Patent Publication Number: US-2023132898-A1

Title: Work tool cleaning system and method for work vehicles

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to a work vehicle. An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to work tool cleaning system for work vehicles. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Work vehicles, such as crawler dozers, skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, excavators, and other work vehicles often use a work tool to move material. While moving material with the work tool, material can build up on the work tool, which can reduce effectiveness, reduce quality of work, and create other issues. An improved option for removing material build up from a work tool is needed. 
     SUMMARY 
     Various aspects of examples of the present disclosure are set out in the claims. 
     According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system for removing material from a work tool of a work vehicle, the system comprising the work vehicle including the work tool, an operator control coupled with the work vehicle, a first movement actuators movably coupling a first end portion of the work tool, a second movement actuator movable coupling a second end portion of the work tool, an electronic processor in communication with the operator control and the two or more movement actuators, wherein the electronic processor is configured to receive, by the electronic processor, a signal from the operator control, and automatically move the work tool in a cleaning sequence, the cleaning sequence comprising the steps of actuating the first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in a first direction, actuating the second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in a second direction, actuating the first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in the second direction, and actuating the second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in the first direction. 
     According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method of removing material from a work tool on a vehicle, the method comprising receiving, by an electronic processor, a signal from an operator control, and automatically moving the work tool in a cleaning sequence, the cleaning sequence comprising the steps of actuating a first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in a first direction, actuating a second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in a second direction, actuating the first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in the second direction, and actuating the second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in the first direction. 
     According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a work vehicle that moves material, the work vehicle comprising a work tool coupled with the work vehicle where the work tool is capable of moving the material, an operator control coupled with the work vehicle, a first movement actuators movably coupling a first end portion of the work tool with the work vehicle, a second movement actuator movable coupling a second end portion of the work tool with the work vehicle, an electronic processor in communication with the operator control and the first movement actuator and the second movement actuator, wherein the electronic processor is configured to receive, by the electronic processor, a signal from the operator control, and automatically move the work tool in a cleaning sequence, the cleaning sequence comprising the steps of actuating the first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in a first direction, actuating the second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in a second direction, actuating the first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in the second direction, and actuating the second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in the first direction. 
     The above and other features will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The detailed description of the drawings refers to the accompanying figures in which: 
         FIG.  1    is an isometric view of a work vehicle with a blade, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS.  2 A-C  are side views of a work vehicle with a blade, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of a work tool cleaning system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a flow diagram of a method for operating work tool cleaning system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     Like reference numerals are used to indicate like elements throughout the several figures. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     At least one example embodiment of the subject matter of this disclosure is understood by referring to  FIGS.  1  through  4    of the drawings. 
     While the present disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description is not restrictive in character, it being 
     understood that illustrative embodiment(s) have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the present disclosure are desired to be protected. Alternative embodiments of the present disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the advantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art may devise their own implementations that incorporate one or more of the features of the present disclosure and fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
     While operating a work vehicle, material can build up on a work tool (e.g., a blade) while moving material (e.g., dirt, sand, soil, etc.). This can be challenging for a number of reasons. For example, material that is built up on the work tool can unexpectedly come free from the work tool, causing problems with the quality of the work. Carrying extra material build up on the work tool can also reduce the efficiency and/or effectiveness of the work being performed. An operator can try to manually remove/dislodge the material built up on the blade by activating various controls to vibrate the blade to shake the materials loose. This is time consuming, and has limited effectiveness, especially if the action is needed numerous times because of repeated material build up on the work tool. Additionally, if a work vehicle is engaged in a grading process where a grade control system is being used, blade movements made by an operator could cause issues with the grading being done (e.g., not maintaining a uniform grade), and this could cause problems for the grade control system and the overall quality of the grading work. 
     In embodiments described herein, using technology to allow the operator to automatically or effectively remove material from a work tool would provide more efficient work performed by the work vehicle and could reduce operator fatigue due to the need for fewer repetitive actions with the controls. Moving the work tool can also help distribute material built up in one area of the work tool so the material is more evenly distributed along the work took (e.g., from the center of the work tool towards the edges of the work tool). This material distributed can allow for more even spreading of material. This can be especially beneficial for work tool that are used to create a final grade surface. 
     Moving the blade where only the angle is changing (and not other control parameters) could also prevent errors in the grade being created and/or maintained by a grade control system. This is helpful and useful when creating and maintaining a uniform grade during grading maneuvers. 
       FIG.  1    is a perspective view of work vehicle  100 . Work vehicle  100  is illustrated as a crawler dozer, which may also be referred to as a crawler, but may be any work vehicle with a ground-engaging blade or work tool (i.e., implement) such as a crawler dozer, a compact track loader, a motor grader, a skid steer, and a tractor, to name a few examples. Work vehicle  100  may be operated to engage the ground and cut and move material to achieve simple or complex features on the ground. As used herein, directions with regard to work vehicle  100  may be referred to from the perspective of an operator seated within operator station  136 : the left of work vehicle  100  is to the left of such an operator, the right of work vehicle  100  is to the right of such an operator, the front or fore of work vehicle  100  is the direction such an operator faces, the rear or aft of work vehicle  100  is behind such an operator, the top of work vehicle  100  is above such an operator, and the bottom of work vehicle  100  is below such an operator. While operating, work vehicle  100  may experience movement in three directions and rotation in three directions. Direction for work vehicle  100  may also be referred to with regard to longitude  102  or the longitudinal direction, latitude  106  or the lateral direction, and vertical  110  or the vertical direction. Rotation for work vehicle  100  may be referred to as roll  104  or the roll direction, pitch  108  or the pitch direction, and yaw  112  or the yaw direction or heading. 
     Additional information about various components of a crawler dozer can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 9,328,479, which his hereby incorporated by reference. 
     Blade  142  is a work implement which may engage the ground or material to move or shape it. Blade  142  may be used to move material from one location to another and to create features on the ground, including flat areas, grades, hills, roads, or more complexly shaped features. In this embodiment, blade  142  of work vehicle  100  may be referred to as a six-way blade, six-way adjustable blade, or power-angle-tilt (PAT) blade. Blade  142  may be hydraulically actuated to move vertically up or vertically down (which may also be referred to as blade lift, or raise and lower), roll left or roll right (which may be referred to as blade tilt, or tilt left and tilt right), and yaw left or yaw right (which may be referred to as blade angle, or angle left and angle right). Alternative embodiments may utilize a blade with fewer hydraulically controlled degrees of freedom, such as a 4-way blade that may not be angled or actuated in the direction of yaw  112 . 
     Blade  142  may be angled relative to work vehicle  100  by the actuation of angle cylinders  154 , which may also be referred to as moving blade  142  in the direction of yaw  112 . For each of angle cylinders  154 , the rod end is pivotally connected to a clevis of blade  142  while the head end is pivotally connected to a clevis of c-frame  148 . One of angle cylinders  154  is positioned on the left side of work vehicle  100 , left of the ball-socket joint between blade  142  and c-frame  148 , and the other of angle cylinders  154  is positioned on the right side of work vehicle  100 , right of the ball-socket joint between blade  142  and c-frame  148 . This positioning results in the extension of the left of angle cylinders  154  and the retraction of the right of angle cylinders  154  angling blade  142  rightward, or yawing blade  142  clockwise when viewed from above, and the retraction of left of angle cylinder  150  and the extension of the right of angle cylinders  154  angling blade  142  leftward, or yawing blade  142  counterclockwise when viewed from above. In alternative embodiments, blade  142  may be angled by a different mechanism or angle cylinders  154  may be configured differently. 
