Blade control system for bulldozer
First Claim
1. In a blade control system for a bulldozer for performing ground leveling work or grading work by automatically controlling a vertical position of a blade of a bulldozer during the work, of the type comprising a light projecting means for forming over a predetermined ground area a horizontal optical reference plane or an oblique optical reference plane inclined at an arbitrary angle, said light projecting means being installed at a location remote from said bulldozer;
- a light receiving means mounted on a tractor body portion of said bulldozer for detecting said optical reference plane formed by said light projecting means to issue a level signal; and
a control means which receives said level signal to control a hydraulic valve actuator of said bulldozer based on said level signal, which hydraulic valve actuator moves said blade of said bulldozer, the improvement wherein;
said light receiving means comprises at least a pair of photo receivers which are respectively arranged along a longitudinal axis of said tractor body portion of said bulldozer and spaced apart from each other to form a tractor reference plane therebetween; and
a blade controller which controls said hydraulic valve actuator based on a first output signal issued from one of said photo receivers at a first location on said reference plane, and a second output signal issued from the other of said photo receivers at a second location on said reference plane, said second location being longitudinally spaced from said first location, said controller relating said tractor reference plane and said optical reference plane.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A blade control system for a bulldozer enables the bulldozer to effectively perform a ground leveling work or a grading work with high accuracy in a minimum amount of time. The system compensates for pitching of a tractor portion of the bulldozer, and for variations in the amount of earth to be moved by a blade of the bulldozer. The system comprises: a pair of photo receivers (2, 3) which are mounted on the tractor portion (1) along a longitudinal axis of the portion (1) while spaced apart from each other, each of which receivers (2, 3) detects an optical reference plane (6) produced by a photo projector (4) to issue a level signal; and a blade controller (13) which controls an hydraulic valve actuaor (14) for moving the blade (8) based on the level signals. The receivers (2, 3) can detect a three-dimensional position of the tractor portion (1), and the blade controler (13) controls the actuator (14) upon receipt of an output signal issued from a position-measuring controller (23) which receives the level signals issued from the receivers (2, 3) to calculate a progress of the work.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. In a blade control system for a bulldozer for performing ground leveling work or grading work by automatically controlling a vertical position of a blade of a bulldozer during the work, of the type comprising a light projecting means for forming over a predetermined ground area a horizontal optical reference plane or an oblique optical reference plane inclined at an arbitrary angle, said light projecting means being installed at a location remote from said bulldozer;
- a light receiving means mounted on a tractor body portion of said bulldozer for detecting said optical reference plane formed by said light projecting means to issue a level signal; and
a control means which receives said level signal to control a hydraulic valve actuator of said bulldozer based on said level signal, which hydraulic valve actuator moves said blade of said bulldozer, the improvement wherein;said light receiving means comprises at least a pair of photo receivers which are respectively arranged along a longitudinal axis of said tractor body portion of said bulldozer and spaced apart from each other to form a tractor reference plane therebetween; and a blade controller which controls said hydraulic valve actuator based on a first output signal issued from one of said photo receivers at a first location on said reference plane, and a second output signal issued from the other of said photo receivers at a second location on said reference plane, said second location being longitudinally spaced from said first location, said controller relating said tractor reference plane and said optical reference plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
- a light receiving means mounted on a tractor body portion of said bulldozer for detecting said optical reference plane formed by said light projecting means to issue a level signal; and
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5. A blade control system for a bulldozer, comprising:
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a bulldozer having a tractor body portion defining a longitudinal axis, a blade of said bulldozer for performing ground leveling work or grading work, means for controlling a vertical position of the blade during the work, and means responsive to said controlling means for moving said blade in a vertical direction; light projecting means for forming over a predetermined ground area a horizontal optical reference plane or an oblique optical reference plane inclined at an arbitrary angle, said light projecting means being located at a position remote from said bulldozer and in light communication therewith; a light receiving means mounted on said tractor body portion of said bulldozer for detecting said optical reference plane formed by said light projecting means to issue a level signal to said controlling means, whereby said controlling means controls said vertical position of said blade in response thereto, said light receiving means comprising at least a pair of photo receivers arranged along said longitudinal axis of said tractor body portion of said bulldozer and spaced apart from each other and forming a tractor body reference plane, said controlling means being responsive in part to a distance between the tractor body reference plane and a tractor bearing ground surface to calculate vertical distance to be moved by said blade, said controlling means being responsive in part to a first output signal issued from one of said photo receivers at a first location on said reference plane, and a second output signal issued from the other of said photo receivers at a second location on said reference plane, said second location being longitudinally spaced from said first location, said controller.
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Specification