Damping of vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery

Abstract

A computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader. The computer system includes processing circuitry configured to obtain an indication of a first vertical speed (vbucket) of the bucket, obtain an indication of a second vertical speed (vbody) of the body or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body, and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, such that the applied force is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims foreign priority to European Application No. 25165404 filed on Mar. 21, 2025, the disclosure and content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The disclosure relates generally to heavy pieces of machinery, such as wheel loaders, equipped with buckets. In particular aspects, the disclosure relates to damping of vertical oscillations of the bucket of such a piece of heavy machinery and / or of a body of the piece of heavy machinery. The disclosure can be applied to construction equipment, among other vehicle types. Although the disclosure may be described with respect to a particular vehicle, the disclosure is not restricted to any particular vehicle.BACKGROUND

[0003] A heavy piece of machinery equipped with a bucket, such as a wheel loader, is often driven on uneven ground. When driven, vertical oscillations of the bucket and / or of the wheel loader itself is likely to cause spill of material from the bucket. Higher speed of the wheel loader is likely to result in a larger vertical oscillation amplitude, and the driver is forced to adapt the speed of the wheel loader to maintain an acceptable maximum amount of material spill. Phrased differently, the speed of the wheel loader is in practice limited by the unevenness of the ground on which the wheel loader is driven.

[0004] To reduce spill, and thus also increase the speed of the wheel loader, the volume of material that is loaded into the bucket can be reduced, but would also result in a reduced transport efficiency and is thus not often a viable option. To the contrary, to maximize transport efficiency, the driver often top-fill the bucket, and there is thus a challenge to increase speed while maintaining transport efficiency at high levels. Available solutions include to e.g. provide one or more gas accumulators (such as one or more gas hydraulic cylinders) on a lifting-arm / boom of the wheel loader, which may reduce low frequency oscillations to at least some extents.SUMMARY

[0005] The present disclosure is aims at providing a solution that improves upon contemporary technology and that at least partially overcomes the above-mentioned challenge.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader. The computer system includes processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry is configured to: obtain an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtain an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery; and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed. The first aspect seeks to solve the problem of how to improve both safety and transport efficiency for wheel-equipped vehicles or machines, such as for wheel loaders. A technical benefit may include that the vertical oscillations of the bucket and / or body of the machine are reduced, thereby reducing discomfort for the operator / driver, spill of material from the bucket at a certain longitudinal speed of the machine, or similar.

[0007] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of a loading of the bucket; and adjust, as part of the control, the weighted sum based on the loading of the bucket, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa. A technical benefit may include that damping of vertical bucket oscillations is thereby prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations, which may result in a reduced spill of material when the bucket is heavily loaded.

[0008] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of a longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery; and adjust, as part of the control, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, such that a weighting of both the first vertical sped and of the second vertical speed increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with reducing longitudinal speed. A technical benefit may include that damping of vertical body oscillations is thereby prioritized for larger vehicles speeds, which may reduce driver discomfort, and increase safety and reduce machinery wear, at higher speeds.

[0009] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of a desired damping prioritization, including an indication of whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations or vice versa; and adjust, as part of the control, the weighted sum in accordance with the desired damping prioritization. A technical benefit may include that whether to prioritize damping of vertical bucket or body oscillations may thus be e.g. manually configured by for example an operator / driver of the machine, and adjusted based on a current desire of the operator.

[0010] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of ground unevenness at an upcoming area and an estimated time-of-arrival at the area; and perform, based on the estimated time-of-arrival, the control before the piece of heavy machinery reaches the area, in response to the indicated ground unevenness exceeding a threshold value. A technical benefit may include that the envisaged solution may thus be proactively activated, such that the machinery is ready to meet the anticipated road disturbance in a timely manner, and thus avoid material spill and / or operator discomfort caused by reacting to the new ground conditions (too) late.

[0011] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the weighted sum may include a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed. A technical benefit may include that the weighting terms may be used to prioritize damping of vertical oscillations of the bucket over those of the body (or over relative vertical oscillations between the bucket and body), and vice versa.

[0012] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the second vertical speed may be the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery. The first weighting term may equal a first weighting coefficient, and the second weighting term may equal a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient. A technical benefit may include that the first and second weighting coefficients may thus be used to control both the overall effort to damp both vertical bucket oscillations and the vertical relative oscillations, as well as the prioritization of bucket oscillations over the relative oscillations, and vice versa.

[0013] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the second vertical speed may be the vertical speed of the body of the piece of heavy machinery. The first weighting term may equal a product of a first weighting coefficient times a second weighting coefficient. The second weighting term may equal a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus the second weighting coefficient. A technical benefit may include that the first and second weighting coefficients may thus be used to control both the overall effort to damp both vertical bucket oscillations and vertical body oscillations, as well as the prioritization of bucket oscillations over the body oscillations, and vice versa.

[0014] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the weighted sum may correspond to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery. A technical benefit may include that the actuator force may thus be controlled to e.g. increase or reduce the overall damping of both bucket and relative oscillations, and to e.g. prioritize damping of the bucket oscillations over the relative oscillations, and vice versa.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provide a piece of heavy machinery. The piece of heavy machinery includes the bucket, the body, the one or more actuators, and the computer system of the first aspect (or any example thereof disclosed herein). The second aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to provide a piece of heavy machinery that is more transport efficient, safe and comfortable, with the same technical benefits as those disclosed already herein with reference to the computer system of the first aspect.

[0016] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the piece of heavy machinery may be a wheel loader. A technical benefit may include that wheel loaders may be particularly prone to e.g. material spill, operator discomfort, and similar caused by vertical oscillations of its bucket, body and / or relative oscillations between the bucket and body, as wheel loaders often drive over uneven ground particularly prone to cause such oscillations.

[0017] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a (computer-implemented) method for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader. The method includes obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system, an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery. The method further includes obtaining, by the processing circuitry, an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery. The method further includes controlling, by the processing circuitry, a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, such that the applied force is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed. The third aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to provide a (computer-implemented) method for control of an actuator force that results in a more transport efficient, safer and more comfortable piece of heavy machinery. The method of the third aspect may correspond to the operations performed by the computer system and processing circuitry of the first aspect (or any example thereof as disclosed herein).

[0018] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product (and corresponding computer program), that includes program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of the third aspect (or any example thereof as disclosed herein). The fourth aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to provide software that causes e.g. a computer system of a piece of heavy machinery to control the piece of heavy machinery in a way that makes the piece of heavy machinery more transport efficient, safe and comfortable, as described herein.

[0019] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium. The medium includes instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of the third aspect (or any example thereof as disclosed herein). The fifth aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to physically transport e.g. the computer program of the fourth aspect from one location to another, e.g. as part of a distributing process. In some examples, the computer-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

[0020] The disclosed aspects, examples (including any preferred examples), and / or accompanying claims may be suitably combined with each other as would be apparent to anyone of ordinary skill in the art. Additional features and advantages are disclosed in the following description, claims, and drawings, and in part will be readily apparent therefrom to those skilled in the art or recognized by practicing the disclosure as described herein.

[0021] There are also disclosed herein computer systems, control units, code modules, computer-implemented methods, computer readable media, and computer program products associated with the above discussed technical benefits.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Examples are described in more detail below with reference to the appended drawings.

[0023] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a piece of heavy machinery as envisaged herein, in the form of an example wheel loader.

[0024] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of a simplified mechanical equivalent system of the actuators, mechanical linkage, etc., used to lower / lift the bucket of the wheel loader of FIG. 1.

[0025] FIGS. 3A and 3B schematically illustrates, respectively, an example two-mass system and free-body diagram of bucket and body of the wheel loader of FIG. 1.

[0026] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a computer system for damping of vertical oscillations of a piece of heavy machinery, according to one or more examples as envisaged herein.

[0027] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of various examples of a (computer-implement) method as performed by the computer system of FIG. 4, according to one or more examples as envisaged herein.

[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example computer system for implementing examples disclosed herein, according to an example.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The detailed description set forth below provides information and examples of the disclosed technology with sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a piece of heavy machinery in form of a wheel loader 100. The solution as envisaged herein is applicable to any vehicle / machine with a body and bucket, and for which there is a need to damping vertical oscillations to make the vehicle / machine e.g. more transport efficient, safe and comfortable. In what follows, however, the wheel loader 100 will be used as an example of such a vehicle / machine. As envisaged herein, a “piece of heavy machinery” may also be referred to a “piece of heavy equipment”, “piece of heavy construction equipment”, or similar, and apply to all such entities with at least one bucket and body as described herein.

[0031] The wheel loader (or just “loader”) 100 has a body 110, to which a bucket 120 for scoping up, transport and release of material (such as e.g. dirt, gravel, rocks, sand, etc.) is connected via a mechanical linkage 130. In this example, the linkage 130 includes a boom arm 131 that is pivotably connected to the body via a rotating joint 132, and pivotably connected to the bucket 120 via another rotating joint 133, such that the bucket 120 may be lowered and raised vis-à-vis the ground 170 (in a vertical direction z). For such movement, the loader 100 further includes one or more actuators for providing the forces necessary to lift and lower the bucket 120, such as one or more hydraulic cylinders 140. In FIG. 1, only one such cylinder 140 is shown, but it may of course be more cylinders such as e.g. two. The cylinder 140 connects to the body at a rotating joint (not shown in FIG. 1), and to the arm 131 at a rotatable joint 134. By extending or contracting the cylinder 140, the arm 131 and bucket 120 can thus be lifted or lowered, respectively. The linkage 130 may further include e.g. additional linkage 135 for tilting the bucket 120, to e.g. scoop up and release material, and such linkage 135 may for example be actuated by one or more additional actuators (not shown), such as by one or more additional hydraulic cylinders or similar. As envisaged herein, an actuator is not necessarily a hydraulic cylinder, but may be any element capable of providing the forces required for controlled lifting and lowering of the bucket 120.

[0032] The loader 100 is further equipped with wheels, such as a pair of front wheels 160 and a pair of rear wheels, to support the loader 100 and to transfer torque provided by e.g. an engine 110 (and transmission) of the loader 100 into propelling forces capable of driving the loader 100 forward and backward over the ground 170. For example, via e.g. one or both of the front pair of wheels 160 and the rear pair of wheels (depending on if the loader 100 is rear-wheel driven, front-wheel driven, or all-wheel-driven), the engine 112 and transmission may provide torque at the one or more wheels, and a friction between the wheels and the ground 170 may result in longitudinal tire forces sufficient to propel the loader 100 with a longitudinal speed vx relative the ground 170.

[0033] As described already herein, a problem often faced when operating the loader 100 is that the ground 170 is not always even, and may include e.g. bumps 172 or other rough surface areas that will cause vertical acceleration and oscillatory movement of the bucket 120 and / or body 110 of the loader 100, leading to e.g. excessive spill of material from the bucket and a reduced transport efficiency, as well as discomfort for the operator of the loader 100 and in worst case also a reduced overall safety of the handling of the loader 100.

[0034] As will be described in what follows, the present disclosure envisages to provide a computer system 180 that is configured to prevent (or at least reduce) such oscillations, and to thereby improve transport efficiency, operator comfort and safety of the loader 100 and its operation. As will be described, the computer system 180 will obtain indications of vertical bucket speed vbucket as well as vertical body speed vbody as indicated in FIG. 1 (wherein x is a longitudinal direction, y a transverse direction and z the vertical direction). In some examples, for this purpose, the loader 100 may be equipped with e.g. an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 150 arranged close to the bucket 120 (on e.g. the arm 131) and configured to output a signal indicative of the vertical bucket speed vbucket to the computer system 180 (or at least indicative of some other property value from which the computer system 180 may calculate / estimate the vertical bucket speed vbucket), as well as e.g. an IMU 152 arranged on the body 110 and configured to output a signal indicative of the vertical body speed vbody the computer system 180 (or, likewise, at least indicative of something from which the computer system 180 may calculate / estimate the vertical body speed vbucket). As will be described in more detail later, the computer system 180 may in some example instead rely on not the vertical body speed vbody but instead on a relative vertical speed vrel=vbucket−vbody, or similar, between the body 110 and bucket 120, in which case the loader 100 may be provided with suitable sensors (such as one or more IMUs) for providing an indication of the relative vertical speed vrel (or of one or more other parameter values from which this relative speed is derivable). As will also be described later herein, in some examples, the loader 100 may further be provided with e.g. one or more sensors for providing an indication of the longitudinal speed vx, a loading of the bucket 120, a topology / profile of the ground 170 ahead (or behind) of the loader (such as an indication of the unevenness 172), and similar.

[0035] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example simplified mechanical equivalent system 200, corresponding to the combined bucket 120, linkage 130, actuator 140 and body 110 of the loader. In the system 200, the bucket 120 is assumed to be a point mass, and the actuator 140 is assumed to generate an actuation force F that, by acting on the arm 131, causes the arm 131 to apply a corresponding bucket lifting force Fbucket on the bucket 120, resulting in a movement of the bucket 120 upwards (i.e. in the z-direction). The system 200 illustrates how the arm 131 is connected between the bucket 120 and body 110 of the loader, via the rotating joint 132 (as well as the rotating joint at the bucket 120), and how the actuator 140 is connected to a point on the arm 131 via the rotating joint 132 and to the body 110 via a rotating joint 136. As envisaged herein, the actuator 140 may for example be a gas hydraulic cylinder, and include a gas accumulator that acts as a spring element that passively reduces low frequency oscillations to some extent. In the system 200 and loader 100, such a gas accumulator may be considered as a spring element connected in series with the actuator 140.

[0036] FIG. 3A schematically illustrates an example equivalent two-mass system 300 of the system 200 and loader 100. The system 300 includes a mass mbody (expressed e.g. in kilogram, kg) corresponding to the body 110 of the loader 100, and another mass mbucket(expressed e.g. in kg) corresponding to the bucket 120 (and the load of the bucket 120) of the loader 100. The suspension of the body 110 from the ground 170 is modelled as a spring element 310 with a spring coefficient k1 (expressed e.g. in Newton per meter, N / m, and taking into account e.g. a vertical stiffness of the wheel(s) 160). Likewise, a vertical stiffness of the gas accumulator of the actuator 140 is modelled as another spring element 320 with a spring coefficient k2 (also expressed e.g. in N / m). A cylinder of the actuator has a length dact.

[0037] When driving on even surface / terrain, the body 110 is at a distance dbody over the ground 170, while the bucket 120 is at a distance dbucket over the ground 170. A length of the actuator cylinder 140 may be assumed to be dact, and a lower end / resting position of the spring element 310 may be assumed to be a distance dr above ground 170, corresponding e.g. to a radius of the wheel 160. Herein, all distances may be expressed in e.g. meters (m), or similar. Generally, the envisaged solution is of course not bound to any particular set of units, and may just as well be expressed in terms of e.g. imperial units instead of metric ones, and similar.

[0038] As a result of driving over a surface irregularity, such as the unevenness / bump 172, there is assumed to be a corresponding compression / expansion of the tires of the loader 100, and the distance dr will thus change.

[0039] FIG. 3B schematically illustrates a corresponding free-body diagram 301 of the equivalent system 300 of FIG. 3A. The diagram 301 corresponds to a linear motion model with two degrees-of-freedom. Based on Newton's second law of motion, motion equations for the parts of the diagram 301 may be formulated asmbucket⁢d¨bucket=F,(1)F=k2(dbody-dbucket+dact),(2)mbody⁢d¨body=-F+Fbump=-F+k1(dr-dbody),(3)where {umlaut over (d)}bucket−{dot over (v)}bucket and {umlaut over (d)}body−{dot over (v)}body is, respectively, the vertical acceleration of the bucket and body. The force F may be re-formulated asF=k2(dbody-dbucket+dact)=k2(dbody-dbucket)+k2⁢dact=Fs+Fact,where Fs=k2(dbody−dbucket) is the load of the spring 320 and Fact=k2dact is the force caused by extending the actuator cylinder as mentioned above. The length dact may further include an offset, which may be neglected for the purpose of the present disclosure.The proposed solution as envisaged herein includes to control the actuator 140 in accordance with a control law on the formFact∝(or=)⁢ c1⁢v1+c2⁢v2,(4)i.e. by making Fact at least proportional to a weighted sum of first and second vertical speeds v1 and v2, where c1 and c2 are first and second weighting terms, respectively. Herein, v1=vbucket, i.e. the first vertical speed v1 equals / is the vertical speed of the bucket 120, and the terms c1 and c2 are set depending on overall desired damping and / or if damping of vertical oscillations of the bucket 120 or body 110 should be prioritized. As also envisaged herein, in some examples, control may instead be performed for dact instead of Fact, e.g. by dividing the expression for Fact in equation (4) by the spring stiffness k2.In one example, the actuator is controlled such that second vertical speed v2 is a relative vertical speed vrel vertical speed between the body 110 and bucket 120 of the loader 100, and such that the first weighting term c1 equals a first weighting coefficient α and the second weighting term c2 equals a product of α and (1−β), where β is a second weighting coefficient, i.e. such thatFact=α⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢vrel=α⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢(vbody-vbucket).(5)If β=0, full priority is given to damping of the vertical oscillations of the body 110, as Fact=αvbody. If β=1, full priority is instead given to damping of the vertical oscillations of the bucket 120, as Fact=αvbucket. The parameter a controls the overall amount of damping, e.g. how much Fact should depend on the vertical speed of the body 110 and / or bucket 120. In other examples, a α≠0 and β=0, and the force Fact will depend on a weighting of the speeds vbucket and vrel, and i.e. provide a weighted prioritization. The envisaged control law corresponds to adding of two dampers to the system 300: one damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket 120, vbucket, and another damper acting on the relative speed between the body 110 and the bucket 120.In another example, the expression for Fact given by equation (5) is rewritten asFact=(α-α⁡(1-β))⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢vbody=αβ⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢vbody,i.e. such that v1=vbucket and v2=vbody, with modified weighting terms c1=αβ and c2=α(1−β). Phrased differently, in this example, the first weighting term equals a product of a first weighting coefficient α times a second weighting coefficient β, and the second weighting term equals a product of the first weighting coefficient α times one minus the second weighting coefficient, i.e. α(1−β). This example thus also corresponds to adding two additional dampers to the system, but wherein the second damper acts on the vertical speed of the body 110, vbody, instead of on the relative vertical speed between the body 110 and bucket 120 as in the previous example. Setting e.g. β=0 would in this example however also result in full prioritization of damping of the vertical oscillations of the body (as Fact=αvbody), and β=1 would in this example also result in full prioritization of damping of the vertical oscillations of the bucket (as Fact=αvbucket).Generally herein, the envisaged solution thus includes to make the actuator force Fact equal to (or proportional to) a weighted sum of first and second vertical speeds, wherein the first vertical speed is that of the bucket 120, and wherein the second vertical speed is either that of the body 110 or the relative speed between the body 110 and bucket 120 of the loader 100.FIG. 4 schematically illustrates various examples of a computer system 400 as envisaged herein, such as the computer system 180 shown being part of the loader 100 in FIG. 1. The computer system 400 includes processing circuitry 410.FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of various examples of a (computer-implemented) method 500 as performed by the computer system 400 and processing circuitry 410.The processing circuitry 410 is configured to obtain, as part of e.g. an operation S510 of the method 500, an indication 420 of the first vertical speed (v1=vbucket), for example from one or more IMUs 150 located e.g. on the arm 131 (and / or on the bucket 120) of the loader 100, or similar, and configured to thereby provide such an indication or indications of one or more other indications from which the speed vbucket can be determined by the processing circuitry 410. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may receive indications from one or more other sensors, such as from one or more angular sensors configured to sense various mechanical linkage angles and angle velocities, and similar, from which the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to calculate vbucket if knowing e.g. a geometry (such as linkage lengths, connection points / joints, etc.) of the mechanical linkage 130 and similar of the loader 100.

