Control sensor for a construction machine

• US 4,961,173 A
• Filed: 05/10/1989
• Issued: 10/02/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MOBA Mobile Automation GmbH
• Original Assignee: Moba-Electronic Gesellschaft Fur Mobil-Automation MbH
• Inventors: Sehr, Willibald, Zarniko, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pihulic, Daniel T.
• Application Number:
  US07/349,624
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: 367/95, 367/96, 367/106, 367/907, 367/19, 367/16, 405/160, 405/161
• US Class Current: 367/96
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/87 Combinations of sonar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/521 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 367/907 Coordinate determination

Abstract

A control sensor for a construction machine serves for generating height control signals for the height control of a tool of the construction machine along a guide cable and contains at least two supersonic sensors, one of which at least serves as a transmitter/receiver element, whereby the supersonic sensors are connected to an evaluation means and arranged in a right angle to the construction machine'"'"'s direction of movement and in such a distance to the guide cable that the detection angle of the supersonic cones will lead, at this distance, to their overlapping.

Claims

1. Control sensor for a construction machine for generating height control signals by detecting the relative position of the sensor to a guide cable, wherein:

the control sensor comprises at least two supersonic sensors, at least one of which serves as a transmitter/receiver element;

the supersonic sensors are connected to an evaluation means which serves to generate the height control signals and a signal of direction which indicates the exceeding of a certain range of width; and

the supersonic sensors are positioned at a right angle to the direction of movement of the construction machine, and are arranged at a distance from the guide cable that detection angles of supersonic sensor cones generated by said supersonic sensors overlap at said distance.

2. Control sensor according to claim 1, wherein the supersonic sensors are cast in a block of plastic in equidistant spaced-apart relation.

3. Control sensor according to claim 2, wherein the supersonic sensor cones overlap at a distance of 40 cm from said supersonic sensors to said guide cable.

4. Control sensor according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation device comprises a number of transmitter/receiver circuits corresponding to the number of supersonic sensors with each transmitter/receiver circuit being connected to a supersonic sensor.

5. Control sensor according to claim 4, wherein the supersonic sensors are connected to a microcomputer via the transmitter/receiver circuits.

6. Control sensor according to claim 5, wherein the evaluation device further comprises an analog-to-digital converter connected to the microcomputer.