SYSTEM FOR MONITORING FOR RISK OF ROAD SHOULDER COLLAPSE, AND TRANSPORT VEHICLE

• US 20110010040A1
• Filed: 06/21/2010
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sato, Takayuki, Ichinose, Masanori, Yasuda, Tomohiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,406,965 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 1/045 Levelling or stabilising systems for tippers suspensions with levelling or stabilising means for vehicles in general B60G17/00, B60G21/00, using ground-engaging vehicle fittings B60S9/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a shoulder collapse risk monitoring system capable of alerting a driver to a risk of a road shoulder collapse during approach operations to the shoulder.

The system includes: a shoulder shape measuring device 101 that measures a shape and slope angle of a road shoulder around a vehicle; a measurement position identification section 121 that identifies a wheel position relative to the shoulder when the shape and slope angle of the shoulder are measured by the shoulder shape measuring device; a shoulder strength calculating section 122 that calculates, from the shape and slope angle of the shoulder measured by the shoulder shape measuring device, strength of the shoulder at the wheel position identified by the measurement position identification section; a wheel load measuring section 123 that measures a wheel load of the wheel whose position has been identified by the measurement position identification section; and an alert device 105 that presents information on a risk of a collapse of the shoulder at the identified wheel position by comparing the wheel load measured by the wheel load measuring section, with the shoulder strength calculated by the shoulder strength calculating section.

Claims

1. A road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system, comprising:

shoulder shape measuring means for measuring a shape and slope angle of a road shoulder around a vehicle;

measurement position identification means for identifying a wheel position relative to the shoulder when the shoulder shape measuring means measures the shape and slope angle of the shoulder;

shoulder strength calculating means for calculating, from the shape and slope angle of the shoulder measured by the shoulder shape measuring means, strength of the shoulder at the wheel position identified by the measurement position identification means;

wheel load measuring means for measuring a wheel load of the wheel whose position is identified by the measurement position identification means; and

collapse risk information presenting means for presenting information on a risk of a collapse of the shoulder at the wheel position identified by the measurement position identification means by comparing the shoulder strength calculated by the shoulder strength calculating means, with the wheel load measured by the wheel load measuring means.

2. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for measuring a position of the vehicle at the shoulder;

wherein the shoulder shape measuring means include shoulder shape information storage means in which a shape and slope angle of the shoulder at any position are stored; and

wherein the shoulder shape measuring means read out the shape and slope angle of the shoulder at the vehicle position measured by the vehicle position measuring means, from the shoulder shape information storage means, and define the read data as the shape and slope angle of the shoulder around the vehicle.

3. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

shoulder strength correction data storage means for storing a set of correction parameters used for the shoulder strength calculating means to calculate shoulder strength;

wherein the shoulder strength calculating means calculates shoulder strength using the correction parameters.

4. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 3, further comprising:

means for measuring a position of the vehicle at the shoulder;

wherein the correction parameters in the shoulder strength correction data storage means are stored in association with the vehicle position; and

wherein the shoulder strength calculating means reads out the correction parameters corresponding to the vehicle position measured by the vehicle position measuring means, from the shoulder strength correction data storage means, and then calculates shoulder strength using the read correction parameters.

5. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 4, further comprising:

correction parameter measuring means for measuring a road-surface state around the vehicle and calculating the correction parameters corresponding to the road-surface state;

wherein the shoulder strength correction data storage means stores the correction parameters calculated by the correction parameter measuring means, as new correction parameters corresponding to the measuring position of the road-surface state.

6. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for predicting a traveling state of the vehicle from a driver'"'"'s operating quantity of vehicle operating means or from a shape of a traveling route along which the vehicle travels; and

load moving distance calculating means for calculating on a wheel-by-wheel basis a distance of a load movement due to acceleration/deceleration or turning of the vehicle, on the basis of the traveling state predicted by the traveling state predicting means;

wherein the collapse risk information presenting means presents collapse risk information on the shoulder by adding the load moving distance calculated by the load moving distance calculating means, to the wheel load measured by the wheel load measuring means, and then comparing the additively obtained load value with the shoulder strength calculated by the shoulder strength calculating means.

7. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1,

wherein the shoulder strength calculating means defines a sliding surface based on an internal friction angle of the shoulder at the wheel position measured by the measurement position identification means, and calculates shear strength at the sliding surface, as the shoulder strength;

and

the collapse risk information presenting means presents collapse risk information on the shoulder by calculating a total of a sediment load exerted upon the sliding surface, and the wheel load measured by the wheel load measuring means, and then comparing a component-of-force directed towards the sliding surface under the total load, with the shear strength.

8. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

vehicle course control means for change a course of the vehicle when the collapse risk presented by the collapse risk information presenting means exceeds a threshold level, so that the collapse risk is reduced to the threshold level or fewer.

9. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1,

wherein the wheel whose position is measured by the measurement position identification means is the closest front wheel to the shoulder.

10. The road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system according to claim 1,

wherein:

the wheel whose position is measured by the measurement position identification means is the closest rear wheel to the shoulder.

11. A road shoulder collapse risk monitoring system, comprising:

shoulder shape measuring means for measuring a shape and slope angle of a road shoulder around a vehicle;

measurement position identification means for identifying a position of the vehicle relative to the shoulder when the shoulder shape measuring means measures the shape and slope angle of the shoulder;

shoulder strength calculating means for calculating, from the shape and slope angle of the shoulder measured by the shoulder shape measuring means, strength of the shoulder at the vehicle position identified by the measurement position identification means;

wheel load measuring means for measuring a total of wheel loads of the vehicle; and

collapse risk information presenting means for comparing the total wheel load measured by the wheel load measuring means, with the shoulder strength calculated by the shoulder strength calculating means, and then after calculating an allowance of the shoulder strength for the total wheel load, further presenting information on a risk of a collapse of the shoulder at the vehicle position identified by the measurement position identification means, on the basis of a magnitude of the allowance.

12. A transport vehicle comprising:

a plurality of wheels mounted on the vehicle;

shoulder shape measuring means for measuring a shape and slope angle of a road shoulder around the vehicle;

measurement position identification means for identifying a wheel position relative to the shoulder when the shoulder shape measuring means measures the shape and slope angle of the shoulder;

shoulder strength calculating means for calculating, from the shape and slope angle of the shoulder measured by the shoulder shape measuring means, strength of the shoulder at the wheel position identified by the measurement position identification means;

wheel load measuring means for measuring a wheel load of the wheel whose position is identified by the measurement position identification means; and

collapse risk information presenting means for presenting information on a risk of a collapse of the shoulder at the wheel position identified by the measurement position identification means, by comparing the shoulder strength calculated by the shoulder strength calculating means, with the wheel load measured by the wheel load measuring means.