Excavator Calibration Posture Control via Sensor Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The calibration process for construction machines, such as hydraulic excavators, is time-consuming due to the need for precise adjustments of the front work implement's components, increasing the number of man hours required to achieve the desired calibration posture.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a computer-aided construction controller with angle sensors, stroke sensors, and tilt sensors to semiautomatically adjust the posture of the front work implement, allowing for the storage and retrieval of calibration postures and enabling machine control to assist in achieving the required calibration posture efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the operator manually adjusts the front work implement components to achieve precise calibration posture, then the calibration accuracy is improved, but the time required for calibration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-stores multiple calibration postures (e.g., bucket horizontal posture, vertical posture, 45-degree posture) with their corresponding sensor values. During calibration, the operator simply needs to select the desired posture from the stored options, and the system automatically retrieves and applies the pre-calculated adjustment parameters, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual trial-and-error adjustments while maintaining precise calibration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical adjustment process with an automated computer-controlled system. The controller reads sensor values (angle sensors, stroke sensors, tilt sensors) and automatically calculates and applies the necessary adjustments to bring the front work implement into the target calibration posture, substituting manual operator adjustments with automated computational control.
2Productivity
If multiple sensors and control systems are added to automate calibration posture adjustment, then the calibration efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller serves multiple functions: it stores calibration posture data, reads sensor inputs (angle sensors, stroke sensors, tilt sensors), calculates required adjustments, and controls the hydraulic actuators. By making the controller a multi-functional integrated system, the patent avoids adding separate dedicated devices for each function, thereby improving calibration efficiency while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own existing sensors (angle sensors, stroke sensors, tilt sensors) and controller to automatically perform the calibration process. The controller reads the current sensor values, compares them with the stored calibration posture values, and automatically calculates and applies the necessary adjustments without requiring external calibration equipment or complex additional systems.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A hydraulic excavator 1 includes a computer-aided construction controller 60 for performing machine control to operate a front work implement based on detected results from posture sensors 63, 65 and 67 and predetermined conditions. The computer-aided construction controller 60 has a calibration posture storing section 60a that stores at least one predetermined calibration posture of the front work implement for calibrating the posture sensors, and a calibration posture controlling section 60b that carries out the machine control to inactivate the hydraulic actuators if detection target values of the posture sensors in the calibration posture and the detected results from the posture sensors are equal to each other. The time required for calibration can thus be shortened by increasing the operability for adjusting a calibration posture.