ASPHALT PAVING MACHINE OPERATIONAL REPORTING SYSTEM

Abstract

An asphalt paving machine includes a drive system that is operated to move the paving machine across a surface to be paved, an asphalt receiving hopper which is adapted to receive asphalt paving material and a distributing auger. A hopper conveyor, which is adapted to transport the asphalt paving material from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, includes a hopper conveyor motor and a speed sensor that is associated with the hopper conveyor motor. A vertically-adjustable flow gate that is associated with the hopper conveyor defines the size of the gate opening from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, and a flow gate position sensor is adapted to determine the vertical position of the flow gate. A controller includes a timer and is operatively connected to the drive system for moving the paving machine, to the speed sensor for the hopper conveyor motor and to the flow gate position sensor. The controller uses a machine speed signal, a conveyor speed signal and a flow gate signal to measure the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

Claims

1. An asphalt paving machine comprising: (a) a drive system that is operated to move the paving machine across a surface to be paved; (b) an asphalt receiving hopper which is adapted to receive asphalt paving material; (c) a distributing auger; (d) a hopper conveyor that is adapted to transport the asphalt paving material from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, said hopper conveyor comprising: (i) a hopper conveyor motor; (ii) a speed sensor that is associated with the hopper conveyor motor and adapted to measure the rate of rotation of the hopper conveyor motor; (e) a vertically-adjustable flow gate that is associated with the hopper conveyor and adapted to define the size of the gate opening from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, said flow gate further comprising a flow gate position sensor that is adapted to determine the vertical position of the flow gate; (f) a controller including a timer, said controller being: (i) operatively connected to the drive system for moving the paving machine across the surface to be paved and adapted to receive a machine speed signal indicating the speed at which the paving machine is moving across the surface to be paved; (ii) operatively connected to the speed sensor that is associated with the hopper conveyor motor and adapted to receive a conveyor speed signal indicating the speed of the hopper conveyor; (iii) operatively connected to the flow gate position sensor and adapted to receive a flow gate signal indicating the vertical position of the flow gate; (iv) adapted to use the machine speed signal, the conveyor speed signal and the flow gate signal to measure the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

2. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 wherein the controller is operatively connected to an onboard viewing screen which is adapted to display to an operator the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

3. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 wherein the controller is operatively connected to a wireless transmitter which is adapted to transmit to an external receiver the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

4. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 wherein the controller is adapted to: (a) measure the time during which asphalt paving material is delivered to the distributing auger; (b) calculate the distance traveled by the paving machine while asphalt paving material is being delivered to the distributing auger.

5. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 wherein the controller is adapted to: (a) receive a coefficient of efficiency for the hopper conveyor; (b) use the coefficient of efficiency in measuring the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

6. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 wherein: (a) the vertically-adjustable flow gate includes a linear actuator for moving the flow gate substantially vertically to any of various positions between an upper position that maximizes the size of the gate opening from the asphalt receiving hopper and a lower position that minimizes the gate opening from the asphalt receiving hopper; (b) the controller is operatively attached to the linear actuator and adapted to move the flow gate to a vertical position that is selected by an operator of the paving machine.

7. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 wherein the controller is adapted to: (a) measure the time during which asphalt paving material is delivered to the distributing auger; (b) receive a start input signal from an operator that is associated with the beginning of use of a selected wear item of the asphalt paving machine; (c) measure the tonnage of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger during the period of use of the selected wear item.

8. The asphalt paving machine of claim 7 wherein the controller is adapted to measure the machine operating time during the period of use of the selected wear item.

9. The asphalt paving machine of claim 1 which includes a material sensor that is attached to the flow gate, said material sensor being operatively connected to the controller and adapted to signal to the controller if asphalt paving material is passing under the flow gate.

10. The asphalt paving machine of claim 9 wherein the material sensor: (a) has an arm that extends below the bottom of the flow gate, said arm being adapted to pivot upwardly when asphalt paving material is struck off by the flow gate; (b) has a switch that is configured to be actuated when the arm of the material sensor pivots upwardly in order to signal the controller that asphalt paving material is passing under the flow gate.

11. An asphalt paving machine comprising: (a) a drive system that is operated to move the paving machine across a surface to be paved; (b) an asphalt receiving hopper which is adapted to receive asphalt paving material, said asphalt receiving hopper being defined by: (i) a left sidewall; (ii) a right sidewall; (iii) a left rear wall; and (iv) a right rear wall; (c) a distributing auger; (d) a left hopper conveyor that is adapted to transport the asphalt paving material from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, said left hopper conveyor comprising: (i) a left hopper conveyor motor; (ii) a speed sensor that is associated with the left hopper conveyor motor and adapted to measure the rate of rotation of the left hopper conveyor motor; (iii) a vertically-adjustable left flow gate that is located adjacent the left rear wall of the asphalt receiving hopper and is adapted to define the size of the left gate opening from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, said left flow gate further comprising a left flow gate position sensor that is adapted to determine the vertical position of the left flow gate; (e) a right hopper conveyor that is adapted to transport the asphalt paving material from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, said right hopper conveyor comprising: (i) a right hopper conveyor motor; (ii) a speed sensor that is associated with the right hopper conveyor motor and adapted to measure the rate of rotation of the right hopper conveyor motor; (iii) a vertically-adjustable right flow gate that is located adjacent the right rear wall of the asphalt receiving hopper and is adapted to define the size of the right gate opening from the asphalt receiving hopper to the distributing auger, said right flow gate further comprising a right flow gate position sensor that is adapted to determine the vertical position of the right flow gate; (f) a controller including a timer, said controller being: (i) operatively connected to the drive system for moving the paving machine across the surface to be paved and adapted to receive a machine speed signal indicating the speed at which the paving machine is moving across the surface to be paved; (ii) operatively connected to the speed sensor that is associated with the left hopper conveyor motor and adapted to receive a left conveyor speed signal indicating the speed of the left hopper conveyor; (iii) operatively connected to the left flow gate position sensor and adapted to receive a left flow gate signal indicating the vertical position of the left flow gate; (iv) operatively connected to the speed sensor that is associated with the right hopper conveyor motor and adapted to receive a right conveyor speed signal indicating the speed of the right hopper conveyor; (v) operatively connected to the right flow gate position sensor and adapted to receive a right flow gate signal indicating the vertical position of the right flow gate; (vi) adapted to use the machine speed signal, the left conveyor speed signal, the left flow gate signal, the right conveyor speed signal and the right flow gate signal to measure the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

12. The asphalt paving machine of claim 11 wherein the controller is adapted to: (a) receive a coefficient of efficiency for the left hopper conveyor; (b) receive a coefficient of efficiency for the right hopper conveyor; (c) use the coefficient of efficiency for the left hopper conveyor and the coefficient of efficiency for the right hopper conveyor in measuring the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time.

13. The asphalt paving machine of claim 11: (a) which includes a left material sensor that is attached to the left flow gate, said left material sensor: (i) being operatively connected to the controller; (ii) having a left arm that extends below the bottom of the left flow gate, said left arm being adapted to pivot upwardly when asphalt paving material is struck off by the left flow gate; (iii) having a left switch that is configured to be actuated when the left arm of the left material sensor pivots upwardly in order to signal the controller that asphalt paving material is passing under the left flow gate; (b) which includes a right material sensor that is attached to the right flow gate, said right material sensor: (i) being operatively connected to the controller; (ii) having a right arm that extends below the bottom of the right flow gate, said right arm being adapted to pivot upwardly when asphalt paving material is struck off by the right flow gate; (iii) having a right switch that is configured to be actuated when the right arm of the right material sensor pivots upwardly in order to signal the controller that asphalt paving material is passing under the right flow gate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The presently preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 is a side view of an asphalt paving machine which includes the invention.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a top view of the asphalt paving machine shown in FIG. 1.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a front view of the paving machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, showing a pair of flow gates at the rear end of the asphalt receiving hopper.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a portion of the paving machine shown in FIGS. 1-3, illustrating the relationship between the hopper conveyors and the flow gates associated therewith.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a hopper conveyor motor, showing the attachment of a speed sensor.

[0039] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the portion of a hopper conveyor motor that includes an attached speed sensor.

[0040] FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the flow gates that are part of the asphalt paving machine shown in FIGS. 1-4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0041] This description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description of this invention. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and certain features of the invention may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.

[0042] Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-4 illustrate paving machine 10, which includes asphalt receiving hopper 12 at its front end 14 for receiving asphalt material from a dump truck or material transfer vehicle. Paving machine 10 also includes left operator's station 16 and right operator's station 18. A pair of drive wheels 20 and 22 are driven by a conventional drive system so as to move the paving machine during the paving operation across the surface to be paved in the paving direction indicated by arrow P. Generally this conventional drive system includes an engine (not shown, but located generally behind asphalt receiving hopper 12 and beneath the left and right operators' stations) which powers a hydraulic drive system including a hydraulic pump and a plurality of hydraulic motors. The bottom of asphalt receiving hopper 12 is open, exposing left hopper conveyor 23 and right hopper conveyor 24 that are mounted below the hopper. Conveyors 23 and 24 transport asphalt paving material from asphalt receiving hopper 12 through a conveyor tunnel under the engine and the operators' stations to transverse distributing auger 26 that is located near rear end 28 of paving machine 10. Transverse distributing auger 26 is adapted to distribute the asphalt material received from the asphalt receiving hopper across the width of the roadway or lane to be paved. A floating screed (not shown) is attached to the paving machine by a pair of tow arms, one of which, tow arm 30, is illustrated in FIG. 1. The screed serves to compact the asphalt material and form an asphalt mat on the roadway.

[0043] Asphalt receiving hopper 12 is defined by left sidewall 32, right sidewall 34, left rear wall 36 and right rear wall 38. Vertically-adjustable left flow gate 40 is located adjacent left rear wall 36 at the entrance to the conveyor tunnel, and vertically-adjustable right flow gate 42 is located adjacent right rear wall 38 at the entrance to the conveyor tunnel. Left flow gate 40 is located over and is associated with left hopper conveyor 23, and is adapted to define the size of the gate opening from asphalt receiving hopper 12 to the distributing auger via left hopper conveyor 23. Similarly, right flow gate 42 is located over and is associated with right hopper conveyor 24, and is adapted to define the size of the gate opening from asphalt receiving hopper 12 to the distributing auger via right hopper conveyor 24. Mounted on the back side of left flow gate 40 is linear actuator 44, and mounted on the back side of right flow gate 42 is linear actuator 46. Linear actuators 44 and 46 are adapted to move the flow gates upwardly and downwardly along a substantially vertical line to increase or decrease the gate openings to the distributing auger.

[0044] Controller 48 is mounted in control panel 50 that is accessible to an operator from either left operator's station 16 or right operator's station 18. Controller 48 is operatively connected to linear actuators 44 and 46, and to right hopper conveyor motor 52 and a left hopper conveyor motor (not shown, but substantially identical to right hopper conveyor motor 52). Preferably, the hopper conveyor motors are hydraulic motors such as the Sauer Danfoss Series 40 hydraulic motor with magnetic speed ring that cooperates with a Sauer Danfoss KPP pulse pickup speed sensor to measure the speed of rotation of the motor. These Sauer Danfoss products may be obtained from the Sauer-Danfoss (US) Company of Ames, Iowa. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, hydraulic motor 52 includes magnetic speed ring 53, adjacent to which is mounted speed sensor 54. Controller 48 is operatively connected to speed sensor 54 which is associated with right hopper conveyor motor 52 (shown in FIGS. 5 and 6), and to a speed sensor (not shown, but substantially identical to speed sensor 54) which is associated with the left hopper conveyor motor. These speed sensors are adapted to transmit to the controller conveyor speed signals indicative of the speeds of the hopper conveyor motors (and thus of the hopper conveyors).

[0045] Similar motors (with speed sensors) may be provided to drive the conventional drive system including drive wheels 20 and 22, and these motors and associated speed sensors are also operatively attached to controller 48, so that the controller may be adapted to adjust the speed of the conventional drive system comprising the motors that drive wheels 20 and 22. Controller 48 is also adapted to receive a machine speed signal from the conventional drive system indicative of the speed at which paving machine 10 is moving across the surface to be paved.

[0046] Controller 48 is also operatively connected to left flow gate position sensor 56, right flow gate position sensor 58, left material sensor 60 and right material sensor 62. The controller is adapted to receive flow gate signals indicating the vertical positions of the left and right flow gates. Controller 48 is also adapted to receive signals from left material sensor 60 and right material sensor indicative of the presence of material on the hopper conveyors associated therewith. Left material sensor 60 is located on the back side of left flow gate 40, as shown in FIG. 7, and right material sensor 62 is located on the back side of right flow gate 42.

[0047] Controller 48 includes a timer and is adapted to measure elapsed time. Controller 48 is also adapted to use the machine speed signal received from the conventional drive system, the conveyor speed signals received from the speed sensors associated with the hopper conveyor motors and the flow gate signals from the flow gate position sensors to measure the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time. Preferably, the controller is adapted to measure the time during which asphalt paving material is delivered to the distributing auger, and to calculate the distance traveled by the paving machine while asphalt paving material is being delivered to the distributing auger.

[0048] As described above, controller 48 is adapted to measure the accumulated time during which asphalt paving material is delivered to the distributing auger. In some embodiments of the invention, controller 48 may be configured to receive a start input signal from an operator that is associated with the beginning of use of a wear item such as a conveyor chain or a screed plate. In these embodiments of the invention, the controller is adapted to measure the machine operating time and the tonnage of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger during the period of use of a selected wear item.

[0049] Controller 48 may embody a single microprocessor or multiple microprocessors that include components for controlling operations of asphalt paving machine 10 based on input from an operator of the paving machine and on sensed or other known operational parameters. Controller 48 may include a memory, a secondary storage device, a processor and other components for running an application. Preferably, controller 48 is operatively connected to an onboard viewing screen which is adapted to display to an operator the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time, as well as other information about the operation and use of paving machine 10 that is calculated or determined by the controller. The controller may also include a wireless transmitter (and an associated signal booster) which is adapted to transmit to an external receiver (such as a computer or cellular telephone) the amount of asphalt paving material delivered to the distributing auger per unit of time, as well as other information measured or determined by the controller. Various other circuits may be associated with controller 48 such as power supply circuitry, signal conditioning circuitry, solenoid driver circuitry and other types of circuitry. Numerous commercially available microprocessors can be configured to perform the functions of controller 48. It should be appreciated that controller 48 could readily be embodied in a general purpose computer or machine microprocessor capable of controlling numerous machine functions.

[0050] The speed sensors associated with right hopper conveyor motor 52 and the left hopper conveyor motor signal to controller 48 the rotational speed at which their associated hopper conveyor motors are operated to power the hopper conveyors to move asphalt paving material out of asphalt receiving hopper 12. Left flow gate position sensor 56 and right flow gate position sensor 58 signal to controller 48 the vertical positions of left flow gate 40 and right flow gate 42. These positions are used by controller 48 to determine the size of the gate openings into the hopper conveyor tunnel (and to the distributing auger) associated with the left hopper conveyor and the right hopper conveyor. Left material sensor 60 is pivotally mounted at the bottom of left flow gate 40 and is adapted to signal to controller 48 the presence of asphalt paving material on hopper conveyor 23 adjacent the flow gate. Similarly, right material sensor 62 is pivotally mounted at the bottom of right flow gate 42 and is adapted to signal to controller 48 the presence of asphalt paving material on hopper conveyor 24 adjacent the flow gate. Left material sensor 60 includes arm 64 that extends below the bottom of flow gate 40 on its rear side, as shown in FIG. 7. When asphalt paving material on hopper conveyor 23 is struck off by flow gate 40, arm 64 pivots upwardly, causing switch 68 to depress, thereby generating a material present signal that is transmitted to the controller. Similarly, right material sensor 62 includes arm 66 that extends below the bottom of flow gate 42 on its rear side. When asphalt paving material on hopper conveyor 24 is struck off by flow gate 42, arm 66 pivots upwardly, causing switch 70 to depress, thereby generating a material present signal that is transmitted to the controller. When these material present signals are obtained by controller 48, the controller can use the known information about the widths of the hopper conveyors and the sizes of the flow gates, as well as the signals obtained from the speed sensors associated with right hopper conveyor motor 52 and the left hopper conveyor motor, and the signals obtained from left flow gate position sensor 56 and right flow gate position sensor 58, to determine the rate of flow of asphalt material to the distributing auger. For example, if the flow gates and hopper conveyors are 41.425 inches wide, and the flow gates are set at a vertical location that is 4.0 inches above the conveyor floors, the area of the gate opening below each flow gate will be 165.7 square inches. If the drive sprockets on the hopper conveyors have a pitch diameter of 8.9 inches, and the hopper conveyor motors are operating at a sprocket rotation rate of 60 rpm, each hopper conveyor will advance at a rate of 1676.8 inches per minute. If the density of the asphalt paving material being used is 0.0634 pounds per cubic inch, the amount of asphalt paving material passing through the gate opening under each flow gate will be:

(165.7 in.sup.2)(1676.8 in/min)(0.0634 lbs/in.sup.3)(60 min/hour)(ton/2000 lbs)=528.5 tons/hr.

[0051] If a coefficient of conveyor efficiency of 0.35 is assumed, the calculated rate of asphalt material passing to the distributing auger (through the gate openings under both flow gates) will be (2)(0.35)(528.5 tons/hr.)=370 tons/hr. The calculated rate of asphalt material passing to the distributing auger during a given period of time can be compared to the weight tickets from the asphalt plant showing the amount of asphalt paving materials loaded into the asphalt receiving hopper, and this information can be used to adjust the coefficient of conveyor efficiency, if necessary.

[0052] Although this description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments thereof, as well as the best mode contemplated by the inventors of carrying out the invention. The invention, as described and claimed herein, is susceptible to various modifications and adaptations as would be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention relates.