Excavator Ground Leveling With Autonomous Earthwork Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Shovels are required to perform tasks beyond excavation, such as ground leveling, backfilling, and banking earth, but existing technologies do not support automatic execution of these functions.

Innovation Solution

A shovel equipped with a hydraulic drive system, control system, and sensors that enable automatic operation, allowing it to perform tasks like ground leveling, backfilling, and banking earth independently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a shovel is designed for traditional excavation work only, then its structure and control system can be simple and dedicated, but it cannot perform additional tasks such as ground leveling, backfilling, and banking earth

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetask versatilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The shovel is equipped with a universal control system and sensor suite that enables it to perform multiple earthwork tasks including excavation, ground leveling, backfilling, and banking earth. The control system generates appropriate operation commands for each task type based on sensor input, allowing one machine to replace multiple specialized machines.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Productivity

If automatic control systems and sensors are added to enable automated operation, then productivity and operational efficiency improve, but device complexity and initial cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperational efficiencyVSAvoidcontrol system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The shovel performs automated earthwork operations by using its own sensors to detect ground conditions and its own control system to generate operation commands. The system independently determines the appropriate actions for excavation, leveling, backfilling, or banking based on real-time sensor data without requiring external control input for each operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The control system continuously receives feedback from sensors that detect the shovel's position, ground elevation, and operational state. Based on this feedback, the control system adjusts operation commands to achieve precise ground leveling, accurate backfilling, and controlled banking earth operations, enabling automated closed-loop control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3922776B1excavator
Publication Date: 2025.10.08 SUMITOMO HEAVY IND LTD
  • EP3922776B1 patent drawingFigure 1A
  • EP3922776B1 patent drawingFigure 1B
  • EP3922776B1 patent drawingFigure 2A

AI summary

A shovel that can automatically perform the work of banking earth or the work of filling with earth is provided. The shovel 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure automatically performs at least one of the work of banking earth and the work of filling with earth. For example, the shovel 100 automatically performs the work of banking earth so that the ground in a predetermined area has a certain height. Furthermore, for example, the shovel 100 detects a depression in the ground based on information on the intended shape of the ground input by an operator's operation, obtained from the outside, or obtained in advance by the space recognition device 70 and information on the actual shape of the ground obtained by the space recognition device 70, and fills the depression with earth. In this case, the shovel 100 may detect an elevation of the ground and fill the depression with the earth of the elevation.