

[0034] The actuator of the respective swivel part may have end position damping. End position damping herein refers in particular to the configuration and / or control of the respective actuator such that it is damped, in particular slowed down in terms of the adjustment speed, towards an end position. If the actuator is a hydraulic cylinder, for example, this can mean in particular that an end position can only be approached at an adjustment speed that is reduced or slowed down compared to a maximum adjustment speed over the entire adjustment travel, for example with the aid of one or more flow orifices and / or a suitable valve control. With regard to the entire adjustment travel of the respective actuator, it is possible that this end position damping only becomes active in a range in which the adjustment movement has already come comparatively close to an end position. With regard to a maximum possible adjustment travel of the respective swivel part, the range in which such end position damping acts or is activated may, for example, be a range of not more than 10%, in particular not more than 5%, of the maximum adjustment travel immediately before the respective end position. Regarding an activation of the pulsation mode, it may now be advantageous if this mode can only be activated when the respective swivel part is outside the adjustment range of the respective swivel part in which the end position damping is active / activated or, additionally or alternatively, is not activated by the control unit when the respective actuator is in an adjustment position with activated or effective end position damping. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that when the pulsation mode is activated, if the respective swivel part is currently in a swivel position in which the end position damping is activated or active, the actuator is first moved out of the range of the activated / effective end position damping into an adjustment position in which the end position damping is no longer active / activated, and the pulsation mode is only then activated by the control unit. This readjustment may be done manually or controlled by the control unit, for example. In this respect, it may therefore also be advantageous if the sensor device is configured to detect a reaching and / or leaving of an adjustment range of the one or more actuators with activated / effective end position damping, i.e., is configured such that it can determine whether a current adjustment position of the one or more actuators is an adjustment position in which end position damping is activated / effective or not.

[0035] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor device may also be configured to detect a distance, in particular a distance of a swivel part or a part moving in a correlating manner across the adjustment range relative to a reference part, for example the machine frame or the like. The change in distance between these two parts may therefore depend on a current swivel angle of the respective swivel part. Such a distance sensor may, for example, be a contactless distance sensor, such as a 3D camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, etc. Such a sensor therefore makes it possible, for example, to determine the reaching of a defined distance from a reference element, which may be used as a possible trigger event for activating and / or deactivating the pulsation mode.

[0036] The sensor device may be configured such that it is in signal transmission connection with the control unit, in particular via one or more and / or wired and / or wireless signal lines, so that the control unit can control the pulsation mode based on one or more sensor signals. This connection may at least partially be in the form of a CAN bus system, for example.

[0037] The control unit may be configured such that activation of the pulsation mode by the control unit is suppressed or excluded per se in certain operating situations and / or under certain operating conditions. Such operating situations may also be referred to as exclusion events. Such an operating situation may exist, for example, if at least one of the swivel parts and / or two or more swivel parts are still in the filling position. An activated pulsation mode may be disadvantageous at this stage in that, for example, segregation effects may then be forced in the paving material stored in the material hopper. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that activation of the pulsation mode is excluded if one of the swivel parts, in particular two or more of the swivel parts, have not yet exceeded a swivel angle threshold. In certain operating situations of the road construction machine, which is specially configured as a road paver, it may also happen that the paving screed, which is mainly pulled over the paving material laid on the underlying ground in a floating position, is locked in place or is in a locked position relative to the machine frame of the road paver. In this operating phase, the paving screed is usually rigidly connected to the tractor, i.e., the rest of the road paver by means of drawbars. This may be the case, for example, when the road paver interrupts its forward movement and the paving screed is to be prevented from sinking into the paving material. In this specific operating constellation, activating the pulsation mode may be disadvantageous in that pulsation movements occurring on the swivel parts may then be transferred to the paving screed and thus to the laid-out paving mat. It is also possible that a stop of a travel movement of the road paver or a state in which the road paver is not moving, for example as detected by means of a travel movement sensor, represents an exclusion criterion and / or event. Additionally or alternatively, such an exclusion event for a road construction machine may occur if the weight of the paving material stored in the material hopper on the right and / or left side wall part and / or the front flap is above a defined threshold. For this purpose, the aforementioned sensor device may, for example, comprise one or more suitable weight force sensors, such as one or more load cells or the like. Additionally or alternatively, one or more fill level sensors may also be used for this purpose, which are configured to determine a current paving material fill level within the material hopper and / or a current distribution of the paving material within the material hopper, such as one or more ultrasonic sensors, one or more light barriers, etc. Activation of the pulsation mode may be ineffective and therefore inefficient in this operating phase. Further exclusion conditions and / or events are also conceivable, and the sensor device may then comprise one or more sensors suitable for monitoring the presence and / or absence of one or more exclusion conditions and / or events and transmitting them to the control unit.

[0038] It is possible that the control unit is configured such that it controls and / or regulates the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode as a function of one or more events and / or operating conditions. For example, an activated pulsation mode may always be maintained until the pulsation mode is deactivated by a manual input. Additionally or alternatively, however, it is also possible for the pulsation mode to be activated over a defined time interval and for the pulsation mode to be deactivated, in particular automatically controlled by the control unit, when this defined time interval has elapsed. The control unit may then include a timer, for example, which may be used by the control unit to monitor the elapse of the defined time interval. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that the control unit is configured such that the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode is controlled by the control unit as a function of a temperature of the paving material stored in the material hopper and / or as a function of a current swivel position of the right and / or left swivel part. The colder the paving material is in the material hopper, the tougher it may be. It may therefore be advantageous if the intensity of the pulsation movement in the activated pulsation mode increases as the temperature of the paving material decreases, for example with regard to an amplitude, in particular oscillation amplitude, and / or the force of a movement pulse or with regard to the adjustment or pulsation speed. To detect the temperature of the paving material, the sensor device may, for example, comprise one or more thermal cameras and / or temperature sensors. Additionally or alternatively, he duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode may be controlled as a function of a fill level and / or a distribution of the paving material within the material hopper. For this purpose, one or more fill level sensors may be provided as part of the sensor device. In particular, the pulsation mode may then only be activated by the control unit if the fill level of paving material in the material hopper is below a defined threshold. It may be particularly advantageous if the defined threshold relates to a fill level of the material hopper of only 5% or less, i.e., the material hopper is practically already almost empty. Further events and / or operating conditions depending on which the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode may be controlled by the control unit may be, for example, the material type of the current paving material and / or a paving speed and / or width and / or layer thickness, the type of feed of the paving material, for example from a feeder or a conventional transport vehicle, such as a truck, weather conditions, such as an ambient temperature, humidity, precipitation, etc.

[0039] In order to reduce and / or even eliminate the transmission of the pulsation movements of the pulsation device acting on the swivel parts of the material hopper, it is possible that at least the right and / or left swivel parts and / or the front flap are mounted with vibration damping relative to the machine frame. For this purpose, one or more vibration damping elements may be provided between a bearing part supporting one or both swivel parts and, for example, the machine frame of the road construction machine.

[0040] Further variations in the configuration and arrangement of the pulsation device are possible with regard to the orientation relative to the respective swivel part. It is preferred if a pulsation movement generated by the pulsation device takes place along a pulsation axis and / or within a pulsation plane that runs transversely and, in particular, perpendicular to a forward direction of the road construction machine. In other words, this means that the pulsation device is ideally configured and arranged such that the pulsation movements generated by it on the respective swivel part preferably do not act in and against the forward direction of the road construction machine. This ensures that paving material stored inside the material hopper is not thrown out of the material hopper over the front loading edge by the pulsation device, but is moved in the direction of the longitudinal conveyor, for example the scraper belt.

[0041] There are also various possibilities with regard to the type and / or pattern of the movement path caused by the pulsation device on the respective swivel part. For example, the pulsation device may be configured such that the pulsation movement transmitted by it to the swivel part(s) in the activated pulsation mode causes the swivel part(s) to oscillate back and forth within a swivel angle window. In this variant, the respective swivel part thus oscillates around an average swivel angle value within a defined swivel angle range. This value may, for example, be in the range of 1° to 2.5° and / or a travel at the radially outer end of the respective swivel part relative to the swivel axis by not more than 3 cm, in particular not more than 2 cm, and / or at least 0.2 cm, in particular at least 1 cm. In this case, the successive pulsation movements in the activated pulsation mode may therefore preferably be oriented in opposite directions, in particular also on a circular path. Additionally or alternatively, however, it is also possible to configure the pulsation mode such that the movement path of the respective swivel parts is carried out in a stepped ascending or descending manner, wherein the successive pulsation movements in the activated pulsation mode may thus preferably be oriented in the same direction in this case, in particular also on a circular path. Other possible variations include varying the distance traveled during a pulsation impulse, i.e., the angular offset.

[0042] It is possible that the pulsation movements of several swivel parts are coordinated with each other, for example synchronized with each other.

[0043] The road construction machine may be a road paver or a feeder, in particular for transferring paving material onto a road paver in an ongoing paving process.

[0044] A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine, in particular a self-propelled road construction machine according to the invention, as described above. In this respect, reference is also made to the preceding information on the configuration of a generic road construction machine and a road construction machine according to the invention, both individually and in combination with one another.

[0045] The method according to the invention may comprise, in a step, filling a material hopper with paving material, for example using a suitable transport vehicle or a feeder. In addition or as an alternative to step, a step (b) may comprise moving paving material onto a longitudinal conveyor by adjusting at least one swivel part, in particular a right and / or left swivel part and / or a front flap, of the material hopper from a swiveled-down filling position towards a swiveled-up maximum emptying position within an adjustment range. For further details on the individual elements, reference is also made at this point in particular to the preceding information in connection with a generic road construction machine and / or a road construction machine according to the invention.

[0046] Based on the filling of the material hopper with paving material in step and at least the beginning of the removal process of paving material stored in the material hopper by the longitudinal conveyor device in step (b) by at least partially swiveling one or both swivel parts from the respective filling position towards the maximum emptying position, a step (c) may comprise activating a pulsation device in a pulsation mode and thereby effecting a pulsation movement of the at least one swivel part, in particular a left and / or right swivel part and / or a front flap, from a current adjustment position of the one or more swivel parts within the respective adjustment range by a control unit. In this step, the pulsation device may thus generate a pulsation movement, for example by means of a suitable drive unit controlled in particular by the control unit, and transmit it to the at least one or more of the swivel parts, and reference is also made in particular at this point to the preceding description. By pulsing of the at least one or more swivel parts, paving material adhering to the one or more swivel parts can be detached more easily and thus slide, in particular by gravity, onto the longitudinal conveyor by at least a transitional pulsating adjustment of the at least one or more swivel parts. The activation of the pulsation mode may be triggered by a manual operating command from an operator of the road paver to the control unit. This may be done, for example, using a separate control element or by a specific, in particular time-dependent, actuation of a conventional control element. However, it may be preferred if the activation is triggered automatically by the control unit, in particular by a control unit and / or as a function of one or more events as described above.

[0047] A further possible variation is that the pulsation mode itself and / or the pulsation device as such may not only be adjusted between an activated and a deactivated state, but may also be switchable between an enabled and a disabled basic state. When the pulsation device is in the disabled basic state, it cannot be activated. This may be useful, for example, if the road construction machine is currently processing a paving material for which no pulsation movement is required for unloading and / or an operator deems the activated pulsation mode to be disadvantageous, for example due to forced segregation phenomena in the paving material. In the enabled state, on the other hand, the pulsation device may be switchable between the activated pulsation mode, in which it generates pulsation movements and transmits them to the at least one or more of the swivel parts, and the deactivated pulsation mode, in which it does not generate any pulsation movements and also does not transmit any pulsation movements to the at least one or more swivel parts. It may be preferred if the pulsation device is enabled from the disabled basic state by a manual operating instruction from an operator on the road construction machine, although this could in principle be done by the control unit.

[0048] For the method according to the invention, it is further additionally or alternatively possible that step (c) is preceded by checking whether an exclusion criterion / event or an exclusion condition for activating the pulsation mode is fulfilled and, if this is the case, suppressing an activation of the pulsation mode and, if this is not the case, allowing an activation of the pulsation mode. In particular with regard to the type of possible exclusion criteria / events and / or exclusion conditions and their possible detection, reference is also made at this point to the preceding description of the road construction machine according to the invention. In particular, said checking may be carried out using one or more sensors of the sensor device and / or by the control unit, and / or said allowing and / or suppressing may be carried out automatically by the control unit.

[0049] Additionally or alternatively, the method may comprise a step of checking, at least in pulsation mode, whether an activation event and / or activation conditions are fulfilled. This may also be done using one or more sensors of the sensor device and / or by the control unit. If it is determined that an activation event and / or activation conditions are fulfilled, the method may comprise activating the pulsation mode, preferably automatically controlled by the control unit.

[0050] At least in pulsation mode, the method may comprise determining the current swivel position and / or swivel position change of the right and / or left swivel part, in particular directly and / or indirectly, with the aid of a sensor device. Such a swivel position may also be an end position, in particular the filling position and / or the maximum emptying position of one or both swivel parts. Particularly with regard to possible details of the configuration and operation of the sensor device in this context, reference is again made to the preceding description. If this information is available, it may be advantageous if said activating according to step (c) is performed depending on a current swivel position and / or swivel position change of the right and / or left swivel part detected by the sensor device, in particular controlled by the control unit. In this way, it is possible, for example, that the pulsation device is only activated, preferably by the control unit, when certain minimum swivel positions are reached and / or when the maximum emptying position etc. is reached.

[0051] A further possible variation of the method according to the invention is that said activating according to step (c) is time-dependent. This can mean, for example, that the pulsation mode is activated, in particular automatically controlled by the control unit, after elapse of a defined period of time / a defined time interval from the occurrence and / or exceeding of a reference event, such as docking of a loading vehicle and / or the completion of a loading process and / or the elapse of a time interval from a or the previous pulsation and / or the reaching of a defined swivel position and / or swivel position change, etc.

