Anti-spill for loaders
First Claim
1. A method of maintaining during travel of the chassis of a work vehicle over varying terrain relative to a gravity vector that defines the direction of the gravitational pull on the chassis, a predefined non-spill orientation of a bucket that defines a bucket vector and that is pivotally carried by the chassis that defines a chassis vector that subtends a chassis angle relative to the gravity vector, the method comprising the steps of:
- employing a gravity sensor to determine the gravity vector;
employing a chassis sensor that determines the chassis vector;
employing a bucket sensor that determines the bucket vector;
employing a controller to control the orientation of the bucket as defined by the bucket vector,employing the controller to receive from the sensors the determinations of the gravity vector and the chassis vector to determine a chassis angle; and
employing the controller to use any deviation of the chassis angle from 90 degrees by a deviation angle to adjust the orientation of the bucket as defined by the bucket vector by the amount of the deviation angle.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a work vehicle such as a loader having a bucket attached to the lift arms of a lift assembly and including a system and method for controlling the operation of the lift assembly so as to enable the loader to move over varying terrain without spilling the contents of the bucket. The system includes a chassis sensor, a bucket sensor, a gravity sensor, and a control system for varying the position of the bucket. The system adjusts the bucket'"'"'s orientation via the control system to maintain a 90 degree difference between the bucket vector and the gravity vector.
15 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of maintaining during travel of the chassis of a work vehicle over varying terrain relative to a gravity vector that defines the direction of the gravitational pull on the chassis, a predefined non-spill orientation of a bucket that defines a bucket vector and that is pivotally carried by the chassis that defines a chassis vector that subtends a chassis angle relative to the gravity vector, the method comprising the steps of:
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employing a gravity sensor to determine the gravity vector; employing a chassis sensor that determines the chassis vector; employing a bucket sensor that determines the bucket vector; employing a controller to control the orientation of the bucket as defined by the bucket vector, employing the controller to receive from the sensors the determinations of the gravity vector and the chassis vector to determine a chassis angle; and employing the controller to use any deviation of the chassis angle from 90 degrees by a deviation angle to adjust the orientation of the bucket as defined by the bucket vector by the amount of the deviation angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A work vehicle, comprising:
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a gravity sensor carried by the chassis and configured to measure a gravity vector that defines the direction in which the gravitational force acts on the chassis; a chassis sensor carried by the chassis and configured to determine the orientation of a chassis vector relative to the gravity vector; a bucket carried by the chassis and pivotally mounted with respect to the chassis and defining a bucket vector, a bucket sensor carried by the chassis and configured to determine the orientation of the bucket vector relative to the gravity vector; a control system carried by the chassis and connected to the gravity sensor, the chassis sensor, and the bucket sensor, and wherein the control system controls adjustment of the orientation of the bucket according to signals received from the gravity sensor, the chassis sensor, and the bucket sensor. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification