US5404661A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for determining the location of a work implement
Assignee: Caterpillar Inc
•
Filing: 1994-05-10
•
Granted: 1995-04-11
•
Expires: 2014-05-10
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for determining the location of a work implement at a work site is provided. The apparatus includes an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, a work implement connected to the stick, and a positioning system including a receiver connected to the stick and a processor for determining the location of the receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as the car body is rotated and for determining the location and orientation of the work implement.
Inventors
- 👤 William C. Sahm
- 👤 Adam J. Gudat
- 👤 Daniel E. Henderson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 00:35
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02F; E02F3/00; E02F3/04; E02F3/28; E02F3/36; E02F3/42; E02F3/427; E02F3/43; E02F3/435; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S37/00; Y10S37/905
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
109 words
An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising: an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; and a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and for determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
109 words
An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising: an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; and a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and for determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said processing means includes means for determining the center and radius of rotation of said receiver as said car body rotates and the height of the plane of rotation of said receiver above the ground.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said stick is pivotally and slidably connected to said boom.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, including a storage device in which a site survey of the work site is stored; and display means for indicating the location of said work implement in the work site.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said display means includes means for displaying ore locations and overburden locations at the work site.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said display means includes means for displaying areas that remain to be excavated and areas that have been excavated.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said display means includes means for indicating bench slope and elevation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, including means for determining when said work implement is being loaded.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said receiver is located substantially on a centerline extending through said stick in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of rotation of said car body.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
38 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, where wherein said receiver is substantially displaced laterally from a centerline extending through said stick in a plane being substantially perpendicular to the plane of rotation of said car body.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising: an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick; an initialization means for determining the location and orientation of said car body when the undercarriage has been moved, said initialization means including a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points; and means for tracking the location of said work implement throughout a work cycle in response to the location of said receiver.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising: an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick; an initialization means for determining the location and orientation of said car body when the undercarriage has been moved, said initialization means including a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and determining the location and orientation of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points; and means for tracking the location of said work implement throughout a work cycle in response to the location of said receiver.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 11, including means for tracking the location of the digging implement as the undercarriage is moved.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 11, wherein said stick is rotatably and slidably connected to said boom.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 11, wherein said stick is at a known point of extension during initialization.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising: an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; means for applying force to said work implement; means for sensing power being delivered to said work implement and responsively producing a digging signal; a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points; means for determining the location of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points; and means for determining the location of material being excavated from the work site in response to said digging signal and the location of said work implement.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus for determining the location of a digging implement at a work site, comprising: an undercarriage; a car body rotatably connected to said undercarriage; a boom connected to said car body; a stick connected to said boom; a work implement connected to said stick; means for rotating said car body; means for applying force to said work implement; means for sensing power being delivered to said work implement and responsively producing a digging signal; a positioning system including a receiver connected to said stick and a processing means for determining the location of said receiver in three dimensional space at a plurality of points; means for determining the location of said work implement in response to the location of said plurality of points; and means for determining the location of material being excavated from the work site in response to said digging signal and the location of said work implement.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
38 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 15, including a storage device in which a site survey of the work site is stored; and display means for indicating the location of said work implement in the work site.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 16, wherein said display means includes means for displaying ore locations and overburden locations at the work site.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 16, wherein said display means includes means for displaying areas that remain to be excavated and areas that have been excavated.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 16, wherein said display means includes means for indicating bench slope and elevation.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
An apparatus, as set forth in claim 15, including means for determining when said work implement is being loaded.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
123 words
A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of: rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; determining the location of the point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated; and determining the location and orientation of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
123 words
A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of: rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; determining the location of the point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated; and determining the location and orientation of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method, as set forth in claim 21, including the steps of determining the center and radius of rotation of said receiver as said car body rotates and the height of the plane of rotation of said receiver above the ground.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method, as set forth in claim 21, including the step of displaying the location of the work implement in the work site.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method, as set forth in claim 23, including the step of displaying ore locations and overburden locations at the work site.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method, as set forth in claim 23, including the step of displaying areas that remain to be excavated and areas that have been excavated.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method, as set forth in claim 21, including the step of determining when the work implement is being loaded.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
170 words
A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of: rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; initializing the determining the location and orientation of the car body after the undercarriage has been moved, said initializing step including the steps of determining the location of said point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and determining the location and orientation of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points; and tracking the location of the work implement throughout a work cycle in response to the location of the point on the stick.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
170 words
A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of: rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; initializing the determining the location and orientation of the car body after the undercarriage has been moved, said initializing step including the steps of determining the location of said point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated and determining the location and orientation of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points; and tracking the location of the work implement throughout a work cycle in response to the location of the point on the stick.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method, as set forth in claim 27, including the step of tracking the location of the digging implement as the undercarriage is moved.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
169 words
A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of: rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; determining the location of the point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated; and determining the location of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points. applying force to the work implement; sensing the amount of power being delivered to the work implement and responsively producing a digging signal; and determining the location of material being excavated from the work site in response to the digging signal and the location of the work implement.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
169 words
A method for determining the location of a mining shovel at a work site, the mining shovel including an undercarriage, a car body rotatably connected to the undercarriage, a boom connected to the car body, a stick connected to the boom, and a work implement connected to the stick, comprising the steps of: rotating the car body; receiving signals from an external reference source; determining the position of a point on the stick in response to the received signals; determining the location of the point on the stick in three dimensional space at a plurality of points as said car body is rotated; and determining the location of the work implement in response to the location of the plurality of points. applying force to the work implement; sensing the amount of power being delivered to the work implement and responsively producing a digging signal; and determining the location of material being excavated from the work site in response to the digging signal and the location of the work implement.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method, as set forth in claim 29, including the step of displaying the location of the work implement in the work site.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method, as set forth in claim 30, including the step of displaying ore locations and overburden locations at the work site.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method, as set forth in claim 30, including the step of displaying areas that remain to be excavated and areas that have been excavated.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method, as set forth in claim 30, including the step of indicating bench slope and elevation.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method, as set forth in claim 29, the step of determining when said work implement is being loaded.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4244123A
Cited
US4630685A
Cited
US4677555A
Cited
US4812991A
Cited
US4912643A
Cited
US4776750A
Cited
US4888890A
Cited
US5065326A
Cited
US4963889A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1998-04-10 | 1998-10-10 | 1999-04-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-04-10 | 2002-10-10 | 2003-04-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-04-10 | 2006-10-10 | 2007-04-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |