System for coordinating milling and paving machines

Abstract

A system for coordinating a cold planer and a paver is disclosed. The system may include a first sensor configured to generate a first signal indicative of a position of the cold planer; a production monitoring system associated with the cold planer and configured to determine a milling rate of the cold planer; a communication device configured to exchange information between the cold planer and the paver; and a controller. The controller may be configured to receive a second signal indicative of a position of the paver and a third signal indicative of a paving rate of the paver, determine a current distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the first and second signals, determine a target distance based on the current distance and a comparison of the milling rate and the paving rate, and determine a difference between the target distance and the current distance.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for coordinating a cold planer and a paver, comprising:
 a first sensor configured to generate a first signal indicative of a position of the cold planer; 
 a production monitoring system associated with the cold planer and configured to determine a milling rate of the cold planer; 
 a communication device configured to exchange information between the cold planer and the paver; and 
 a controller in electronic communication with the first sensor, the production monitoring system, and the communication device, the controller being configured to:
 receive, via the communication device, a second signal indicative of a position of the paver and a third signal indicative of a paving rate of the paver; 
 determine a current distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the first and second signals; 
 determine a target distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the current distance and a comparison of the milling rate and the paving rate; and 
 determine a difference between the target distance and the current distance. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the system further includes a display device; and 
 the controller is configured to generate a graphical user interface on the display device, the graphical user interface being indicative of the difference between the target distance and the current distance between the cold planer and the paver. 
 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the display device is located on the cold planer, the paver, and an off-board computer. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the system further includes a second sensor associated with the cold planer and configured to generate a fourth signal indicative of an operating parameter associated with the cold planer; and 
 the controller is configured to determine the target distance based further on the fourth signal. 
 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 determine an amount of remaining time until the operating parameter reaches a threshold based on the fourth signal; and 
 determine the target distance based on the amount of remaining time. 
 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 5 , Wherein the second sensor is a bit wear indicator associated with a cutting bit on a milling drum of the cold planer. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the production monitoring system includes a depth sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a depth of a milling drum associated with the cold planer below a surface to be milled; and 
 the controller is configured to generate a model of a space to be filled by the paver based on the depth of the milling drum, a width of the milling drum, and the position of the cold planer over a period of milling time. 
 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 determine an amount of paving material required to fill the space to be filled by the paver based on the model; 
 receive a signal indicative of an amount of available paving material via the communication device; and 
 determine a difference between the amount of required paving material and the amount of available paving material. 
 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a control signal based on the difference between the amount of required paving material and the amount of available paving material, the control signal being indicative of a command to:
 automatically reduce the milling rate of the cold planer; or 
 generate a graphical object on a display device indicative of the difference between the amount of required paving material and the amount of available paving material. 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 determine an amount of required paving time to fill the space based on the model and the paving rate of the paver; 
 receive a signal indicative of an amount of available paving time via the communication device; and 
 determine a difference between the amount of required paving time and the available paving time. 
 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a control signal based on the difference between the amount of required paving time and the amount of available paving time, the control signal being indicative of a command to:
 automatically reduce the milling rate of the cold planer; or 
 generate a graphical object on a display device indicative of the difference between the amount of required paving time and the amount of available paving time. 
 
     
     
       12. A method of system for coordinating a cold planer and a paver, comprising:
 receiving a first signal a first sensor configured to generate one or more signals indicative of a position information of the cold planer, the position information comprising geographical information; 
 determining a milling rate of the cold planer via a production monitoring system associated with the cold planer and configured to determine milling rate information of the cold planer; 
 a memory device in communication with the first sensor and the production monitoring system to store position information and milling rate information therefrom respectively; 
 a communication device configured to exchange information with the memory device; 
 a controller in electronic communication with the first sensor, the production monitoring system, the first memory device, and the communication device, the controller being configured to:
 associate the milling rate information with the geographical information from the position information to obtain a milling map for storage in the first memory device; 
 
 receiving, via a communication device, a first signal indicative of a position of the paver and a second signal indicative of a paving rate of the paver; 
 determining a current distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the position of the cold planer and the position of the paver; 
 determining a target distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the current distance and a comparison of the milling rate and the paving rate; and 
 determining a difference between the target distance and the current distance 
 an off-board computer configured to receive the milling map from the cold planer and store the milling map in a second memory device; and 
 a paver configured to receive the milling map from the off-board computer and store the milling map in a third memory device. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , further including generating a graphical user interface on a display device, the graphical user interface being indicative of the difference between the target distance and the current distance between the cold planer and the paver. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12 , further including:
 receiving a fourth signal indicative of an operating parameter associated with the cold planer; and   determining the target distance based further on the fourth signal.   
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the fourth signal is a signal indicative of a wear level of a cutting bit associated with a milling drum of the cold planer. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , further including:
 determining an amount of remaining time until the operating parameter reaches a threshold based on the fourth signal; and   determining the target distance based on the amount of remaining time.    
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 12 , further including:
 receiving a signal indicative of a depth of a milling drum associated with the cold planer; and   generating a model of a space to be filled by the paver based on the depth of the milling drum, a width of the milling drum, and the position of the cold planer over a period of milling time.   
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , further including:
 determine an amount of paving material required to fill the space to be filled by the paver based on the model;   receiving a signal indicative of an amount of available paving material via the communication device;   determining a difference between the amount of required paving material and the amount of available paving material; and   generating a control signal based on the difference between the amount of required paving material and the amount of available paving material, the control signal being indicative of a command to:
 automatically reduce the milling rate of the cold planer; or 
 generate a graphical object on a display device indicative of the difference between the amount of required paving material and the amount of available paving material. 
   
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 17 , further including:
 determining an amount of required paving time to fill the space based on the model and the paving rate of the paver;   receiving a signal indicative of an amount of available paving time via the communication device;   determining a difference between the amount of required paving time and the available paving time; and   generating a control signal based on the difference between the amount of required paving time and the amount of available paving time, the control signal being indicative of a command to:
 automatically reduce the milling rate of the cold planer; or 
 generate a graphical object on a display device indicative of the difference between the amount of required paving time and the amount of available paving time. 
   
     
     
       20. A cold planer system, comprising:
 a cold planer comprising:  a frame;   a milling drum connected to the frame;   a conveyor pivotally connected to the frame and configured to load milled material into a receptacle;   a first sensor configured to generate a first signal one or more signals indicative of a position information of the cold planer, the position information comprising geographical information;   a production monitoring system associated with the cold planer and configured to determine a milling rate information of the cold planer;   a display device positioned within an operator station of the cold planer;   a first memory device in communication with the first sensor and the production monitoring system to store the position information and the milling rate information therefrom, respectively;   a communication device configured to exchange transmit information between from the cold planer and a paver; and   
 a controller in electronic communication with the first sensor, the production monitoring system, the first memory device, and the communication device, the controller being configured to; 
 associate the milling rate information with the geographical information from the position information for storage in the first memory device; and  receive, via the communication device, a second signal indicative of a position of the paver and a third signal indicative of a paving rate of the paver;   determine a current distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the first and second signals;   determine a target distance between the cold planer and the paver based on the current distance and a comparison of the milling rate and the paving rate;   determine a difference between the target distance and the current distance   
 generate a graphical user interface on the display device indicative of the difference between the target distance and the current distance between the cold planer and the paver milling rate information; and 
 a paver configured to receive the stored milling rate information associated with geographical information from the position information and store the stored milling rate information associated with geographical information from the position information in a second memory device on the paver. 
 
     
     
       21. The system of claim 20, wherein the controller is further configured to, using the communication device, transmit the stored milling rate information associated with geographical information from the position information to an off-board computer and the off-board computer is configured to transmit the stored milling rate information associated with geographical information from the position information to the second memory device. 
     
     
       22. The system of claim 20, wherein the controller is configured to directly transmit the stored milling rate information associated with geographical information from the position information to the second memory device. 
     
     
       23. The system of claim 21, wherein the off-board computer comprises one of a laptop computer, cellular phone, personal digital assistant, tablet, dedicated hardware device, or other type of stationary or mobile computing device configured to communicate information via a wired or wireless connection. 
     
     
       24. The system of claim 20, wherein:
 the milling rate information comprises a width of a milling drum, a cutting depth of the milling drum and speed of the cold planer;   the speed of the cold planer is derived from the position information; and   the first sensor comprises a GPS sensor.   
     
     
       25. The system of claim 20, wherein the geographical information comprises a coordinate location. 
     
     
       26. The system of claim 20, wherein the communication device comprises a wireless communication device. 
     
     
       27. The system of claim 20, wherein the display device is further configured to render a location of the cold planer relative to milled and un-milled parts of a surface of a jobsite and relative to the paver. 
     
     
       28. The system of claim 12, further comprising a display on the paver, the display configured to render the milling map as a location of the paver relative to milled and un-milled parts of a surface of a jobsite. 
     
     
       29. The system of claim 28, wherein the off-board computer comprises a back office location away from the jobsite. 
     
     
       30. The system of claim 12, wherein the milling rate information comprises a width of a milling drum, a cutting depth of the milling drum and speed of the cold planer. 
     
     
       31. The system of claim 30, wherein:
 the speed of the cold planer is derived from the position information; and   the first sensor comprises a GPS sensor.   
     
     
       32. The system of claim 12, wherein the geographical information comprises a coordinate location. 
     
     
       33. The system of claim 12, wherein:
 the communication device comprises a wireless communication device; and   the milling map is electronically transmitted using the wireless communication device from the cold planer to the off-board computer.