Road surface condition determining method, road surface condition outputting method, road surface condition determining device and road surface condition output equipment

• US 9,752,289 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2014
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Jinno, Tomoko, Ono, Ryota, Yamamoto, Yasuko
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUD, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US14/423,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20160258118A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 701 70, 701 71, 701 80, 701 91, 701461, 303160
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/22 Suspension systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/06 Road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E01C 23/01 Devices or auxiliary means for setting-out or checking the configuration of new surfacing, e.g. templates, screed or reference line supports form rails E01C19/50; Applications of apparatus for measuring, indicating, or recording the surface configuration of existing surfacing, e.g. profilographs E01C23/07 takes precedence; measuring roughness or irregularity in general G01B
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 7/04 involving a vehicle which moves along the profile to be traced

Abstract

A road surface condition determining method according to the invention includes: detecting a suspension pressure of a dump truck during a travel of the dump truck; calculating a maximum amplitude and a frequency of a detection value of the suspension pressure in a predetermined period of time; and determining a road surface condition based on the maximum amplitude and the frequency.

Claims

1. A road surface condition determining method comprising:

detecting a suspension pressure of a haulage vehicle during a travel of the haulage vehicle;

correcting a detection value of the suspension pressure based on at least one of a rudder angle of the haulage vehicle or a vehicle speed measurement to obtain a correction value of the suspension pressure,

calculating a maximum amplitude and a frequency of the correction value of the suspension pressure in a predetermined period of time; and

determining a road surface condition based on the maximum amplitude and the frequency.

2. The road surface condition determining method according to claim 1, wherein the detection value of the suspension pressure is detected to determine the road surface condition when a load amount of a load substance on the haulage vehicle corresponds to an empty state or a loaded state of the haulage vehicle.

3. The road surface condition determining method according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining a detection value of a load shift in a pitch direction based on the suspension pressure, wherein

the road surface condition is determined based on a maximum amplitude and a frequency of the detection value of the load shift in the predetermined period of time.

4. The road surface condition determining method according to claim 3, further comprising:

detecting position information of the haulage vehicle during the travel of the haulage vehicle; and

associating a determination result of the road surface condition with the position information.

5. A method for outputting the road surface condition determined by the road surface condition determining method according to claim 4, the method for outputting the road surface condition comprising outputting map data showing the determination result of the road surface condition, the map data being prepared based on the position information and the determination result of the road surface condition associated with each other.

6. A method for outputting the road surface condition determined by the road surface condition determining method according to claim 4, the haulage vehicle traveling a same route in a plurality of cycles, the method for outputting the road surface condition comprising:

acquiring the determination result of the road surface condition per each of the plurality of cycles as a cycle data set; and

outputting the cycle data set of each of the plurality of cycles in a form of distribution data.

8. The road surface condition determining method according to claim 1, wherein calculating the maximum amplitude and the frequency of the detection value of the suspension pressure in the predetermined period of time includes calculating a maximum pitch amplitude and a pitch frequency, and wherein determining the road surface condition based on the maximum pitch amplitude and the pitch frequency includes determining the road surface condition based on the maximum pitch amplitude and the pitch frequency.

7. A road surface condition determining device comprising:

a pressure detector configured to detect a suspension pressure of a haulage vehicle during a travel of the haulage vehicle;

an arithmetic unit configured to correct a detection value of the suspension pressure based on at least one of a rudder angle of the haulage vehicle or a vehicle speed measurement to obtain a correction value of the suspension pressure, and calculate a maximum amplitude and a frequency of a the correction value of the suspension pressure in a predetermined period of time; and

a road surface condition determining unit configured to determine a road surface condition based on the maximum amplitude and the frequency.

9. The road surface condition determining device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a position information detector configured to detect position information of the haulage vehicle during the travel of the haulage vehicle; and

a first memory configured to store the position information and the determination result of the road surface condition in association with each other.

10. Output equipment for outputting the road surface condition determined by the road surface condition determining device according to claim 9, the output equipment comprising:

a data loader configured to acquire and store the position information and the determination result of the road surface condition associated with each other in a second memory; and

an output unit configured to output map data showing the determination result of the road surface condition, the map data being prepared based on the position information and the determination result of the road surface condition stored in the second memory.

11. Output equipment for outputting the road surface condition determined by the road surface condition determining device according to claim 9, the haulage vehicle traveling a same route in a plurality of cycles, the output equipment comprising:

a data loader configured to acquire the determination result of the road surface condition per each of the plurality of cycles as a cycle data set and store the cycle data set in a second memory; and

an output unit configured to output the cycle data set of each of the plurality of cycles stored in the second memory in a form of distribution data.

12. The road surface condition determining device according to claim 7, wherein the arithmetic unit is configured to calculate a maximum pitch amplitude and a pitch frequency based on the detection value of the suspension pressure in the predetermined period of time, and wherein the road surface condition determining unit is configured to determine the road surface condition based on the maximum pitch amplitude and the pitch frequency.

13. The road surface condition determining device according to claim 9, wherein the arithmetic unit is configured to calculate a maximum pitch amplitude and a pitch frequency based on the detection value of the suspension pressure in the predetermined period of time, and wherein the road surface condition determining unit is configured to determine the road surface condition based on the maximum pitch amplitude and the pitch frequency.

14. A road surface condition determining device comprising:

a pressure detector configured to detect a suspension pressure of a haulage vehicle during a travel of the haulage vehicle;

an arithmetic unit configured to calculate a maximum amplitude and a frequency of a detection value of the suspension pressure in a predetermined period of time; and

a road surface condition determining unit configured to determine a road surface condition based on the maximum amplitude and the frequency,

wherein the arithmetic unit is configured to calculate a maximum pitch amplitude and a pitch frequency based on the detection value of the suspension pressure in the predetermined period of time, and wherein the road surface condition determining unit is configured to determine the road surface condition based on the maximum pitch amplitude and the pitch frequency.