Operating Lever Force Control for Excavator Vibration Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydraulic excavators experience erroneous operation due to vibrations and impacts, leading to unintended operation of work implements, as they lack effective suspension systems to absorb road vibrations, causing the operating lever to be unintentionally activated.
Innovation Solution
A work vehicle system comprising a vehicle main body, a work implement, an operating lever, an imparting section, and an acceleration detection section, where the control section adjusts the force imparted to the operating lever based on detected acceleration to prevent erroneous operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the neutral insensitivity of the operating lever is increased to prevent vibration-induced operation, then erroneous operation due to vibration is suppressed, but the operator's ability to perform intentional operations is also reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The imparting force to the operating lever is dynamically adjusted based on detected acceleration. During vibration or impact (erroneous operation risk), the imparting force is increased to suppress lever movement. During normal operation (no acceleration), the imparting force returns to normal levels, maintaining operator control capability. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between preventing erroneous operation and maintaining ease of operation.
2Device complexity
If no suspension system is provided on the lower traveling unit, then device complexity is reduced, but vibration from the road surface causes pitching and erroneous operation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of providing a mechanical suspension system on the lower traveling unit, the patent uses a control system that detects acceleration and adjusts the imparting force to the operating lever accordingly. This substitutes a mechanical solution (suspension) with a control-based solution, maintaining low device complexity while improving reliability during vibration.
3Reliability
If the operating lever is made more insensitive to vibration, then erroneous operation is suppressed, but the responsiveness to operator input is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system periodically monitors acceleration and adjusts the imparting force in real-time. During vibration periods, the imparting force increases to suppress erroneous operation. During normal periods, the imparting force returns to normal, maintaining responsiveness. This periodic adjustment based on acceleration detection resolves the contradiction between reliability and response speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively suppresses erroneous operations by adjusting the force on the operating lever during vibrations and impacts, ensuring accurate control of the work implement.
Implementation Method 1
an acceleration detection section that detects acceleration of the vehicle main body
Implementation Method 2
the knob of the operating lever for the work implement vibrates by the inertial force due to the vibration of the vehicle main body
Data Source
AI summary
A work vehicle includes a vehicle main body, a work implement attached to the vehicle main body, an operating lever configured to operate the work implement, an imparting section configured to impart force to the operating lever, an acceleration detection section configured to detect acceleration of the vehicle main body, and a control section configured to control the imparting section to automatically adjust a magnitude of the force imparted to the operating lever based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration detection section.