ELECTROHYDRAULIC CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for controlling a snowplow of a vehicle, comprising:
- a hydraulically actuatable snowplow mounted to the vehicle and movable over a range of positions;
a hydraulic actuator for moving said snowplow over the range at a rate of movement;
an electrohydraulic interface unit which receives an actuation signal and provides hydraulic fluid to said actuator in response thereto;
an electrical interface unit which receives a command signal and produces said actuation signal in response thereto;
a joystick movable in a direction over a range of positions and providing a first data signal which is proportional to the position of said joystick; and
a keypad having first and second manual switches, said first switch providing a fixed predetermined second data signal when switched, said second switch providing a fixed predetermined third data signal when switched;
wherein said first data signal, said second data signal, and said third data signal correspond to a desired rate of movement of said snowplow, and one of said first data signal, said second data signal, or said third data signal correspond to said command signal.
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Abstract
An electronic control system and data-logging system for a snow removal vehicle. The vehicle includes hydraulically actuated tools, the control of which can be through a dual axis controller such as a joystick. Electrical communication among components in the system is provided by a power line carrier protocol (PLC).
84 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling a snowplow of a vehicle, comprising:
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a hydraulically actuatable snowplow mounted to the vehicle and movable over a range of positions; a hydraulic actuator for moving said snowplow over the range at a rate of movement; an electrohydraulic interface unit which receives an actuation signal and provides hydraulic fluid to said actuator in response thereto; an electrical interface unit which receives a command signal and produces said actuation signal in response thereto; a joystick movable in a direction over a range of positions and providing a first data signal which is proportional to the position of said joystick; and a keypad having first and second manual switches, said first switch providing a fixed predetermined second data signal when switched, said second switch providing a fixed predetermined third data signal when switched; wherein said first data signal, said second data signal, and said third data signal correspond to a desired rate of movement of said snowplow, and one of said first data signal, said second data signal, or said third data signal correspond to said command signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for controlling the snow removal functions of a vehicle, comprising:
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a vehicle including a hydraulically actuatable snowplow and a second actuatable tool; an electrohydraulic interface unit which receives an actuation signal and provides hydraulic fluid to said snowplow or said tool in response thereto; an electrical interface unit which receives a command signal and produces said actuation signal in response thereto, said interface unit receiving an identification signal and responsive to select one of said snowplow or said tool for actuation in response thereto; and a joystick movable in each of two directions over a range of positions and providing said command signal which is proportional to the position of said joystick, said joystick including a first switch and a second switch; wherein the states of said first switch and second switch provides said identification signal - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for controlling the snowplow of a truck, comprising:
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providing a truck having an actuatable snowplow actuatable in each of two directions at a variable rate of movement and a two axis controller, wherein the controller is moveable in each axis over a range of positions, the snowplow is actuatable in each direction over a range of rates of movement, and the range of positions corresponds to the range of rates; moving the snowplow in one direction at a predetermined rate in response to movement of the controller in one axis to a predetermined position; and moving the snowplow in the other direction at a predetermined rate in response to movement of the controller in the other axis to a predetermined position. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A system for electronically logging the snow and ice removal functions of a vehicle, comprising:
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a vehicle having an electrical power system and including a snowplow hydraulically actuatable to a plurality of positions and a system for distributing a granular product on a roadway within a range of distribution rates; a first sensor providing a first signal corresponding to the position of the snowplow, a second sensor providing a second signal corresponding to the distribution rate of the product, a third sensor providing a third signal corresponding to the position of the vehicle, and a clock providing a time signal; and electronic data capturing and computational module that receives the first signal, second signal, third signal, and time signal, the first signal and second signal being transmitted from the corresponding said sensor to said module by communication over the power system, said module using the second signal, third signal, and time signal to compute a product output rate in terms of weight of product distributed per unit distance. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification