Concrete drum control, property prediction, and monitoring systems and methods
First Claim
1. A vehicle system comprising:
- a vehicle comprising;
a chassis; and
a drum assembly coupled to the chassis, the drum assembly including;
a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture;
a drive system coupled to the drum, the drive system configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents; and
a sensor positioned to acquire at least one of (i) mixture data indicative of a current property of the drum contents and (ii) environment data indicative of an environmental characteristic external to the drum; and
a control system configured to;
receive delivery data for the drum contents indicative of at least one of a delivery location, a delivery time, and a delivery route;
receive at least one initial property of the drum contents;
predict a delivery property for the drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property;
receive en route data including at least one of (i) the mixture data, (ii) the environment data, and (iii) GPS data indicative of at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, traffic information, and a road parameter between a current location of the vehicle and the delivery location for the drum contents; and
update the predicted delivery property for the drum contents based on the en route data.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle includes a chassis, a drum assembly, and a control system. The drum assembly includes a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture and a drive system coupled to the drum. The drive system is configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents. The control system is configured to receive delivery data for the drum contents; receive at least one initial property of the drum contents; predict a delivery property for the drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property; receive en route data including at least one of mixture data, environment data, and GPS data; and update the predicted delivery property for the drum contents based on the en route data.
175 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle system comprising:
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a vehicle comprising; a chassis; and a drum assembly coupled to the chassis, the drum assembly including; a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture; a drive system coupled to the drum, the drive system configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents; and a sensor positioned to acquire at least one of (i) mixture data indicative of a current property of the drum contents and (ii) environment data indicative of an environmental characteristic external to the drum; and a control system configured to; receive delivery data for the drum contents indicative of at least one of a delivery location, a delivery time, and a delivery route; receive at least one initial property of the drum contents; predict a delivery property for the drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property; receive en route data including at least one of (i) the mixture data, (ii) the environment data, and (iii) GPS data indicative of at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, traffic information, and a road parameter between a current location of the vehicle and the delivery location for the drum contents; and update the predicted delivery property for the drum contents based on the en route data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A vehicle system comprising:
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a concrete mixer vehicle including a drum assembly and a sensor positioned to acquire at least one of (i) mixture data indicative of a current property of mixer drum contents within a drum of the drum assembly and (ii) environment data indicative of an environmental characteristic external to the drum; and a monitoring system configured to monitor operation of the concrete mixer vehicle, the monitoring system including; a communications interface configured to facilitate communication with at least one of a control system of the concrete mixer vehicle and an external system; and a processing circuit configured to; receive delivery data for the mixer drum contents indicative of at least one of a delivery location, a delivery time, and a delivery route; receive at least one initial property of the mixer drum contents; predict a delivery property for the mixer drum contents based on the delivery data and the at least one initial property; receive en route data including at least one of (i) the mixture data, (ii) the environment data, and (iii) GPS data indicative of at least one of a travel distance, a travel time, traffic information, and a road parameter between a current location of the concrete mixer vehicle and the delivery location for the mixer drum contents; and update the predicted delivery property for the mixer drum contents based on the en route data. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A vehicle system comprising:
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a vehicle comprising; a chassis; a drum assembly coupled to the chassis, the drum assembly including; a drum configured to receive drum contents including at least one of ingredients and a mixture; and a drive system coupled to the drum, the drive system configured to rotate the drum to agitate the drum contents; and a sensor positioned to acquire data regarding at least one of the drum contents, the drive system, and an external environment; and a control system configured to; monitor the sensor and the drive system; determine that at least one of the sensor and the drive system are experiencing a fault; determine a potential fault location based on the fault; and provide a fault notification on a display device indicating the potential fault location. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification