System and method for controlling an asphalt repair apparatus
First Claim
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1. An asphalt roadway repair system, comprising:
- a heater configured to heat a roadway repair site to a selected temperature or temperature range, the heater operatively interconnected to an apparatus configured to position the heater proximate to the roadway repair site;
at least one temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the roadway repair site;
at least one orientation sensor to identify an orientation of said heater with respect to a surface of the roadway repair site;
a power unit in communication with the heater and adapted to provide energy to the heater;
a controller in communication with the power unit and adapted to receive control measurement inputs comprising a temperature measurement from the temperature sensor and an orientation measurement from the orientation sensor; and
wherein the controller determines and automatically controls the energy level of the power unit based on at least the temperature measurement.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for controlling an asphalt repair apparatus. An additional aspect of the present invention is to provide a system that may position a heater repair element adjacent a targeted asphalt surface, acquire and analyze surface and heater sensing data, and control heater output to prepare the targeted asphalt surface for repair. Further, the system may be configured to control an asphalt repair apparatus to satisfy user-defined asphalt repair requirements.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An asphalt roadway repair system, comprising:
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a heater configured to heat a roadway repair site to a selected temperature or temperature range, the heater operatively interconnected to an apparatus configured to position the heater proximate to the roadway repair site; at least one temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the roadway repair site; at least one orientation sensor to identify an orientation of said heater with respect to a surface of the roadway repair site; a power unit in communication with the heater and adapted to provide energy to the heater; a controller in communication with the power unit and adapted to receive control measurement inputs comprising a temperature measurement from the temperature sensor and an orientation measurement from the orientation sensor; and wherein the controller determines and automatically controls the energy level of the power unit based on at least the temperature measurement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for repair of a roadway surface, comprising the steps of:
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positioning a heater proximate to a roadway repair site; selecting a repair site temperature by a user; providing the user selected repair site temperature to a controller; measuring a repair site temperature; determining, by the controller, a power level for the heater based on at least one of the measured repair site temperature and the user selected repair site temperature; activating, by the controller, the heater at the determined power level wherein heat from the heater is imparted to the repair site; heating the repair site until the user selected repair site temperature is achieved. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An asphalt roadway repair system, comprising:
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a heater configured to heat an asphalt repair site of a roadway surface to a selectable temperature or temperature range, the heater adapted to operatively interconnect to an apparatus configured to position the heater in a preferred orientation relative to the asphalt repair site; at least one temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the asphalt repair site; at least one material hardness sensor; a power unit in communication with the heater and configured to provide a power level to the heater; a controller in communication with the power unit and adapted to receive control inputs comprising a temperature measurement from the temperature sensor and a repair site material hardness measurement from the material hardness sensor; wherein the controller determines and automatically controls the power level of the power unit based on at least the control inputs. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification