Excavator Load Tracking for Accurate Dump Truck Soil Weighing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for calculating the loaded amount of soil onto a dump truck are inaccurate because they rely on the bucket opening operation, which includes setup work, leading to incorrect accumulation of excavation weights.
Innovation Solution
An excavator system that uses a control device to accurately calculate the loaded amount by distinguishing between loading work and setup work, employing sensors and algorithms to track the soil weight and operation states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the loaded amount is calculated based on bucket opening operation, then the calculation process is simple, but the accuracy of loaded amount calculation deteriorates because setup work weight is incorrectly included
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the excavation work into distinct phases: setup work phase and loading work phase. By detecting specific operation patterns (boom raising/turning combined with soil discharging), the system identifies transitions between phases and calculates weights separately, including only the loading work weight in the final loaded amount.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an operation pattern detection mechanism as an intermediary between the raw sensor data and the weight calculation. This intermediary analyzes the sequence and combination of operations (boom raising, turning, soil discharging) to determine whether the current operation belongs to setup work or loading work, thereby enabling accurate differentiation.
2Device complexity
If all excavation weights are accumulated regardless of operation type, then the calculation method is simple, but the reliability of loaded amount data deteriorates due to inclusion of setup work
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic judgment of operation phases based on real-time detection of operation patterns. The system continuously monitors the combination of boom raising/turning operations and soil discharging operations, dynamically identifying transitions between setup work and loading work phases to determine which weights should be accumulated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from operation pattern detection to control the weight accumulation process. By detecting whether the current operation phase is setup work or loading work, the system provides feedback to the calculation unit to either include or exclude the current excavation weight from the loaded amount accumulation.
Data Source
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AI summary
An excavator (100) includes a lower traveling body (1); an upper turning body (3) turnably mounted to the lower traveling body (1); an attachment that is attached to the upper turning body (3); a bucket (6) constituting the attachment; and a controller (30) configured to calculate a weight of soil that is moved from inside the bucket (6) onto a loading platform of a dump truck, based on output of an imaging device (S6) as a space recognition device, configured to recognize a space surrounding the upper turning body (3), and the weight of the soil in the bucket (6). For example, the controller (30) adds the weight of the soil in the bucket (6) to the load amount that is the weight of the soil loaded in the loading platform of the dump truck, when a soil discharging operation is performed above the loading platform of the dump truck.