Provided is a hydraulic excavator including a controller that can control a work device by utilizing an excavation work control for causing a claw tip of a bucket to move along a predetermined target surface and a leveling work control for causing the bucket to move along the target surface while maintaining the posture of the bucket with respect to the target surface, in which: the controller, based on posture data and size data on a work device and position data on the target surface, calculates an arm tip difference Dva that is the distance from the tip of an arm to the target surface; and the controller executes the leveling work control in a case of the calculated arm tip difference being equal to or less than a predetermined threshold dv1, there being no input of a bucket operation to an operation lever, and there being an input of an arm operation to the operation lever, and otherwise executes the excavation work control.

A system and method are provided for controlling movement of an implement for a self-propelled work vehicle, said implement comprising one or more components coupled to a main frame of the work vehicle. A linkage joint in defined in association with at least one implement component, wherein sensors are respectively associated with opposing sides of the linkage joint. Output signals from each sensor comprise sense elements which are fused in an independent coordinate frame associated at least in part with the respective linkage joint, wherein the independent coordinate frame is independent of a global navigation frame for the work vehicle. At least one joint characteristic (e.g., joint angle) is tracked based on at least a portion of the sense elements from the received output signals for each of the opposing sides of the respective linkage joint. Movement of implement components may optionally be controlled in view of the tracked joint characteristics.

A controller obtains a load value within a bucket when a work implement has a basic attitude, as a reference value, and a load value, within the bucket when the work implement has an attitude different from the basic attitude, as a comparison value. The controller generates correction data according to an attitude of the work implement beforehand, based on the reference value and the comparison value. The controller senses a current attitude of the work implement, and calculates a correction amount of a load value within the bucket when the work implement has the current attitude, based on the correction data. The controller corrects a load value within the bucket when the work implement has the current attitude using the correction amount, and obtains a corrected load value.

A shovel includes a hardware processor configured to record log information in a storage. The log information includes at least one of information on conditions surrounding the shovel and information on the conditions of the shovel at each of a time before, the time of, and a time after the occurrence of a predetermined event where at least one of the safety and the security of the shovel is relatively reduced.

This description provides an autonomous or semi-autonomous excavation vehicle that is capable of navigating through a dig site and carrying out an excavation routine using a system of sensors physically mounted to the excavation vehicle. The sensors collects any one or more of spatial, imaging, measurement, and location data representing the status of the excavation vehicle and its surrounding environment. Based on the collected data, the excavation vehicle executes instructions to carry out an excavation routine. The excavation vehicle is also able to carry out numerous other tasks, such as checking the volume of excavated earth in an excavation tool, and helping prepare a digital terrain model of the site as part of a process for creating the excavation routine.

Provided is a driving apparatus capable of effectively preventing impact at the stroke end in the hydraulic cylinder. The driving apparatus includes a hydraulic pump, a cylinder control valve, an operation member, a drive command input unit inputting a cylinder drive command corresponding to a cylinder operation applied to the operation member to the cylinder control valve, a cylinder stroke detection unit, a cylinder drive command restriction unit restricting the cylinder drive command in response to the cylinder stroke to stop a piston of a hydraulic cylinder before the stroke end.

A system and method for various levels of automation of a swing-to-hopper motion for a rope shovel. An operator controls a rope shovel during a dig operation to load a dipper with materials. A controller receives position data, either via operator input or sensor data, for the dipper and a hopper where the materials are to be dumped. The controller then calculates an ideal path for the dipper to travel to be positioned above the hopper to dump the contents of the dipper. In some embodiments, the controller outputs operator feedback to assist the operator in traveling along the ideal path to the hopper. In some embodiments, the controller restricts the dipper motion such that the operator is not able to deviate beyond certain limits of the ideal path. In some embodiments, the controller automatically controls the movement of the dipper to reach the hopper.

An excavation information processing device includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire target object position information indicating an excavation target object by position information of a plurality of points, and an excavation earth amount estimation unit configured to sequentially estimate and output an excavation earth amount acquired by a bucket when the bucket performs holding at that point in time based on bucket position and posture information indicating a position and a posture of the bucket and the target object position information.

Provided is a driving apparatus capable of effectively preventing impact at the stroke end in the hydraulic cylinder. The driving apparatus includes a hydraulic pump, a cylinder control valve, an operation member, a drive command input unit inputting a cylinder drive command corresponding to a cylinder operation applied to the operation member to the cylinder control valve, a cylinder stroke detection unit, a cylinder drive command restriction unit restricting the cylinder drive command in response to the cylinder stroke to stop a piston of a hydraulic cylinder before the stroke end.

When a bucket 10 is grounded on soil, an operation signal is outputted or corrected such that a relative angle of the bucket 10 with respect to a target surface is maintained if a distance D between the bucket 10 and the target surface 60 is equal to or less than a preset first threshold value D1. When the bucket 10 is not grounded on soil, the operation signal is outputted or corrected such that the relative angle of the bucket 10 with respect to the target surface 60 is maintained if the distance between the bucket 10 and the target surface 60 is equal to or less than a preset second threshold value D2 set smaller than the first threshold value D1. As a result, control to maintain an angle of a work tool can be suitably started.