Loading Vehicle Bucket Dumping Control for Confined Spaces
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In confined spaces such as mine tunnels, controlling the boom and bucket of a loading vehicle for efficient and safe dumping of loads is challenging due to limited space and the risk of collisions with obstacles.
Innovation Solution
A dump assistance system for loading vehicles that includes a control unit to manage the boom and bucket movements, ensuring the lowest point of the bucket remains at or above a target height during dumping operations, with automatic adjustments to prevent collisions and optimize the dumping process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the operator manually controls the boom and bucket for dumping in limited space, then the loading vehicle can perform dumping operations, but the risk of collision with obstacles increases and control difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit continuously monitors the position of the boom and bucket through sensors and adjusts their movement in real-time based on feedback from the environment. This closed-loop control enables the system to automatically respond to obstacles and maintain safe distances, reducing collision risk while simplifying operator control.
Solution Approach 2:
The loading vehicle's control system automatically manages the dumping operation by calculating safe trajectories and adjusting boom/bucket positions without requiring constant manual intervention. The system serves itself by using onboard sensors and computational algorithms to navigate confined spaces and avoid obstacles autonomously.
2Ease of operation
If the boom and bucket are moved manually in confined spaces, then the operator has control over the dumping process, but the complexity of control increases due to limited space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual mechanical control with an automated control system that uses computational algorithms and sensors. The control unit processes spatial information and automatically calculates optimal trajectories, substituting the operator's manual skill and judgment with an automated intelligent system that handles the complexity of confined space navigation.
3Productivity
If the bucket is tilted for dumping in limited space, then material can be removed from the bucket, but the risk of hitting obstacles with the boom or bucket increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary calculations to determine safe dumping trajectories before the actual dumping operation. It pre-calculates the optimal path for the boom and bucket based on the location of obstacles and the required dumping angle, ensuring that the material can be effectively dumped without colliding with obstacles in the confined space.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the dumping trajectory and bucket tilt angle in real-time based on the actual position of obstacles and the current state of the boom and bucket. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize material dumping efficiency while continuously avoiding collisions with obstacles through real-time positional adjustments.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A dump assistance system of a loading vehicle (100), wherein the loading vehicle comprises - a body (101), - a bucket (102), - a boom (104), - a control unit (CU) configured to control an action of the loading vehicle, wherein the loading vehicle is configured to perform a dumping motion, in which the material is removed from the bucket by tilting the bucket, wherein the dump assistance system comprises target height (TH) data, and the height of the lowest point of the bucket is calculated, measured or taught.