Patent ID: 11932073
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 8:
9. A method of controlling an angular position of a chassis of a telehandler,
the telehandler comprising:
a chassis;
an axle supporting the chassis;
a pivotal connection between the axle and the chassis; and
a chassis positioning system,
wherein the pivotal connection is configured to enable rotation of the chassis relative to the axle for varying a chassis-axle tilt angle defined between a longitudinal axis of the axle and the chassis, and
wherein the chassis positioning system includes:
a chassis angle sensor configured to measure an angular position of the chassis relative to gravity;
an actuator configured to rotate the chassis relative to the axle at the pivotal connection;
an axle position sensor, separate and distinct from the chassis angle sensor, configured to output a value representative of a current chassis-axle tilt angle; and
a controller configured to, in a first mode, control the actuator to control the chassis-axle tilt angle based on the measured angular position of the chassis from the chassis angle sensor, and in a second mode, control the actuator to control the chassis-axle tilt angle based on the current chassis-axle tilt angle from the axle position sensor; and

the method comprising:
selectively measuring the angular position of the chassis relative to gravity using the chassis angle sensor or the current chassis-axle tilt angle from the axle position sensor; and
controlling the actuator to control the chassis-axle tilt angle based on only one of the measured angular position of the chassis relative to gravity or the current chassis-axle tilt angle from the axle position sensor,
wherein said controlling the actuator includes selectively operating in the first mode or the second mode responsive to whether the telehandler is operating in a state that is within predefined limits for operating in the first mode or outside of the predefined limits for operating in the first mode, respectively,
wherein the second mode is a chassis-axle control mode,
wherein said controlling the actuator to control the chassis-axle tilt angle based on the determined current chassis-axle tilt angle comprises comparing the determined current chassis-axle tilt angle to a target chassis-axle tilt angle and adjusting an extension of the actuator until the determined current chassis-axle tilt angle matches the target angular chassis-axle tilt angle,
wherein the second mode is a chassis-axle control mode, and
wherein said controlling the actuator to thereby control the chassis-axle tilt angle based on the determined current chassis-axle tilt angle comprises comparing the determined current chassis-axle tilt angle to a target chassis-axle tilt angle and adjusting an extension of the actuator until the determined current chassis-axle tilt angle matches the target angular chassis-axle tilt angle.