Integrated civil engineering and earthmoving system
First Claim
1. An earth-contouring system for modifying the surface contour of a work site, said system comprising:
- A. an earthmover having a body and an earthmoving blade;
B. a positioning system for determining the position of the blade relative to the work site;
C. a display device on the earthmover for generating a display image, viewable to an operator of the earthmover, which indicates the difference between the existing contour of the surface of the work site and the desired contour of the surface of the work site at the location of the earthmoving blade; and
D. computing means located at a fixed position relative to the work site, responsive to the positioning system, for calculating the information for the display and transmitting the information to the display device on the earthmover.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An integrated earth contouring system uses a postioning system such as a GPS system to track the location of an earthmover on a work site. A display device visible to a driver of the earthmover displays a difference between an existing surface contour and a desired surface contour of the work site. The display device may show a three-dimensional image which rotates or a two-dimensional image having a cursor which rotates to represent the earthmover. A blade sensor tracks the position of the earthmover blade, and the display is updated to show changes in the existing surface contour when the earthmover is moved on the site with the blade height between the height of the existing surface and the height of the desired surface. An orientation sensor on board the earthmover provides the microprocessor with the orientation of the earthmover, and a memory unit is provided to allow storage and retrieval of surface data by the microprocessor. The system can integrate the tracking of earthmover activity and surface development, as well as a utility line avoidance feature and a hydrology analysis function.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An earth-contouring system for modifying the surface contour of a work site, said system comprising:
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A. an earthmover having a body and an earthmoving blade; B. a positioning system for determining the position of the blade relative to the work site; C. a display device on the earthmover for generating a display image, viewable to an operator of the earthmover, which indicates the difference between the existing contour of the surface of the work site and the desired contour of the surface of the work site at the location of the earthmoving blade; and D. computing means located at a fixed position relative to the work site, responsive to the positioning system, for calculating the information for the display and transmitting the information to the display device on the earthmover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An earth-contouring system for modifying the surface contour of a work site, said system comprising:
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(A) a plurality of earthmovers each of which has a body and an earthmoving blade; (B) a positioning system for determining the position of each of said blades relative to the work site; (C) a display device on each earthmover for generating a display image viewable to an operator of the earthmover which indicates the difference between the existing contour of the surface of the work site and the desired contour of the surface of the work site at the location of the blade of the earthmover; and (D) computing means located at a fixed position relative to the worksite, responsive to the positioning system, for calculating the information for the displays and transmitting the information to the display devices on the earthmovers.
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Specification