[0048] The processing circuitry 410 is further configured to obtain, as part of e.g. an operation S520 of the method 500, an indication 422 of the second vertical speed v2, wherein the second vertical speed v2 is either the vertical body speed vbody or the relative vertical speed between the body 110 and bucket 120, i.e. v2=vbody or v2−vbody−vbucket. For example, the indication 422 is received from one or more suitable IMUs 152 positioned on / at the body 110, and / or from one or more other sensors suitable for providing indications of either the speed vbody (or vbody−vbucket) directly or indirectly via one or more other relevant parameter values from which the processing circuitry 410 may calculate v2.

[0049] The processing circuitry 410 is further configured to control, as part of e.g. an operation S530 of the method 500, the force Fact applied by the at least one actuator 140, such that (as described above), this force is proportional (or equal) to the weighted sum Fact=(or ∝) c1v1+c2v2. Herein, that the force Fact is applied by the at least one actuator 140 means that the force is assumed to be Fact=k2dact, i.e. such control may include to control how much the actuator cylinder(s) are extended (i.e. to control dact). Control of the at least one actuator may include e.g. to control its extension length dact, or e.g. to control its actuator pressure, i.e. the hydraulic pressure provided to the actuator. For example, the actuation force Fact depends on the applied hydraulic pressure times a piston disc area, and control of the force Fact may thus be performed by control of the hydraulic pressure. Control of the at least one actuator 140 may include for the processing circuitry 410 to communicate either directly with e.g. the one or more actuators 140, and / or by communicating with one or more control systems 432 responsible for controlling the one or more actuators 140, based on e.g. one or more control signals 430 provided from the processing circuitry 410 and computer system 400. Of course, in some examples, a control system such as 432 may not necessarily be external to the computer system 400, but may instead be implemented by the computer system 400 (using the processing circuitry 410) itself. For example, the signal(s) 430 may include an indication of a desired dact, and the control system 432 may be configured to e.g. make sure that the one or more actuators are extended accordingly, by for example controlling a hydraulic pressure in the actuator cylinder(s). Feedback may for example be used, such that hydraulic pressure is varied based on how much a current extension of the cylinder differs from the desired d_act, and similar. In other examples, the signal(s) 430 may include an indication of a desired hydraulic pressure that would result in the corresponding force Fact, and the control system 432 may be configured to e.g. make sure that the one or more actuators are provided with an hydraulic pressure corresponding to the desired hydraulic pressure, e.g. by controlling the hydraulic pressure in the actuator cylinder(s).

[0050] In some examples, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to obtain (as part of e.g. an optional operation S540 of the method 500) an indication 434 of a loading mbucket of the bucket 110, for example as part of an indication received from the control system 432 or from some other entity of the loader 100, wherein this indication 434 provides information about e.g. hydraulic pressure in the one or more actuators 140, an angle configuration of the mechanical linkage 130, information about the orientation of the bucket 120, and / or similar, e.g. of any parameters from which a total loading of the bucket 110 may be estimated. For example, contemporary wheel loaders are often equipped with systems for determining a loading of the bucket, and such systems may be used also as part of the present disclosure to indicate the parameter value mbucket. The processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to, as part of the control operation S530, adjust the weighted sum based on the loading mbucket of the bucket 120, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to make the ratio c1 / c2 increase with increasing mbucket, and decrease with decreasing mbucket. By so doing, a larger weight / loading of the bucket 120 may result in a more prioritized damping of vertical bucket oscillations than those of the body, which may be important if the bucket 120 is heavily loaded and it is more important to avoid spilling of material than to improve operator comfort, and similar. Likewise, for a lighter loading of the bucket 120, more prioritization may be given towards reduction of body vertical oscillations or of relative body and bucket vertical oscillations, which may be important to operator comfort.

[0051] In some examples, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to obtain (as part of e.g. an optional operation S550 of the method 500) an indication 440 of the longitudinal speed vx of the loader 100. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to receive such an indication 440 from one or more speed or velocity sensors 190 provided as part of the loader 100, such as e.g. one or more radar sensors, laser range finders, wheel rotational speed sensors, wheel axle rotational speed sensors, and similar, based on which information the longitudinal speed vx may be determined. The processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to adjust, as part of the control operation S530, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed vx, such that the weighting of both the speeds v1 and v2 increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with decreasing longitudinal speed. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to cause both c1 and c2 to increase and / or decrease with vx, e.g. proportionally to vx. For example, if Fact=αvbucket+α(1−β)(vbody−vbucket), the processing circuitry 410 may increase a when vx increases and reduce a when vx decreases, thus making the force Fact more responsive to the vertical speeds of the bucket 120 and / or body 110. The processing circuitry 410 may for example be configure to define a as a function of vx, e.g. α-→α(vx), either analytically or by using for example a lookup table providing predefined values of a for each of a plurality of different values for vx (and such that the processing circuitry 410 may use interpolation and / or extrapolation to find values of a for values of vx that are not stored in the table).

[0052] In some examples, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to obtain (as part of e.g. an optional operation S560 of the method 500) an indication 460 of a ground unevenness (such as of the bump 172) at an upcoming area (that the loader 100 will soon arrive at if continuing driving in e.g. a current direction), as well as an estimated time-of-arrival at the area. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to obtain such an indication 460 from for example one or more cameras 194 provided at / on the loader 100 and configured to capture and analyze images of a surrounding of the loader 100 in order to determine upcoming ground conditions; and / or e.g. from a database of topological data in combination with a known position of the wheel loader at a future time instance (such as obtained based on readings from a global positioning device, such as a GPS receiver, or similar), and / or from any other entity capable of providing such information. Once the processing circuitry 410 obtains such an indication 460, the processing circuitry 410 may perform the control operation S530 based on at least the estimated time-of-arrival, to make sure that the control of the bucket is proactively activated before the loader 100 reaches the “troublesome” area. For example, automated activation of the envisaged control may be performed in response to the indicated unevenness of the ground exceeding some threshold value, wherein the “threshold value” may of course be different (in value, dimension, type) depending on how exactly ground unevenness is defined. For example, ground unevenness may be defined as a standard deviation accompanying a mean ground height value, or similar, in case which automated activation may be performed if the indicated standard deviation exceeds a predefined threshold value, or similar. The predefined threshold value may be static, or changed dynamically depending on e.g. how fast the loader 100 is travelling or is expected to travel over the troublesome area, or similar. In any way, it is envisaged that such automated control activation may avoid delay between arriving at the troublesome area and activation of the control, that could otherwise cause unwanted material spill, operator discomfort, and similar, caused by such delay.

[0053] In some examples, instead or in addition to such automated activation, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to receive an indication 450 of a desired damping prioritization, and to adjust the weighting terms / coefficients in the weighted sum used to define Fact accordingly. For example, the indicated prioritization may tell whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations (and / or over damping of relative body and bucket vertical oscillations), and vice versa, and the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to adjust the weighted sum in accordance with this desired damping prioritization. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may receive the indication 450 from a user interface 192 provided within a cabin of the loader 100, from a cellphone / tablet / app, other software, remote server, or similar. Such functionality may allow e.g. an operator to manually select what damping to provide / prioritize, which may be useful as the operator may be experienced in determining what ground surface types / conditions that best correspond to what type of damping prioritization, and e.g. base the decision on a sensed longitudinal speed, bucket loading, and similar. Such overriding functionality may be desirable also for other reasons, such as it in a particular situation being beneficial to have vertical oscillations of one or both of the bucket and body of the loader, such as for example during loading and unloading of material, to improve traction, and similar. Providing a means to override (or disable) the envisaged automated control functionality based on the indication 450 may also be beneficial in that other control systems of the loader 100 may be allowed to decide how to prioritize, or if to prioritize, damping of oscillations, and similar. Consequently, the indication 450 and its envisaged use enables both the operator and other parts of the loader 100 to disable, enable and / or control the used prioritization of oscillations as described herein. Disabling of the control functionality may for example include to request for one or both weighting terms to be set such that Fact is zero, or similar, such as if selecting α=0.

[0054] In some examples as envisaged herein, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to also control e.g. a transmission and / or engine 112 of the loader 100, either directly or indirectly via a suitable control system 472, based on e.g. one or more suitable control signals 470 issued by the processing circuitry 410 and computer system 400. For example, if detecting that it is not possible to control the bucket and / or body vertical oscillations as desired, the processing circuitry 410 may for example instruct the engine 112 and / or transmission of the loader 100 to slow down the longitudinal speed vx, or similar.

[0055] Generally herein, when referring the processing circuitry 410 being configured to “obtain” something, or e.g. to “control something”, it is envisaged that any form of suitable signal or other way of transferring of information may be used for this purpose. For example, obtaining something may include to receive a suitable signal on an interface of the computer system 400, such as an analog or digital signal, and to interpret such a signal in order to extract a value or similar. Other examples may include to write (or read) information to / from a shared memory to / from which e.g. also one or more of the envisaged sensors may write / read, or similar. In yet other examples, information may be transferred using e.g. optics, magnetics or even mechanical motion, or by any other means suitable for transferring information between the processing circuitry 410 and one or more sensors and / or control systems as envisaged and discussed herein.

[0056] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 600 for implementing examples disclosed herein, and may for example be or correspond to the computer system 180 and / or 400 as described earlier herein. The computer system 600 is adapted to execute instructions from a computer-readable medium to perform these and / or any of the functions or processing described herein, such as to perform all or part of the method 500 as described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The computer system 600 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN (Local Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), automotive network communication protocol (e.g., FlexRay), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. While only a single device is illustrated, the computer system 600 may include any collection of devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Accordingly, any reference in the disclosure and / or claims to a computer system, computing system, computer device, computing device, control system, control unit, electronic control unit (ECU), processor device, processing circuitry, etc., includes reference to one or more such devices to individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. For example, control system may include a single control unit or a plurality of control units connected or otherwise communicatively coupled to each other, such that any performed function may be distributed between the control units as desired. Further, such devices may communicate with each other or other devices by various system architectures, such as directly or via a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, etc.

[0057] The computer system 600 may comprise at least one computing device or electronic device capable of including firmware, hardware, and / or executing software instructions to implement the functionality described herein. The computer system 600 may include processing circuitry 602 (e.g., processing circuitry including one or more processor devices or control units), a memory 604, and a system bus 606. The computer system 600 may include at least one computing device having the processing circuitry 602. The system bus 606 provides an interface for system components including, but not limited to, the memory 604 and the processing circuitry 602. The processing circuitry 602 may include any number of hardware components for conducting data or signal processing or for executing computer code stored in memory 604. The processing circuitry 602 may, for example, include a general-purpose processor, an application specific processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a circuit containing processing components, a group of distributed processing components, a group of distributed computers configured for processing, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The processing circuitry 602 may further include computer executable code that controls operation of the programmable device.

[0058] The system bus 606 may be any of several types of bus structures that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and / or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The memory 604 may be one or more devices for storing data and / or computer code for completing or facilitating methods described herein. The memory 604 may include database components, object code components, script components, or other types of information structure for supporting the various activities herein. Any distributed or local memory device may be utilized with the systems and methods of this description. The memory 604 may be communicably connected to the processing circuitry 602 (e.g., via a circuit or any other wired, wireless, or network connection) and may include computer code for executing one or more processes described herein. The memory 604 may include non-volatile memory 608 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.), and volatile memory 610 (e.g., random-access memory (RAM)), or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a computer or other machine with processing circuitry 602. A basic input / output system (BIOS) 612 may be stored in the non-volatile memory 608 and can include the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer system 600.

[0059] The computer system 600 may further include or be coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as the storage device 614, which may comprise, for example, an internal or external hard disk drive (HDD) (e.g., enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)), HDD (e.g., EIDE or SATA) for storage, flash memory, or the like. The storage device 614 and other drives associated with computer-readable media and computer-usable media may provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and the like.

[0060] Computer-code which is hard or soft coded may be provided in the form of one or more modules. The module(s) can be implemented as software and / or hard-coded in circuitry to implement the functionality described herein in whole or in part. The modules may be stored in the storage device 614 and / or in the volatile memory 610, which may include an operating system 616 and / or one or more program modules 618. All or a portion of the examples disclosed herein may be implemented as a computer program 620 stored on a transitory or non-transitory computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium (e.g., single medium or multiple media), such as the storage device 614, which includes complex programming instructions (e.g., complex computer-readable program code) to cause the processing circuitry 602 to carry out actions described herein. Thus, the computer-readable program code of the computer program 620 can comprise software instructions for implementing the functionality of the examples described herein when executed by the processing circuitry 602. In some examples, the storage device 614 may be a computer program product (e.g., readable storage medium) storing the computer program 620 thereon, where at least a portion of a computer program 620 may be loadable (e.g., into a processor) for implementing the functionality of the examples described herein when executed by the processing circuitry 602. The processing circuitry 602 may serve as a controller or control system for the computer system 600 that is to implement the functionality described herein.

[0061] The computer system 600 may include an input device interface 622 configured to receive input and selections to be communicated to the computer system 600 when executing instructions, such as from a keyboard, mouse, touch-sensitive surface, etc. Such input devices may be connected to the processing circuitry 602 through the input device interface 622 coupled to the system bus 606 but can be connected through other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 1394 serial port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an IR interface, and the like. The computer system 600 may include an output device interface 624 configured to forward output, such as to a display, a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 600 may include a communications interface 626 suitable for communicating with a network as appropriate or desired.

[0062] In summary of all of the above, it has herein been described an improve solution for how to control a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery, such as that of a wheel loader, in a way which improves transport efficiency, operator comfort as well as safety, by actively controlling the force provided by the bucket-lifting and / or -lowering actuator(s) based on vertical bucket and body speeds, in a way that may automatically determine whether to prioritize damping of the bucket or the body, and similar. By making the force dependent on (e.g. equal to or proportional to) a weighted sum of the vertical bucket and body (or relative body and bucket) speeds, whether (or how) to prioritize damping of bucket oscillations over body oscillations, and vice versa, can be controlled by altering of corresponding weighting terms / coefficients, and easy allow to tailor the solution to work for changing conditions such as current bucket loading, current machine longitudinal speed, and similar. In addition, functionality to manually override (or disable) such functionality upon request from e.g. an operator or other part of the loader has also been described.

[0063] The operational actions described in any of the exemplary aspects herein are described to provide examples and discussion. The actions may be performed by hardware components, may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to cause a processor to perform the actions, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. Although a specific order of method actions may be shown or described, the order of the actions may differ. In addition, two or more actions may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence.

[0064] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,”“includes,” and / or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, actions, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, actions, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0065] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0066] Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

[0067] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0068] It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the aspects described above and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure and appended claims. In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed aspects for purposes of illustration only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the disclosure being set forth in the following claims.

[0069] The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples as envisaged herein:

[0070] Example 1: A computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, including processing circuitry configured to: obtain an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtain an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

[0071] Example 2: The computer system of example 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a loading of the bucket, and adjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum based on the loading of the bucket, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa.

[0072] Example 3: The computer system of example 1 or 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, and adjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, such that a weighting of both the first vertical speed and of the second vertical speed increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with decreasing longitudinal speed.

[0073] Example 4: The computer system of any one of examples 1 to 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a desired damping prioritization, including an indication of whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations or vice versa, and adjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum in accordance with the desired damping prioritization.

[0074] Example 5: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of ground unevenness at an upcoming area and an estimated time-of-arrival at said area, and perform, based on the estimated time-of-arrival, said control before the piece of heavy machinery reaches the area, in response to the indicated ground unevenness exceeding a threshold value.

[0075] Example 6: The computer system of example 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain the indication of the ground unevenness from one or more sensors configured for such a purpose, such as from one or more optical and / or radar sensors configured to detect the ground unevenness.

[0076] Example 7: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum includes a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed.

[0077] Example 8: The computer system of example 7, wherein the second vertical speed is the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a first weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient.

[0078] Example 9: The computer system of example 8, wherein the second vertical speed is the vertical speed of the body of the piece of heavy machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a product of a first weighting coefficient times a second weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus the second weighting coefficient.

[0079] Example 10: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum corresponds to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery.

[0080] Example 11: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to obtain the indication of the first vertical speed and the indication of the second vertical speed, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with one or more sensors (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds.

[0081] Example 12: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to control the force and / or displacement of the at least one actuator, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with a control system (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to control the at least one actuator.

[0082] Example 13: The computer system of any one of example 12, wherein, to control the force and / or displacement, the computer system is configured to send a request for a particular actuation force and / or displacement for / of the at least one actuator to the control system.

[0083] Example 14: A piece of heavy machinery, including: the bucket; the body; the one or more actuators, and the computer system of any one of examples 1 to 13.

[0084] Example 15: The piece of heavy machinery of example 14, including one or more sensors configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds.

[0085] Example 16: The piece of heavy machinery of example 14 or 15, including a control system for controlling the at least one actuator, to e.g. generate a requested force and / or displacement (of the at least one actuator).

[0086] Example 17: The piece of heavy machinery of any one of examples 14 to 16, wherein the piece of heavy machinery is a wheel loader.

[0087] Example 18: A computer-implemented method for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, including: obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system, an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtaining, by the processing circuitry, an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, and controlling, by the processing circuitry, a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

[0088] Example 19: A computer program product including program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of example 18.

[0089] Example 20: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of example 18.

Examples

example 1

[0070] A computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, including processing circuitry configured to: obtain an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtain an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

[0071]Example 2: The computer system of example 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a loading of t...

example 6

[0075] The computer system of example 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain the indication of the ground unevenness from one or more sensors configured for such a purpose, such as from one or more optical and / or radar sensors configured to detect the ground unevenness.

[0076]Example 7: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum includes a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed.

[0077]Example 8: The computer system of example 7, wherein the second vertical speed is the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a first weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient.

[0078]Example 9: The computer system of example 8, wherein the...

example 10

[0079] The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum corresponds to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery.

[0080]Example 11: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to obtain the indication of the first vertical speed and the indication of the second vertical speed, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with one or more sensors (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds.

[0081]Example 12: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to control the force and / or displacement of the at least one actuator, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with a control system (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to control the at least one actuator.

[0082]Example 13: The computer system o...

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims foreign priority to European Application No. 25165404 filed on Mar. 21, 2025, the disclosure and content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The disclosure relates generally to heavy pieces of machinery, such as wheel loaders, equipped with buckets. In particular aspects, the disclosure relates to damping of vertical oscillations of the bucket of such a piece of heavy machinery and / or of a body of the piece of heavy machinery. The disclosure can be applied to construction equipment, among other vehicle types. Although the disclosure may be described with respect to a particular vehicle, the disclosure is not restricted to any particular vehicle.BACKGROUND

[0003] A heavy piece of machinery equipped with a bucket, such as a wheel loader, is often driven on uneven ground. When driven, vertical oscillations of the bucket and / or of the wheel loader itself is likely to cause spill of material from the bucket. Higher speed of the wheel loader is likely to result in a larger vertical oscillation amplitude, and the driver is forced to adapt the speed of the wheel loader to maintain an acceptable maximum amount of material spill. Phrased differently, the speed of the wheel loader is in practice limited by the unevenness of the ground on which the wheel loader is driven.

[0004] To reduce spill, and thus also increase the speed of the wheel loader, the volume of material that is loaded into the bucket can be reduced, but would also result in a reduced transport efficiency and is thus not often a viable option. To the contrary, to maximize transport efficiency, the driver often top-fill the bucket, and there is thus a challenge to increase speed while maintaining transport efficiency at high levels. Available solutions include to e.g. provide one or more gas accumulators (such as one or more gas hydraulic cylinders) on a lifting-arm / boom of the wheel loader, which may reduce low frequency oscillations to at least some extents.SUMMARY

[0005] The present disclosure is aims at providing a solution that improves upon contemporary technology and that at least partially overcomes the above-mentioned challenge.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader. The computer system includes processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry is configured to: obtain an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtain an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery; and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed. The first aspect seeks to solve the problem of how to improve both safety and transport efficiency for wheel-equipped vehicles or machines, such as for wheel loaders. A technical benefit may include that the vertical oscillations of the bucket and / or body of the machine are reduced, thereby reducing discomfort for the operator / driver, spill of material from the bucket at a certain longitudinal speed of the machine, or similar.

[0007] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of a loading of the bucket; and adjust, as part of the control, the weighted sum based on the loading of the bucket, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa. A technical benefit may include that damping of vertical bucket oscillations is thereby prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations, which may result in a reduced spill of material when the bucket is heavily loaded.

[0008] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of a longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery; and adjust, as part of the control, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, such that a weighting of both the first vertical sped and of the second vertical speed increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with reducing longitudinal speed. A technical benefit may include that damping of vertical body oscillations is thereby prioritized for larger vehicles speeds, which may reduce driver discomfort, and increase safety and reduce machinery wear, at higher speeds.

[0009] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of a desired damping prioritization, including an indication of whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations or vice versa; and adjust, as part of the control, the weighted sum in accordance with the desired damping prioritization. A technical benefit may include that whether to prioritize damping of vertical bucket or body oscillations may thus be e.g. manually configured by for example an operator / driver of the machine, and adjusted based on a current desire of the operator.

[0010] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the processing circuitry may be further configured to: obtain an indication of ground unevenness at an upcoming area and an estimated time-of-arrival at the area; and perform, based on the estimated time-of-arrival, the control before the piece of heavy machinery reaches the area, in response to the indicated ground unevenness exceeding a threshold value. A technical benefit may include that the envisaged solution may thus be proactively activated, such that the machinery is ready to meet the anticipated road disturbance in a timely manner, and thus avoid material spill and / or operator discomfort caused by reacting to the new ground conditions (too) late.

[0011] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the weighted sum may include a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed. A technical benefit may include that the weighting terms may be used to prioritize damping of vertical oscillations of the bucket over those of the body (or over relative vertical oscillations between the bucket and body), and vice versa.

[0012] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the second vertical speed may be the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery. The first weighting term may equal a first weighting coefficient, and the second weighting term may equal a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient. A technical benefit may include that the first and second weighting coefficients may thus be used to control both the overall effort to damp both vertical bucket oscillations and the vertical relative oscillations, as well as the prioritization of bucket oscillations over the relative oscillations, and vice versa.

[0013] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the second vertical speed may be the vertical speed of the body of the piece of heavy machinery. The first weighting term may equal a product of a first weighting coefficient times a second weighting coefficient. The second weighting term may equal a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus the second weighting coefficient. A technical benefit may include that the first and second weighting coefficients may thus be used to control both the overall effort to damp both vertical bucket oscillations and vertical body oscillations, as well as the prioritization of bucket oscillations over the body oscillations, and vice versa.

[0014] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the weighted sum may correspond to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery. A technical benefit may include that the actuator force may thus be controlled to e.g. increase or reduce the overall damping of both bucket and relative oscillations, and to e.g. prioritize damping of the bucket oscillations over the relative oscillations, and vice versa.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provide a piece of heavy machinery. The piece of heavy machinery includes the bucket, the body, the one or more actuators, and the computer system of the first aspect (or any example thereof disclosed herein). The second aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to provide a piece of heavy machinery that is more transport efficient, safe and comfortable, with the same technical benefits as those disclosed already herein with reference to the computer system of the first aspect.

[0016] Optionally, in some examples, including in at least one preferred example, the piece of heavy machinery may be a wheel loader. A technical benefit may include that wheel loaders may be particularly prone to e.g. material spill, operator discomfort, and similar caused by vertical oscillations of its bucket, body and / or relative oscillations between the bucket and body, as wheel loaders often drive over uneven ground particularly prone to cause such oscillations.

[0017] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a (computer-implemented) method for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader. The method includes obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system, an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery. The method further includes obtaining, by the processing circuitry, an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery. The method further includes controlling, by the processing circuitry, a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, such that the applied force is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed. The third aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to provide a (computer-implemented) method for control of an actuator force that results in a more transport efficient, safer and more comfortable piece of heavy machinery. The method of the third aspect may correspond to the operations performed by the computer system and processing circuitry of the first aspect (or any example thereof as disclosed herein).

[0018] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product (and corresponding computer program), that includes program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of the third aspect (or any example thereof as disclosed herein). The fourth aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to provide software that causes e.g. a computer system of a piece of heavy machinery to control the piece of heavy machinery in a way that makes the piece of heavy machinery more transport efficient, safe and comfortable, as described herein.

[0019] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium. The medium includes instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of the third aspect (or any example thereof as disclosed herein). The fifth aspect may seek to solve the problem of how to physically transport e.g. the computer program of the fourth aspect from one location to another, e.g. as part of a distributing process. In some examples, the computer-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.

[0020] The disclosed aspects, examples (including any preferred examples), and / or accompanying claims may be suitably combined with each other as would be apparent to anyone of ordinary skill in the art. Additional features and advantages are disclosed in the following description, claims, and drawings, and in part will be readily apparent therefrom to those skilled in the art or recognized by practicing the disclosure as described herein.

[0021] There are also disclosed herein computer systems, control units, code modules, computer-implemented methods, computer readable media, and computer program products associated with the above discussed technical benefits.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Examples are described in more detail below with reference to the appended drawings.

[0023] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a piece of heavy machinery as envisaged herein, in the form of an example wheel loader.

[0024] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of a simplified mechanical equivalent system of the actuators, mechanical linkage, etc., used to lower / lift the bucket of the wheel loader of FIG. 1.

[0025] FIGS. 3A and 3B schematically illustrates, respectively, an example two-mass system and free-body diagram of bucket and body of the wheel loader of FIG. 1.

[0026] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a computer system for damping of vertical oscillations of a piece of heavy machinery, according to one or more examples as envisaged herein.

[0027] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of various examples of a (computer-implement) method as performed by the computer system of FIG. 4, according to one or more examples as envisaged herein.

[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example computer system for implementing examples disclosed herein, according to an example.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The detailed description set forth below provides information and examples of the disclosed technology with sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a piece of heavy machinery in form of a wheel loader 100. The solution as envisaged herein is applicable to any vehicle / machine with a body and bucket, and for which there is a need to damping vertical oscillations to make the vehicle / machine e.g. more transport efficient, safe and comfortable. In what follows, however, the wheel loader 100 will be used as an example of such a vehicle / machine. As envisaged herein, a “piece of heavy machinery” may also be referred to a “piece of heavy equipment”, “piece of heavy construction equipment”, or similar, and apply to all such entities with at least one bucket and body as described herein.

[0031] The wheel loader (or just “loader”) 100 has a body 110, to which a bucket 120 for scoping up, transport and release of material (such as e.g. dirt, gravel, rocks, sand, etc.) is connected via a mechanical linkage 130. In this example, the linkage 130 includes a boom arm 131 that is pivotably connected to the body via a rotating joint 132, and pivotably connected to the bucket 120 via another rotating joint 133, such that the bucket 120 may be lowered and raised vis-à-vis the ground 170 (in a vertical direction z). For such movement, the loader 100 further includes one or more actuators for providing the forces necessary to lift and lower the bucket 120, such as one or more hydraulic cylinders 140. In FIG. 1, only one such cylinder 140 is shown, but it may of course be more cylinders such as e.g. two. The cylinder 140 connects to the body at a rotating joint (not shown in FIG. 1), and to the arm 131 at a rotatable joint 134. By extending or contracting the cylinder 140, the arm 131 and bucket 120 can thus be lifted or lowered, respectively. The linkage 130 may further include e.g. additional linkage 135 for tilting the bucket 120, to e.g. scoop up and release material, and such linkage 135 may for example be actuated by one or more additional actuators (not shown), such as by one or more additional hydraulic cylinders or similar. As envisaged herein, an actuator is not necessarily a hydraulic cylinder, but may be any element capable of providing the forces required for controlled lifting and lowering of the bucket 120.

[0032] The loader 100 is further equipped with wheels, such as a pair of front wheels 160 and a pair of rear wheels, to support the loader 100 and to transfer torque provided by e.g. an engine 110 (and transmission) of the loader 100 into propelling forces capable of driving the loader 100 forward and backward over the ground 170. For example, via e.g. one or both of the front pair of wheels 160 and the rear pair of wheels (depending on if the loader 100 is rear-wheel driven, front-wheel driven, or all-wheel-driven), the engine 112 and transmission may provide torque at the one or more wheels, and a friction between the wheels and the ground 170 may result in longitudinal tire forces sufficient to propel the loader 100 with a longitudinal speed vx relative the ground 170.

[0033] As described already herein, a problem often faced when operating the loader 100 is that the ground 170 is not always even, and may include e.g. bumps 172 or other rough surface areas that will cause vertical acceleration and oscillatory movement of the bucket 120 and / or body 110 of the loader 100, leading to e.g. excessive spill of material from the bucket and a reduced transport efficiency, as well as discomfort for the operator of the loader 100 and in worst case also a reduced overall safety of the handling of the loader 100.

[0034] As will be described in what follows, the present disclosure envisages to provide a computer system 180 that is configured to prevent (or at least reduce) such oscillations, and to thereby improve transport efficiency, operator comfort and safety of the loader 100 and its operation. As will be described, the computer system 180 will obtain indications of vertical bucket speed vbucket as well as vertical body speed vbody as indicated in FIG. 1 (wherein x is a longitudinal direction, y a transverse direction and z the vertical direction). In some examples, for this purpose, the loader 100 may be equipped with e.g. an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 150 arranged close to the bucket 120 (on e.g. the arm 131) and configured to output a signal indicative of the vertical bucket speed vbucket to the computer system 180 (or at least indicative of some other property value from which the computer system 180 may calculate / estimate the vertical bucket speed vbucket), as well as e.g. an IMU 152 arranged on the body 110 and configured to output a signal indicative of the vertical body speed vbody the computer system 180 (or, likewise, at least indicative of something from which the computer system 180 may calculate / estimate the vertical body speed vbucket). As will be described in more detail later, the computer system 180 may in some example instead rely on not the vertical body speed vbody but instead on a relative vertical speed vrel=vbucket−vbody, or similar, between the body 110 and bucket 120, in which case the loader 100 may be provided with suitable sensors (such as one or more IMUs) for providing an indication of the relative vertical speed vrel (or of one or more other parameter values from which this relative speed is derivable). As will also be described later herein, in some examples, the loader 100 may further be provided with e.g. one or more sensors for providing an indication of the longitudinal speed vx, a loading of the bucket 120, a topology / profile of the ground 170 ahead (or behind) of the loader (such as an indication of the unevenness 172), and similar.

[0035] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example simplified mechanical equivalent system 200, corresponding to the combined bucket 120, linkage 130, actuator 140 and body 110 of the loader. In the system 200, the bucket 120 is assumed to be a point mass, and the actuator 140 is assumed to generate an actuation force F that, by acting on the arm 131, causes the arm 131 to apply a corresponding bucket lifting force Fbucket on the bucket 120, resulting in a movement of the bucket 120 upwards (i.e. in the z-direction). The system 200 illustrates how the arm 131 is connected between the bucket 120 and body 110 of the loader, via the rotating joint 132 (as well as the rotating joint at the bucket 120), and how the actuator 140 is connected to a point on the arm 131 via the rotating joint 132 and to the body 110 via a rotating joint 136. As envisaged herein, the actuator 140 may for example be a gas hydraulic cylinder, and include a gas accumulator that acts as a spring element that passively reduces low frequency oscillations to some extent. In the system 200 and loader 100, such a gas accumulator may be considered as a spring element connected in series with the actuator 140.

[0036] FIG. 3A schematically illustrates an example equivalent two-mass system 300 of the system 200 and loader 100. The system 300 includes a mass mbody (expressed e.g. in kilogram, kg) corresponding to the body 110 of the loader 100, and another mass mbucket(expressed e.g. in kg) corresponding to the bucket 120 (and the load of the bucket 120) of the loader 100. The suspension of the body 110 from the ground 170 is modelled as a spring element 310 with a spring coefficient k1 (expressed e.g. in Newton per meter, N / m, and taking into account e.g. a vertical stiffness of the wheel(s) 160). Likewise, a vertical stiffness of the gas accumulator of the actuator 140 is modelled as another spring element 320 with a spring coefficient k2 (also expressed e.g. in N / m). A cylinder of the actuator has a length dact.

[0037] When driving on even surface / terrain, the body 110 is at a distance dbody over the ground 170, while the bucket 120 is at a distance dbucket over the ground 170. A length of the actuator cylinder 140 may be assumed to be dact, and a lower end / resting position of the spring element 310 may be assumed to be a distance dr above ground 170, corresponding e.g. to a radius of the wheel 160. Herein, all distances may be expressed in e.g. meters (m), or similar. Generally, the envisaged solution is of course not bound to any particular set of units, and may just as well be expressed in terms of e.g. imperial units instead of metric ones, and similar.

[0038] As a result of driving over a surface irregularity, such as the unevenness / bump 172, there is assumed to be a corresponding compression / expansion of the tires of the loader 100, and the distance dr will thus change.

[0039] FIG. 3B schematically illustrates a corresponding free-body diagram 301 of the equivalent system 300 of FIG. 3A. The diagram 301 corresponds to a linear motion model with two degrees-of-freedom. Based on Newton's second law of motion, motion equations for the parts of the diagram 301 may be formulated asmbucket⁢d¨bucket=F,(1)F=k2(dbody-dbucket+dact),(2)mbody⁢d¨body=-F+Fbump=-F+k1(dr-dbody),(3)where {umlaut over (d)}bucket−{dot over (v)}bucket and {umlaut over (d)}body−{dot over (v)}body is, respectively, the vertical acceleration of the bucket and body. The force F may be re-formulated asF=k2(dbody-dbucket+dact)=k2(dbody-dbucket)+k2⁢dact=Fs+Fact,where Fs=k2(dbody−dbucket) is the load of the spring 320 and Fact=k2dact is the force caused by extending the actuator cylinder as mentioned above. The length dact may further include an offset, which may be neglected for the purpose of the present disclosure.The proposed solution as envisaged herein includes to control the actuator 140 in accordance with a control law on the formFact∝(or=)⁢ c1⁢v1+c2⁢v2,(4)i.e. by making Fact at least proportional to a weighted sum of first and second vertical speeds v1 and v2, where c1 and c2 are first and second weighting terms, respectively. Herein, v1=vbucket, i.e. the first vertical speed v1 equals / is the vertical speed of the bucket 120, and the terms c1 and c2 are set depending on overall desired damping and / or if damping of vertical oscillations of the bucket 120 or body 110 should be prioritized. As also envisaged herein, in some examples, control may instead be performed for dact instead of Fact, e.g. by dividing the expression for Fact in equation (4) by the spring stiffness k2.In one example, the actuator is controlled such that second vertical speed v2 is a relative vertical speed vrel vertical speed between the body 110 and bucket 120 of the loader 100, and such that the first weighting term c1 equals a first weighting coefficient α and the second weighting term c2 equals a product of α and (1−β), where β is a second weighting coefficient, i.e. such thatFact=α⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢vrel=α⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢(vbody-vbucket).(5)If β=0, full priority is given to damping of the vertical oscillations of the body 110, as Fact=αvbody. If β=1, full priority is instead given to damping of the vertical oscillations of the bucket 120, as Fact=αvbucket. The parameter a controls the overall amount of damping, e.g. how much Fact should depend on the vertical speed of the body 110 and / or bucket 120. In other examples, a α≠0 and β=0, and the force Fact will depend on a weighting of the speeds vbucket and vrel, and i.e. provide a weighted prioritization. The envisaged control law corresponds to adding of two dampers to the system 300: one damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket 120, vbucket, and another damper acting on the relative speed between the body 110 and the bucket 120.In another example, the expression for Fact given by equation (5) is rewritten asFact=(α-α⁡(1-β))⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢vbody=αβ⁢vbucket+α⁡(1-β)⁢vbody,i.e. such that v1=vbucket and v2=vbody, with modified weighting terms c1=αβ and c2=α(1−β). Phrased differently, in this example, the first weighting term equals a product of a first weighting coefficient α times a second weighting coefficient β, and the second weighting term equals a product of the first weighting coefficient α times one minus the second weighting coefficient, i.e. α(1−β). This example thus also corresponds to adding two additional dampers to the system, but wherein the second damper acts on the vertical speed of the body 110, vbody, instead of on the relative vertical speed between the body 110 and bucket 120 as in the previous example. Setting e.g. β=0 would in this example however also result in full prioritization of damping of the vertical oscillations of the body (as Fact=αvbody), and β=1 would in this example also result in full prioritization of damping of the vertical oscillations of the bucket (as Fact=αvbucket).Generally herein, the envisaged solution thus includes to make the actuator force Fact equal to (or proportional to) a weighted sum of first and second vertical speeds, wherein the first vertical speed is that of the bucket 120, and wherein the second vertical speed is either that of the body 110 or the relative speed between the body 110 and bucket 120 of the loader 100.FIG. 4 schematically illustrates various examples of a computer system 400 as envisaged herein, such as the computer system 180 shown being part of the loader 100 in FIG. 1. The computer system 400 includes processing circuitry 410.FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a flowchart of various examples of a (computer-implemented) method 500 as performed by the computer system 400 and processing circuitry 410.The processing circuitry 410 is configured to obtain, as part of e.g. an operation S510 of the method 500, an indication 420 of the first vertical speed (v1=vbucket), for example from one or more IMUs 150 located e.g. on the arm 131 (and / or on the bucket 120) of the loader 100, or similar, and configured to thereby provide such an indication or indications of one or more other indications from which the speed vbucket can be determined by the processing circuitry 410. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may receive indications from one or more other sensors, such as from one or more angular sensors configured to sense various mechanical linkage angles and angle velocities, and similar, from which the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to calculate vbucket if knowing e.g. a geometry (such as linkage lengths, connection points / joints, etc.) of the mechanical linkage 130 and similar of the loader 100.

[0048] The processing circuitry 410 is further configured to obtain, as part of e.g. an operation S520 of the method 500, an indication 422 of the second vertical speed v2, wherein the second vertical speed v2 is either the vertical body speed vbody or the relative vertical speed between the body 110 and bucket 120, i.e. v2=vbody or v2−vbody−vbucket. For example, the indication 422 is received from one or more suitable IMUs 152 positioned on / at the body 110, and / or from one or more other sensors suitable for providing indications of either the speed vbody (or vbody−vbucket) directly or indirectly via one or more other relevant parameter values from which the processing circuitry 410 may calculate v2.

[0049] The processing circuitry 410 is further configured to control, as part of e.g. an operation S530 of the method 500, the force Fact applied by the at least one actuator 140, such that (as described above), this force is proportional (or equal) to the weighted sum Fact=(or ∝) c1v1+c2v2. Herein, that the force Fact is applied by the at least one actuator 140 means that the force is assumed to be Fact=k2dact, i.e. such control may include to control how much the actuator cylinder(s) are extended (i.e. to control dact). Control of the at least one actuator may include e.g. to control its extension length dact, or e.g. to control its actuator pressure, i.e. the hydraulic pressure provided to the actuator. For example, the actuation force Fact depends on the applied hydraulic pressure times a piston disc area, and control of the force Fact may thus be performed by control of the hydraulic pressure. Control of the at least one actuator 140 may include for the processing circuitry 410 to communicate either directly with e.g. the one or more actuators 140, and / or by communicating with one or more control systems 432 responsible for controlling the one or more actuators 140, based on e.g. one or more control signals 430 provided from the processing circuitry 410 and computer system 400. Of course, in some examples, a control system such as 432 may not necessarily be external to the computer system 400, but may instead be implemented by the computer system 400 (using the processing circuitry 410) itself. For example, the signal(s) 430 may include an indication of a desired dact, and the control system 432 may be configured to e.g. make sure that the one or more actuators are extended accordingly, by for example controlling a hydraulic pressure in the actuator cylinder(s). Feedback may for example be used, such that hydraulic pressure is varied based on how much a current extension of the cylinder differs from the desired d_act, and similar. In other examples, the signal(s) 430 may include an indication of a desired hydraulic pressure that would result in the corresponding force Fact, and the control system 432 may be configured to e.g. make sure that the one or more actuators are provided with an hydraulic pressure corresponding to the desired hydraulic pressure, e.g. by controlling the hydraulic pressure in the actuator cylinder(s).

[0050] In some examples, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to obtain (as part of e.g. an optional operation S540 of the method 500) an indication 434 of a loading mbucket of the bucket 110, for example as part of an indication received from the control system 432 or from some other entity of the loader 100, wherein this indication 434 provides information about e.g. hydraulic pressure in the one or more actuators 140, an angle configuration of the mechanical linkage 130, information about the orientation of the bucket 120, and / or similar, e.g. of any parameters from which a total loading of the bucket 110 may be estimated. For example, contemporary wheel loaders are often equipped with systems for determining a loading of the bucket, and such systems may be used also as part of the present disclosure to indicate the parameter value mbucket. The processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to, as part of the control operation S530, adjust the weighted sum based on the loading mbucket of the bucket 120, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to make the ratio c1 / c2 increase with increasing mbucket, and decrease with decreasing mbucket. By so doing, a larger weight / loading of the bucket 120 may result in a more prioritized damping of vertical bucket oscillations than those of the body, which may be important if the bucket 120 is heavily loaded and it is more important to avoid spilling of material than to improve operator comfort, and similar. Likewise, for a lighter loading of the bucket 120, more prioritization may be given towards reduction of body vertical oscillations or of relative body and bucket vertical oscillations, which may be important to operator comfort.

[0051] In some examples, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to obtain (as part of e.g. an optional operation S550 of the method 500) an indication 440 of the longitudinal speed vx of the loader 100. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to receive such an indication 440 from one or more speed or velocity sensors 190 provided as part of the loader 100, such as e.g. one or more radar sensors, laser range finders, wheel rotational speed sensors, wheel axle rotational speed sensors, and similar, based on which information the longitudinal speed vx may be determined. The processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to adjust, as part of the control operation S530, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed vx, such that the weighting of both the speeds v1 and v2 increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with decreasing longitudinal speed. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to cause both c1 and c2 to increase and / or decrease with vx, e.g. proportionally to vx. For example, if Fact=αvbucket+α(1−β)(vbody−vbucket), the processing circuitry 410 may increase a when vx increases and reduce a when vx decreases, thus making the force Fact more responsive to the vertical speeds of the bucket 120 and / or body 110. The processing circuitry 410 may for example be configure to define a as a function of vx, e.g. α-→α(vx), either analytically or by using for example a lookup table providing predefined values of a for each of a plurality of different values for vx (and such that the processing circuitry 410 may use interpolation and / or extrapolation to find values of a for values of vx that are not stored in the table).

[0052] In some examples, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to obtain (as part of e.g. an optional operation S560 of the method 500) an indication 460 of a ground unevenness (such as of the bump 172) at an upcoming area (that the loader 100 will soon arrive at if continuing driving in e.g. a current direction), as well as an estimated time-of-arrival at the area. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to obtain such an indication 460 from for example one or more cameras 194 provided at / on the loader 100 and configured to capture and analyze images of a surrounding of the loader 100 in order to determine upcoming ground conditions; and / or e.g. from a database of topological data in combination with a known position of the wheel loader at a future time instance (such as obtained based on readings from a global positioning device, such as a GPS receiver, or similar), and / or from any other entity capable of providing such information. Once the processing circuitry 410 obtains such an indication 460, the processing circuitry 410 may perform the control operation S530 based on at least the estimated time-of-arrival, to make sure that the control of the bucket is proactively activated before the loader 100 reaches the “troublesome” area. For example, automated activation of the envisaged control may be performed in response to the indicated unevenness of the ground exceeding some threshold value, wherein the “threshold value” may of course be different (in value, dimension, type) depending on how exactly ground unevenness is defined. For example, ground unevenness may be defined as a standard deviation accompanying a mean ground height value, or similar, in case which automated activation may be performed if the indicated standard deviation exceeds a predefined threshold value, or similar. The predefined threshold value may be static, or changed dynamically depending on e.g. how fast the loader 100 is travelling or is expected to travel over the troublesome area, or similar. In any way, it is envisaged that such automated control activation may avoid delay between arriving at the troublesome area and activation of the control, that could otherwise cause unwanted material spill, operator discomfort, and similar, caused by such delay.

[0053] In some examples, instead or in addition to such automated activation, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to receive an indication 450 of a desired damping prioritization, and to adjust the weighting terms / coefficients in the weighted sum used to define Fact accordingly. For example, the indicated prioritization may tell whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations (and / or over damping of relative body and bucket vertical oscillations), and vice versa, and the processing circuitry 410 may be configured to adjust the weighted sum in accordance with this desired damping prioritization. For example, the processing circuitry 410 may receive the indication 450 from a user interface 192 provided within a cabin of the loader 100, from a cellphone / tablet / app, other software, remote server, or similar. Such functionality may allow e.g. an operator to manually select what damping to provide / prioritize, which may be useful as the operator may be experienced in determining what ground surface types / conditions that best correspond to what type of damping prioritization, and e.g. base the decision on a sensed longitudinal speed, bucket loading, and similar. Such overriding functionality may be desirable also for other reasons, such as it in a particular situation being beneficial to have vertical oscillations of one or both of the bucket and body of the loader, such as for example during loading and unloading of material, to improve traction, and similar. Providing a means to override (or disable) the envisaged automated control functionality based on the indication 450 may also be beneficial in that other control systems of the loader 100 may be allowed to decide how to prioritize, or if to prioritize, damping of oscillations, and similar. Consequently, the indication 450 and its envisaged use enables both the operator and other parts of the loader 100 to disable, enable and / or control the used prioritization of oscillations as described herein. Disabling of the control functionality may for example include to request for one or both weighting terms to be set such that Fact is zero, or similar, such as if selecting α=0.

[0054] In some examples as envisaged herein, the processing circuitry 410 may be further configured to also control e.g. a transmission and / or engine 112 of the loader 100, either directly or indirectly via a suitable control system 472, based on e.g. one or more suitable control signals 470 issued by the processing circuitry 410 and computer system 400. For example, if detecting that it is not possible to control the bucket and / or body vertical oscillations as desired, the processing circuitry 410 may for example instruct the engine 112 and / or transmission of the loader 100 to slow down the longitudinal speed vx, or similar.

[0055] Generally herein, when referring the processing circuitry 410 being configured to “obtain” something, or e.g. to “control something”, it is envisaged that any form of suitable signal or other way of transferring of information may be used for this purpose. For example, obtaining something may include to receive a suitable signal on an interface of the computer system 400, such as an analog or digital signal, and to interpret such a signal in order to extract a value or similar. Other examples may include to write (or read) information to / from a shared memory to / from which e.g. also one or more of the envisaged sensors may write / read, or similar. In yet other examples, information may be transferred using e.g. optics, magnetics or even mechanical motion, or by any other means suitable for transferring information between the processing circuitry 410 and one or more sensors and / or control systems as envisaged and discussed herein.

[0056] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 600 for implementing examples disclosed herein, and may for example be or correspond to the computer system 180 and / or 400 as described earlier herein. The computer system 600 is adapted to execute instructions from a computer-readable medium to perform these and / or any of the functions or processing described herein, such as to perform all or part of the method 500 as described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The computer system 600 may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN (Local Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network), automotive network communication protocol (e.g., FlexRay), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. While only a single device is illustrated, the computer system 600 may include any collection of devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Accordingly, any reference in the disclosure and / or claims to a computer system, computing system, computer device, computing device, control system, control unit, electronic control unit (ECU), processor device, processing circuitry, etc., includes reference to one or more such devices to individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. For example, control system may include a single control unit or a plurality of control units connected or otherwise communicatively coupled to each other, such that any performed function may be distributed between the control units as desired. Further, such devices may communicate with each other or other devices by various system architectures, such as directly or via a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, etc.

[0057] The computer system 600 may comprise at least one computing device or electronic device capable of including firmware, hardware, and / or executing software instructions to implement the functionality described herein. The computer system 600 may include processing circuitry 602 (e.g., processing circuitry including one or more processor devices or control units), a memory 604, and a system bus 606. The computer system 600 may include at least one computing device having the processing circuitry 602. The system bus 606 provides an interface for system components including, but not limited to, the memory 604 and the processing circuitry 602. The processing circuitry 602 may include any number of hardware components for conducting data or signal processing or for executing computer code stored in memory 604. The processing circuitry 602 may, for example, include a general-purpose processor, an application specific processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a circuit containing processing components, a group of distributed processing components, a group of distributed computers configured for processing, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The processing circuitry 602 may further include computer executable code that controls operation of the programmable device.

[0058] The system bus 606 may be any of several types of bus structures that may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and / or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The memory 604 may be one or more devices for storing data and / or computer code for completing or facilitating methods described herein. The memory 604 may include database components, object code components, script components, or other types of information structure for supporting the various activities herein. Any distributed or local memory device may be utilized with the systems and methods of this description. The memory 604 may be communicably connected to the processing circuitry 602 (e.g., via a circuit or any other wired, wireless, or network connection) and may include computer code for executing one or more processes described herein. The memory 604 may include non-volatile memory 608 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.), and volatile memory 610 (e.g., random-access memory (RAM)), or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a computer or other machine with processing circuitry 602. A basic input / output system (BIOS) 612 may be stored in the non-volatile memory 608 and can include the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer system 600.

[0059] The computer system 600 may further include or be coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as the storage device 614, which may comprise, for example, an internal or external hard disk drive (HDD) (e.g., enhanced integrated drive electronics (EIDE) or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA)), HDD (e.g., EIDE or SATA) for storage, flash memory, or the like. The storage device 614 and other drives associated with computer-readable media and computer-usable media may provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and the like.

[0060] Computer-code which is hard or soft coded may be provided in the form of one or more modules. The module(s) can be implemented as software and / or hard-coded in circuitry to implement the functionality described herein in whole or in part. The modules may be stored in the storage device 614 and / or in the volatile memory 610, which may include an operating system 616 and / or one or more program modules 618. All or a portion of the examples disclosed herein may be implemented as a computer program 620 stored on a transitory or non-transitory computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium (e.g., single medium or multiple media), such as the storage device 614, which includes complex programming instructions (e.g., complex computer-readable program code) to cause the processing circuitry 602 to carry out actions described herein. Thus, the computer-readable program code of the computer program 620 can comprise software instructions for implementing the functionality of the examples described herein when executed by the processing circuitry 602. In some examples, the storage device 614 may be a computer program product (e.g., readable storage medium) storing the computer program 620 thereon, where at least a portion of a computer program 620 may be loadable (e.g., into a processor) for implementing the functionality of the examples described herein when executed by the processing circuitry 602. The processing circuitry 602 may serve as a controller or control system for the computer system 600 that is to implement the functionality described herein.

[0061] The computer system 600 may include an input device interface 622 configured to receive input and selections to be communicated to the computer system 600 when executing instructions, such as from a keyboard, mouse, touch-sensitive surface, etc. Such input devices may be connected to the processing circuitry 602 through the input device interface 622 coupled to the system bus 606 but can be connected through other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 1394 serial port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an IR interface, and the like. The computer system 600 may include an output device interface 624 configured to forward output, such as to a display, a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 600 may include a communications interface 626 suitable for communicating with a network as appropriate or desired.

[0062] In summary of all of the above, it has herein been described an improve solution for how to control a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery, such as that of a wheel loader, in a way which improves transport efficiency, operator comfort as well as safety, by actively controlling the force provided by the bucket-lifting and / or -lowering actuator(s) based on vertical bucket and body speeds, in a way that may automatically determine whether to prioritize damping of the bucket or the body, and similar. By making the force dependent on (e.g. equal to or proportional to) a weighted sum of the vertical bucket and body (or relative body and bucket) speeds, whether (or how) to prioritize damping of bucket oscillations over body oscillations, and vice versa, can be controlled by altering of corresponding weighting terms / coefficients, and easy allow to tailor the solution to work for changing conditions such as current bucket loading, current machine longitudinal speed, and similar. In addition, functionality to manually override (or disable) such functionality upon request from e.g. an operator or other part of the loader has also been described.

[0063] The operational actions described in any of the exemplary aspects herein are described to provide examples and discussion. The actions may be performed by hardware components, may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to cause a processor to perform the actions, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. Although a specific order of method actions may be shown or described, the order of the actions may differ. In addition, two or more actions may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence.

[0064] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,”“includes,” and / or “including” when used herein specify the presence of stated features, integers, actions, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, actions, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0065] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0066] Relative terms such as “below” or “above” or “upper” or “lower” or “horizontal” or “vertical” may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that these terms and those discussed above are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

[0067] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0068] It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the aspects described above and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure and appended claims. In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed aspects for purposes of illustration only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the disclosure being set forth in the following claims.

[0069] The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples as envisaged herein:

[0070] Example 1: A computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, including processing circuitry configured to: obtain an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtain an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

[0071] Example 2: The computer system of example 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a loading of the bucket, and adjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum based on the loading of the bucket, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa.

[0072] Example 3: The computer system of example 1 or 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, and adjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, such that a weighting of both the first vertical speed and of the second vertical speed increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with decreasing longitudinal speed.

[0073] Example 4: The computer system of any one of examples 1 to 3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a desired damping prioritization, including an indication of whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations or vice versa, and adjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum in accordance with the desired damping prioritization.

[0074] Example 5: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of ground unevenness at an upcoming area and an estimated time-of-arrival at said area, and perform, based on the estimated time-of-arrival, said control before the piece of heavy machinery reaches the area, in response to the indicated ground unevenness exceeding a threshold value.

[0075] Example 6: The computer system of example 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain the indication of the ground unevenness from one or more sensors configured for such a purpose, such as from one or more optical and / or radar sensors configured to detect the ground unevenness.

[0076] Example 7: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum includes a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed.

[0077] Example 8: The computer system of example 7, wherein the second vertical speed is the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a first weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient.

[0078] Example 9: The computer system of example 8, wherein the second vertical speed is the vertical speed of the body of the piece of heavy machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a product of a first weighting coefficient times a second weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus the second weighting coefficient.

[0079] Example 10: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum corresponds to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery.

[0080] Example 11: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to obtain the indication of the first vertical speed and the indication of the second vertical speed, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with one or more sensors (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds.

[0081] Example 12: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to control the force and / or displacement of the at least one actuator, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with a control system (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to control the at least one actuator.

[0082] Example 13: The computer system of any one of example 12, wherein, to control the force and / or displacement, the computer system is configured to send a request for a particular actuation force and / or displacement for / of the at least one actuator to the control system.

[0083] Example 14: A piece of heavy machinery, including: the bucket; the body; the one or more actuators, and the computer system of any one of examples 1 to 13.

[0084] Example 15: The piece of heavy machinery of example 14, including one or more sensors configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds.

[0085] Example 16: The piece of heavy machinery of example 14 or 15, including a control system for controlling the at least one actuator, to e.g. generate a requested force and / or displacement (of the at least one actuator).

[0086] Example 17: The piece of heavy machinery of any one of examples 14 to 16, wherein the piece of heavy machinery is a wheel loader.

[0087] Example 18: A computer-implemented method for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, including: obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system, an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtaining, by the processing circuitry, an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, and controlling, by the processing circuitry, a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

[0088] Example 19: A computer program product including program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of example 18.

[0089] Example 20: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of example 18.

Examples

example 1

[0070] A computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, including processing circuitry configured to: obtain an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery; obtain an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, and control a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

[0071]Example 2: The computer system of example 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: obtain an indication of a loading of t...

example 6

[0075] The computer system of example 5, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain the indication of the ground unevenness from one or more sensors configured for such a purpose, such as from one or more optical and / or radar sensors configured to detect the ground unevenness.

[0076]Example 7: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum includes a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed.

[0077]Example 8: The computer system of example 7, wherein the second vertical speed is the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a first weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient.

[0078]Example 9: The computer system of example 8, wherein the...

example 10

[0079] The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein the weighted sum corresponds to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery.

[0080]Example 11: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to obtain the indication of the first vertical speed and the indication of the second vertical speed, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with one or more sensors (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds.

[0081]Example 12: The computer system of any one of the preceding examples, wherein, to control the force and / or displacement of the at least one actuator, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with a control system (of e.g. the piece of heavy machinery) configured to control the at least one actuator.

[0082]Example 13: The computer system o...

Claims

1. A computer system for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, comprising processing circuitry configured to:obtain an indication of a first vertical speed (vbucket), wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery;obtain an indication of a second vertical speed (vbody), wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed (vrel) between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, andcontrol a force (Fact) applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement (dact) of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:obtain an indication of a loading (mbucket) of the bucket, andadjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum based on the loading of the bucket, such that a weighting of the first vertical speed relative to that of the second vertical speed increases with increasing loading of the bucket, and vice versa.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:obtain an indication of a longitudinal speed (vx) of the piece of heavy machinery, andadjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum based on the longitudinal speed of the piece of heavy machinery, such that a weighting of both the first vertical speed and of the second vertical speed increases with increasing longitudinal speed and reduces with decreasing longitudinal speed.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:obtain an indication of a desired damping prioritization, comprising an indication of whether damping of vertical bucket oscillations should be prioritized over damping of vertical body oscillations or vice versa, andadjust, as part of said control, the weighted sum in accordance with the desired damping prioritization.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:obtain an indication of ground unevenness at an upcoming area and an estimated time-of-arrival at said area, andperform, based on the estimated time-of-arrival, said control before the piece of heavy machinery reaches the area, in response to the indicated ground unevenness exceeding a threshold value.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the weighted sum comprises a sum of at least i) a first weighting term times the first vertical speed and ii) a second weighting term times the second vertical speed.

7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the second vertical speed is the relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the heavy piece of machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a first weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus a second weighting coefficient.

8. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the second vertical speed is the vertical speed of the body of the piece of heavy machinery, wherein the first weighting term equals a product of a first weighting coefficient times a second weighting coefficient, and wherein the second weighting term equals a product of i) the first weighting coefficient times ii) one minus the second weighting coefficient.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the weighted sum corresponds to a first damper acting on the vertical speed of the bucket and a second damper acting on the relative speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein, to obtain the indication of the first vertical speed and the indication of the second vertical speed, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with one or more sensors of the piece of heavy machinery configured to detect the first and second vertical speeds, and, to control the force and / or displacement of the at least one actuator, the processing circuitry is configured to communicate with a control system configured to control the at least one actuator.

11. A piece of heavy machinery, comprising:the bucket;the body;the one or more actuators, andthe computer system of claim 1.

12. The piece of heavy machinery of claim 11, wherein the piece of heavy machinery is a wheel loader.

13. A computer-implemented method for reducing vertical oscillations of a bucket and / or body of a piece of heavy machinery such as a wheel loader, comprising:obtaining, by processing circuitry of a computer system, an indication of a first vertical speed, wherein the first vertical speed is a vertical speed of a bucket of a piece of heavy machinery;obtaining, by the processing circuitry, an indication of a second vertical speed, wherein the second vertical speed is a vertical speed of a body of the piece of heavy machinery or a relative vertical speed between the bucket and the body of the piece of heavy machinery, andcontrolling, by the processing circuitry, a force applied by at least one actuator configured to lift / lower the bucket, and / or a displacement of the at least one actuator, such that the applied force and / or displacement is proportional to a weighted sum of the first vertical speed and the second vertical speed.

14. A computer program product comprising program code for performing, when executed by the processing circuitry, the method of claim 13.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform the method of claim 13.

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