Anti-slab Height Control for Cold Planers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cold planers lack an effective system for controlling the height of the anti-slab above the roadway, which can lead to unnecessary wear and vibrations due to continuous contact with the unmilled portion of the road surface.
Innovation Solution
An anti-slab height control system comprising a position sensor, a controller, and an actuator that adjusts the elevational position of the anti-slab based on predetermined height and cutting depth data, allowing for automatic raising or lowering of the anti-slab to maintain optimal positioning above the unmilled portion of the roadway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the anti-slab is positioned close to the roadway surface to prevent slab breakage, then the effectiveness in preventing large chunks of material from breaking off is improved, but wear and vibrations increase due to continuous contact with the road surface
Solution Approach 1:
The anti-slab is made dynamically adjustable in height through a hydraulic cylinder system. The height control system allows the anti-slab to move between different elevational positions, enabling it to be close to the road surface when slab breakage is a risk, and raised when wear and vibrations need to be reduced. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the position adaptive rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
A sensor system continuously monitors the height of the anti-slab relative to the road surface and provides feedback to the control system. This feedback mechanism enables automatic adjustment of the anti-slab height, ensuring it maintains the optimal position for preventing slab breakage while minimizing unnecessary contact with the road surface, thereby reducing wear and vibrations.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the anti-slab is continuously adjusted to maintain optimal positioning, then wear and vibrations are reduced, but system complexity increases due to addition of sensors, controllers, and actuators
Solution Approach 1:
The height control system is designed to be relatively self-regulating, using sensors to detect the anti-slab position and automatically actuating the hydraulic cylinder to maintain optimal height. This reduces the need for complex manual control mechanisms and operators, simplifying the overall system while still achieving the benefit of reduced wear and vibrations through automatic positioning.
3Device complexity
If manual positioning of the anti-slab is used, then system complexity is minimized, but productivity decreases due to inability to rapidly adjust to changing road conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical positioning with an automated system using sensors, controllers, and hydraulic actuators. This substitution of manual operation with automated control enables rapid adjustment to changing road conditions, significantly improving productivity while maintaining reasonable system complexity through the use of standard control components.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an anti-slab height control system and related method for regulating the elevational position of an anti-slab mounted to a cold planer configured for milling a roadway. The cold planer includes a milling drum. The system comprises an anti-slab, a position sensor, a controller and an actuator. The controller is configured to determine an actuator adjustment based on a predetermined height, position data and a cutting depth of the milling drum. The position data is indicative of a current elevational position of the anti-slab. The actuator is configured to move the anti-slab based on the actuator adjustment from the current elevational position to a first elevational position, wherein the bottom side of the anti-slab is disposed at the predetermined height above the roadway when the anti-slab is in the first elevational position.