[0052] Alternatively, it is also possible that a step (d) comprises terminating the activated pulsation mode. This may be done in particular based on prior checking whether a termination event or termination condition is fulfilled or has occurred. Such an event or condition may be, for example, the occurrence of an exclusion criterion for activating the pulsation mode, such as locking the paving screed in a locked position relative to the machine frame of the road construction machine, which in this case is configured as a road paver, during paving operation. For the operation of a road construction machine, such an event or condition may additionally or alternatively be a stopping of a travel movement of the road construction machine or a state in which the road construction machine does not move in the forward direction. Additionally or alternatively, this may also be done based on a manually specified termination input and / or upon elapse of a defined time interval. Additionally or alternatively, a swiveling of the right and / or left swivel parts and / or the front flap towards the filling position or initiating such a swivel movement and / or assuming the filling position for the right and / or left swivel part may also be such a termination event or such a termination condition. Said detecting of one or more termination events and / or termination conditions may also be carried out with the aid of the sensor device and / or checked by the control unit. Additionally or alternatively, the control unit may in particular automatically control the termination in accordance with step (d).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The invention will be explained in more detail below by reference to the embodiment examples shown in the figures. In the schematic figures:

[0054] FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a road construction machine configured as a road paver;

[0055] FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the road construction machine of FIG. 1 with swivel parts swiveled up;

[0056] FIG. 3 is a front view of two swivel parts in filling position and other elements of a road construction machine;

[0057] FIG. 4 is a front view of two swivel parts in swiveled-up position and other elements of a road construction machine;

[0058] FIG. 5 is an exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0059] FIG. 6 is another exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0060] FIG. 7 is another exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0061] FIG. 8 is another exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0062] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine;

[0063] FIG. 10 is an oblique view of a material hopper with a front flap and swivel parts in the filling position;

[0064] FIG. 11 is an oblique view of the material hopper of FIG. 10 with a front flap and swivel parts in the emptying position;

[0065] FIG. 12 is a time-swivel angle diagram for an actuator with end position damping;

[0066] FIG. 13 is a side view of a road construction machine in the form of a feeder; and

[0067] FIG. 14 is a flow chart of possible operating concepts.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Like parts or functionally like parts are designated by like reference numerals in the figures. Recurring parts are not necessarily designated separately in each figure.

[0069] FIG. 1 shows a self-propelled road construction machine 1, specifically a road paver 50, in an oblique perspective view from the front left. The forward direction or paving direction is marked with A. Spatial coordinates are indicated by x (=horizontal direction in forward direction A) and y (=horizontal direction transverse to forward direction A) for the horizontal plane and z for the vertical direction to make it easier to understand, in particular the movement information given below.

[0070] The road construction machine 1 may comprise an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive unit 4 (only indicated very schematically in FIG. 1), for example comprising one or more electric motors and / or internal combustion engines, and a material hopper 5 arranged at the front in the paving direction A. The operator platform 2 may be dispensed with in particular if the road construction machine 1 is configured as a remote-controlled, autonomous or at least highly automated road construction machine 1. The drive unit 4 may be configured to provide the drive energy required for traveling and working operation of the road construction machine 1. In addition to one or more motors, it may also have energy transmission elements, such as gears, cable connections, etc. The paving direction A refers in particular to the direction in which the road paver 1 moves over the underlying ground during operation. The road construction machine 1 is self-propelled and may have a travel mechanism 6 for self-propulsion, for example comprising one or more crawler tracks and / or wheels as travel units. In the present exemplary embodiment, the travel mechanism 6 comprises exemplary right and left crawler tracks as travel units.

[0071] In addition, if the road construction machine 1 is configured as a road paver 50, it has a paving screed 7 in its rear area. The paving screed can be pulled over a mat of paving material for smoothing and compacting purposes during paving operation. For this purpose, the paving screed may be mounted on the road paver 1 via drawbars not shown in FIG. 1. The part of the road paver 1 without the paving screed 7 (and possibly also without these drawbars) may also be referred to as the tractor. The paving screed may be configured as an adjustable screed or a fixed screed.

[0072] As an alternative to the road paver 50, the road construction machine 1 may also be configured as a feeder 51, as shown in more detail in the side view of FIG. 13. Such a feeder 51 may also have an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive unit 4, a material hopper 5 and / or travel units 6. Instead of a paving screed 7, the feeder comprises a transfer conveyor belt 52, via which paving material removed from the material hopper 5 can be transferred against the forward direction A, for example into the material hopper 5 of a road construction machine 1 configured as a road paver 50 in an ongoing paving process. With regard to the structure and / or mode of operation of the material hopper 5 itself, there are at least no significant differences between a road construction machine 1 configured as a road paver 50 and a road construction machine 1 configured as a feeder 51, so that the following information on the possible structure and possible mode of operation of the material hopper 5 applies equally to road construction machines 1 configured as road paver 50 and road construction machines 1 configured as feeder 51.

[0073] A longitudinal conveyor 8 may be provided to remove paving material stored in the material hopper 5. This conveyor may be a bulk material conveyor, for example a scraper conveyor, running to the rear in the longitudinal direction or paving direction A of the road construction machine 1. It is possible that a bulk material receiving surface of the longitudinal conveyor 8 forms part of a bottom of the material hopper 5, in particular within a recess extending between swivel parts described in more detail below. The paving material may thus be transported from the material hopper 5 or out of the material hopper 5 in the opposite direction to the paving direction A to the rear of the road construction machine 1.

[0074] In the case of a road paver 50, the paving material reaching the rear area of the road construction machine 1 may be deposited on the underlying ground and distributed across the paving width transversely to the paving direction A in front of the paving screed 7 in the paving direction A by means of a transverse distribution device or transverse conveyor 10. For example, the transverse conveyor 10 may comprise one or more screw conveyors. The paving material laid out in this way on the underlying ground may then be passed over by the paving screed as the paver 50 continues to move in the paving direction A, thereby smoothing and compacting it.

[0075] The road construction machine 1 may be operated from the operator platform 2. For this purpose, at least one input device 11 may be arranged on the operator platform 2, for example in the form of a control panel, a control console or other devices suitable for manual input of operating instructions by an operator. At least partial operation by means of a remote control may also be possible. In paving operation, an operator may stay on the operator platform 2 and move along with the road paver 1. Additionally or alternatively, it may also be possible to operate the road paver 1 in an autonomous or at least semi-autonomous operating mode. In this case, the operator platform 2 may also be dispensed with. However, for the possible control, in particular of parts, of the material hopper 5, which is explained in more detail below, particularly in autonomous or at least semi-autonomous operating mode, an operating policy generally prioritizes avoiding an unintentional collision of the road construction machine 1 with elements located outside the road construction machine 1 over maintaining a material flow.

[0076] The material hopper 5 is used to hold and store paving material during the paving process of the road construction machine 1. It is desirable if the material hopper 5 provides a sufficiently large storage volume for paving material and is configured such that the paving material stored in it can be removed as evenly and / or quantitatively as possible and fed to the paving process indirectly by a feeder 51 or directly by a road paver 50.

[0077] The material hopper 5 may comprise several swivel parts 9R, 9L and / or 9F for this purpose. These swivel parts 9 may, for example, be a left swivel part 9L and a right swivel part 9R as seen in the paving direction A. These swivel parts may each be adjustable between a filling position and a maximum emptying position, in particular they may each swivel about a swivel axis. In FIG. 1, the two swivel parts 9L and 9R are in the swiveled-down filling position and, for example, in FIG. 2 in the maximum emptying position swiveled up and towards each other about the respective swivel axis 15R and 15L. FIG. 2 in particular illustrates that by swiveling the two swivel parts 9L and 9R upwards, a type of material guide funnel may be obtained, which tapers downwards in the vertical direction z towards the center of the material hopper 5.

[0078] Each of the swivel parts 9L and 9R may comprise a bottom wall element 12 and a side wall element 13. As such, the two swivel parts 9L and 9R may also be described as side wall swivel parts. The bottom wall element 12 may, for example, have a receiving surface, in particular an essentially flat one, which extends essentially horizontally in the filling position. In this position, the respective side wall element may be positioned essentially at an end on the right or left side of the bottom wall element and may protrude essentially in the vertical direction z in a manner connected to the bottom wall element 12. Each swivel part 91, 9R may further include a rear wall element 17, which may also protrude in the vertical direction z and be connected to the respective side wall element 12 and the respective bottom wall element 12. The rear wall element 17 (if present), the bottom wall element 12 and the side wall element 13 of each swivel part 9 thus move as a whole about the respective swivel axis 15R and / or 15L when the respective swivel part 9L and / or 9R is adjusted. In particular, the rear wall of the material hopper 5 as a whole and also the bottom wall of the material hopper 5 as a whole may additionally comprise parts that are stationary relative to the machine frame 3 and are accordingly not swiveled when the respective swivel parts 9R, 9L are adjusted, and accordingly retain their relative position relative to the machine frame 3.

[0079] The two swivel parts 9L and 9R may further have an inner edge 16. This inner edge may run essentially parallel to the respective swivel axes 15R and 15L and extend at least partially in the vertical direction above the essentially centrally and longitudinally extended longitudinal conveyor 8 in the paving direction A, so that, for example, paving material lying on one of the bottom wall elements 12 can slide over the respective inner edge 16 of the respective swivel part 9 onto the longitudinal conveyor.

[0080] Additionally or alternatively, the material hopper may have a front flap 9F as a swivel part 9, the possible structure and function of which is illustrated in more detail by way of example in FIGS. 10 and 11, in particular in addition to the preceding discussion. The front flap 9F may also be adjustable between a swiveled-down filling position (FIG. 10) and a swiveled-up maximum emptying position (FIG. 11), in particular it may swivel about a swivel axis 15F running horizontally and transversely to the forward direction A. The swivel movement of the front flap 9F thus also ensures that a type of material guide funnel or a sliding surface that slopes downwards at least towards the longitudinal conveyor 8 can be obtained by swiveling upwards, so that paving material located on the front flap 9F can slide over the inner edge 16 of the front flap into the area of the longitudinal conveyor. The front flap 9F may also have a bottom wall element 12 with a receiving surface, in particular an essentially flat one, which extends essentially horizontally in the filling position.

[0081] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate that the swivel parts 9R and 9L may further each have a swivel segment 53 in their bottom part, which can fold in about a swivel axis 54 relative to the remaining bottom surface when the respective swivel part swivels up. However, it is also possible to configured the embodiment of the material hopper 5 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 without such swivel segments 53 but with a front flap 9F.

[0082] The material hopper 5 may also have a lowered upper edge at the front in the paving direction A and may comprise a loading edge 14 there. At the loading edge 14, retaining aprons, in particular elastic ones, for example made of a plastic or rubber material, may be provided which protrude to a comparatively small extent in the vertical direction and prevent, at least to a limited extent, the paving material from falling out forwardly in the paving direction a over the loading edge 14.

[0083] FIGS. 3 and 4 are based on the illustrations in FIGS. 1 and 2, with FIG. 3 showing a highly schematized front view of the filling position as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 showing the emptying positions of the right and left swivel parts 9R and 9L. Furthermore, an adjustable front flap 9F is added in FIGS. 3 and 4 compared to the embodiment example in FIGS. 1 and 2. For reasons of clarity, only a few elements of the road construction machine 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown which are helpful for a more detailed illustration of the invention, in particular the two swivel parts 9R and 9L, the longitudinal conveyor 8 and, indicated by dashed lines, the machine frame 3 as a possible reference structure for explaining, for example, the swivel movement of the respective swivel parts 9L, 9R and 9F. FIG. 3 further illustrates by way of example that each swivel part 9 may comprise an actuator 18 (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 by way of example only for the swivel part 9L), which may drive the swivel adjustment of the respective swivel part 9 at least from its filling position in the direction of and in particular up to the maximum emptying position. It is possible that the return movement of the respective swivel part is gravity-driven and / or that the actuator 16 is configured such that it can also actively drive this return movement. The actuator may, for example, comprise a linear actuator, in particular a hydraulic cylinder, articulated to the machine frame 3 and the respective swivel part 9, as also shown by way of example in FIG. 3.

[0084] Starting from the filling position P1 shown in FIG. 3 for the swivel parts 9R, 9L and 9F, these can be adjusted by their respective actuator within an adjustment range V, for example swiveled or swiveled up about the respective swivel axis 15. FIG. 4 illustrates for the swivel part 9R an emptying position P2 within the adjustment range V, swiveled up relative to the filling position P1 by the swivel angle W relative to the filling position, and for the swivel part 9L the maximum emptying position P3, i.e., the maximum swiveled-up emptying position with the swivel angle Wmax relative to the filling position. The front flap or swivel part 9F is also swiveled up to its maximum emptying position P3. The maximum swivel angle Wmax thus defines the adjustment range V between the filling position and the maximum emptying position of the respective swivel part 9. FIG. 4 also illustrates at this point that it is possible for the swivel parts 9R and 9L to be adjusted independently of each other.

[0085] During the ongoing emptying process of the material hopper 5, it may happen that, despite the swivel parts 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F being in an emptying position P2 or even in the maximum emptying position P3, paving material sticks to the swivel parts 9 and does not slide towards the longitudinal conveyor 8. In order to improve the emptying process at this point in particular, the road construction machine 1 and in particular its material hopper 5 may now be equipped with a pulsation device 20. This device may be configured such that in an activated pulsation mode it applies a pulsation movement to at least one or more of the swivel parts 9, in particular, for example, an alternating back and forth adjustment about the respective swivel axis 15.

[0086] The drive of the pulsation device 20, i.e., the generation of the pulsation movement of the one or more swivel parts 9, may be achieved in various ways.

[0087] For example, the actuator 18 may be used to generate the desired pulsation movement in the activated pulsation mode and transmit it to the respective swivel part 9. This is shown in FIG. 4 as an example for the left swivel part 9L, but may also be realized in the same way by an additional or alternative actuator for the right swivel part 9R and / or the front flap 9F, which is not shown in detail in the figure.

[0088] Additionally or alternatively, the pulsation device 20 may also be a vibration excitation device, for example, particularly in the form of a vibration exciter 21, especially an imbalance exciter, or impact mechanism. This device may have one or more, in particular hydraulically, electrically and / or pneumatically driven drive units not shown in detail in FIG. 4, such as one or more motors.

[0089] A hydraulic circuit 23, for example comprising one or more hydraulic pumps and / or valves and / or a pressurized fluid reservoir, etc., is only indicated in FIG. 4 merely as an example. The at least one hydraulic pump may, for example, have only one delivery direction, two delivery devices (hydraulic circuit 23′) and / or a hydraulic motor / pump unit (hydraulic circuit 23″). The hydraulic circuit 23 or another suitable energy supply may additionally or alternatively drive the vibration exciter 21.

[0090] Even if different pulsation devices 20 are shown and / or described in FIG. 4 for the right and left swivel parts 9R and 9L as well as the front flap 9F, it is preferred if the road paver 1 has identical pulsation devices 20 at least for the left and right swivel parts 9L and 9R, in particular also for the front flap 9F.

