Enhanced control of road construction equipment
First Claim
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1. A road-forming machine, comprising:
- a locomotion system configured to move the road-forming machine;
a road-forming system configured to form a road surface continuously as the road-forming machine moves;
a communication interface to provide communication with a plurality of position measurement devices; and
a control system comprising a processor, a non-transitory storage medium, and a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising;
instructions to receive position data from two or more position measurement devices, including a first position measurement device and a second position measurement device;
instructions to control operation of the road-forming system based on determined positions of the road-forming system and a model stored on the non-transitory storage medium;
instructions to determine a first position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the first position measurement device;
instructions to transition from the first position measurement device to the second position measurement device without interrupting movement of the road-forming machine or formation of the road surface and without introducing a discontinuity in the formed road surface greater than a specified threshold value; and
instructions to determine a second position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the second position measurement device.
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Abstract
Novel tools and techniques for controlling road-forming machines, such as paving machines, graders, and the like. Some techniques allow a control system of a road-forming machine to transition from receiving position data from one positioning device to receiving data from another without ceasing operation and/or while limiting any resulting discontinuity in the formed road surface to within acceptable tolerances.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A road-forming machine, comprising:
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a locomotion system configured to move the road-forming machine; a road-forming system configured to form a road surface continuously as the road-forming machine moves; a communication interface to provide communication with a plurality of position measurement devices; and a control system comprising a processor, a non-transitory storage medium, and a set of instructions executable by the processor, the set of instructions comprising; instructions to receive position data from two or more position measurement devices, including a first position measurement device and a second position measurement device; instructions to control operation of the road-forming system based on determined positions of the road-forming system and a model stored on the non-transitory storage medium; instructions to determine a first position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the first position measurement device; instructions to transition from the first position measurement device to the second position measurement device without interrupting movement of the road-forming machine or formation of the road surface and without introducing a discontinuity in the formed road surface greater than a specified threshold value; and instructions to determine a second position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the second position measurement device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A control system for a road-forming machine, the control system, comprising:
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one or more processors; and a non-transitory computer readable medium in communication with the one or more processors, the computer readable medium having encoded thereon a set of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more operations, the set of instructions comprising; instructions to receive position data from two or more position measurement devices, including a first position measurement device and a second position measurement device; instructions to control operation of a locomotion system of the road-forming machine and a road-forming system of the road-forming machine to form a road surface continuously, based on determined positions of the road-forming system and a model stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium; instructions to determine a first position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the first position measurement device; instructions to transition from the first position measurement device to the second position measurement device without interrupting movement of the road-forming machine or formation of the road surface and without introducing a discontinuity in the road surface greater than a specified threshold value; and instructions to determine a second position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the second position measurement device.
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25. A method, comprising:
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forming a road surface with a road-forming machine, the road-forming machine comprising; a locomotion system configured to move the road-forming machine; a road-forming system configured to form a road surface continually as the road-forming machine moves; a communication interface to provide communication with a plurality of position measurement devices; and a control system configured to control operation of the road-forming machine; receiving, with the control system, position data from two or more position measurement devices, including a first position measurement device and a second position measurement device; controlling, with the control system, operation of the locomotion system and the road-forming system based on determined positions of the road-forming system and a model stored on the non-transitory storage medium; determining, with the control system, a first position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the first position measurement device; transitioning, with the control system, from the first position measurement device to the second position measurement device without interrupting movement of the road-forming machine or formation of the road surface and without introducing a discontinuity in the formed road surface greater than a specified threshold value; and determining a second position of the road-forming system based on position data received from the second position measurement device.
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Specification