Pace Regulation

摘要

Automated excavating uses automated dozers and other earthmoving equipment to move material at a worksite. Some areas of the worksite may require that control of the automated dozer revert to manual control, such as a spread zone near a crest. A controller monitors the position of automated dozers and adjusts an operating characteristic of an individual automated dozer so that there are not more dozers in the zone than there are operators to manually control them. The adjustment made may depend on the blade loading of an individual dozer, particularly so that a dozer with a loaded blade is not brought to a complete stop, which may cause undue wear on the dozer when re-starting.

主权项

1. A method of managing automated machines at a worksite, the method comprising:
identifying a zone at the worksite, the zone having geographic boundaries specified; setting a limit on a number of machines concurrently allowed in the zone; predicting when a first machine will be within the geographic boundaries of the zone; predicting that a second machine operating at current conditions will be within the geographic boundaries of the zone concurrently with the first machine, wherein the second machine's entry into the zone will cause the number of machines in the zone to exceed the limit; analyzing a load of a blade on the second machine; and when the blade of the second machine is loaded, setting, via a controller remote from the automated machines, the second machine to a lower speed than a current speed, the lower speed calculated to prevent the second machine from entering the zone while the first machine occupies the zone.