[0091] A control unit 22 may be provided to control the pulsation device 20 and in particular the activated pulsation mode. The control unit may be a computer device with one or more computer programs. The control unit 22 may be connected to one or more sensors of a sensor device 24 via a signal transmission connection 28 (indicated only by way of example in FIG. 4), for example via one or more wired and / or wireless data transmission connections. The sensors may be, for example, one or more swivel angle sensors 25, in particular for direct and / or indirect detection of a current swivel angle W of the right and / or left swivel parts 9R / 9L, one or more stop and / or position sensors 26, in particular, for example, for detecting the filling position and / or the maximum emptying position of one and / or both swivel parts 9L and / or 9R, and / or a distance and / or displacement sensor 27, for example integrated in one or more hydraulic cylinders of the actuator. Additionally or alternatively, further sensors may be included by the sensor device, for example weight force sensors and / or filling level sensors for determining a current loading state of the material hopper 5 with paving material and / or one or more temperature measurement sensors for determining a current temperature of the paving material located in the material hopper 5 and / or one or more travel direction and / or travel speed sensors for determining a current travel direction and / or travel speed of the road paver 1, etc.

[0092] The control unit 22 may be configured such that, based on the operating inputs specified by the sensor device 24 and, if applicable, manually by an operator of the road paver via the input device 11, it also controls, among other things, the operation of the pulsation device 20, in particular with regard to activation and / or deactivation of the pulsation mode and / or a time duration of an activated pulsation mode and / or the intensity of a pulsation mode. To control a time-dependent and / or time-based activated pulsation mode, for example, a timer 30 may be provided or may also be included by the control unit 22. For example, the drive system 4 and / or an alternative energy source may be used to supply the control unit 22 with the energy required for its operation as well as other energy-consuming components, such as the hydraulic system 23, etc.

[0093] The road construction machine 1 may further include a display device 31. The display device may also be controlled by the control unit 22 and in particular be configured to display a current operating state of the pulsation device 20, in particular as to whether it is currently basically available, i.e., enabled, or not available, i.e., disabled, and / or is currently in an activated and / or a deactivated pulsation mode. To this end, the display device may, for example, comprise one or more haptically and / or acoustically and / or visually perceptible display means, such as, in particular, a display screen, especially on the operator platform 2.

[0094] The pulsation device 20 may be arranged on the respective swivel part 9 such that the pulsation movements, in particular oscillations, transmitted to the respective swivel part 9 take place along an axis and / or within a plane which runs transversely to the paving direction A or to the x spatial direction, in particular within a plane spanned by the y and z spatial directions, as is illustrated in FIG. 4 by way of example with the pulsation plane 32.

[0095] FIGS. 5 to 8 each show further details of the possible sequence of the pulsation mode, in particular controlled by the control unit, in a time-swivel angle diagram. The time t is shown on the x-axis and the current swivel angle W of one of the swivel parts 9R, 9L or 9F is shown on the y-axis. At W=0°, the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F is in the filling position and at Wmax in the maximum emptying position. At time t1, the respective swivel part 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F begins to swivel from the filling position in the direction of the maximum emptying position.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 5, the corresponding swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F is initially swiveled up continuously until the maximum emptying position is reached at time t2. When the maximum emptying position is reached, for example as detected by a suitable sensor as described above, the pulsation mode is activated, for example automatically by the control unit 22, over the time interval tx up to time t3. The time interval tx may be recorded using the timer 30, for example. Additionally or alternatively, the start and / or end of the time interval tx may also be specified, for example, by a manual operating instruction by an operator of the road construction machine 1, which may be entered via the input device 11, for example.

[0097] According to the embodiment example according to FIG. 6, one or more threshold swivel angles W1, W2 and / or W3 are defined in the adjustment range between the filling position and the maximum emptying position, upon reaching which in each case a time interval tx (i.e., between t4 and t5, t6 and t7 as well as t8 and t9) is triggered by the control unit 22, in which the pulsation mode is activated. It is also possible that as the current swivel angle W approaches the maximum swivel angle Wmax, the angle differences Wx between two successive threshold swivel angles become smaller, so that the pulsation mode is activated more frequently as the maximum swivel angle is approached with uniform angular adjustment.

[0098] Alternatively, it is also possible for an operator to manually activate and / or deactivate the pulsation mode within the adjustment range.

[0099] FIGS. 5 and 6 further illustrate that the activated pulsation mode may take place such that the respective swivel part 9L / 9R / 9F alternately pulsates back and forth against and in the direction of the maximum emptying position within a swivel angle window 49. This may also vary. For example, it is also possible to generate linear and / or transverse pulsation movements and / or pulsation movements acting on the respective swivel part 9L / 9R / 9F perpendicular to the swivel curve with the aid of the pulsation device and to transmit them to the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F.

[0100] However, even if the pulsation movement takes place along the swivel curve, this pulsation movement may also be further modified. FIG. 7 shows a stepped ascending pulsation, i.e., a pulsation oriented in the direction of the maximum swivel angle Wmax. In contrast to the previous pulsation movements, where the swivel movement took place in and against the swivel-up movement, the individual pulsation impulses controlled by the control unit in this embodiment example, for example between t4 and t5, are only directed in the direction of the maximum swivel angle Wmax.

[0101] When the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F reaches the maximum emptying position at time t2, this may, for example, trigger a time interval tx′ in which the pulsation mode is deactivated and the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F is partially moved back towards the filling position until it reaches, for example, a defined swivel angle W4 with the angle difference Wx. Once this is reached, this may, for example, trigger a new time interval with activated pulsation mode (in this case, for example, up to t11). The number of these repetitions (three in FIG. 7, for example) may vary and may be controlled by the control unit 22 or specified manually, for example.

[0102] As an alternative to the embodiment example shown in FIG. 7, it is also possible to execute the activated pulsation mode such that a stepped descending pulsation, i.e., a pulsation oriented towards the filling position takes place, as for example in FIG. 8 in the time period from t4 to t5.

[0103] It is further possible that one or more exclusion criteria are defined, which, if fulfilled, exclude the pulsation mode, for example monitored by the control unit 22. Such a criterion may be, for example, a minimum swivel angle Wmin within the adjustment range, as shown as an example in FIG. 8, below which, specifically in the case of a swivel adjustment between the filling position and a swivel position up to the minimum swivel angle Wmin, the activation of the pulsation mode, whether by a manual operating instruction and / or due to another activation event, is excluded or, for example, suppressed by the control unit 22. The swivel angle Wmin and / or the swivel angles W1, W2 and W3 may thus also be described as defined swivel angle thresholds.

[0104] In this context, FIG. 12 shows a further time-swivel angle diagram, and reference is first made here to the previous discussion of FIGS. 5 to 8. As in FIGS. 5 to 8, the one or more swivel parts 9 are adjusted from the filling position towards the emptying position from time t1. One difference here is that from time t2 until the maximum emptying position is reached at time t3, end position damping is activated or takes effect. As a result, the adjustment speed of the respective swivel part 9 is reduced, which may take place abruptly, as shown in FIG. 12, or also in a curved transition. In particular, it is also possible for the range of the activated end position damping to be curved rather than linear, as shown in FIG. 12. The maximum emptying position is reached at time t3 and maintained until time t4, for example. It may now be advantageous if the pulsation device is not activated as long as the one or more swivel parts 9 are in the adjustment range 55 with activated or effective end position damping. In this case, it is therefore possible that before the pulsation device is activated, the one or more swivel parts 9 are first swiveled out of the adjustment range 55, as shown in FIG. 12 in the time period from t4 to t5. Outside the adjustment range 55, pulsation is now performed between t5 and t6. Once operation of the pulsation device is complete and / or further operation is no longer required, the one or more swivel parts may be swiveled back up to their maximum emptying position through the adjustment range 55 until time t7.

[0105] Finally, FIG. 9 illustrates possible steps of a method 33 for operating a self-propelled road construction machine 1, in particular a road construction machine 1 with one or more features as described above.

[0106] The starting point of the method 33 may be commissioning 34 a road construction machine 1, for example comprising switching on or starting the road construction machine 1 and / or the like. The method may then comprise filling 35 the material hopper 5 with paving material and conveying 36 paving material out of the material hopper 5 using the longitudinal conveyor 8. Step 36 may also additionally or alternatively comprise moving one or both of the swivel parts towards the maximum emptying position.

[0107] For example, triggered by one and / or more of steps 34 to 36 or by a manual operating instruction, the method may comprise enabling 37 the pulsation mode. Said enabling only means that the “pulsation mode” function is available and is not synonymous with activating the pulsation mode, as described below. When the pulsation mode is enabled, this function is therefore merely available and, based thereon, allows the pulsation mode to be activated and deactivated. Only in the activated pulsation mode are pulsation movements actually also transmitted by the pulsation device 20 to one or more of the swivel parts 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F.

[0108] If the pulsation mode is enabled and, for example, paving material is conveyed out of the material hopper, the method may comprise checking 38, for example by the control unit, whether an exclusion criterion is currently fulfilled. An exclusion criterion at this point means an operating situation or an operating state for which it has been defined in advance that the pulsation mode should not be activated. This may be the case, for example, if one, several or all of the swivel parts 9 are still in the filling position. With regard to further possible exclusion criteria, reference is made here to the previous discussion. The information required for checking may, for example, be determined using one or more of the sensors of the sensor device. Reference is also made to the above discussion in this regard.

[0109] If checking 38 reveals that an exclusion criterion is currently fulfilled, activation of the pulsation mode may be suppressed in step 39, for example also controlled by the control unit 22. The method may then continue in step 38 in the form of a check loop.

[0110] If, on the other hand, checking 38 reveals that no exclusion criterion is currently fulfilled, the method may comprise allowing 39 activation of the pulsation mode. This may then trigger checking 41 whether an activation event currently exists. If this is not the case, the pulsation mode is not activated or such activation is suppressed 42, and the method may at this point also comprise returning to checking 41 (or also 38), which may again result in a kind of check loop.

[0111] If checking 41 reveals that an activation event exists and / or has occurred, step 43 may comprise activating the pulsation mode, so that pulsation movements and / or pulses are caused by the pulsation device for one or both of the swivel parts 9L and / or 9R.

[0112] If the pulsation mode is activated according to step 43, the method may comprise checking 44 whether a termination event or a termination condition is fulfilled. Such a termination event may be, for example, the elapse of a time interval from the activation of the pulsation mode or another event. In this context, reference is again made here to the previous information on possible termination events.

[0113] If there is no such termination event, the activated pulsation mode may be continued 45, which may, for example, include returning to checking 44, again resulting in a kind of check loop. If, on the other hand, a termination event exists, the pulsation mode may be deactivated or terminated.

[0114] A further step may then comprise checking 47 whether a disabling event for disabling the pulsation mode exists. This may be, for example, switching off the paver 1 or an operator deselecting this operating option. If such a disabling event occurs, the method comprises disabling 48 the pulsation mode. If there is no such disabling event, the method may return to step 38 or 41, for example.

[0115] In particular for the checking steps 38, 41, 46 and / or 47, it is possible that one or more operating and / or status parameters are determined or recorded with the aid of one or more sensors of the sensor device and that the sensor signals recorded by the one or more sensors are transmitted to the control unit 22. In particular for steps 38, 41 and / or 46, especially during the paving operation, the method may comprise determining a current swivel position of one or more or all of the swivel parts 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F.

[0116] It will be appreciated that the method steps explained above by way of example may preferably be carried out automatically by the control unit 22, either individually or in combination.

[0117] Finally, FIG. 14 illustrates various possible operating concepts, in particular, for example, for enabling 37 and / or activating 43 the pulsation mode and / or deactivating / terminating 46 the pulsation mode and / or disabling 48 the pulsation device, as already illustrated in more detail in connection with FIG. 9.

[0118] In principle, one or more of these steps may be initialized by manually actuating 56 one or more suitable control elements. According to one embodiment, the actuation of one or more of these steps only takes place after a defined actuation period has elapsed 57. This enables “single control element actuation” and the extension of the functional scope of an existing control element to which a different function is assigned when briefly actuated. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of these steps may also be initiated 58 automatically, for example as described above by way of example. Even in the case of an automated initiation 58, it is possible that individual or several of these steps are only carried out until a defined time period has elapsed 59 and are then terminated. It will be appreciated that the manner of actuation and / or triggering to initiate steps 43 and / or 37 may be the same as or different from the manner of actuation and / or triggering to initiate steps 46 and / or 48.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS1 Self-propelled road construction machine

[0120] 2 operator platform

[0121] 3 machine frame

[0122] 4 drive unit

[0123] 5 material hopper

[0124] 6 travel mechanism

[0125] 7 paving screed

[0126] 8 longitudinal conveyor

[0127] 9 swivel part

[0128] 9L left swivel part

[0129] 9R right swivel part

[0130] 9F front flap

[0131] 10 transverse conveyor

[0132] 11 input device

[0133] 12S right or left swivel part bottom wall element

[0134] 12F front flap bottom wall element

[0135] 13 side wall element

[0136] 14 loading edge

[0137] 15 swivel axis

[0138] 15L left swivel part swivel axis

[0139] 15R right swivel part swivel axis

[0140] 16 inner edge

[0141] 17 rear wall element

[0142] 18 actuator

[0143] 19 linear actuator

[0144] 20 pulsation device

[0145] 21 vibration exciter

[0146] 22 control unit

[0147] 23 hydraulic circuit

[0148] 24 sensor device

[0149] 25 swivel angle sensor

[0150] 26 stop / position sensor

[0151] 27 distance and / or displacement sensor

[0152] 28 signal transmission connection

[0153] 29 additional sensors

[0154] 30 timer

[0155] 31 display device

[0156] 32 pulsation plane

[0157] 33 method

[0158] 34 commission

[0159] 35 fill

[0160] 36 convey and move

[0161] 37 enable pulsation mode

[0162] 38 check

[0163] 39 suppress

[0164] 40 allow

[0165] 41 check

[0166] 42 suppress

[0167] 43 activate pulsation mode

[0168] 44 check

[0169] 45 continue

[0170] 46 deactivate / terminate

[0171] 47 check

[0172] 48 disable

[0173] 49 swivel angle window

[0174] 50 road paver

[0175] 51 feeder

[0176] 52 transfer conveyor belt

[0177] 53 swivel segment

[0178] 54 swivel axis

[0179] 55 adjustment range with end position damping

[0180] 56 manual operation

[0181] 57 elapse of actuation period

[0182] 58 automated initiation

[0183] 59 elapse of time period

[0184] A paving direction

[0185] V adjustment range

[0186] X length

[0187] y width

[0188] Z height

[0189] P1 filling position

[0190] P2 emptying position

[0191] P3 maximum emptying position

[0192] W swivel angle

[0193] Wmax maximum swivel angle

[0194] Wx angle difference

[0195] Wmin minimum swivel angle

[0196] t time

[0197] tx time interval

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0068]Like parts or functionally like parts are designated by like reference numerals in the figures. Recurring parts are not necessarily designated separately in each figure.

[0069]FIG. 1 shows a self-propelled road construction machine 1, specifically a road paver 50, in an oblique perspective view from the front left. The forward direction or paving direction is marked with A. Spatial coordinates are indicated by x (=horizontal direction in forward direction A) and y (=horizontal direction transverse to forward direction A) for the horizontal plane and z for the vertical direction to make it easier to understand, in particular the movement information given below.

[0070]The road construction machine 1 may comprise an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive unit 4 (only indicated very schematically in FIG. 1), for example comprising one or more electric motors and / or internal combustion engines, and a material hopper 5 arranged at the front in the paving direction A. The ope...

FIELD

[0001] The invention relates to a self-propelled road construction machine for handling paving material in a paving direction and to a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine.BACKGROUND

[0002] Generic self-propelled road construction machines are used in road construction in the form of a road paver, for example, to spread a material mat, in particular an asphalt mat, on the underlying ground. A typical road paver is disclosed, for example, in DE 10 2018 000 576 A1. During the ongoing working process, such road pavers can collect paving material delivered at intervals in a material hopper. It is also known, particularly in combination with one or more road pavers, to use a road construction machine in the form of a feeder as described, for example, in DE 10 2017 005 013 A1. In a paving process, feeders can serve as buffer vehicles interposed between a road paver and several transport vehicles for temporary storage of paving material, which is transferred by the feeder to one or more road pavers during the paving process. The feeder also includes a material hopper for holding paving material delivered at intervals.

[0003] In these two road construction machines, paving material can be drawn from the material hopper during the paving process by means of a so-called longitudinal conveyor, which may be a scraper belt or the like, for example, and transferred from the feeder into the material hopper of the road paver, which usually follows behind, and / or, in the case of a road paver, transported rearward in the direction of a current paving direction of the road paver for deposition on the underlying ground. Both machines thus handle or transport the paving material in the respective material hopper from the front to the rear. This direction usually also corresponds to the paving direction.

[0004] The feeder may be provided with a suitable transfer device, for example a trailed conveyor belt or the like, with which the paving material can be discharged into the material hopper of the road paver. It is possible for the road paver to have a transverse distribution device, by means of which the deposited paving material is distributed transversely to the paving direction, for example by means of transverse screw conveyors, and a paving screed, by means of which the paving material distributed on the ground surface can then be flattened and thereby compacted and smoothed.

[0005] A typical structure of a generic road construction machine suitable for carrying out the paving process described above for handling paving material in a paving direction may thus comprise a machine frame, a drive unit, a travel mechanism with at least one left travel unit and one right travel unit and a material hopper arranged at a front in a paving direction for receiving paving material. The machine frame refers in particular to a support structure of the road construction machine on which elements of the road construction machine are arranged. The drive unit refers in particular to a device that provides the drive energy required to operate the road construction machine. For example, the drive unit may comprise one or more drive motors, in particular one or more combustion engines and / or electric motors. The drive unit may also include an energy transmission system via which the drive energy generated by the one or more drive motors can be transmitted to the individual consumers of the road paver. To this end, the energy transmission system may, for example, comprise one or more hydraulic systems and / or transfer gears, in particular pump transfer gears, one or more on-board electrical systems, etc. The travel mechanism may have wheels and / or crawler tracks.

[0006] The material hopper refers to a storage space comprised by the road construction machine in which the road construction machine can temporarily receive and store paving material, in particular asphalt, delivered by a transport vehicle, for example. For this purpose, the material hopper may comprise one or more swivel parts.

[0007] The one or more swivel parts may, for example, be lateral swivel parts, specifically a left swivel part and / or a right swivel part, the terms “left” and “right” referring to a horizontal orientation perpendicular to the paving direction or forward direction of the road construction machine. The left and / or right swivel parts may each comprise a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper and a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element. These two wall elements may be positioned at an angle to each other so that the side wall element forms a wall boundary towards the respective outer side of the material hopper. These two swivel parts may further each include a rear wall element protruding vertically from the bottom wall element, which at least partially delimits the storage space of the material hopper in the rearward direction in the area of the side wall elements. In the forward direction towards the front, the side wall elements may each have a front loading edge running transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine when viewed towards the front or in the forward direction towards the front. Lips projecting in the vertical direction, for example in the form of rubber lips or the like, may be arranged on this edge in order to prevent paving material held in the material hopper from falling out. The right and / or left swivel parts may swivel about a swivel axis which, for example, runs at least essentially in the forward direction. The right and left swivel parts may therefore also be referred to as side wall swivel parts.

[0008] Additionally or alternatively, the swivel part may be a front flap. In particular, this refers to an element arranged in the front area of the material hopper, usually essentially plate-shaped, which may also form part of the bottom wall of the material hopper or may have a bottom wall element. The front flap may be arranged essentially centrally in relation to the width of the material hopper, particularly when viewed in the forward direction of the road construction machine. In contrast to the above-mentioned right and / or left swivel parts, the front flap may swivel about a horizontal swivel axis extending transversely to the forward direction and, in the swiveled-up position, may also form a sliding surface oriented towards the longitudinal conveyor for paving material in the material hopper, in particular in the central area of the front loading edge. As such, the front flap may also be referred to as a front flap swivel part. Towards the front when viewed in the forward direction, the front flap may also have a front loading edge running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the machine. Lips projecting in the vertical direction, for example in the form of rubber lips or the like, may be arranged on this edge in order to prevent paving material held in the material hopper from falling out.

[0009] It is possible that the right and left swivel parts with their respective bottom wall elements both at least partially overlap with the front flap or its bottom wall element, if present, when projected into a virtual horizontal reference plane. In this case in particular, it is also possible that a swivel segment is provided in the respective bottom wall element of the right and left swivel parts, which may swivel relative to the remaining wall element, at least the bottom wall element. This is described, for example, in DE 10 2023 207 500 A1.

[0010] A channel-like recess or depression may be provided in the bottom of the material hopper, usually in the center, through which paving material stored in the material hopper can be removed from the material hopper by a longitudinal conveyor extending to the rear against the forward direction within the depression, and conveyed backwards against the forward direction for deposition on the underlying ground in the case of a road construction machine configured as a road paver or for transfer in the case of a road construction machine configured as a feeder. The longitudinal conveyor extending along the longitudinal axis of the machine may therefore be configured to transport paving material from the material hopper to the rear in the paving direction. The swivel part or parts may each have an inner edge facing the longitudinal conveyor, via which paving material can fall from the respective swivel part onto a receiving surface of the longitudinal conveyor. In the case of the right and left swivel parts, this inner edge may also run in the longitudinal or forward direction of the road construction machine, i.e., extend in this direction. In the case of the front flap, this inner edge may, in particular, run horizontally and transversely to the forward direction or parallel to a pitch axis of the road construction machine, i.e., extend transversely to this forward direction.

[0011] The paving material used may be comparatively tough and sticky, especially if it is asphalt. This property of the paving material used may even increase the longer the paving material remains in the material hopper, as this reduces the often comparatively high delivery temperature of the paving material to the road construction machine in the material hopper and the toughness / stickiness of the paving material increases further. It is therefore already known that the swivel parts may be adjustable, in particular swivel, within an adjustment range between a swiveled-down filling position up to a swiveled-up maximum emptying position in order to move paving material onto the longitudinal conveyor. In the filling position, for example, the swivel part or parts with their respective bottom wall elements may lie essentially in one or more horizontal planes, for example in order to obtain a maximum storage volume of the material hopper. For the two side wall elements in particular, it is possible that these lie in a common horizontal plane in the filling position and the front flap lies in a horizontal plane vertically below this plane (or at least partially at an angle to it, but still comparatively flat). The side wall elements and, if present, the rear wall elements of the swivel parts may then, for example, lie at least essentially in a vertical plane or protrude vertically from the bottom wall elements. If the one or more swivel parts can each swivel between their filling position and their maximum emptying position, they may each be mounted on the remaining road construction machine in a correspondingly adjustable manner, for example via one or more swivel joints. They may then be adjustable between these positions about a swivel axis defined by the respective swivel joints. In this case, the swivel axis refers in particular to an axis of movement. It is possible that one or more axle elements are also provided coaxially to this axis of movement as part of one or more joints. The swivel axes of the two swivel parts of the side wall elements may, in particular, extend in the horizontal and / or forward or paving direction and, for example, be offset from the respective outer side of the road paver in the direction of the inner edge, ideally adjacent to the longitudinal conveyor or even partially overlapping it. In particular, the swivel axes may therefore extend such that the side wall elements with their upper vertical edges move closer and closer together on a circular path as the swivel adjustment increases from the filling position towards the maximum emptying position. The front flap, on the other hand, may swivel up horizontally and transversely to the forward direction, and against the forward direction. By swiveling the swivel parts upward toward the maximum emptying position, the bottom wall elements of the individual swivel parts may increasingly form a kind of funnel through which the paving material in the material hopper is guided towards the longitudinal conveyor, which in particular extends centrally, driven by gravity.

[0012] If configured as a road paver, the road construction machine may further include the transverse conveyor, which distributes the ground material coming from the longitudinal conveyor and deposited on the underlying ground transversely to the paving direction. The transverse conveyor may be, for example, two opposing screw conveyors with their respective rotation axes running horizontally and transversely to the paving or forward direction. The transverse conveyor may be height-adjustable relative to the machine frame of the road paver.

[0013] Typically, the road construction machine configured as a road paver may also have a paving screed that is pulled by the road paver over the paving material placed on the underlying ground and distributed transversely by means of drawbars during paving operation. The paving screed may be configured to smooth and / or compact the ground material placed on the underlying ground. The paving screed may comprise one or more smoothing plates and / or vibration excitation devices, side plates etc. for this purpose. The screed may be supported on the road paver or the tractor of the road paver in a floating manner via the drawbars. The road paver may comprise a locking device with which the paving screed can be at least temporarily locked in its relative position to the tractor, in particular also during operation.

[0014] During use of such a road construction machine, it can happen that paving material sticks in the material hopper during the unloading process. This can mean that this material has to be pushed towards the longitudinal conveyor manually by an assistant, for example with a shovel.

[0015] Against this background, it is an object of the invention to provide a way of improving the unloading process of a material hopper with swivel parts, as described above.

[0016] The object is achieved with a self-propelled road construction machine for handling paving material in a paving direction and with a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine according to the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are cited in the dependent claims.SUMMARY

[0017] According to one aspect of the invention, to achieve the object, a generic road construction machine, in particular as described above, especially in the form of a road paver or a feeder, may comprise a pulsation device controlled by a control unit, which is configured to execute a pulsation mode. An essential aspect of the pulsation device may be that it causes a pulsation movement of at least one swivel part, in particular the left and / or right swivel parts and / or the front flap, from a current adjustment position of the at least one swivel part within the adjustment range when in the activated pulsation mode. A pulsation movement thus refers in particular to a jerky movement, in particular oscillating within a movement window, and / or a vibrating transitional movement and / or a change in movement of the at least one swivel part, in order to detach paving material which may adhere to the respective swivel part. With the aid of the pulsation device, a pulsation movement of the respective swivel part can thus be induced in particular, with the aid of which paving material adhering to the respective swivel part via frictional and / or adhesive forces can be detached and / or loosened, in particular by utilizing mass moments of inertia, so that this paving material can slide onto the longitudinal conveyor in an improved manner, for example from the current swivel position of the swivel part or parts and / or by further swiveling up the swivel part or parts in the direction of their respective maximum raised emptying position. The pulsation device may be controlled by the control unit configured for this purpose. Accordingly, the control unit is preferably configured in particular such that it controls activation and / or deactivation and / or the duration and / or the intensity of the pulsation mode or thus the pulsation mode of the pulsation device.

[0018] The at least one swivel part may in particular be a left swivel part with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element and a front loading edge extending at the front and transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one swivel part may be a right swivel part with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element and a front loading edge extending at the front and transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine. It is also possible that the at least one swivel part is additionally or alternatively a front flap with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper and a front loading edge extending at the front and transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine. It is preferred if the material hopper comprises at least one right and one left swivel part. It may be ideal if the material hopper has a front flap as a swivel part, especially in addition to the right and left swivel parts. The road construction machine may be configured such that in pulsation mode only the front flap performs a pulsation movement controlled by the control unit, i.e., the control unit is configured to operate only the front flap in a pulsation mode. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that in pulsation mode a pulsation movement of only the right and / or left swivel part is controlled by the control unit, i.e., the control unit is configured to operate only the right and / or left swivel part in a pulsation mode. Finally, the control unit may be configured to operate all swivel parts of the material hopper in a pulsation mode.

[0019] When the pulsation mode is activated, the pulsation device may be driven by a drive unit. This may be done using hydraulic, pneumatic and / or electric drive energy, for example. The pulsation device may comprise one or more actuators and / or motors.

[0020] It may be preferred if an actuator is provided to drive the adjustment movement of the at least one swivel part, in particular the right and / or left swivel part and / or the front flap, from the respective swiveled-down filling position in the direction of and in particular up to the respective swiveled-up maximum emptying position. Such an actuator may be configured such that it only drives the swivel-up movement in the direction of the maximum emptying position and a return movement in the direction of the filling position is achieved, for example, due to the dead weight of the respective swivel part. Alternatively, the actuator may also be configured such that it drives both the swiveling up of the respective swivel part in the direction of and in particular up to the maximum emptying position and the swiveling down of the respective swivel part in the direction of and in particular to the filling position.

[0021] It is possible that the drive unit of the pulsation device is configured and provided separately from the actuator. This variant will also be explained in more detail below. However, it is also possible that this one or more actuators are simultaneously also a part of the pulsation device or form the drive unit of the pulsation device and, in pulsation mode, drive a pulsation movement of the one or more swivel parts, in particular of the right and / or left swivel parts and / or of the front flap, in particular about the respective swivel axis of the respective swivel part. In particular for this embodiment, it is possible that the pulsation movement generated by the pulsation device on the respective swivel part is an alternating back and forth movement in and against the adjustment direction of the one or more respective swivel parts or a jerky movement between an adjustment in or against the adjustment in the direction of the maximum filling position and a stopping of the adjustment movement, in particular for example with a frequency of <10 Hz (based on a movement cycle of either a back and forth adjustment together or a pulsating adjustment in one adjustment direction). For this embodiment, it is in particular possible that the pulsation device is configured such that the pulsation movement in the activated pulsation mode takes place with a frequency of, for example, five to twenty movement pulses, in particular movement change pulses, in particular movement direction change pulses or movement changes, per second. Additionally or alternatively, it is advantageous if the pulsation device is configured such that the movement changes of the one or more swivel parts occurring in the activated pulsation mode occur in each case in relation to the respective swivel angle adjustment about their respective swivel axis and alternating in and against the swivel movement in the direction of the maximum emptying position in a range of not more than 2°, in particular 1°. If, on the other hand, the pulsation device is configured or controlled by the control unit such that the pulsation movement takes place in the form of stepped jumps in or against the direction of movement towards the maximum emptying position, it may be advantageous if each individual jump is a swivel movement of the respective swivel part about its respective swivel axis of not more than 1° and / or an activated pulsation process carried out by the pulsation device at once is not more than 4°.

[0022] The actuator of one or more swivel parts, in particular the right and left swivel parts and / or the front flap, may be a linear actuator, in particular a hydraulic cylinder. There may also be more than one such linear actuator, in particular hydraulic cylinders, per swivel part to drive the adjustment movement and possibly also the pulsation movement. The hydraulic cylinders may be single-acting or double-acting hydraulic cylinders. Additionally or alternatively, 4 / 3-way valves and / or proportional valves with or without metering edge separation may be used to generate the pulsation movement. If there is more than one hydraulic cylinder per swivel part to drive the adjustment movement, and in particular also the pulsation movement, the hydraulic cylinders for each swivel part are preferably operated in a coordinated manner, in particular with the aid of a control unit.

[0023] In addition or as an alternative to the simultaneous use of the actuator of the respective swivel part as the drive of the pulsation device, it is also possible that the pulsation device has a pulsation drive which is separate from and can be operated independently of the actuator and in particular is controlled by the control unit, in particular also comprising a vibration excitation device separate from the actuator. These vibration excitation devices may be, for example, one or more vibration exciters, in particular imbalance exciters, comprising a separate motor, for example an electric, hydraulic or pneumatic motor. An imbalance exciter refers in particular to a device with a rotary shaft, preferably driven by a motor and rotating about a rotation axis, on which an eccentric or imbalance mass is arranged. The vibration exciter may be connected to one of the swivel parts, for example flanged to it, and thus transmit the vibrations it generates directly to the respective swivel part. The vibration exciter is preferably arranged on the underside of the respective swivel part opposite the interior of the material hopper. Additionally or alternatively, the vibration exciter may be, for example, an impact mechanism with a ram or comparable impact contact element, which can be used to trigger impacts on the respective swivel part. It is possible and preferred that both the right swivel part and the left swivel part each comprise their own such pulsation device, i.e., that one such pulsation device is arranged on each of the two swivel parts.

[0024] The pulsation device may be configured and operated such that the activated pulsation mode only acts on one swivel part or simultaneously on two or more of the swivel parts. Alternatively, however, it may be advantageous if the jerking device is configured such that the pulsation mode on the left swivel part can be activated independently of the pulsation mode on the right swivel part and / or independently on the front flap, and thus the activated pulsation mode can be activated and / or deactivated individually and independently of one another on the respective swivel parts. Additionally or alternatively, the actuator of a swivel part, for example the right swivel part and / or the front flap, can be controlled by the control unit independently of the actuator of another swivel part, for example the left swivel part and / or the front flap.

[0025] It is possible that a hydraulic circuit is provided that supplies the pulsation device with hydraulic energy for drive purposes in the activated pulsation mode. This circuit may be a hydraulic circuit configured only for driving the pulsation device or may be a hydraulic circuit via which one or more other consumers of hydraulic drive energy are also driven. In particular, this hydraulic circuit may be configured as an open hydraulic circuit. The hydraulic circuit may therefore be configured in particular to drive an adjustment movement of the actuator and / or to drive the vibration exciter.

[0026] It is also possible that the hydraulic circuit comprises a pressurized fluid reservoir, wherein the hydraulic circuit may then be configured such that the pulsation device is driven using hydraulic energy stored in the pressurized fluid reservoir. The pressurized fluid reservoir may be charged with hydraulic fluid, for example, recuperatively from the lowering movement of the swivel parts and / or from other hydraulic circuits of the road paver.

[0027] Activation and / or deactivation of the pulsation mode may be manually commanded to the control unit by an operator of the road paver, for example via an input at a suitable user interface of the road paver, such as a control panel with one or more manually operable input devices, a suitable remote control, for example also by means of a computer program installed on a smart device, etc. However, it may be advantageous if the control unit automatically controls the pulsation device, i.e., the operation of the pulsation device, in particular in addition to or as an alternative to manual activation and / or deactivation, in particular the sequence of a pulsation process. The control unit may be in signal transmission connection with the user interface. The control unit may, for example, be a computer device with one or more computer programs suitable for controlling the pulsation device. In particular, the control unit may be configured such that it controls partially or fully automated operation of the pulsation device. Processes and / or operating states of the pulsation device controlled by the control unit may be, for example, switching on and / or off and / or activation and / or deactivation and / or the duration and / or intensity of an activated pulsation mode and / or the movement pattern, for example a single pulse, a stepped movement pattern, an alternating movement pattern, etc., as explained in more detail below in particular. Additionally or alternatively, it may also be possible to activate / deactivate the pulsation mode across machines, i.e., from one machine for another machine. In the present context, this may include, for example, the operation of a paving train in which a feeder and a road paver are operated together as a road construction machine. For this application in particular, it is possible to initialize the pulsation mode on the road paver from the feeder or vice versa. A suitable communication connection may be provided for this purpose, via which one or more corresponding control commands can be transmitted from one machine to the other.

[0028] In particular in cases where the pulsation device is driven using a hydraulic circuit, the control unit may be configured such that it controls the operation of the pulsation device with a predefined frequency and / or a predefined travel, in particular cylinder stroke. This may be done, for example, by controlling a valve actuation of one or more actuating valves of the pulsation device.

[0029] It may be advantageous if the control unit is configured such that it activates and / or deactivates the pulsation mode, in particular automatically, depending on at least one operating parameter and / or at least one operating parameter change. Such an operating parameter may be, for example, a current swivel angle of the right and / or left swivel part and / or the front flap, in particular in relation to an initial swivel angle position, for example the angular position of the respective swivel part in the filling position, or a defined reference swivel angle, again preferably the position of the swivel part in the filling position. The pulsation mode may be activated by the control unit, for example, when a defined swivel angle of the respective swivel part is reached or exceeded. Additionally or alternatively, this may also refer to exceeding of a defined swivel angle difference between a current swivel angle and a defined reference swivel angle, wherein the defined reference swivel angle may be a swivel angle that is statically defined or individually defined during the running process. For example, the reference swivel angle may be defined by being the swivel angle at which a swivel movement of the respective swivel part was last stopped, i.e., stopped before the current swivel movement. Additionally or alternatively, it may be possible for the control unit to monitor the elapse of a defined time interval after a reference event has been exceeded and use this as a trigger to activate the pulsation mode. Such a reference event may, for example, be a docking of a loading vehicle to the road paver or the occurrence of the collision between the transport vehicle and the road paver, which in this case is typically brought about in a deliberate and controlled manner, and / or the termination of a loading process of the material hopper by a transport vehicle, for example by releasing an existing collision between these two vehicles, and / or a time period or a time interval from a previous pulsation or from a termination and / or activation of a previous, in particular the last previous, activated pulsation mode and / or a manual input by an operator via an input device, for example an input device as already described above. The aforementioned events may therefore also be used by the control unit as trigger events for activating and / or deactivating the pulsation mode. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of these events may be the cause of the intensity and / or duration and / or type of movement pattern, i.e., the intensity and / or duration and / or type of movement pattern may be varied by the control unit depending on the respective trigger event.

[0030] For the pulsation mode triggered by the control unit, it is possible that a certain minimum number of pulses is always triggered with an activation, in particular, for example, at least three, especially at least five. The pulsation mode may therefore be characterized by a defined, predetermined sequence of several pulses.

[0031] The road construction machine may comprise a sensor device which may be configured to detect one or more variables, in particular an operating parameter and / or a change in an operating parameter and / or the occurrence of a reference and / or trigger event, as described above, and / or an exclusion event, as described below. Herein, a variable may in particular be a position and / or position change, a state or the like, in particular of at least one swivel part.

[0032] At this point, it is particularly preferred if the sensor device is configured to detect a current swivel angle and / or a current swivel angle change of at least the righthand and / or lefthand swivel parts and / or the front flap within the respective adjustment range. A current swivel angle may be determined, for example, in relation to a reference position, for example defined by the swivel angle position of the respective swivel part in the swiveled-down filling position. To determine the current swivel angle and / or swivel angle change, the sensor device may, for example, comprise one or more angle sensors configured to detect an angular position and / or an angular position change of at least one swivel part. For example, an angle measurement may be carried out on a swivel bearing pin of a swivel joint of the respective swivel part. In addition to such, in particular direct, angle determination, the angle sensor may also be configured for indirect swivel angle and / or swivel angle change determination. This type of swivel angle detection may, for example, extend to elements whose relative position and / or state changes directly or indirectly in correlation with the current swivel angle of the respective swivel part. This may be done particularly preferably, for example, with the aid of a displacement measuring device on and / or in a linear actuator or a corresponding part, in particular one or more hydraulic cylinders of the actuator.

[0033] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor device may also be configured such that it detects or records the reaching of a defined end position, in particular a stop position, of the respective swivel part and / or a part moving in correlation with it. For example, one or more stop sensors may be included in the sensor device for this purpose. A particularly preferred position for detecting a defined end position may be, for example, the filling position and / or the maximum emptying position of the respective swivel part.

[0034] The actuator of the respective swivel part may have end position damping. End position damping herein refers in particular to the configuration and / or control of the respective actuator such that it is damped, in particular slowed down in terms of the adjustment speed, towards an end position. If the actuator is a hydraulic cylinder, for example, this can mean in particular that an end position can only be approached at an adjustment speed that is reduced or slowed down compared to a maximum adjustment speed over the entire adjustment travel, for example with the aid of one or more flow orifices and / or a suitable valve control. With regard to the entire adjustment travel of the respective actuator, it is possible that this end position damping only becomes active in a range in which the adjustment movement has already come comparatively close to an end position. With regard to a maximum possible adjustment travel of the respective swivel part, the range in which such end position damping acts or is activated may, for example, be a range of not more than 10%, in particular not more than 5%, of the maximum adjustment travel immediately before the respective end position. Regarding an activation of the pulsation mode, it may now be advantageous if this mode can only be activated when the respective swivel part is outside the adjustment range of the respective swivel part in which the end position damping is active / activated or, additionally or alternatively, is not activated by the control unit when the respective actuator is in an adjustment position with activated or effective end position damping. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that when the pulsation mode is activated, if the respective swivel part is currently in a swivel position in which the end position damping is activated or active, the actuator is first moved out of the range of the activated / effective end position damping into an adjustment position in which the end position damping is no longer active / activated, and the pulsation mode is only then activated by the control unit. This readjustment may be done manually or controlled by the control unit, for example. In this respect, it may therefore also be advantageous if the sensor device is configured to detect a reaching and / or leaving of an adjustment range of the one or more actuators with activated / effective end position damping, i.e., is configured such that it can determine whether a current adjustment position of the one or more actuators is an adjustment position in which end position damping is activated / effective or not.

[0035] Additionally or alternatively, the sensor device may also be configured to detect a distance, in particular a distance of a swivel part or a part moving in a correlating manner across the adjustment range relative to a reference part, for example the machine frame or the like. The change in distance between these two parts may therefore depend on a current swivel angle of the respective swivel part. Such a distance sensor may, for example, be a contactless distance sensor, such as a 3D camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a laser sensor, etc. Such a sensor therefore makes it possible, for example, to determine the reaching of a defined distance from a reference element, which may be used as a possible trigger event for activating and / or deactivating the pulsation mode.

[0036] The sensor device may be configured such that it is in signal transmission connection with the control unit, in particular via one or more and / or wired and / or wireless signal lines, so that the control unit can control the pulsation mode based on one or more sensor signals. This connection may at least partially be in the form of a CAN bus system, for example.

[0037] The control unit may be configured such that activation of the pulsation mode by the control unit is suppressed or excluded per se in certain operating situations and / or under certain operating conditions. Such operating situations may also be referred to as exclusion events. Such an operating situation may exist, for example, if at least one of the swivel parts and / or two or more swivel parts are still in the filling position. An activated pulsation mode may be disadvantageous at this stage in that, for example, segregation effects may then be forced in the paving material stored in the material hopper. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that activation of the pulsation mode is excluded if one of the swivel parts, in particular two or more of the swivel parts, have not yet exceeded a swivel angle threshold. In certain operating situations of the road construction machine, which is specially configured as a road paver, it may also happen that the paving screed, which is mainly pulled over the paving material laid on the underlying ground in a floating position, is locked in place or is in a locked position relative to the machine frame of the road paver. In this operating phase, the paving screed is usually rigidly connected to the tractor, i.e., the rest of the road paver by means of drawbars. This may be the case, for example, when the road paver interrupts its forward movement and the paving screed is to be prevented from sinking into the paving material. In this specific operating constellation, activating the pulsation mode may be disadvantageous in that pulsation movements occurring on the swivel parts may then be transferred to the paving screed and thus to the laid-out paving mat. It is also possible that a stop of a travel movement of the road paver or a state in which the road paver is not moving, for example as detected by means of a travel movement sensor, represents an exclusion criterion and / or event. Additionally or alternatively, such an exclusion event for a road construction machine may occur if the weight of the paving material stored in the material hopper on the right and / or left side wall part and / or the front flap is above a defined threshold. For this purpose, the aforementioned sensor device may, for example, comprise one or more suitable weight force sensors, such as one or more load cells or the like. Additionally or alternatively, one or more fill level sensors may also be used for this purpose, which are configured to determine a current paving material fill level within the material hopper and / or a current distribution of the paving material within the material hopper, such as one or more ultrasonic sensors, one or more light barriers, etc. Activation of the pulsation mode may be ineffective and therefore inefficient in this operating phase. Further exclusion conditions and / or events are also conceivable, and the sensor device may then comprise one or more sensors suitable for monitoring the presence and / or absence of one or more exclusion conditions and / or events and transmitting them to the control unit.

[0038] It is possible that the control unit is configured such that it controls and / or regulates the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode as a function of one or more events and / or operating conditions. For example, an activated pulsation mode may always be maintained until the pulsation mode is deactivated by a manual input. Additionally or alternatively, however, it is also possible for the pulsation mode to be activated over a defined time interval and for the pulsation mode to be deactivated, in particular automatically controlled by the control unit, when this defined time interval has elapsed. The control unit may then include a timer, for example, which may be used by the control unit to monitor the elapse of the defined time interval. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that the control unit is configured such that the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode is controlled by the control unit as a function of a temperature of the paving material stored in the material hopper and / or as a function of a current swivel position of the right and / or left swivel part. The colder the paving material is in the material hopper, the tougher it may be. It may therefore be advantageous if the intensity of the pulsation movement in the activated pulsation mode increases as the temperature of the paving material decreases, for example with regard to an amplitude, in particular oscillation amplitude, and / or the force of a movement pulse or with regard to the adjustment or pulsation speed. To detect the temperature of the paving material, the sensor device may, for example, comprise one or more thermal cameras and / or temperature sensors. Additionally or alternatively, he duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode may be controlled as a function of a fill level and / or a distribution of the paving material within the material hopper. For this purpose, one or more fill level sensors may be provided as part of the sensor device. In particular, the pulsation mode may then only be activated by the control unit if the fill level of paving material in the material hopper is below a defined threshold. It may be particularly advantageous if the defined threshold relates to a fill level of the material hopper of only 5% or less, i.e., the material hopper is practically already almost empty. Further events and / or operating conditions depending on which the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode may be controlled by the control unit may be, for example, the material type of the current paving material and / or a paving speed and / or width and / or layer thickness, the type of feed of the paving material, for example from a feeder or a conventional transport vehicle, such as a truck, weather conditions, such as an ambient temperature, humidity, precipitation, etc.

[0039] In order to reduce and / or even eliminate the transmission of the pulsation movements of the pulsation device acting on the swivel parts of the material hopper, it is possible that at least the right and / or left swivel parts and / or the front flap are mounted with vibration damping relative to the machine frame. For this purpose, one or more vibration damping elements may be provided between a bearing part supporting one or both swivel parts and, for example, the machine frame of the road construction machine.

[0040] Further variations in the configuration and arrangement of the pulsation device are possible with regard to the orientation relative to the respective swivel part. It is preferred if a pulsation movement generated by the pulsation device takes place along a pulsation axis and / or within a pulsation plane that runs transversely and, in particular, perpendicular to a forward direction of the road construction machine. In other words, this means that the pulsation device is ideally configured and arranged such that the pulsation movements generated by it on the respective swivel part preferably do not act in and against the forward direction of the road construction machine. This ensures that paving material stored inside the material hopper is not thrown out of the material hopper over the front loading edge by the pulsation device, but is moved in the direction of the longitudinal conveyor, for example the scraper belt.

[0041] There are also various possibilities with regard to the type and / or pattern of the movement path caused by the pulsation device on the respective swivel part. For example, the pulsation device may be configured such that the pulsation movement transmitted by it to the swivel part(s) in the activated pulsation mode causes the swivel part(s) to oscillate back and forth within a swivel angle window. In this variant, the respective swivel part thus oscillates around an average swivel angle value within a defined swivel angle range. This value may, for example, be in the range of 1° to 2.5° and / or a travel at the radially outer end of the respective swivel part relative to the swivel axis by not more than 3 cm, in particular not more than 2 cm, and / or at least 0.2 cm, in particular at least 1 cm. In this case, the successive pulsation movements in the activated pulsation mode may therefore preferably be oriented in opposite directions, in particular also on a circular path. Additionally or alternatively, however, it is also possible to configure the pulsation mode such that the movement path of the respective swivel parts is carried out in a stepped ascending or descending manner, wherein the successive pulsation movements in the activated pulsation mode may thus preferably be oriented in the same direction in this case, in particular also on a circular path. Other possible variations include varying the distance traveled during a pulsation impulse, i.e., the angular offset.

[0042] It is possible that the pulsation movements of several swivel parts are coordinated with each other, for example synchronized with each other.

[0043] The road construction machine may be a road paver or a feeder, in particular for transferring paving material onto a road paver in an ongoing paving process.

[0044] A further aspect of the invention relates to a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine, in particular a self-propelled road construction machine according to the invention, as described above. In this respect, reference is also made to the preceding information on the configuration of a generic road construction machine and a road construction machine according to the invention, both individually and in combination with one another.

[0045] The method according to the invention may comprise, in a step, filling a material hopper with paving material, for example using a suitable transport vehicle or a feeder. In addition or as an alternative to step, a step (b) may comprise moving paving material onto a longitudinal conveyor by adjusting at least one swivel part, in particular a right and / or left swivel part and / or a front flap, of the material hopper from a swiveled-down filling position towards a swiveled-up maximum emptying position within an adjustment range. For further details on the individual elements, reference is also made at this point in particular to the preceding information in connection with a generic road construction machine and / or a road construction machine according to the invention.

[0046] Based on the filling of the material hopper with paving material in step and at least the beginning of the removal process of paving material stored in the material hopper by the longitudinal conveyor device in step (b) by at least partially swiveling one or both swivel parts from the respective filling position towards the maximum emptying position, a step (c) may comprise activating a pulsation device in a pulsation mode and thereby effecting a pulsation movement of the at least one swivel part, in particular a left and / or right swivel part and / or a front flap, from a current adjustment position of the one or more swivel parts within the respective adjustment range by a control unit. In this step, the pulsation device may thus generate a pulsation movement, for example by means of a suitable drive unit controlled in particular by the control unit, and transmit it to the at least one or more of the swivel parts, and reference is also made in particular at this point to the preceding description. By pulsing of the at least one or more swivel parts, paving material adhering to the one or more swivel parts can be detached more easily and thus slide, in particular by gravity, onto the longitudinal conveyor by at least a transitional pulsating adjustment of the at least one or more swivel parts. The activation of the pulsation mode may be triggered by a manual operating command from an operator of the road paver to the control unit. This may be done, for example, using a separate control element or by a specific, in particular time-dependent, actuation of a conventional control element. However, it may be preferred if the activation is triggered automatically by the control unit, in particular by a control unit and / or as a function of one or more events as described above.

[0047] A further possible variation is that the pulsation mode itself and / or the pulsation device as such may not only be adjusted between an activated and a deactivated state, but may also be switchable between an enabled and a disabled basic state. When the pulsation device is in the disabled basic state, it cannot be activated. This may be useful, for example, if the road construction machine is currently processing a paving material for which no pulsation movement is required for unloading and / or an operator deems the activated pulsation mode to be disadvantageous, for example due to forced segregation phenomena in the paving material. In the enabled state, on the other hand, the pulsation device may be switchable between the activated pulsation mode, in which it generates pulsation movements and transmits them to the at least one or more of the swivel parts, and the deactivated pulsation mode, in which it does not generate any pulsation movements and also does not transmit any pulsation movements to the at least one or more swivel parts. It may be preferred if the pulsation device is enabled from the disabled basic state by a manual operating instruction from an operator on the road construction machine, although this could in principle be done by the control unit.

[0048] For the method according to the invention, it is further additionally or alternatively possible that step (c) is preceded by checking whether an exclusion criterion / event or an exclusion condition for activating the pulsation mode is fulfilled and, if this is the case, suppressing an activation of the pulsation mode and, if this is not the case, allowing an activation of the pulsation mode. In particular with regard to the type of possible exclusion criteria / events and / or exclusion conditions and their possible detection, reference is also made at this point to the preceding description of the road construction machine according to the invention. In particular, said checking may be carried out using one or more sensors of the sensor device and / or by the control unit, and / or said allowing and / or suppressing may be carried out automatically by the control unit.

[0049] Additionally or alternatively, the method may comprise a step of checking, at least in pulsation mode, whether an activation event and / or activation conditions are fulfilled. This may also be done using one or more sensors of the sensor device and / or by the control unit. If it is determined that an activation event and / or activation conditions are fulfilled, the method may comprise activating the pulsation mode, preferably automatically controlled by the control unit.

[0050] At least in pulsation mode, the method may comprise determining the current swivel position and / or swivel position change of the right and / or left swivel part, in particular directly and / or indirectly, with the aid of a sensor device. Such a swivel position may also be an end position, in particular the filling position and / or the maximum emptying position of one or both swivel parts. Particularly with regard to possible details of the configuration and operation of the sensor device in this context, reference is again made to the preceding description. If this information is available, it may be advantageous if said activating according to step (c) is performed depending on a current swivel position and / or swivel position change of the right and / or left swivel part detected by the sensor device, in particular controlled by the control unit. In this way, it is possible, for example, that the pulsation device is only activated, preferably by the control unit, when certain minimum swivel positions are reached and / or when the maximum emptying position etc. is reached.

[0051] A further possible variation of the method according to the invention is that said activating according to step (c) is time-dependent. This can mean, for example, that the pulsation mode is activated, in particular automatically controlled by the control unit, after elapse of a defined period of time / a defined time interval from the occurrence and / or exceeding of a reference event, such as docking of a loading vehicle and / or the completion of a loading process and / or the elapse of a time interval from a or the previous pulsation and / or the reaching of a defined swivel position and / or swivel position change, etc.

[0052] Alternatively, it is also possible that a step (d) comprises terminating the activated pulsation mode. This may be done in particular based on prior checking whether a termination event or termination condition is fulfilled or has occurred. Such an event or condition may be, for example, the occurrence of an exclusion criterion for activating the pulsation mode, such as locking the paving screed in a locked position relative to the machine frame of the road construction machine, which in this case is configured as a road paver, during paving operation. For the operation of a road construction machine, such an event or condition may additionally or alternatively be a stopping of a travel movement of the road construction machine or a state in which the road construction machine does not move in the forward direction. Additionally or alternatively, this may also be done based on a manually specified termination input and / or upon elapse of a defined time interval. Additionally or alternatively, a swiveling of the right and / or left swivel parts and / or the front flap towards the filling position or initiating such a swivel movement and / or assuming the filling position for the right and / or left swivel part may also be such a termination event or such a termination condition. Said detecting of one or more termination events and / or termination conditions may also be carried out with the aid of the sensor device and / or checked by the control unit. Additionally or alternatively, the control unit may in particular automatically control the termination in accordance with step (d).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The invention will be explained in more detail below by reference to the embodiment examples shown in the figures. In the schematic figures:

[0054] FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a road construction machine configured as a road paver;

[0055] FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the road construction machine of FIG. 1 with swivel parts swiveled up;

[0056] FIG. 3 is a front view of two swivel parts in filling position and other elements of a road construction machine;

[0057] FIG. 4 is a front view of two swivel parts in swiveled-up position and other elements of a road construction machine;

[0058] FIG. 5 is an exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0059] FIG. 6 is another exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0060] FIG. 7 is another exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0061] FIG. 8 is another exemplary time-swivel angle diagram;

[0062] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for operating a self-propelled road construction machine;

[0063] FIG. 10 is an oblique view of a material hopper with a front flap and swivel parts in the filling position;

[0064] FIG. 11 is an oblique view of the material hopper of FIG. 10 with a front flap and swivel parts in the emptying position;

[0065] FIG. 12 is a time-swivel angle diagram for an actuator with end position damping;

[0066] FIG. 13 is a side view of a road construction machine in the form of a feeder; and

[0067] FIG. 14 is a flow chart of possible operating concepts.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Like parts or functionally like parts are designated by like reference numerals in the figures. Recurring parts are not necessarily designated separately in each figure.

[0069] FIG. 1 shows a self-propelled road construction machine 1, specifically a road paver 50, in an oblique perspective view from the front left. The forward direction or paving direction is marked with A. Spatial coordinates are indicated by x (=horizontal direction in forward direction A) and y (=horizontal direction transverse to forward direction A) for the horizontal plane and z for the vertical direction to make it easier to understand, in particular the movement information given below.

[0070] The road construction machine 1 may comprise an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive unit 4 (only indicated very schematically in FIG. 1), for example comprising one or more electric motors and / or internal combustion engines, and a material hopper 5 arranged at the front in the paving direction A. The operator platform 2 may be dispensed with in particular if the road construction machine 1 is configured as a remote-controlled, autonomous or at least highly automated road construction machine 1. The drive unit 4 may be configured to provide the drive energy required for traveling and working operation of the road construction machine 1. In addition to one or more motors, it may also have energy transmission elements, such as gears, cable connections, etc. The paving direction A refers in particular to the direction in which the road paver 1 moves over the underlying ground during operation. The road construction machine 1 is self-propelled and may have a travel mechanism 6 for self-propulsion, for example comprising one or more crawler tracks and / or wheels as travel units. In the present exemplary embodiment, the travel mechanism 6 comprises exemplary right and left crawler tracks as travel units.

[0071] In addition, if the road construction machine 1 is configured as a road paver 50, it has a paving screed 7 in its rear area. The paving screed can be pulled over a mat of paving material for smoothing and compacting purposes during paving operation. For this purpose, the paving screed may be mounted on the road paver 1 via drawbars not shown in FIG. 1. The part of the road paver 1 without the paving screed 7 (and possibly also without these drawbars) may also be referred to as the tractor. The paving screed may be configured as an adjustable screed or a fixed screed.

[0072] As an alternative to the road paver 50, the road construction machine 1 may also be configured as a feeder 51, as shown in more detail in the side view of FIG. 13. Such a feeder 51 may also have an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive unit 4, a material hopper 5 and / or travel units 6. Instead of a paving screed 7, the feeder comprises a transfer conveyor belt 52, via which paving material removed from the material hopper 5 can be transferred against the forward direction A, for example into the material hopper 5 of a road construction machine 1 configured as a road paver 50 in an ongoing paving process. With regard to the structure and / or mode of operation of the material hopper 5 itself, there are at least no significant differences between a road construction machine 1 configured as a road paver 50 and a road construction machine 1 configured as a feeder 51, so that the following information on the possible structure and possible mode of operation of the material hopper 5 applies equally to road construction machines 1 configured as road paver 50 and road construction machines 1 configured as feeder 51.

[0073] A longitudinal conveyor 8 may be provided to remove paving material stored in the material hopper 5. This conveyor may be a bulk material conveyor, for example a scraper conveyor, running to the rear in the longitudinal direction or paving direction A of the road construction machine 1. It is possible that a bulk material receiving surface of the longitudinal conveyor 8 forms part of a bottom of the material hopper 5, in particular within a recess extending between swivel parts described in more detail below. The paving material may thus be transported from the material hopper 5 or out of the material hopper 5 in the opposite direction to the paving direction A to the rear of the road construction machine 1.

[0074] In the case of a road paver 50, the paving material reaching the rear area of the road construction machine 1 may be deposited on the underlying ground and distributed across the paving width transversely to the paving direction A in front of the paving screed 7 in the paving direction A by means of a transverse distribution device or transverse conveyor 10. For example, the transverse conveyor 10 may comprise one or more screw conveyors. The paving material laid out in this way on the underlying ground may then be passed over by the paving screed as the paver 50 continues to move in the paving direction A, thereby smoothing and compacting it.

[0075] The road construction machine 1 may be operated from the operator platform 2. For this purpose, at least one input device 11 may be arranged on the operator platform 2, for example in the form of a control panel, a control console or other devices suitable for manual input of operating instructions by an operator. At least partial operation by means of a remote control may also be possible. In paving operation, an operator may stay on the operator platform 2 and move along with the road paver 1. Additionally or alternatively, it may also be possible to operate the road paver 1 in an autonomous or at least semi-autonomous operating mode. In this case, the operator platform 2 may also be dispensed with. However, for the possible control, in particular of parts, of the material hopper 5, which is explained in more detail below, particularly in autonomous or at least semi-autonomous operating mode, an operating policy generally prioritizes avoiding an unintentional collision of the road construction machine 1 with elements located outside the road construction machine 1 over maintaining a material flow.

[0076] The material hopper 5 is used to hold and store paving material during the paving process of the road construction machine 1. It is desirable if the material hopper 5 provides a sufficiently large storage volume for paving material and is configured such that the paving material stored in it can be removed as evenly and / or quantitatively as possible and fed to the paving process indirectly by a feeder 51 or directly by a road paver 50.

[0077] The material hopper 5 may comprise several swivel parts 9R, 9L and / or 9F for this purpose. These swivel parts 9 may, for example, be a left swivel part 9L and a right swivel part 9R as seen in the paving direction A. These swivel parts may each be adjustable between a filling position and a maximum emptying position, in particular they may each swivel about a swivel axis. In FIG. 1, the two swivel parts 9L and 9R are in the swiveled-down filling position and, for example, in FIG. 2 in the maximum emptying position swiveled up and towards each other about the respective swivel axis 15R and 15L. FIG. 2 in particular illustrates that by swiveling the two swivel parts 9L and 9R upwards, a type of material guide funnel may be obtained, which tapers downwards in the vertical direction z towards the center of the material hopper 5.

[0078] Each of the swivel parts 9L and 9R may comprise a bottom wall element 12 and a side wall element 13. As such, the two swivel parts 9L and 9R may also be described as side wall swivel parts. The bottom wall element 12 may, for example, have a receiving surface, in particular an essentially flat one, which extends essentially horizontally in the filling position. In this position, the respective side wall element may be positioned essentially at an end on the right or left side of the bottom wall element and may protrude essentially in the vertical direction z in a manner connected to the bottom wall element 12. Each swivel part 91, 9R may further include a rear wall element 17, which may also protrude in the vertical direction z and be connected to the respective side wall element 12 and the respective bottom wall element 12. The rear wall element 17 (if present), the bottom wall element 12 and the side wall element 13 of each swivel part 9 thus move as a whole about the respective swivel axis 15R and / or 15L when the respective swivel part 9L and / or 9R is adjusted. In particular, the rear wall of the material hopper 5 as a whole and also the bottom wall of the material hopper 5 as a whole may additionally comprise parts that are stationary relative to the machine frame 3 and are accordingly not swiveled when the respective swivel parts 9R, 9L are adjusted, and accordingly retain their relative position relative to the machine frame 3.

[0079] The two swivel parts 9L and 9R may further have an inner edge 16. This inner edge may run essentially parallel to the respective swivel axes 15R and 15L and extend at least partially in the vertical direction above the essentially centrally and longitudinally extended longitudinal conveyor 8 in the paving direction A, so that, for example, paving material lying on one of the bottom wall elements 12 can slide over the respective inner edge 16 of the respective swivel part 9 onto the longitudinal conveyor.

[0080] Additionally or alternatively, the material hopper may have a front flap 9F as a swivel part 9, the possible structure and function of which is illustrated in more detail by way of example in FIGS. 10 and 11, in particular in addition to the preceding discussion. The front flap 9F may also be adjustable between a swiveled-down filling position (FIG. 10) and a swiveled-up maximum emptying position (FIG. 11), in particular it may swivel about a swivel axis 15F running horizontally and transversely to the forward direction A. The swivel movement of the front flap 9F thus also ensures that a type of material guide funnel or a sliding surface that slopes downwards at least towards the longitudinal conveyor 8 can be obtained by swiveling upwards, so that paving material located on the front flap 9F can slide over the inner edge 16 of the front flap into the area of the longitudinal conveyor. The front flap 9F may also have a bottom wall element 12 with a receiving surface, in particular an essentially flat one, which extends essentially horizontally in the filling position.

[0081] FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate that the swivel parts 9R and 9L may further each have a swivel segment 53 in their bottom part, which can fold in about a swivel axis 54 relative to the remaining bottom surface when the respective swivel part swivels up. However, it is also possible to configured the embodiment of the material hopper 5 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 without such swivel segments 53 but with a front flap 9F.

[0082] The material hopper 5 may also have a lowered upper edge at the front in the paving direction A and may comprise a loading edge 14 there. At the loading edge 14, retaining aprons, in particular elastic ones, for example made of a plastic or rubber material, may be provided which protrude to a comparatively small extent in the vertical direction and prevent, at least to a limited extent, the paving material from falling out forwardly in the paving direction a over the loading edge 14.

[0083] FIGS. 3 and 4 are based on the illustrations in FIGS. 1 and 2, with FIG. 3 showing a highly schematized front view of the filling position as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 showing the emptying positions of the right and left swivel parts 9R and 9L. Furthermore, an adjustable front flap 9F is added in FIGS. 3 and 4 compared to the embodiment example in FIGS. 1 and 2. For reasons of clarity, only a few elements of the road construction machine 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown which are helpful for a more detailed illustration of the invention, in particular the two swivel parts 9R and 9L, the longitudinal conveyor 8 and, indicated by dashed lines, the machine frame 3 as a possible reference structure for explaining, for example, the swivel movement of the respective swivel parts 9L, 9R and 9F. FIG. 3 further illustrates by way of example that each swivel part 9 may comprise an actuator 18 (shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 by way of example only for the swivel part 9L), which may drive the swivel adjustment of the respective swivel part 9 at least from its filling position in the direction of and in particular up to the maximum emptying position. It is possible that the return movement of the respective swivel part is gravity-driven and / or that the actuator 16 is configured such that it can also actively drive this return movement. The actuator may, for example, comprise a linear actuator, in particular a hydraulic cylinder, articulated to the machine frame 3 and the respective swivel part 9, as also shown by way of example in FIG. 3.

[0084] Starting from the filling position P1 shown in FIG. 3 for the swivel parts 9R, 9L and 9F, these can be adjusted by their respective actuator within an adjustment range V, for example swiveled or swiveled up about the respective swivel axis 15. FIG. 4 illustrates for the swivel part 9R an emptying position P2 within the adjustment range V, swiveled up relative to the filling position P1 by the swivel angle W relative to the filling position, and for the swivel part 9L the maximum emptying position P3, i.e., the maximum swiveled-up emptying position with the swivel angle Wmax relative to the filling position. The front flap or swivel part 9F is also swiveled up to its maximum emptying position P3. The maximum swivel angle Wmax thus defines the adjustment range V between the filling position and the maximum emptying position of the respective swivel part 9. FIG. 4 also illustrates at this point that it is possible for the swivel parts 9R and 9L to be adjusted independently of each other.

[0085] During the ongoing emptying process of the material hopper 5, it may happen that, despite the swivel parts 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F being in an emptying position P2 or even in the maximum emptying position P3, paving material sticks to the swivel parts 9 and does not slide towards the longitudinal conveyor 8. In order to improve the emptying process at this point in particular, the road construction machine 1 and in particular its material hopper 5 may now be equipped with a pulsation device 20. This device may be configured such that in an activated pulsation mode it applies a pulsation movement to at least one or more of the swivel parts 9, in particular, for example, an alternating back and forth adjustment about the respective swivel axis 15.

[0086] The drive of the pulsation device 20, i.e., the generation of the pulsation movement of the one or more swivel parts 9, may be achieved in various ways.

[0087] For example, the actuator 18 may be used to generate the desired pulsation movement in the activated pulsation mode and transmit it to the respective swivel part 9. This is shown in FIG. 4 as an example for the left swivel part 9L, but may also be realized in the same way by an additional or alternative actuator for the right swivel part 9R and / or the front flap 9F, which is not shown in detail in the figure.

[0088] Additionally or alternatively, the pulsation device 20 may also be a vibration excitation device, for example, particularly in the form of a vibration exciter 21, especially an imbalance exciter, or impact mechanism. This device may have one or more, in particular hydraulically, electrically and / or pneumatically driven drive units not shown in detail in FIG. 4, such as one or more motors.

[0089] A hydraulic circuit 23, for example comprising one or more hydraulic pumps and / or valves and / or a pressurized fluid reservoir, etc., is only indicated in FIG. 4 merely as an example. The at least one hydraulic pump may, for example, have only one delivery direction, two delivery devices (hydraulic circuit 23′) and / or a hydraulic motor / pump unit (hydraulic circuit 23″). The hydraulic circuit 23 or another suitable energy supply may additionally or alternatively drive the vibration exciter 21.

[0090] Even if different pulsation devices 20 are shown and / or described in FIG. 4 for the right and left swivel parts 9R and 9L as well as the front flap 9F, it is preferred if the road paver 1 has identical pulsation devices 20 at least for the left and right swivel parts 9L and 9R, in particular also for the front flap 9F.

[0091] A control unit 22 may be provided to control the pulsation device 20 and in particular the activated pulsation mode. The control unit may be a computer device with one or more computer programs. The control unit 22 may be connected to one or more sensors of a sensor device 24 via a signal transmission connection 28 (indicated only by way of example in FIG. 4), for example via one or more wired and / or wireless data transmission connections. The sensors may be, for example, one or more swivel angle sensors 25, in particular for direct and / or indirect detection of a current swivel angle W of the right and / or left swivel parts 9R / 9L, one or more stop and / or position sensors 26, in particular, for example, for detecting the filling position and / or the maximum emptying position of one and / or both swivel parts 9L and / or 9R, and / or a distance and / or displacement sensor 27, for example integrated in one or more hydraulic cylinders of the actuator. Additionally or alternatively, further sensors may be included by the sensor device, for example weight force sensors and / or filling level sensors for determining a current loading state of the material hopper 5 with paving material and / or one or more temperature measurement sensors for determining a current temperature of the paving material located in the material hopper 5 and / or one or more travel direction and / or travel speed sensors for determining a current travel direction and / or travel speed of the road paver 1, etc.

[0092] The control unit 22 may be configured such that, based on the operating inputs specified by the sensor device 24 and, if applicable, manually by an operator of the road paver via the input device 11, it also controls, among other things, the operation of the pulsation device 20, in particular with regard to activation and / or deactivation of the pulsation mode and / or a time duration of an activated pulsation mode and / or the intensity of a pulsation mode. To control a time-dependent and / or time-based activated pulsation mode, for example, a timer 30 may be provided or may also be included by the control unit 22. For example, the drive system 4 and / or an alternative energy source may be used to supply the control unit 22 with the energy required for its operation as well as other energy-consuming components, such as the hydraulic system 23, etc.

[0093] The road construction machine 1 may further include a display device 31. The display device may also be controlled by the control unit 22 and in particular be configured to display a current operating state of the pulsation device 20, in particular as to whether it is currently basically available, i.e., enabled, or not available, i.e., disabled, and / or is currently in an activated and / or a deactivated pulsation mode. To this end, the display device may, for example, comprise one or more haptically and / or acoustically and / or visually perceptible display means, such as, in particular, a display screen, especially on the operator platform 2.

[0094] The pulsation device 20 may be arranged on the respective swivel part 9 such that the pulsation movements, in particular oscillations, transmitted to the respective swivel part 9 take place along an axis and / or within a plane which runs transversely to the paving direction A or to the x spatial direction, in particular within a plane spanned by the y and z spatial directions, as is illustrated in FIG. 4 by way of example with the pulsation plane 32.

[0095] FIGS. 5 to 8 each show further details of the possible sequence of the pulsation mode, in particular controlled by the control unit, in a time-swivel angle diagram. The time t is shown on the x-axis and the current swivel angle W of one of the swivel parts 9R, 9L or 9F is shown on the y-axis. At W=0°, the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F is in the filling position and at Wmax in the maximum emptying position. At time t1, the respective swivel part 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F begins to swivel from the filling position in the direction of the maximum emptying position.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 5, the corresponding swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F is initially swiveled up continuously until the maximum emptying position is reached at time t2. When the maximum emptying position is reached, for example as detected by a suitable sensor as described above, the pulsation mode is activated, for example automatically by the control unit 22, over the time interval tx up to time t3. The time interval tx may be recorded using the timer 30, for example. Additionally or alternatively, the start and / or end of the time interval tx may also be specified, for example, by a manual operating instruction by an operator of the road construction machine 1, which may be entered via the input device 11, for example.

[0097] According to the embodiment example according to FIG. 6, one or more threshold swivel angles W1, W2 and / or W3 are defined in the adjustment range between the filling position and the maximum emptying position, upon reaching which in each case a time interval tx (i.e., between t4 and t5, t6 and t7 as well as t8 and t9) is triggered by the control unit 22, in which the pulsation mode is activated. It is also possible that as the current swivel angle W approaches the maximum swivel angle Wmax, the angle differences Wx between two successive threshold swivel angles become smaller, so that the pulsation mode is activated more frequently as the maximum swivel angle is approached with uniform angular adjustment.

[0098] Alternatively, it is also possible for an operator to manually activate and / or deactivate the pulsation mode within the adjustment range.

[0099] FIGS. 5 and 6 further illustrate that the activated pulsation mode may take place such that the respective swivel part 9L / 9R / 9F alternately pulsates back and forth against and in the direction of the maximum emptying position within a swivel angle window 49. This may also vary. For example, it is also possible to generate linear and / or transverse pulsation movements and / or pulsation movements acting on the respective swivel part 9L / 9R / 9F perpendicular to the swivel curve with the aid of the pulsation device and to transmit them to the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F.

[0100] However, even if the pulsation movement takes place along the swivel curve, this pulsation movement may also be further modified. FIG. 7 shows a stepped ascending pulsation, i.e., a pulsation oriented in the direction of the maximum swivel angle Wmax. In contrast to the previous pulsation movements, where the swivel movement took place in and against the swivel-up movement, the individual pulsation impulses controlled by the control unit in this embodiment example, for example between t4 and t5, are only directed in the direction of the maximum swivel angle Wmax.

[0101] When the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F reaches the maximum emptying position at time t2, this may, for example, trigger a time interval tx′ in which the pulsation mode is deactivated and the respective swivel part 9R / 9L / 9F is partially moved back towards the filling position until it reaches, for example, a defined swivel angle W4 with the angle difference Wx. Once this is reached, this may, for example, trigger a new time interval with activated pulsation mode (in this case, for example, up to t11). The number of these repetitions (three in FIG. 7, for example) may vary and may be controlled by the control unit 22 or specified manually, for example.

[0102] As an alternative to the embodiment example shown in FIG. 7, it is also possible to execute the activated pulsation mode such that a stepped descending pulsation, i.e., a pulsation oriented towards the filling position takes place, as for example in FIG. 8 in the time period from t4 to t5.

[0103] It is further possible that one or more exclusion criteria are defined, which, if fulfilled, exclude the pulsation mode, for example monitored by the control unit 22. Such a criterion may be, for example, a minimum swivel angle Wmin within the adjustment range, as shown as an example in FIG. 8, below which, specifically in the case of a swivel adjustment between the filling position and a swivel position up to the minimum swivel angle Wmin, the activation of the pulsation mode, whether by a manual operating instruction and / or due to another activation event, is excluded or, for example, suppressed by the control unit 22. The swivel angle Wmin and / or the swivel angles W1, W2 and W3 may thus also be described as defined swivel angle thresholds.

[0104] In this context, FIG. 12 shows a further time-swivel angle diagram, and reference is first made here to the previous discussion of FIGS. 5 to 8. As in FIGS. 5 to 8, the one or more swivel parts 9 are adjusted from the filling position towards the emptying position from time t1. One difference here is that from time t2 until the maximum emptying position is reached at time t3, end position damping is activated or takes effect. As a result, the adjustment speed of the respective swivel part 9 is reduced, which may take place abruptly, as shown in FIG. 12, or also in a curved transition. In particular, it is also possible for the range of the activated end position damping to be curved rather than linear, as shown in FIG. 12. The maximum emptying position is reached at time t3 and maintained until time t4, for example. It may now be advantageous if the pulsation device is not activated as long as the one or more swivel parts 9 are in the adjustment range 55 with activated or effective end position damping. In this case, it is therefore possible that before the pulsation device is activated, the one or more swivel parts 9 are first swiveled out of the adjustment range 55, as shown in FIG. 12 in the time period from t4 to t5. Outside the adjustment range 55, pulsation is now performed between t5 and t6. Once operation of the pulsation device is complete and / or further operation is no longer required, the one or more swivel parts may be swiveled back up to their maximum emptying position through the adjustment range 55 until time t7.

[0105] Finally, FIG. 9 illustrates possible steps of a method 33 for operating a self-propelled road construction machine 1, in particular a road construction machine 1 with one or more features as described above.

[0106] The starting point of the method 33 may be commissioning 34 a road construction machine 1, for example comprising switching on or starting the road construction machine 1 and / or the like. The method may then comprise filling 35 the material hopper 5 with paving material and conveying 36 paving material out of the material hopper 5 using the longitudinal conveyor 8. Step 36 may also additionally or alternatively comprise moving one or both of the swivel parts towards the maximum emptying position.

[0107] For example, triggered by one and / or more of steps 34 to 36 or by a manual operating instruction, the method may comprise enabling 37 the pulsation mode. Said enabling only means that the “pulsation mode” function is available and is not synonymous with activating the pulsation mode, as described below. When the pulsation mode is enabled, this function is therefore merely available and, based thereon, allows the pulsation mode to be activated and deactivated. Only in the activated pulsation mode are pulsation movements actually also transmitted by the pulsation device 20 to one or more of the swivel parts 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F.

[0108] If the pulsation mode is enabled and, for example, paving material is conveyed out of the material hopper, the method may comprise checking 38, for example by the control unit, whether an exclusion criterion is currently fulfilled. An exclusion criterion at this point means an operating situation or an operating state for which it has been defined in advance that the pulsation mode should not be activated. This may be the case, for example, if one, several or all of the swivel parts 9 are still in the filling position. With regard to further possible exclusion criteria, reference is made here to the previous discussion. The information required for checking may, for example, be determined using one or more of the sensors of the sensor device. Reference is also made to the above discussion in this regard.

[0109] If checking 38 reveals that an exclusion criterion is currently fulfilled, activation of the pulsation mode may be suppressed in step 39, for example also controlled by the control unit 22. The method may then continue in step 38 in the form of a check loop.

[0110] If, on the other hand, checking 38 reveals that no exclusion criterion is currently fulfilled, the method may comprise allowing 39 activation of the pulsation mode. This may then trigger checking 41 whether an activation event currently exists. If this is not the case, the pulsation mode is not activated or such activation is suppressed 42, and the method may at this point also comprise returning to checking 41 (or also 38), which may again result in a kind of check loop.

[0111] If checking 41 reveals that an activation event exists and / or has occurred, step 43 may comprise activating the pulsation mode, so that pulsation movements and / or pulses are caused by the pulsation device for one or both of the swivel parts 9L and / or 9R.

[0112] If the pulsation mode is activated according to step 43, the method may comprise checking 44 whether a termination event or a termination condition is fulfilled. Such a termination event may be, for example, the elapse of a time interval from the activation of the pulsation mode or another event. In this context, reference is again made here to the previous information on possible termination events.

[0113] If there is no such termination event, the activated pulsation mode may be continued 45, which may, for example, include returning to checking 44, again resulting in a kind of check loop. If, on the other hand, a termination event exists, the pulsation mode may be deactivated or terminated.

[0114] A further step may then comprise checking 47 whether a disabling event for disabling the pulsation mode exists. This may be, for example, switching off the paver 1 or an operator deselecting this operating option. If such a disabling event occurs, the method comprises disabling 48 the pulsation mode. If there is no such disabling event, the method may return to step 38 or 41, for example.

[0115] In particular for the checking steps 38, 41, 46 and / or 47, it is possible that one or more operating and / or status parameters are determined or recorded with the aid of one or more sensors of the sensor device and that the sensor signals recorded by the one or more sensors are transmitted to the control unit 22. In particular for steps 38, 41 and / or 46, especially during the paving operation, the method may comprise determining a current swivel position of one or more or all of the swivel parts 9R and / or 9L and / or 9F.

[0116] It will be appreciated that the method steps explained above by way of example may preferably be carried out automatically by the control unit 22, either individually or in combination.

[0117] Finally, FIG. 14 illustrates various possible operating concepts, in particular, for example, for enabling 37 and / or activating 43 the pulsation mode and / or deactivating / terminating 46 the pulsation mode and / or disabling 48 the pulsation device, as already illustrated in more detail in connection with FIG. 9.

[0118] In principle, one or more of these steps may be initialized by manually actuating 56 one or more suitable control elements. According to one embodiment, the actuation of one or more of these steps only takes place after a defined actuation period has elapsed 57. This enables “single control element actuation” and the extension of the functional scope of an existing control element to which a different function is assigned when briefly actuated. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of these steps may also be initiated 58 automatically, for example as described above by way of example. Even in the case of an automated initiation 58, it is possible that individual or several of these steps are only carried out until a defined time period has elapsed 59 and are then terminated. It will be appreciated that the manner of actuation and / or triggering to initiate steps 43 and / or 37 may be the same as or different from the manner of actuation and / or triggering to initiate steps 46 and / or 48.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS1 Self-propelled road construction machine

[0120] 2 operator platform

[0121] 3 machine frame

[0122] 4 drive unit

[0123] 5 material hopper

[0124] 6 travel mechanism

[0125] 7 paving screed

[0126] 8 longitudinal conveyor

[0127] 9 swivel part

[0128] 9L left swivel part

[0129] 9R right swivel part

[0130] 9F front flap

[0131] 10 transverse conveyor

[0132] 11 input device

[0133] 12S right or left swivel part bottom wall element

[0134] 12F front flap bottom wall element

[0135] 13 side wall element

[0136] 14 loading edge

[0137] 15 swivel axis

[0138] 15L left swivel part swivel axis

[0139] 15R right swivel part swivel axis

[0140] 16 inner edge

[0141] 17 rear wall element

[0142] 18 actuator

[0143] 19 linear actuator

[0144] 20 pulsation device

[0145] 21 vibration exciter

[0146] 22 control unit

[0147] 23 hydraulic circuit

[0148] 24 sensor device

[0149] 25 swivel angle sensor

[0150] 26 stop / position sensor

[0151] 27 distance and / or displacement sensor

[0152] 28 signal transmission connection

[0153] 29 additional sensors

[0154] 30 timer

[0155] 31 display device

[0156] 32 pulsation plane

[0157] 33 method

[0158] 34 commission

[0159] 35 fill

[0160] 36 convey and move

[0161] 37 enable pulsation mode

[0162] 38 check

[0163] 39 suppress

[0164] 40 allow

[0165] 41 check

[0166] 42 suppress

[0167] 43 activate pulsation mode

[0168] 44 check

[0169] 45 continue

[0170] 46 deactivate / terminate

[0171] 47 check

[0172] 48 disable

[0173] 49 swivel angle window

[0174] 50 road paver

[0175] 51 feeder

[0176] 52 transfer conveyor belt

[0177] 53 swivel segment

[0178] 54 swivel axis

[0179] 55 adjustment range with end position damping

[0180] 56 manual operation

[0181] 57 elapse of actuation period

[0182] 58 automated initiation

[0183] 59 elapse of time period

[0184] A paving direction

[0185] V adjustment range

[0186] X length

[0187] y width

[0188] Z height

[0189] P1 filling position

[0190] P2 emptying position

[0191] P3 maximum emptying position

[0192] W swivel angle

[0193] Wmax maximum swivel angle

[0194] Wx angle difference

[0195] Wmin minimum swivel angle

[0196] t time

[0197] tx time interval

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0068]Like parts or functionally like parts are designated by like reference numerals in the figures. Recurring parts are not necessarily designated separately in each figure.

[0069]FIG. 1 shows a self-propelled road construction machine 1, specifically a road paver 50, in an oblique perspective view from the front left. The forward direction or paving direction is marked with A. Spatial coordinates are indicated by x (=horizontal direction in forward direction A) and y (=horizontal direction transverse to forward direction A) for the horizontal plane and z for the vertical direction to make it easier to understand, in particular the movement information given below.

[0070]The road construction machine 1 may comprise an operator platform 2, a machine frame 3, a drive unit 4 (only indicated very schematically in FIG. 1), for example comprising one or more electric motors and / or internal combustion engines, and a material hopper 5 arranged at the front in the paving direction A. The ope...

Claims

1. A self-propelled road construction machine, in particular a road finisher or feeder, for handling paving material in a paving direction, comprising:a machine frame;a drive unit;a travel mechanism with at least one left travel unit and one right travel unit;a material hopper arranged at a front in the paving direction for receiving paving material, the material hopper having at least one swivel part, the at least one swivel part being adjustable within an adjustment range between a swiveled-down filling position and a swiveled-up maximum emptying position in order to move paving material onto the longitudinal conveyor; anda longitudinal conveyor extending along the longitudinal axis of the machine, which is configured to transport paving material from the material hopper to the rear against the paving direction, wherein the at least one swivel part has an inner edge facing the longitudinal conveyor, wherein:a pulsation device controlled by a control unit is provided, which is configured to execute a pulsation mode such that, in an activated pulsation mode, it causes a pulsation movement of the at least one swivel part from a current adjustment position of the at least one swivel part within the adjustment range.

2. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one swivel part:is a left swivel part with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element and a front loading edge extending transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine; oris a right swivel part with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper, a side wall element protruding from the bottom wall element and a front loading edge extending transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine; oris a front flap with a bottom wall element forming a bottom surface of the material hopper and a front loading edge extending transversely to a longitudinal direction of the machine.

3. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein an actuator is provided for driving the adjustment movement of the at least one swivel part from the swiveled-down filling position towards, and in particular up to, the swiveled-up maximum emptying position, and in that this actuator is at the same time part of the pulsation device and, in pulsation mode, drives a pulsation movement of the at least one swivel part, in particular about a swivel axis of the at least one swivel part.

4. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the actuator is a linear actuator, in particular a hydraulic cylinder.

5. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the pulsation device comprises a vibration exciter.

6. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein a hydraulic circuit is provided, which supplies the pulsation device with hydraulic energy for drive purposes in the activated pulsation mode, the hydraulic circuit comprising in particular a pressurized fluid reservoir and the hydraulic circuit being configured in particular such that the pulsation device is driven with the aid of hydraulic energy stored in the pressurized fluid reservoir.

7. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured such that it activates the pulsation mode depending on least one of the following operating parameters:current swivel angle of at least one swivel part;exceeding a defined swivel angle difference between a current swivel angle and a defined reference swivel angle;elapse of a defined time interval after a reference event has been exceeded;elapsed time interval since the pulsation mode was last activated;manual input by an operator via an input device.

8. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 7, wherein a sensor device is provided for detecting at least one of the following variables:current swivel angle and / or current swivel angle change of the at least one swivel part within the adjustment range;reaching a defined end position, in particular a stop position;reaching a defined distance from a reference element; andwherein the sensor device is in signal transmission connection with the control unit.

9. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured such that activation of the pulsation mode by the control unit is suppressed at least when:at least one of the swivel parts is still in the filling position;at least one of the swivel parts has not yet exceeded a swivel angle threshold;a paving screed is in a locked position relative to a machine frame of the road paver;a weight force of the paving material stored in the material hopper acting on the at least one swivel part is above a defined threshold.

10. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured such that it controls the duration and / or intensity of the activated pulsation mode depending on:a manual input;over a defined time interval;depending on a temperature of the paving material stored in the material hopper;depending on a current swivel position of the right and / or left swivel parts and / or the front flap; and / ora fill level of the material hopper.

11. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein it comprises at least a right swivel part and a left swivel part, each of which is configured as a side wall part, and in that the right and left swivel parts are mounted with vibration damping relative to the machine frame.

12. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein a pulsation movement generated by the pulsation device takes place along a pulsation axis and / or within a pulsation plane which runs transversely and in particular perpendicular to a forward direction of the road paver.

13. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the pulsation device is configured such that the pulsation movement transmitted by it to the at least one swivel part:oscillates back and forth within a swivel angle window; orascends or descends in steps within a swivel angle window.

14. The self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, wherein it is a road finisher or a feeder.

15. A method for operating a self-propelled road constructing machine, in particular a self-propelled road construction machine according to claim 1, comprising the steps of:(a) filling a material hopper with paving material;(b) moving paving material onto a longitudinal conveyor by adjusting at least one swivel part of the material hopper from a swiveled-down filling position towards a swiveled-up maximum emptying position within an adjustment range; and(c) activating a pulsation device in a pulsation mode and thereby causing a pulsation movement of the at least one swivel part from a current adjustment position of the at least one swivel part within the adjustment range by a control unit.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein prior to step (c), it comprises checking whether an exclusion criterion for activating the pulsation mode is fulfilled and, if this is the case, said activating of the pulsation mode is suppressed and, if this is not the case, activating the pulsation mode is allowed.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein it comprises checking, at least in the pulsation mode, whether an activation event and / or activation conditions are fulfilled, and the pulsation mode is activated if this is the case.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein it comprises, at least in the pulsation mode, determining a current swivel position and / or swivel position change of the at least one swivel part with the aid of a sensor device, and in that said activating according to step (c) is performed depending on a current swivel position and / or swivel position change of the right and / or left swivel part as detected by the sensor device.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein said activating according to step (c) is time-dependent.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein a step (d) comprises terminating the activated pulsation mode if at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:an exclusion criterion for activating the pulsation mode is fulfilled;a manual termination input exists;a defined time interval has elapsed;the at least one swivel part is swiveled towards the filling position;the at least one swivel part assumes its filling position.

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