Slipform paver and method for operating a slipform paver
10704209 · 2020-07-07
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B62D15/025
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
E01C19/4886
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
E01C19/40
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
E01C19/42
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
International classification
E01C19/48
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
E01C19/40
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
E01C19/00
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
E01C19/42
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
Abstract
A slipform paver comprises a machine frame carried by rolling assemblies, at least two of which being drivable and at least one being steerable, as well as comprising a support arranged on the machine frame for a slipform mould and a controller for controlling the rolling assemblies to adjust the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies and the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies. The controller is configured such that, when the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies change, the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are adjusted so as to reduce the change in the velocity at which a reference point referring to the support for the slipform mould will move along a predefined trajectory, said change in velocity being caused by changing the steering angle. The quality of the concrete profile produced by the slipform paver is thereby improved.
Claims
1. A self-driving slipform paver comprising a machine frame carried by at least three rolling assemblies and vertically adjustable by means of lifting columns, two or more of said rolling assemblies being drivable, and one or more of said rolling assemblies being steerable; a support arranged on the machine frame for a slipform mould; a controller for controlling the rolling assemblies, wherein the controller is configured such that specific velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies and steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies are adjustable, and wherein the controller is configured, when the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies change, to adjust the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies so as to reduce the change in the velocity at which a reference point referring to the support for the slipform mould will move along a predefined trajectory, said change in velocity being caused by changing the steering angle.
2. The slipform paver of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies such that the reference point referring to the support for the slipform mould will move along a predefined trajectory at a predefined reference velocity regardless of changes to the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies.
3. The slipform paver of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured such that the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are increased or decreased for a change to the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies.
4. The slipform paver of claim 3, wherein said slipform paver is a slipform paver comprising a slipform mould arranged, in the direction of work, on the left side of the machine frame, and the controller is configured such that the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are increased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a left hand curve, and decreased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a right hand curve.
5. The slipform paver of claim 3, wherein said slipform paver is a slipform paver comprising a slipform mould arranged, in the direction of work, on the right side of the machine frame, and the controller is configured such that the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are decreased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a left hand curve, and increased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a right hand curve.
6. The slipform paver of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured such that the velocity at which the reference point referring to the support for the slipform mould will move along a predefined trajectory is determined according to the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies.
7. The slipform paver of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured such that the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies are adjusted such that lines extended in a perpendicular direction from axles situated on said one or more steerable rolling assemblies will intersect at one point.
8. The slipform paver of claim 1, wherein the drivable rolling assemblies each comprise a drive motor, and each of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies comprises a steering actuator.
9. The slipform paver of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor for sensing a stringline, wherein the controller is configured such that the one or more steerable rolling assemblies are controlled such that a reference point referring to the slipform paver will move along a predefined trajectory.
10. The slipform paver of claim 1, further comprising at least one satellite navigation system receiver for receiving satellite signals from a global navigation satellite system, wherein the controller is configured such that: based on the satellite signals, the position of a reference point referring to the slipform paver is determined in a coordinate system independent of the construction machine, and the one or more steerable rolling assemblies are controlled such that said reference point referring to the slipform paver will move along a predefined trajectory.
11. The slipform paver of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a memory in which one or more correction factors are stored with respect to at least one predefined steering angle value for said one or more steerable rolling assemblies, wherein the controller is configured such that the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are decreased or increased according to the one or more correction factors.
12. A method for operating a self-driving slipform paver comprising a machine frame carried by at least three rolling assemblies, at least two of which are drivable rolling assemblies, and comprising a support arranged on the machine frame for a slipform mould, wherein one or more of said rolling assemblies are steerable rolling assemblies, and the machine frame is vertically adjustable by means of lifting columns, the method comprising: responsive to changes in the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies, adjusting the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies so as to reduce the change in a velocity at which a reference point referring to a support for the slipform mould will move along a predefined trajectory, said change in velocity being caused by changing the steering angle.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are adjusted such that the reference point referring to the support for the slipform mould will move along the predefined trajectory at a predefined reference velocity regardless of changes to the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are decreased or increased when the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies change.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the slipform paver is a slipform paver comprising a slipform mould arranged, in the direction of work, on the left side of the machine frame, wherein the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are increased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a left hand curve, and decreased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a right hand curve.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the slipform paver is a slipform paver comprising a slipform mould arranged, in the direction of work, on the right side of the machine frame, wherein the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies are decreased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a left hand curve, and increased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a right hand curve.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein the velocity at which the reference point referring to the support for the slipform mould will move along a predefined trajectory is determined according to the steering angles of the one or more steerable rolling assemblies.
18. The method of claim 12, further comprising sensing a stringline, wherein the one or more steerable rolling assemblies are controlled such that a reference point referring to the slipform paver will move along a predefined trajectory (T).
19. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving satellite navigation signals from a global satellite system via at least one receiver of a satellite navigation system, wherein, based on said satellite signals, the position of a reference point referring to the slipform paver is determined in a coordinate system independent of the construction machine, and the one or more steerable rolling assemblies are controlled such that the reference point referring to the slipform paver will move along a predefined trajectory.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) An embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings.
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(6) The invention is explained hereinafter by way of reference to a slipform paver that is described in detail in DE 199 57 048 A1, to which reference is expressly made.
(7) The slipform paver 1 consists of a chassis 2, which comprises a machine frame 3 having longitudinal beams 4 that extend parallel to the direction of work and are able to telescope from the machine frame 3, as well as transverse beams 5, 6 that extend normal to the direction of work. An arrow A is used to indicate the direction of work in
(8) The front (in the direction of work A) transverse beam 6 is rigidly attached to the telescoping longitudinal beams 4, which are able to telescope from the machine frame 3 in the direction of work A in order to alter, when required, the spacing between the rear rolling assemblies 7, 8 and the front rolling assemblies 10, 11.
(9) Arranged on the front (in the direction of work A) transverse beam 6 is a sliding crossmember 12, which is able to slide parallel to the front transverse beam 6 with the aid of a piston-cylinder unit 13. Secured to the sliding crossmember 12 by way of pivoting units 14 are the left front rolling assembly 10 and the right front rolling assembly 11, which in the present embodiment are track assemblies. The pivoting units 14 permit adjustment of the track width. Arranged between the rolling assemblies 10, 11 and the pivoting units 14 are hydraulically adjustable lifting columns 10A and 11A, which make the machine frame 3 vertically adjustable with respect to the substrate.
(10) The machine frame 3 comprises an intermediate frame 15 with a telescoping auxiliary frame 16, which can be displaced normal to the direction of work. Provided on the auxiliary frame 16 is a support 17 (shown only schematically), upon which a slipform mould 18 (shown only schematically) can be secured. The auxiliary frame 16 can be provided on the left or right side (in the direction of work A) of the machine frame 3, with the result that the slipform mould can be secured to the left or right side.
(11) The slipform paver further comprises a conveying unit (not shown), for example a belt conveyor, which can be pivotably secured to the sliding crossmember 12.
(12) The front and rear track assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are drivable, steerable rolling assemblies, each of which comprises a drive motor 26 (shown only schematically). In the present embodiment, the drive motors 26 of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are hydraulic motors. Steering actuators comprising a piston-cylinder unit are used to adjust the steering angle of the front and rear track assemblies.
(13) A control unit 21 (shown only schematically) is provided for controlling the drive motors 26 and steering actuators 20. The control unit 21 is configured such that specific velocities and steering angles are adjustable with respect to the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11. In this context, the slipform paver is intended to move along a predefined trajectory T (target path). In specific, a reference point point G referring to the slipform mould is intended to move along said trajectory T, hence on the trajectory or at a predefined spacing equidistant to the trajectory. The steering angles of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are correspondingly adjusted by the control unit 21 for this purpose.
(14) In a first embodiment of the slipform paver, the control unit 21 comprises a sensing unit (not shown) for sensing a stringline (not shown), in which case the control unit 21 is configured such that the steerable rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are controlled such that a reference point referring to the slipform paver, which in the present embodiment is assumed to be a reference point G referring to the slipform mould 18, will move along the predefined trajectory. In an alternative embodiment, the control unit 21 comprises a satellite navigation receiver (not shown) for receiving satellite signals from a global satellite navigation system, in which case the control unit 21 is configured such that, based on the satellite signals, the position of the reference point referring to the slipform paver, which in the present embodiment is the reference point G referring to the slipform mould 18, is determined in a coordinate system independent of the construction machine. The control unit 21 is further configured such that the steerable rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are, based on a comparison between the actual position and the target position, controlled such that the reference point G referring to the support 17 for the slipform mould 18, will move along the trajectory T.
(15) Since the control concepts described above are part of the prior art, the further description of known systems can be dispensed with. With respect to the invention, it is only of consequence that the control unit 21 adjusts the steering angle of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 such that the reference point G referring to the support 17 for the slipform mould 18 will move along the trajectory T, which can be predefined by means of either a stringline or a dataset. In this context, it should be kept in mind that, due to its one-wheel drive, the slipform paver does not have a mechanical differential. As a result, the velocities of the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 and the steering angles thereof must be controlled such that the slipform paver is able to perform the translational or rotational motions desired.
(16) With reference to
(17) This steering model is described in detail in Steer-by-wire system of an agro-hybrid vehicle with single wheel drive, Jurgen Kanner, Rafael Eder, Thomas Holzer, Johann Wieser and Heinrich Prankl, LANDTECHNIK 69(2), 2014. The rolling assemblies under consideration are wheels that rest upon a single wheel contact point on the substrate.
(18) .sub.M Vehicle steering angle
(19) .sub.MVO Mean steering angle at the front axle
(20) .sub.MHI Mean steering angle at the front axle
(21) .sub.RVO Steering angle of the right front rolling assembly
(22) .sub.LVO Steering angle of the left front rolling assembly
(23) y.sub.K Wheel base
(24) w Distance of the kingpins
(25) .sub.LHI Steering angle of the left rear rolling assembly
(26) .sub.RHI Steering angle of the right rear rolling assembly
(27) r.sub.K Turning radius of the vehicle reference point
(28) r.sub.LVO Turning radius of the left front rolling assembly
(29) r.sub.LHI Turning radius of the left rear rolling assembly
(30) r.sub.RVO Turning radius of the right front rolling assembly
(31) r.sub.RHI Turning radius of the right front rolling assembly
(32) r.sub.G Turning radius of slipform mould reference point G
(33) v.sub.LVO Velocity of the left front rolling assembly
(34) v.sub.LHI Velocity of the left rear rolling assembly
(35) v.sub.RVO Velocity of the right front rolling assembly
(36) v.sub.RHI Velocity of the right rear rolling assembly
(37) v.sub.G Velocity of slipform mould reference point G
(38) r.sub.S Scrub radius
(39) v.sub.K Vehicle reference velocity
(40) K Vehicle reference point
(41) P Instantaneous center
(42) The velocity of the slipform paver 1 is based on a reference point referred to hereinafter as vehicle reference point K. Vehicle reference point K, which is located on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, differs from reference point G, which refers to the support 17 for the slipform mould 18 and, in the present embodiment, is located on the longitudinal axis of the slipform mould at the concrete mold outlet. The steering angles of the steerable rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are intended to be adjusted such that lines extended in a perpendicular direction from the axles situated on the steerable rolling assemblies will intersect at the instantaneous center P (an Ackermann condition).
(43) The mean steering angles are applied to the front and rear axles and have the same values:
|.sub.M|=|.sub.MVO|=|.sub.MIH|(Equation 1)
(44) The individual wheel-steering angles can be calculated based on the wheel base and the track width reduced by the scrub radius:
(45)
(46) In all-wheel steering, the steering angle values for the rolling assemblies (wheels) on the inside of the curve and the outside of the curve are equal:
|.sub.LHI|=|.sub.LVO|(Equation 4)
|.sub.RHI|=|.sub.RVO|(Equation 5)
(47) The pole distance for vehicle reference point K is calculated using Equation 6:
(48)
(49) The turning radii of the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 (wheels) are calculated using Equations 7 and 8:
(50)
(51) The velocities of the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 (wheels) are calculated using Equations 9 and 10:
(52)
(53) Consequently, the velocities of the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 (wheels) can be calculated by multiplying the predefined velocity for vehicle reference point K (vehicle reference velocity v.sub.K) by a factor. It is evident that the rolling assemblies 8, 11 on the outside of the curve have a higher velocity than the rolling assemblies 7, 10 on the inside of the curve.
(54) The control of a slipform paver according to the invention is described hereinafter with reference to
(55)
(56) In the present embodiment, the slipform paver 1 is intended to be used to form a concrete profile 22 in the form of a traffic island with two straight sections 22A, 22B in the middle and two curved sections at the ends.
(57) The concrete profile already formed is indicated by shading. The slipform mould 18, which is secured to the support 17 (not shown) of the machine frame 3 (not shown), is only shown schematically in
(58) To form the straight section 22A of the concrete profile 22, the slipform paver 1 first travels straight ahead, so the steering angles of the front and rear rolling assemblies equal zero. Vehicle reference point K and slipform mould reference point G are travelling in the same direction and at the same velocity. This velocity v.sub.K can be predefined directly by the vehicle operator, or it can be a predefined velocity able to be changed by the vehicle operator. A control panel with switches or buttons and/or a screen, which can be in the form of a touchscreen, or other operating controls, e.g. joysticks, can be provided for this purpose. The control unit 21 steers the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 so that, during travel in a straight line, all of the rolling assemblies have the same velocity (vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k). Vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k is a velocity at which the quality requirements for the concrete profile 22 will be satisfied.
(59) The control unit 21 is configured such that, during stringline-based control, the control unit continuously compares the current position of the slipform paver 1 with respect to the stringline (not shown), and the steering actuator 20 for the left front rolling assembly 10 and the right front rolling assembly 11 is controlled such that a reference point referring to the slipform paver (in order to simplify the illustration, this reference point is in the present embodiment equivalent to slipform mould reference point G) will move at a predefined spacing (equidistant) to the stringline, with the result that slipform mould reference point G will move along the center line 23 between the outer boundary lines 24, 25 of the concrete profile 22. However, control can also be provided using two reference points that refer to the slipform paver. During control using a satellite navigation system, the control unit 21 compares the actual coordinates with the target coordinates so that slipform mould reference point G will move along this line.
(60) The travel in a straight line is followed by travel along a curve.
(61) If the velocities v.sub.LVO, v.sub.LHI, v.sub.RVO, v.sub.RHI of the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are calculated such that the reference vehicle velocity v.sub.k will not change during travel, i.e. the slipform paver will travel at the same velocity along a curve as it does in a straight line, then the slipform mould reference velocity v.sub.G will be less than the vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k during the curved section, which is shown in
(62) In an embodiment, the control unit 21 of the slipform paver according to the invention is configured such that the velocities v.sub.LVO, v.sub.LHI, v.sub.RVO, v.sub.RHI of the individual rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are adjusted such that the slipform mould reference point v.sub.G will move along the predefined trajectory T at least largely regardless of changes to the steering angles of the steerable rolling assemblies and at a velocity that matches the vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k defined in advance. Calculation of the relevant values is performed on the basis of the steering model described above for the simplified case of steering only at the front rolling assemblies 10, 11, in which case the steering angles of the rear rolling assemblies 7, 8 are zero. The necessary equations or algorithms are implemented in the control unit 21 for this purpose. Since the velocity v.sub.G of the slipform mould 18 is also maintained during travel along a curve, the same input parameters are always present regardless of the contour of the concrete profile 22, thus enabling the production of a concrete profile meeting the expected quality criteria. Ideal results are able to be achieved by means of said control.
(63) The control unit 21 of a slipform paver is able to implement a control concept in which the same velocity is specified for all of the rolling assemblies, said velocity corresponding to the vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k. During travel along a curve, the velocities v.sub.LVO, v.sub.LHI, v.sub.RVO, v.sub.RHI of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 are then corrected according to the steering angles, with the result that, instead of the vehicle reference point K, the slipform mould reference point G will move at the predefined vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k during the curve. Therefore, the control unit 21 calculates a correction factor for each rolling assembly 7, 8, 10, 11, which factor is obtained from the relationship of the distances (curve radius r) between the relevant rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 and the instantaneous center P.
(64) Determination of the velocities v.sub.LVO, v.sub.LHI, v.sub.RVO, v.sub.RHI of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 will be explained with reference to
(65) The solid lines in
(66) The dashed lines in
(67) Different geometric relationships arise for the case where the slipform paver 1 is travelling along a right hand curve instead of a left hand curve. The slipform mould 18 would then be located on the side of the machine frame 3 to the outside of the curve instead of inside of the curve. If control of the velocities of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 is intended to take place in relation to vehicle reference point K, the velocity of the slipform mould 18 would increase instead of decrease when the slipform paver is travelling along the curve, but the control concept according to the invention would prevent this. Consequently, the control unit 21 decreases the velocity of the rolling assemblies 7, 8, 10, 11 so that the velocity v.sub.G of slipform mould reference point G when travelling along a curve will match the vehicle reference velocity v.sub.k that was defined in advance.
(68) If the slipform mould is located on the right side (in the direction of work) instead of the left side, the relationships are reversed. The velocities of the rolling assemblies will be appropriately decreased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a left hand curve and appropriately increased when transitioning from travel in a straight line to a right hand curve. The adjustment of rolling assembly velocities takes place in a similar fashion when transitioning from a left hand curve to a right hand curve. The adjustment of rolling assembly velocities also takes place in a similar fashion when transitioning from any curves having varying curvatures.
(69) An embodiment of the slipform paver according to the invention which is particularly easy to implement provides a control unit 21 that comprises a memory 21A, in which a correction factor K.sub.n is stored with respect to at least one predefined steering angle value by which the at least one steerable rolling assembly 7, 8, 10, 11 will be adjusted. In the simplest case, a steering angle of, for example, 10 can be assigned a correction factor K. If the steering angle to be adjusted is, for example, less than 10, the control unit will apply no correction to the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies. However, if the steering angle to be adjusted is greater than or equal to 10, the control unit will apply a correction to the velocities using the correction factor K. If the correction factor K is, for example, 10%, the control unit will increase or decrease the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies by 10%. Various steering angles, for example 10, 20, 30 or 40 can, in the form of a table, each be assigned a correction factor K.sub.1, K.sub.2, K.sub.3, K.sub.4 of, for example, 10%, 20%, 30% or 40%. If the steering angle is, for example, greater than or equal to 10 and less than 20, then the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies will be increased or decreased by 10%, and if the steering angle is, for example, greater than or equal to 20 and less than 30, then the velocities of the drivable rolling assemblies will be increased or decreased by 20%.