ROAD SURFACE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20150032373A1
• Filed: 02/12/2013
• Published: 01/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ikari, Takanobu
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,915 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/517
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/22 Suspension systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/35 Road bumpiness, e.g. potholes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 23/01 Devices or auxiliary means for setting-out or checking the configuration of new surfacing, e.g. templates, screed or reference line supports form rails E01C19/50; Applications of apparatus for measuring, indicating, or recording the surface configuration of existing surfacing, e.g. profilographs E01C23/07 takes precedence; measuring roughness or irregularity in general G01B
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/04 involving a vehicle which moves along the profile to be traced
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/00 Registering or indicating the working of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A road surface management system is capable of detecting road surface conditions that tend to damage dump trucks and displaying the positions of such road surfaces. When the traveling speed of the dump truck is higher than or equal to a preset threshold value, the server judges whether or not each of the pressures of suspensions of the dump truck detected by pressure sensors is within a reference range which has been set corresponding to each suspension. The server judges that the road surface at the position of a dump truck is in a poor condition if one of the pressures of the four suspensions of the dump truck is judged to be outside the reference range and the remaining three pressures are judged to be within the reference range. The positions of the road surfaces judged to be in the poor condition are displayed on an indicator.

Claims

1. A road surface management system for managing the road surface condition of traveling lanes for dump trucks (2) used in quarries or construction sites, comprising:

suspension state quantity detection means (20A-20D) which detect state quantities of four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) provided corresponding to the left front, right front, left rear, and right rear wheels (10L, 10R, 11L, 11R) of each dump truck (2);

position acquisition means (7B) which acquires the position of the dump truck (2);

traveling speed detection means (12) which detects the traveling speed of the dump truck (2);

traveling judgment means (25) which judges that the dump truck (2) is traveling if the traveling speed of the dump truck (2) detected by the traveling speed detection means (12) is higher than or equal to a preset threshold value;

suspension state quantity judgment means (25) which judges whether each of the state quantities of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) detected by the suspension state quantity detection means (20A-20D) is within a reference range which has been set for each suspension or not in regard to each position of the traveling dump truck (2);

road surface condition judgment means (25) which judges that the road surface at the position of a dump truck (2) is in a poor condition if one of the state quantities of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) of the dump truck is judged to be outside the reference range and the remaining three state quantities are judged to be within the reference range; and

display means (17A;

17B;

17C) which displays the positions of the road surfaces judged by the road surface condition judgment means (25) to be in the poor condition.

2. The road surface management system according to claim 1, wherein

the suspension state quantity judgment means (25) includes:

reference value setting means which sets a reference value for each of the state quantities of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) according to a live load and a vehicle body tilting angle of the dump truck (2);

influence degree calculation means which calculates influence degrees of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) by dividing the state quantities of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) detected by the suspension state quantity detection means (20A-20D) respectively by the corresponding reference values;

influence coefficient calculation means which calculates the average value of the influence degrees of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) calculated by the influence degree calculation means and calculates influence coefficients as the ratios of the influence degrees of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) to the average value in regard to each position of the traveling dump truck (2); and

influence coefficient judgment means which judges whether the influence coefficients of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) calculated by the influence coefficient calculation means are within a preset range or not in regard to each position of the traveling dump truck (2), and wherein

the road surface condition judgment means (25) judges that the road surface at the position of a dump truck (2) is in the poor condition if one of the influence coefficients of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) of the dump truck is judged to be outside the preset range and the remaining three influence coefficients are judged to be within the preset range.

3. The road surface management system according to claim 2, comprising stepped evaluation means (25) which evaluates the poor condition of the road surface in a stepped manner based on the magnitude of the influence coefficient outside the preset range in the case where one of the influence coefficients of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) is judged to be outside the preset range and the remaining three influence coefficients are judged to be within the preset range, wherein

the display means (17A;

17B;

17C) displays the positions of the road surfaces judged by the road surface condition judgment means (25) to be in the poor condition together with stages of the poor condition evaluated by the stepped evaluation means (25).

4. The road surface management system according to claim 1, wherein

each of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R) is implemented by a hydraulic cylinder, and

the suspension state quantity detection means (20A-20D) detect pressures of the four hydraulic cylinders as the state quantities of the four suspensions (18L, 18R, 19L, 19R).

5. The road surface management system according to claim 1, comprising traveling path generation means (24) which generates a traveling path of each dump truck (2) based on a position record of the dump truck (2) acquired by the position acquisition means (7B), wherein

the display means (17A;

17B;

17C) displays the traveling paths of the dump trucks (2) generated by the traveling path generation means (24) together with the positions of the road surfaces judged by the road surface condition judgment means (25) to be in the poor condition.

6. The road surface management system according to claim 1, wherein the display means (17B;

17C) is installed in at least one of a management station (3) and a road repair vehicle (31).

7. The road surface management system according to claim 6, wherein the display means (17A) is installed in the dump truck (2).