US4888890A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Laser control of excavating machine digging depth
Assignee: Trimble Inc
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Filing: 1988-11-14
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Granted: 1989-12-26
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Expires: 2008-11-14
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus are provided for controlling the working depth of a bucket for an excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to the machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of the outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of the downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and hydraulic power cylinders for moving the pivotally interconnected elements. A laser beam is projected at a reference height and a beam sensor mounted on the outreach boom of the machine detects the beam by means of a plurality of individual sensor locations. The angular orientation of the downreach boom relative to vertical is detected and a microprocessor controller connected to the beam sensor and the angle sensor repetitively defines, as a function of the angular orientation of the downreach boom, one of the plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location. The microprocessor controller compares the defined on-grade sensor location to the sensor location having detected the laser beam to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of the outreach boom which is required to maintain the bucket on-grade as the downreach boom is pivoted with respect to the outreach boom.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert H. Studebaker
- 👤 Ted L. Teach
- 👤 Michael H. Kidwell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 12:59
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02F; E02F3/00; E02F3/04; E02F3/28; E02F3/36; E02F3/42; E02F3/43; E02F3/435; E02F3/437; E02F9/00; E02F9/26; E02F9/264; E02F9/265; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S33/00; Y10S33/21; Y10S37/00; Y10S37/907
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 38
Claim 1
Independent Claim
268 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said apparatus comprising: laser beam projection means for projecting a beam of laser light at a reference height; beam sensor means mounted on said outreach boom for detecting said beam of laser light, said beam sensor means defining a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that one of said sensor locations can be identified as sensing said beam of laser light; angle sensor means for detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; and control means connected to said beam sensor means and said angle sensor means for repetitively defining as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location for said beam sensor means, and for comparing said on-grade sensor location to the sensor location having detected said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
268 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said apparatus comprising: laser beam projection means for projecting a beam of laser light at a reference height; beam sensor means mounted on said outreach boom for detecting said beam of laser light, said beam sensor means defining a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that one of said sensor locations can be identified as sensing said beam of laser light; angle sensor means for detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; and control means connected to said beam sensor means and said angle sensor means for repetitively defining as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location for said beam sensor means, and for comparing said on-grade sensor location to the sensor location having detected said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 1 further comprising bucket control means for maintaining a fixed orientation of said bucket relative to vertical whereby the angle of attack of said bucket is constant throughout the digging stroke of said excavating machine.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said digging bucket is held in a fixed position with respect to said downreach boom.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 1 further comprising tilt sensor means for sensing a tilt angle of said excavating machine and wherein said control means is responsive to said tilt angle for defining said on-grade sensor location.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means comprises activation means responsive to said outreach boom adjustment signal for controlling the movement of said outreach boom to automatically maintain said bucket on-grade.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said beam sensor means is mounted at the pivoting interconnection of said downreach boom to said outreach boom.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
42 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said beam sensor means comprises a plurality of linearly arranged photocells, individual ones of said photocells defining said plurality of individual sensor locations.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said beam sensor means is adjustably mounted such that the height and the angular orientation relative to vertical of said beam sensor means can be adjusted.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said beam sensor means includes alignment means for maintaining said beam sensor means in a substantially vertical orientation.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said angle sensor means comprises an angle sensor mounted on said downreach boom.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
55 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said angle sensor means comprises an angle sensor mounted at the base of said outreach boom adjacent said machine and angle detection means for measuring the relative angle between said outreach boom and said downreach boom.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
56 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said angle sensor means comprises an angle sensor mounted on said machine and angle detection means for measuring the relative angles between said machine and said outreach boom and between said outreach boom and said downreach boom.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
266 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine with respect to a beam of laser light which is projected at a reference height, said excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said apparatus comprising: beam sensor means mounted on said outreach boom for detecting said beam of laser light, said beam sensor means defining a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that one of said sensor locations can be identified as sensing said beam of laser light; angle sensor mans for detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; and control means connected to said beam sensor means and said angle sensor means for repetitively defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom, and for comparing said on-grade sensor location tot eh sensor location having detected said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
266 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine with respect to a beam of laser light which is projected at a reference height, said excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said apparatus comprising: beam sensor means mounted on said outreach boom for detecting said beam of laser light, said beam sensor means defining a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that one of said sensor locations can be identified as sensing said beam of laser light; angle sensor mans for detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; and control means connected to said beam sensor means and said angle sensor means for repetitively defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom, and for comparing said on-grade sensor location tot eh sensor location having detected said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
52 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 13 further comprising bucket control means for maintaining a fixed orientation of said bucket relative to vertical whereby the angle of attack of said bucket is constant throughout the digging stroke of said excavating machine.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said digging bucket is held in a fixed position with respect to said downreach boom.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
49 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 13 further comprising tilt sensor means for sensing a tilt angle of said excavating machine and wherein said control means is responsive to said tilt angle for defining said on-grade sensor location.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
46 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said control means comprises activation means responsive to said outreach boom adjustment signal for controlling the movement of said outreach boom to automatically maintain said bucket on-grade.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said beam sensor means is mounted at the pivoting interconnection of said downreach boom to said outreach boom.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
42 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said beam sensor means comprises a plurality of linearly arranged photocells, individual ones of said photocells defining said plurality of individual sensor locations.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
45 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said beam sensor means is adjustably mounted such that the height and the angular orientation relative to vertical of said beam sensor means can be adjusted.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said beam sensor means includes alignment means for maintaining said beam sensor means in a substantially vertical orientation.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said angle sensor means comprises an angle sensor mounted on said downreach boom.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
55 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said angle sensor means comprises an angle sensor mounted at the base of said outreach boom adjacent said machine and angle detection means for measuring the relative angle between said outreach boom and said downreach boom.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
56 words
Apparatus for controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said angle sensor means comprises an angle sensor mounted on said machine and angle detection means for measuring the relative angles between said machine and said outreach boom and between said outreach boom and said downreach boom.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
238 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said method comprising the steps of: projecting a beam of laser light at a reference height; detecting the beam of laser light by means of a beam sensor which defines a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that only one of said sensor locations is currently sensing said beam of laser light; detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor locations of said beam sensor as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom; and comparing said on-grade sensor location to the sensor location currently sensing said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
238 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said method comprising the steps of: projecting a beam of laser light at a reference height; detecting the beam of laser light by means of a beam sensor which defines a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that only one of said sensor locations is currently sensing said beam of laser light; detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor locations of said beam sensor as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom; and comparing said on-grade sensor location to the sensor location currently sensing said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 25 further comprising the step of maintaining a fixed orientation of said bucket relative to vertical whereby the angle of attack of said bucket is constant throughout the digging stroke of said excavating machine.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 25 further comprising the step of holding said bucket in a fixed position with respect to said downreach boom.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 25 further comprising the step of sensing a tilt angle of said excavating machine and wherein the step of defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location is responsive to said tilt angle.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 25 further comprising the step of controlling the movement of said outreach boom in response to said outreach boom adjustment signal to automatically maintain said bucket on-grade.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
246 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine with respect to a beam of laser light which is projected at a reference height, said excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said method comprising the steps of: detecting the beam of laser light by means of a beam sensor which defines a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that only one of said sensor locations is currently sensing said beam of laser light; detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location of said beam sensor as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom; and comparing said on-grade sensor location to the sensor location currently sensing said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
246 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine with respect to a beam of laser light which is projected at a reference height, said excavating machine having an outreach boom which is pivotally attached at one end to said machine, a downreach boom pivotally attached to the opposite end of said outreach boom, a digging bucket pivotally attached to the end of said downreach boom opposite to that to which the outreach boom is attached, and power means for producing relative pivotal movements of the pivotally interconnected elements, said method comprising the steps of: detecting the beam of laser light by means of a beam sensor which defines a plurality of individual sensor locations sized such that only one of said sensor locations is currently sensing said beam of laser light; detecting the angular orientation of said downreach boom relative to vertical; defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location of said beam sensor as a function of the angular orientation of said downreach boom; and comparing said on-grade sensor location to the sensor location currently sensing said beam of laser light to generate an outreach boom adjustment signal representative of the movement of said outreach boom required to move the machine such that said on-grade sensor location is illuminated by said beam of laser light and thereby maintain said bucket on-grade as said downreach boom is pivoted with respect to said outreach boom.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 30 further comprising the step of maintaining a fixed orientation of said bucket relative to vertical whereby the angle of attack of said bucket is constant throughout the digging stroke of said excavating machine.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 30 further comprising the step of holding said bucket in a fixed position with respect to said downreach boom.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 30 further comprising the step of sensing a tilt angle of said excavating machine and wherein the step of defining one of said plurality of individual sensor locations as an on-grade sensor location is responsive to said tilt angle.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
45 words
A method of controlling the working depth of a bucket of an excavating machine as claimed in claim 30 further comprising the step of controlling the movement of said outreach boom in response to said outreach boom adjustment signal to automatically maintain said bucket on-grade.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-12-25 | 1993-06-26 | 1993-12-26 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-12-25 | 1997-06-26 | 1997-12-26 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-12-25 | 2001-06-26 | 2001-12-26 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |