U.S. patent application number 15/805579 was filed with the patent office on 2018-05-10 for snow-clearing vehicle.
The applicant listed for this patent is Aebi Schmidt Deutschland GmbH. Invention is credited to Heinz BOCK, Emil WASMER.
Application Number | 20180127936 15/805579 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 62002863 |
Filed Date | 2018-05-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180127936 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BOCK; Heinz ; et
al. |
May 10, 2018 |
SNOW-CLEARING VEHICLE
Abstract
A snow-clearing vehicle comprises a carrier vehicle and,
attached to the front end thereof via a carrying device, a snowplow
with at least one plowshare segment mounted to be variable in
position in such a way that, upon encountering an obstruction, it
executes an evasive movement to take it out of an operating
position. In the process, at least one restoring spring exerts
resistance in opposition to the evasive movement and returns the
plowshare segment to the operating position after the obstruction
has been passed. Furthermore, a braking device with electrically
adjustable brake characteristic acting parallel to the restoring
spring at least over part of the evasive movement and a transducer
acting on the braking device via an electrical interface are
provided.
Inventors: |
BOCK; Heinz; (Todtmoos,
DE) ; WASMER; Emil; (Bernau, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Aebi Schmidt Deutschland GmbH |
St. Blasien |
|
DE |
|
|
Family ID: |
62002863 |
Appl. No.: |
15/805579 |
Filed: |
November 7, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01H 5/062 20130101;
E01H 5/063 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E01H 5/06 20060101
E01H005/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 7, 2016 |
DE |
10 2016 121 205.9 |
Claims
1. A snow-clearing vehicle, comprising: a carrier vehicle and,
attached to the front end thereof via a carrying device, a snowplow
with at least one plowshare segment mounted to be variable in
position in such a way that, upon encountering an obstruction, it
executes an evasive movement to take it out of an operating
position, wherein at least one restoring spring exerts resistance
in opposition to the evasive movement and returns the plowshare
segment to the operating position after the obstruction has been
passed, wherein a braking device with electrically adjustable brake
characteristic acting parallel to the restoring spring at least
over part of the evasive movement and a transducer acting on the
braking device via an electrical interface are provided.
2. The snow-clearing vehicle of claim 1, wherein the transducer
comprises an electronic control unit, which in turn is in
communication with at least one sensor and which processes measured
values already provided thereby.
3. The snow-clearing vehicle of claim 2, wherein a collision sensor
is provided, the signal of which is delivered to the electronic
control unit.
4. The snow-clearing of claim 1, wherein the transducer comprises a
manually operable input unit disposed in the driver's cab of the
carrier vehicle.
5. The snow-clearing vehicle of claim 1, wherein the braking device
generates a braking force as a function of the dynamic
characteristic of the evasive movement.
6. The snow-clearing vehicle of claim 1, wherein the brake is
equipped with a magnetorheological shock absorber.
7. The snow-clearing vehicle of claim 1, wherein the braking device
comprises a retaining device, the braking effect of which decreases
suddenly during the evasive movement from a high release value.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application claims priority to German Patent
Application No. 102016121205.9, filed Nov. 7, 2016, the contents of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] The present invention relates to a snow-clearing vehicle. In
particular, the present invention relates to such a snow-clearing
vehicle that comprises a carrier vehicle and, attached to the front
end thereof via a carrying device, a snowplow with at least one
plowshare segment mounted to be variable in position in such a way
that, upon encountering an obstruction, it executes an evasive
movement to take it out of an operating position, wherein at least
one restoring spring exerts resistance in opposition to the evasive
movement and returns the plowshare segment to the operating
position after the obstruction has been passed.
[0003] To prevent damage to the snowplow and/or an obstruction that
this encounters during clearing operation (e.g. raised manhole
cover or roadway transition), it is known to mount the plowshare or
several individual plowshare segments in such a way that, upon
encountering an obstruction, it/they executes/execute an evasive
movement to take it/them out of an operating position. Mounts
suitable for this purpose may be constructed in different ways,
especially by making them comprise several connecting rods (e.g. in
parallel or trapeze configuration) or else curved guides.
Typically, at least one restoring spring then acts on the one
plowshare or the at least one plowshare segment in such a way that
it exerts resistance in opposition to the evasive movement and
returns the plowshare or the plowshare segment to the operating
position after the obstruction has been passed. An example of the
prior art can be found in DE 1708665 A.
[0004] In the past, it has occasionally been proposed that, besides
the restoring spring, a retaining device be provided, on the basis
of which that force needed to move the plowshare or the plowshare
segment--at the beginning of the evasive movement--out of the
operating position ("release force") is noticeably larger than the
restoring force acting during the ensuing further evasive movement.
Thus because of the comparatively high release force of a so-called
"hard" plow--a good clearing result is supposedly achieved even in
the case of heavy and/or packed snow/ice, without any hindrance of
the desired evasive movement of the plowshare upon encountering an
obstruction due to the high resistance, which acts during the
entire evasive movement. Such snowplows with a releasable retaining
device, by which the plowshare is held in operating position with a
retaining force greater than the restoring force of the restoring
spring, are known, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,618 A, DE
4224220 A1, DE 3926801 A1 and DE 1963108 A1.
[0005] The object of the present invention was to provide a
snow-clearing vehicle of the type mentioned in the introduction,
improved with respect to the operating characteristics.
[0006] This object is achieved according to the present invention
by providing, in the snow-clearing vehicle of the type mentioned in
the introduction, a braking device with electrically adjustable
brake characteristic acting parallel to the restoring spring at
least over part of the evasive movement and a transducer acting on
the braking device via an electrical interface. In the inventive
snow-clearing vehicle, therefore, the evasion or operating
characteristic of the snowplow is variable in real time during the
ongoing snow-clearing operation, so that in particular--via
exertion of influence on the braking device with electrically
adjustable brake characteristic by the transducer--the reaction
beginning when the plowshare or the plowshare segment encounters an
obstacle can be actively changed in real time. It is therefore
possible to react without delay to circumstances that change during
the ongoing snow-clearing operation in such a way that the evasion
characteristic is adapted or matched to the instantaneous
circumstances (e.g. snow depth, snow consistency, ground, etc.) or
is changed in other ways.
[0007] Particularly preferably, this transducer comprises an
electronic control unit, which in turn is in communication with at
least one sensor and which processes measured values already
provided thereby. With this improvement, the evasion and operating
characteristic of the snowplow can be continuously adapted
completely automatically to the current circumstances that exist
during ongoing snow-clearing operation by processing of typical
characteristic data (e.g. mean clearing force, air temperature,
vibration profile), wherein a measured value at least of one
characteristic data sensor (e.g. force sensor, temperature sensor,
vibration sensor, etc.) in the electronic control unit is used for
the current adjustment of the brake characteristic of the braking
device. In this way, for example, the braking device can be varied
as a function of the clearing force--which is higher in the case of
abundant and/or wet or packed snow than in the case of little
and/or dry or loose snow acting during clearing operation and
averaged over a specified time interval, in order to suppress
premature evasive movement of the plowshare during clearing of very
heavy snow. Alternatively, it is possible to deduce, for example
from a vibration profile recorded during clearing operation, the
condition of the traffic surface on which snow is to be cleared and
to adapt the "hardness" of the snowplow automatically to the
respective situation by changing the operating characteristic of
the braking device; in the case of relatively smooth traffic
surfaces and accordingly subdued vibration profile, the hardness of
the snowplow can be automatically increased in the interests of an
optimum clearing result. This is also possible by analogy for
automatic allowance for other measured values characteristic of the
clearing situation (see above) and used to vary the braking device
and thus the evasive behavior.
[0008] Within the foregoing meaning, it is also possible in
particular to construct such a snow-clearing vehicle in which a
collision sensor is provided, the signal of which is delivered to
an electronic control unit that changes the operating
characteristic of the braking device. In this way--and this
represents a quite particularly preferred improvement of the
present invention--the characteristic of a collision of the at
least one plowshare with an obstacle can be sensed and the brake
force generated by the braking device can be changed as a function
of the collision characteristic by means of a collision sensor
(preferably disposed on the snowplow itself). In normal clearing
operation, the snowplow can be operated in this way with a
comparatively hard operating characteristic, i.e. a comparatively
high release threshold for the evasive movement, thus
permitting--without the risk of unwanted evasive movement of the
plowshare--"hard" operation of the snowplow for "clearing to black"
so to speak, even in the case of heavy and/or packed snow/ice.
However, the release threshold is suddenly lowered by corresponding
influence exerted via the control unit on the braking device when
the collision sensor detects such a collision with an obstruction
that forces an evasive movement of the at least one plowshare.
[0009] In this connection, the control unit explained in the
foregoing and acting on the braking device may be self-learning
with respect to at least one influencing variable in the respect
that it comprises a learning module, which senses the "normal"
typical characteristic data (e.g. the typical average impacts on
the plowshare) that occur during the respective clearing operation
and that depend on the specific operating circumstances (ground
conditions, snow/ice conditions) and allows for them during
adjustment of the braking device in the sense of strengthening or
weakening the braking effect.
[0010] It is particularly advantageous when the braking device,
depending on its design, delivers a braking effect that depends on
the dynamic characteristic of the evasive movement, especially by
increasing the generated braking force with the dynamic
characteristic of the evasive movement of the plowshare segment in
question. In the interests of exerting a highly dynamic influence
of the control unit on the braking effect of the braking device,
this device comprises, particularly preferably, a
magnetorheological shock absorber. Besides the particularly short
response time that is possible hereby for adjustment of the braking
effect, the broad range of adjustment as well as the absence of
moving parts is of great advantage. Such absence in turn favors
good reproducibility of the brake characteristic of the braking
device as well as high reliability (despite the extremely
unfavorable environmental conditions such as humidity, frost,
salt).
[0011] However, it is not only for the particularly preferred
automatic exertion of influence, explained in the foregoing, on the
braking device by means of an electronic control unit as a function
of the signal/measured value of a collision or other sensor that it
is particularly favorable that the braking device has an
electrically operating adjustment mechanism, by means of which the
brake characteristic of the braking device is variable, and an
electrical interface in transmission communication with the
adjusting mechanism. After all, this is in fact equally of
advantage when an input unit, by means of which the operating
characteristic of the braking device can be influenced manually, is
disposed in the driver's cab of the snow-clearing vehicle. The
possibility of changing the release response of the snowplow from
the driver's cab during clearing operation permits the vehicle
driver to take preemptive action, without interrupting the
operation, to adapt the snowplow optimally to the respective
momentary or immediately pending operating situation, for example
when a snowfall has to be removed occasionally during a clearing
operation intended primarily for removal of powder snow.
[0012] The electronically adjustable braking device is able to
deliver a braking effect throughout the entire evasive movement of
the plowshare, but does not have to do so. To the contrary, braking
devices that generate a braking effect on only part of the evasive
movement may also be used within the scope of the present
invention. For example, the braking device or a component thereof
having a braking effect, namely the magnetorheological shock
absorber (see above) may be connected between the plowshare and a
plow frame in such a way that, by virtue of the geometric
conditions, it develops this opposing effect only during a first
part of the evasive movement (close to the operating position).
Furthermore, the braking device may be a veritable releasable
retaining device, which is active exclusively in the operating
position of the plowshare in such a way that a release force
composed of the restoring force of the restoring spring and the
retaining force is necessary in order to initiate the evasive
movement.
[0013] Finally, in order to prevent misunderstandings, it must be
pointed out that the entire plowshare is to be understood as a
"plowshare segment" within the meaning of the present invention, if
it is made without being subdivided and accordingly executes an
evasive movement as a whole upon encountering an obstruction.
Otherwise, several "plowshare segments" may be present not only in
the case of a vertical subdivision of the plowshare into several
portions disposed side-by-side, but also in the case of a
horizontal subdivision of the plowshare (e.g. in so-called
spring-flap plows).
* * * * *