Apparatus and method for three-dimensional contouring
First Claim
1. A surface smoothing device comprising:
- a contouring assembly having a first and second end, said contouring assembly able to be moved over an area to be contoured to contour at least one of material positioned on a reference surface and the material of the reference surface to a desired surface shape;
a stored profile of the desired shape of the surface;
a first sensing apparatus that uses a first method to sense the position and height of said first end of said contouring assembly, the height of said first end of said contouring assembly being sensed without respect to the reference surface;
a second sensing apparatus that uses a second method to sense the position and height of said second end of said contouring assembly above one of the material positioned on a reference surface and the material of the reference surface adjacent said contouring assembly, said second method being different from said first method; and
a controller that adjusts the height of said first end of said contouring assembly based on the position and height sensed by said first sensing apparatus and said stored profile and that independently adjusts the height of said second end of said contouring assembly based on the distance between said second end of said contouring assembly and a physical reference height sensed by said second sensing apparatus of said second end of said contouring assembly above one of the material positioned on a reference surface and the material of the reference surface adjacent said contouring assembly, such as the reference surface, a previously placed paved surface, a rail, a board, a string or a wire .
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Accused Products
Abstract
A contouring device and method for contouring three-dimensionally curved surfaces includes an elongated contouring assembly that is supported at opposite ends by a pair of fluid cylinders. The fluid cylinders are controlled to raise and lower the ends of the contouring assembly independently of each other, thereby allowing the contouring assembly to create a three-dimensionally curved surface as it passes over an area to be contoured. The control of one of the fluid cylinders is based on a comparison of the measured position of a first end of the contouring assembly with a profile of the surface to be leveled that is stored in a computer memory. The measurement of the position of the first end of the contouring assembly is achieved by a tracking device which tracks the position of a target positioned on the first end of the contouring assembly and which determines the three dimensional position of the target. A proximity sensor measures the position of the second end of the contouring assembly from a surface and outputs a control signal that adjusts the height of the second end of the contouring assembly to follow the surface. Alternatively, a second target positioned on the second contouring assembly end is tracked by a second tracking device to determine the three-dimensional position of the second end. The contouring assembly preferably has a plow, rotating auger, and a vibratory screed positioned adjacent and parallel to one another in an orientation transverse to the direction of motion of the contouring assembly. The plow, rotating auger, and vibratory screed are all pivotable about an axis parallel to their longitudinal direction. A pivot or tilting controller controls the tilting of the plow, rotating auger, and vibratory screed to follow the slope of the profile stored in computer memory.
64 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A surface smoothing device comprising:
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a contouring assembly having a first and second end, said contouring assembly able to be moved over an area to be contoured to contour at least one of material positioned on a reference surface and the material of the reference surface to a desired surface shape;
a stored profile of the desired shape of the surface;
a first sensing apparatus that uses a first method to sense the position and height of said first end of said contouring assembly, the height of said first end of said contouring assembly being sensed without respect to the reference surface;
a second sensing apparatus that uses a second method to sense the position and height of said second end of said contouring assembly above one of the material positioned on a reference surface and the material of the reference surface adjacent said contouring assembly, said second method being different from said first method; and
a controller that adjusts the height of said first end of said contouring assembly based on the position and height sensed by said first sensing apparatus and said stored profile and that independently adjusts the height of said second end of said contouring assembly based on the distance between said second end of said contouring assembly and a physical reference height sensed by said second sensing apparatus of said second end of said contouring assembly above one of the material positioned on a reference surface and the material of the reference surface adjacent said contouring assembly, such as the reference surface, a previously placed paved surface, a rail, a board, a string or a wire . - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A surface contouring device for contouring a surface over a sub-grade comprising:
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a base;
a boom movably mounted on said base;
a contouring assembly mounted on said boom, said contouring assembly having a first end and a second end, said contouring assembly mounted on said boom for movement with respect to said base and able to smooth a surface while being moved on said boom while said base remains stationary; and
,a control system able to independently adjust the heights of said first and second ends of said contouring assembly as said contouring assembly moves whereby said contouring assembly is capable of smoothing a three dimensional surface, said control system including a first sensor that senses the height of said first end of said contouring assembly using a first method, and a second sensor that senses the height of said second end of said contouring assembly using a second method, said second method different from said first method, a least one of said first and second methods sensing the height of said first or second end of said contouring assembly without reference to said sub-grade. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for smoothing a surface over a sub-grade to a desired three dimensional shape, comprising:
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storing said desired three-dimensional shape in a computer memory;
providing a contouring assembly having a first and second end;
moving said contouring assembly over said three-dimensional surface to be smoothed;
using a first method to determine the position of said first end of said contouring assembly in three dimensions as said contouring assembly moves, said position of said first end of said contouring assembly being determined without respect to the height of the sub-grade;
adjusting the height of said first end of said contouring assembly to correspond to the height of said desired three-dimensional shape;
using a second method different from said first method to determine the height of said second end of said contouring assembly from a surface independently of the determination of the position of the first end of said contouring assembly; and
adjusting the height of said second end of said contouring assembly to maintain a constant height above said surface. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification