US2025122697A1PendingUtilityA1
Grade control systems and methods for earthmoving implements
Assignee: CATERPILLAR TRIMBLE CONTROL TECH LLCPriority: Aug 4, 2022Filed: Dec 23, 2024Published: Apr 17, 2025
Est. expiryAug 4, 2042(~16 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
E02F 9/262E02F 9/2041E02F 9/265E02F 3/437
75
PatentIndex Score
0
Cited by
0
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0
Claims
Abstract
Control systems and methods for an earthmoving machine and control architecture to generate a surface associated with a curved surface of an earthmoving implement, project the surface onto a two-dimensional (2D) plane associated with the earthmoving implement, determine a continuous curve based on the surface projected on to the 2D plane, determine a derivative of the continuous curve, project a design plane normal n* of a ground surface for smoothing onto the 2D plane associated with the earthmoving implement, determine a point of perpendicular intersection between the derivative of the continuous curve and the design plane normal n* of the ground surface projected onto the 2D plane, and operate the earthmoving machine using one or more linkage assembly actuators and the point of perpendicular intersection.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modifiedWhat is claimed is:
1 . A control system comprising an earthmoving machine, wherein:
the earthmoving machine comprises a machine chassis, a linkage assembly, an earthmoving implement, and control architecture; the control architecture comprises one or more linkage assembly actuators and an architecture controller programmed to:
generate a surface associated with a curved surface of the earthmoving implement;
project the surface onto a two-dimensional (2D) plane associated with the earthmoving implement;
determine a continuous curve based on the surface projected on to the 2D plane;
determine a derivative of the continuous curve;
project a design plane normal n* of a ground surface for smoothing onto the 2D plane associated with the earthmoving implement;
determine a point of perpendicular intersection between the derivative of the continuous curve and the design plane normal n* of the ground surface projected onto the 2D plane; and
operate the earthmoving machine using the one or more linkage assembly actuators and the point of perpendicular intersection.
2 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein to generate the surface associated with the curved surface of the earthmoving implement, the architecture controller is configured to:
locate a flat surface of a bottom of the earthmoving implement; locate a ground surface point of the ground surface; position an initial curvature point as one of one or more curvature points of a curvature of the earthmoving implement extending from the flat surface onto the ground surface point; use the one or more linkage assembly actuators to lift and curl the earthmoving implement to a subsequent curvature point of the earthmoving implement; position the subsequent curvature point as one of the one or more curvature points onto the ground surface point; continue to locate and position subsequent curvature points each as one of the one or more curvature points on the curvature of the earthmoving implement on the ground surface point; map one or more points of the curved surface of the earthmoving implement based on the one or more curvature points; project the one or more points mapping the curved surface of the earthmoving implement onto the 2D plane of the earthmoving implement; and generate the surface associated with the curved surface of the earthmoving implement based on the one or more points projected onto the 2D plane.
3 . The control system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the one or more curvature points comprise at least five curvature points, and the surface is mapped with a tangential line, the tangential line starting on the flat surface of the bottom of the earthmoving implement.
4 . The control system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein a y-axis of the 2D plane is defined by a vector disposed between the initial curvature point of the one or more curvature points and a final curvature point of the one or more curvature points.
5 . The control system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein when the one or more curvature points are not strictly monotonically increasing, the architecture controller is configured to:
bisect the earthmoving implement to create a bisection lane; and create two separate projections for the one or more curvature points respectively below and above the bisection lane; and generate the surface based on the one or more curvature points respectively below and above the bisection lane.
6 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the architecture controller is configured to:
when at least two points or zero points of perpendicular intersection are found, select as the point of perpendicular intersection a point nearest to an origin of the design plane normal n* of the ground surface.
7 . The control system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the architecture controller is configured to:
when at least two points are equidistant from the origin, select as the point of perpendicular intersection a point of the equidistant points that is furthest along a direction of travel of the earthmoving implement.
8 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein to determine the continuous curve based on the surface projected on to the 2D plane, the architecture controller is configured to:
determine a smooth piecewise cubic function p(x)Ε 1 [I] that is differentiable with a single continuous derivative characterizing one or more points x defining the surface projected on to the 2D plane, the smooth piecewise cubic function in each subinterval I i [x i ,x i+1 ] given by
p
(
x
)
=
f
i
H
1
(
x
)
+
f
i
+
1
H
2
(
x
)
+
d
i
H
3
(
x
)
+
d
i
+
1
H
4
(
x
)
,
where
H
1
(
x
)
=
φ
(
(
x
i
+
1
-
x
)
/
h
i
)
,
H
2
(
x
)
=
φ
(
(
x
-
x
i
)
/
h
i
)
,
H
3
(
x
)
=
-
h
i
ψ
(
(
x
i
+
1
-
x
)
/
h
i
)
,
H
4
(
x
)
=
h
i
ψ
(
(
x
-
x
i
)
/
h
i
)
,
and
where
h
i
=
x
i
+
1
-
x
i
,
φ
(
t
)
=
3
t
2
-
2
t
3
,
and
ψ
(
t
)
=
t
3
-
t
2
.
9 . The control system as claimed in claim 8 , wherein to determine the derivative of the continuous curve, the architecture controller is configured to:
differentiate the continuous curve to determine the following:
∂
∂
x
dp
(
x
)
=
f
i
∂
∂
x
H
1
(
x
)
+
f
i
+
1
∂
∂
x
H
2
(
x
)
+
d
i
∂
∂
x
H
3
(
x
)
+
d
i
+
1
∂
∂
x
H
4
(
x
)
,
where
∂
∂
x
H
1
(
x
)
=
1
h
i
(
6
(
(
x
i
+
1
-
x
)
h
i
)
2
-
6
(
(
x
i
+
1
-
x
)
h
i
)
)
,
∂
∂
x
H
2
(
x
)
=
1
h
i
(
6
(
(
x
-
x
i
)
h
i
)
-
6
(
(
x
-
x
i
)
h
i
)
2
)
,
∂
∂
x
H
3
(
x
)
=
3
(
x
i
+
1
-
x
h
i
)
2
-
2
(
x
i
+
1
-
x
h
i
)
,
∂
∂
x
H
4
(
x
)
=
3
(
x
-
x
i
h
i
)
2
-
2
(
x
-
x
i
h
i
)
.
10 . The control system as claimed in claim 8 , wherein to determine the point of perpendicular intersection between the derivative of the continuous curve and the design plane normal n* of the ground surface projected onto the 2D plane, the architecture controller is configured to:
iterate over regions from i=0 to i=n−1 and find the point of perpendicular intersection between the derivate ∂/∂xdp(x) and the design plane normal n* as defined by when
∂
∂
x
dp
(
x
)
=
-
n
x
*
n
y
*
.
11 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control architecture comprises a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising machine readable instructions.
12 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the one or more linkage assembly actuators facilitate movement of the linkage assembly.
13 . The control system as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the one or more linkage assembly actuators comprise a hydraulic cylinder actuator, a pneumatic cylinder actuator, an electrical actuator, a mechanical actuator, or combinations thereof.
14 . The control system as claimed in claim 1 , the linkage assembly of the earthmoving implement comprising a boom linkage and a stick linkage each comprising a centerline, wherein the 2D plane associated with the earthmoving implement passes through each centerline of the boom linkage and the stick linkage.
15 . The control system as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the boom linkage is coupled between the machine chassis and the stick linkage, and an end of the stick linkage is coupled to the earthmoving implement.
16 . The control system as claimed in claim 15 , wherein linkages of the linkage assembly further comprise an implement linkage, a rear side linkage, a dogbone linkage, and a front side linkage to couple the end of the stick linkage to the earthmoving implement.
17 . A control system comprising an earthmoving machine, wherein:
the earthmoving machine comprises a machine chassis, a linkage assembly, an earthmoving implement, and control architecture; the linkage assembly of the earthmoving implement comprising a boom linkage and a stick linkage each comprising a centerline; the control architecture comprises one or more linkage assembly actuators that facilitate movement of the linkage assembly and an architecture controller programmed to:
generate a surface associated with a curved surface of the earthmoving implement;
project the surface onto a two-dimensional (2D) plane associated with the earthmoving implement, wherein the 2D plane associated with the earthmoving implement passes through each centerline of the boom linkage and the stick linkage;
determine a continuous curve based on the surface projected on to the 2D plane;
determine a derivative of the continuous curve;
project a design plane normal n* of a ground surface for smoothing onto the 2D plane associated with the earthmoving implement;
determine a point of perpendicular intersection between the derivative of the continuous curve and the design plane normal n* of the ground surface projected onto the 2D plane; and
operate the earthmoving machine using the one or more linkage assembly actuators and the point of perpendicular intersection.
18 . The control system as claimed in claim 17 , wherein to generate the surface associated with the curved surface of the earthmoving implement, the architecture controller is configured to:
locate a flat surface of a bottom of the earthmoving implement; locate a ground surface point of the ground surface; position an initial curvature point as one of one or more curvature points of a curvature of the earthmoving implement extending from the flat surface onto the ground surface point; use the one or more linkage assembly actuators to lift and curl the earthmoving implement to a subsequent curvature point of the earthmoving implement; position the subsequent curvature point as one of the one or more curvature points onto the ground surface point; continue to locate and position subsequent curvature points each as one of the one or more curvature points on the curvature of the earthmoving implement on the ground surface point; map one or more points of the curved surface of the earthmoving implement based on the one or more curvature points; project the one or more points mapping the curved surface of the earthmoving implement onto the 2D plane of the earthmoving implement; and generate the surface associated with the curved surface of the earthmoving implement based on the one or more points projected onto the 2D plane.
19 . A method to operate a control system comprising an earthmoving machine, the earthmoving machine comprising a machine chassis, a linkage assembly, an earthmoving implement, and control architecture comprising one or more linkage assembly actuators and an architecture controller, the method comprising:
generating, via the architecture controller, a surface associated with a curved surface of the earthmoving implement; projecting the surface onto a two-dimensional (2D) plane associated with the earthmoving implement; determining a continuous curve based on the surface projected on to the 2D plane; determining a derivative of the continuous curve; projecting a design plane normal n* of a ground surface for smoothing onto the 2D plane associated with the earthmoving implement; determining, via the architecture controller, a point of perpendicular intersection between the derivative of the continuous curve and the design plane normal n* of the ground surface projected onto the 2D plane; and operating the earthmoving machine using the architecture controller, the one or more linkage assembly actuators, and the point of perpendicular intersection.
20 . The method as claimed in claim 19 , further comprising:
locating a flat surface of a bottom of the earthmoving implement; locating a ground surface point of the ground surface; positioning an initial curvature point as one of one or more curvature points of a curvature of the earthmoving implement extending from the flat surface onto the ground surface point; using the one or more linkage assembly actuators to lift and curl the earthmoving implement to a subsequent curvature point of the earthmoving implement; positioning the subsequent curvature point as one of the one or more curvature points onto the ground surface point; continuing to locate and position subsequent curvature points each as one of the one or more curvature points on the curvature of the earthmoving implement on the ground surface point; mapping one or more points of the curved surface of the earthmoving implement based on the one or more curvature points; projecting the one or more points mapping the curved surface of the earthmoving implement onto the 2D plane of the earthmoving implement; and generating the surface associated with the curved surface of the earthmoving implement based on the one or more points projected onto the 2D plane.Join the waitlist — get patent alerts
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