Method and apparatus for determining the location of a work implement
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising:
- an undercarriage;
a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage;
a boom connected to said car body;
a stick connected to said boom;
a work implement connected to said stick;
means for rotating said car body; and
a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and for determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points.
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Abstract
An apparatus for determining the location of a work implement at a work site is provided. The apparatus includes an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, a work implement connected to the stick, and a positioning system including a receiver connected to the stick and a processor for determining the location of the receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as the car body is rotated and for determining the location and orientation of the work implement.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising:
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an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; and a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and for determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising:
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an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick; an initialization means for determining the location and orientation of said car body when the undercarriage has been moved, said initialization means including a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points; and means for tracking the location of said work implement throughout a work cycle in response to the location of said receiver. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising:
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an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; means for applying force to said work implement; means for sensing power being delivered to said work implement and responsively producing a digging signal; a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points; means for determining the location of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points; and means for determining the location of material being excavated from the work site in response to said digging signal and the location of said work implement. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of:
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rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; determining the location of the point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated; and determining the location and orientation of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of:
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rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; initializing the determining the location and orientation of the car body after the undercarriage has been moved, said initializing step including the steps of determining the location of said point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and determining the location and orientation of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points; and tracking the location of the work implement throughout a work cycle in response to the location of the point on the stick. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of:
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rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; determining the location of the point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated; and determining the location of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points. applying force to the work implement; sensing the amount of power being delivered to the work implement and responsively producing a digging signal; and determining the location of material being excavated from the work site in response to the digging signal and the location of the work implement. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification