ROAD PAVER WITH MEASURING DEVICE

• US 20130051913A1
• Filed: 08/15/2012
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joseph Vã¶Gele AG (Deere & Company)
• Original Assignee: Joseph Vã¶Gele AG (Deere & Company)
• Inventors: Eul, Achim
• Granted Patent: US 9,290,894 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 404/84.5
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/006 by laser or ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 19/48 for laying-down the materials and consolidating them, or finishing the surface , e.g. slip forms therefor, forming kerbs or gutters in a continuous operation in situ E01C19/002, E01C23/065 take precedence; devices for guiding or controlling the machines along a predetermined path E01C19/004
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 23/07 Apparatus combining measurement of the surface configuration of paving with application of material in proportion to the measured irregularities measuring means only E01C23/01 G01B

Abstract

Road paver having a towing machine that is movable on a plane along a work area, and a screed provided to lay a road pavement, and having at least one measuring device configured to generate a point cloud that depicts a three-dimensional condition of the surface of the plane.

Claims

1. Road paver having a towing machine movable on a plane along a work area and comprising

a screed for laying a road pavement and

at least one measuring device configured to register a surface

that can be depicted as a point cloud by the measuring device, said point cloud extends in three spatial dimensions relative to the measuring device to create a spatial depiction of the surface, and comprises a plurality of points, each of said points being defined by 3D coordinates, wherein at least one pair of points of the point cloud is aligned in a first direction and at least one other pair of points of the point cloud lies at an angle to the first direction.

2. Road paver according to claim 1 wherein the point cloud defines a surface condition of an area of the plane and/or of the road pavement.

3. Road paver according to claim 2 wherein the measuring device is configured to filter out extreme 3D coordinates from the point cloud.

4. Road paver according to claim 3 wherein the measuring device comprises a 3D scanner to register the point cloud.

5. Road paver according to claim 4 wherein the 3D scanner comprises at least one optical sensor.

6. Road paver according to claim 4 wherein the 3D scanner is a laser scanner with at least one laser sensor.

7. Road paver according to one of the claim 4 wherein the 3D scanner comprises at least one movable mirror.

8. Road paver according to claim 4 wherein the measuring device comprises a plurality of laser sensors arranged in a matrix.

9. Road paver according to claim 8 wherein a controller is connected to the measuring device.

10. Road paver according to claim 9 wherein the controller is configured to convert the point cloud generated by the measuring device into at least one levelling signal.

11. Road paver according to claim 10 wherein the levelling signal controls a movement of the screed.

12. Road paver according to claim 11 wherein one measuring device is arranged on each side of the left and/or right, of the road paver, seen in the direction of travel.

13. Road paver according to claim 12 wherein the measuring device is configured to generate a point cloud for an area to the left and/or right alongside the work area.

14. Road paver according to claim 13 wherein the measuring device is configured to generate the point cloud for an area that partially overlaps a section of the work area.

15. Road paver according to claim 14 wherein the measuring device registers the 3D coordinates of the surface by means of the pulse duration, phase difference in comparison to a reference or by means of triangulation of optical beams.

16. A road paver comprising a towing machine movable along a road surface,

a measuring device configured to recognize an artificial surface generated as a point cloud by the measuring device, the point cloud extending in three dimensions in space relative to the measuring device to create a spatial depiction of the artificial surface and having at least a first and second pair of points, and said first pair of points being arrayed in a first direction and said second pair of points being arrayed at an angle to the first direction.