Automatic power and torque control system in construction machines

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic power and torque control system that provides hydraulic power control and regulation by gradually controlling the data transmitted from an internal combustion engine (6) in vehicles such as construction equipment and machines.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION AUTOMATIC POWER AND TORQUE CONTROL SYSTEM IN CONSTRUCTION MACHINES TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates generally to an automatic power and torque control system used in construction machines. In particular, the invention concerns an automatic power and torque control system with high precision and accuracy that provides hydraulic system power control by gradually controlling data transmitted from the engine in construction machines and equipment like wheeled loaders and backhoe loaders, operating with high efficiency to deliver higher performance and less fuel consumption. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND Today, hydraulic systems are used in heavy construction machines, especially excavators, where high power density or rapid load requirements exist. They are particularly preferred for safe operation and efficient engine use. Ensuring power control at engine speed with high efficiency in hydraulic systems is important for machine health. Providing power control at engine speed with high accuracy and efficiency in hydraulic systems is crucial for the productivity of the machine. In the current technique, power control in engines is achieved by examining the deviation between the target and actual engine speed based on the angle of the vehicle's throttle pedal. However, when the throttle pedal is pressed, if the engine does not respond quickly enough, it causes a deviation between the target engine speed and the actual engine speed. As a result, the control system obtained with this method can lead to errors and deviations. Even if the engine has the capacity to provide the torque required by the system, power may be unnecessarily reduced in the hydraulic system. This leads to low precision, accuracy, and performance loss. Research in the known state of the art revealed an application numbered TR2019 / 11284 titled "High Safety and Low Noise Agricultural Machine." This application relates to an agricultural machine that includes an engine for power transmission, at least one axle with two wheels, a handlebar, and a power output unit. The agricultural machine also includes a hydromechanical clutch group placed between the engine and the axle, and levers connected to the handlebar that control the hydromechanical clutch group. This application describes an agricultural machine in general terms and does not mention providing power control of engine speed by gradually controlling data transmitted from the engine. As a result, developments are being made in automatic power and torque control systems, and there is a need for new configurations that eliminate the disadvantages mentioned above and provide solutions to existing systems. AIM OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic power and torque control system that meets the aforementioned requirements, eliminates disadvantages, and brings additional advantages. The main aim of the invention is to provide power control of engine speed by gradually controlling data transmitted from the engine in construction machines like wheeled loaders and backhoe loaders. An aim of the invention is to achieve higher performance, productivity, and less fuel consumption by operating with high efficiency. Another aim of the invention is to provide an automatic power and torque control system with high precision and accuracy. To achieve all the advantages mentioned above and understood from the detailed description below, the present invention is a power and torque control system used in vehicles like a wheeled loader that includes an operator cabin where the operator is positioned, an engine compartment, a mechanism group that enables the movement of work equipment, a bucket that allows loading and unloading of loads, and wheels that enable the vehicle to move on the ground, comprising:• An internal combustion engine including speed sensors detectingrotational speed and a CAN bus, •A throttle pedal that controls the engine speed,• Angle sensors that detect the angle of the throttle pedal,• A variable displacement pump containing a swash plate that determinesthe flow to provide the required flow rate for the hydraulic system, •A power regulator that transmits a signal to the swash plate to adjust thedisplacement of the variable displacement pump by changing its angle, •A transmission that transfers the power received from the engine to thefront and rear axles to provide the torque required by the drive system composed of wheels with different gear ratios. Its characteristic is that it comprises a control unit: •receiving and analyzing data collected from speed sensors and anglesensors over the CAN bus to perform comparisons, •determining the amount of deviation by comparing the target and actualengine speed based on the data received from the speed sensors, •comparing the nominal torque value that the engine can provide with theinstantaneous torque value transmitted from the CAN bus, and determining that if more torque than the engine can provide is being demanded from the engine, the engine is stalling and shifting towards an inefficient operating region, •ensuring power regulation by sending a signal to the variabledisplacement pump feeding the hydraulic system when the engine is loaded with torque exceeding a predetermined rate, •that, by comparing the instantaneous fuel amount consumed by theengine at a certain speed with the fuel amount consumed at nominal loads, determines that the engine is overloaded and operating inefficiently if the instantaneous fuel consumption exceeds the fuel consumption value at nominal loads.

[0002] The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all its advantages will be understood more clearly thanks to the detailed description provided by referring to the figures given below. Therefore, the evaluation should be made by considering these figures and the detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES For the best understanding of the configuration of the present invention and its advantages together with additional elements, it should be evaluated along with the figures described below. Figure 1 A schematic view of the automatic power and torque control system of the invention. Figure 2 A representative view of the construction machine on which the automatic power and torque control system of the invention is applied. REFERENCE NUMBERS 1. Variable displacement pump1a. Swash plate 2. Regulator3. Control unit4. Throttle pedal4a. Angle sensor 6. Engine6a. Speed sensor 6b. CAN bus 7. Transmission8. Main control valve9. Hydraulic cylinders10. Front axles11. Rear axlesA. Wheeled loaderB. Operator cabinC. Engine compartmentD. Mechanism groupE. BucketF. WheelsDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the automatic power and torque control system subject to the invention are described solely for better understanding and without any limiting effect. The invention, whose schematic view is given in Figure 1, relates to a power and torque control system that provides power control of engine speed by gradually controlling data transmitted from an internal combustion engine (6) in vehicles such as construction machines and equipment. Here, the internal combustion engine (6) provides the required power for the vehicle and drives the variable displacement pump (1) and the transmission (7). The variable displacement pump (1) contains a swash plate (1a) that determines the flow to variably provide the flow required by the hydraulic system. The swash plate (1a) determines the flow via a signal received from a power regulator (2). The regulator (2) changes the angle of the swash plate (1a) with an electrical / electronic signal sent by the machine control unit (3) and adjusts the displacement of the variable displacement pump (1). Here, the transmission (7) transfers the power received from the engine (6) to the front axles (10) and rear axles (11) to provide the torque required by the drive system composed of wheels (F) with different gear ratios. The front axles(10) and rear axles (11) transmit the torque received from the transmission (7) to thewheels (F) at a certain gear ratio and adjust the speed difference between the right and left wheels thanks to the differential system they possess. In the power and torque control system of the invention, the internal combustion engine(6) includes speed sensors (6a) that detect rotational speed. The speed of the internalcombustion engine (6) is controlled manually or automatically with a throttle pedal (4). The throttle pedal (4) can be operated by hand or foot. There are angle sensors (4a) to detect the angle of the throttle pedal (4). In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a wheeled loader (A) is preferred as the construction machine. The wheeled loader (A) is used in loading and / or unloading operations of excavation via the work equipment located at the front. The most common working modes are V / Y cycle, stockpiling, grading, and load and carry. In the V / Y cycle, the machine loads the bucket with excavation and unloads it to another area or vehicle. The wheeled loader (A) includes an operator cabin (B), which is the operator's location to control the vehicle; an engine compartment (C); a mechanism group (D) that enables the movement of the work equipment; a bucket (E) that allows loading and unloading of loads / excavation; and wheels (F) that are in contact with the ground, enable the vehicle to move on the ground, and carry the entire body. Hydraulic cylinders (9) enable the movement of the bucket (E) and boom cylinders that make up the work equipment. The bucket cylinder allows the dumping and rollback of the bucket (E), and the boom cylinder allows the boom to move up and down. The main control valve (8) provides control of the work equipment by being controlled via electronic or hydraulic signals.. In the power and torque control system of the invention, the engine (6) and all other components are managed by a machine control unit (3) to ensure the system performs power control with high accuracy. Communication between the control unit (3) and the engine (6) is provided via the CAN bus (6b). The transfer of data received from and sent to the engine (6) is transmitted over the CAN bus (6b). Here, the control unit (3) receives data collected from speed sensors (6a) and angle sensors (4a) and performs comparison, analysis, and detection tasks. The control unit (3) performs its task in three stages: In the first stage, the target and actual engine speeds are compared to determine the amount of deviation. If the difference resulting from the comparison is greater than a specified value, the second check is performed. In the second stage, the torque value that the engine (6) can provide is compared with the torque value retrieved from the CAN bus (6b). As a result of the comparison, if more torque than the engine(6) can provide is being demanded from the engine (6), it is determined that the engine(6) is stalling and shifting towards an inefficient operating region. Here, when the engine(6) is loaded with torque exceeding a predetermined rate, power regulation is ensuredby sending a signal to the variable displacement pump (1) feeding the hydraulic system; if the torque value remains below this rate, it continues its normal operation. In the third stage, the instantaneous fuel amount consumed by the engine (6) at a certain speed is compared with the fuel amount consumed by the engine (6) at nominal loads. The amount of fuel consumed by the engine (6) varies according to the power drawn from it and the speed at which it operates. The data of the fuel amount consumed by the engine (6) at nominal loads is provided by the engine manufacturer. If the instantaneous fuel consumption exceeds the fuel value consumed by the engine (6) at nominal loads, it is determined that the engine (6) is overloaded and operating inefficiently.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A power and torque control system for controlling engine speed used in vehicleslike a wheeled loader (A), which includes an operator cabin (B) where the operator is positioned, an engine compartment (C), a mechanism group (D) that enables the movement of work equipment, a bucket (E) that allows loading and unloading of loads, and wheels (F) that enable the vehicle to move on the ground, comprising: •An internal combustion engine (6) that includes speed sensors (6a)detecting engine rotational speed and a CAN bus (6b), •A throttle pedal (4) that controls the engine (6) speed,• Angle sensors (4a) that detect the angle of the throttle pedal (4),• A variable displacement pump (1) containing a swash plate (1a) thatdetermines the flow to provide the required flow rate for the hydraulic system, •A power regulator (2) that controls the angle of the swash plate (1a) toadjust the displacement of the variable displacement pump (1) by changing its angle, •A transmission (7) that transfers the power received from the engine (6)to the front axles (10) and rear axles (11) to provide the torque required by the drive system composed of wheels (F) with different gear ratios. Its characteristic is that it includes a control unit (3): •receiving and analyzing data collected from speed sensors (6a) andangle sensors (4a) over the CAN bus (6b) to perform comparisons; •determining the amount of deviation by comparing the target and actualengine speed based on the data received from the speed sensors (6a); •comparing the nominal torque value that the engine (6) can provide withthe instantaneous torque value transmitted from the CAN bus (6b), and determining that if more torque than the engine (6) can provide is being demanded from the engine (6), the engine (6) is stalling and shifting towards an inefficient operating region; •ensuring power regulation by sending a signal to the variabledisplacement pump (1) feeding the hydraulic system when the engine (6) is loaded with torque exceeding a predetermined rate;• determining that the engine (6) is overloaded and operating inefficiently if theinstantaneous fuel consumption at a certain engine speed exceeds the fuel consumption value at nominal loads by comparing the instantaneous fuel amount consumed by the engine (6) at a certain speed with the fuel amount consumed at nominal loads.

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