       FIGS.  2 A-C  are left side views of the work vehicle of  FIG.  1   , consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.  FIG.  2 A  shows the work vehicle  100  moving material  155  with the work tool  142  (i.e., blade) where the material  155  is building up on the blade  142 .  FIG.  2 B  shows actuation of left hydraulic cylinder  154   a , that can be combined with actuation of the right hydraulic cylinder  154   b  (right hydraulic cylinder  154   b  is hidden from view in FIGS.  2 A-C; see  FIG.  1   ) as described in this disclosure.  FIG.  2 C  shows the buildup of material  155  removed from the blade  142 . 
     In other embodiments, the work tool movement could be triggered by a linear actuator or an electric solenoid. The movement could include vibrating the blade with an unbalanced weight on a motor shaft or similar arrangement. 
     While the embodiments here describe using two hydraulic cylinders (e.g., left hydraulic cylinder  154   a  and right hydraulic cylinder  154   b ), some embodiments could use only a single hydraulic cylinder to trigger movement of the work tool for removing material (not shown). 
       FIG.  3    is schematic diagram of a work tool material removal system, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. A work tool cleaning system  200  can include an operator control  202  coupled to the work vehicle  100 . The work tool  142  can be coupled with a first actuation mechanism  154   a  (i.e., hydraulic cylinder  154   a ) and a second actuation mechanism  154   b  (e.g., hydraulic cylinder  154   b ), where the first hydraulic cylinder  154   a  and the second hydraulic cylinder  154   b  are coupled with portions of the work vehicle  100 . 
     An operator control (e.g., controller  138 ) can generate a signal  204   a  sent to the left hydraulic cylinder  154   a  and another signal  204   b  sent to the right hydraulic cylinder  154   b , where the signals are sent in various patterns. For example, the first left actuation signal  204   a  could be to move the work tool  142  by extending the left hydraulic cylinder  154   a , then a first right actuation signal  204   b  could be sent to retract the right hydraulic cylinder  154   b . After that, another signal  204   a  could be sent to the left hydraulic cylinder  154   a  to retract, and then another signal  204   b  could be sent to the right hydraulic cylinder  154   b  to extend. These signals could be sent in any number of patterns (e.g., Left-extend, right-contract, left-contract, right-extend, etc.; or left-extend, left extend, right-contract, right-contract, left-contract, left-contract, right-extend, right-extend, etc.). In some embodiments, the left actuation signal and right actuation signal could be sent simultaneously (e.g., left cylinder is extending at the same time the right cylinder is contracting, left cylinder is contracting while the right cylinder is extending, etc.). 
     The duration of movement of the work tool  142  can vary. In some embodiments, the operator can hold a button or toggle a switch or other similar device to cause the work tool material removal system to engage (e.g., the system engages while the button is depressed or the switch is flipped, etc.). In other embodiments, the system could engage for a specific period of time (e.g., one second, two seconds, five seconds, etc.) for each engagement of the button (i.e., pressing the button once will cause the system to engage for one cycle of set time). 
     The operator is also able to change, using the operator controls, the type of movement of the blade. For example, with a crawler, the blade can be moved to remove material build up by alternating movements to roll the blade left or roll right (also referred to as blade tilt, or tilt left or tilt right). This can be referred to blade tilt shake (i.e., vibration, etc.). As noted above, the blade can also be moved as described herein where the blade yaw is moved (i.e., yaw left or yaw right, or blade angle or angle left and angle right). This can be referred to as blade angle shake (i.e., vibration, etc.). The work tool system  200  can allow for the operator to change the system from a blade tilt shake mode to a blade angle shake mode with regards to material removal. 
     The work tool cleaning system  200  also has a non-transitory computer-readable memory  206 . The non-transitory computer-readable memory  206  may comprise electronic memory, nonvolatile random-access memory, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or another device for storing and accessing electronic data on any recordable, rewritable, or readable electronic, optical, or magnetic storage medium. 
     An electronic processor  208  is provided and configured to perform an operation by controllably moving the work tool  142  relative to the work vehicle  100  in any sequence selected for moving the left hydraulic cylinder  154   a  and the right hydraulic cylinder  154   b . The electronic processor  208  may be arranged locally as part of the work vehicle  100  or remotely at a remote processing center (not shown). In various embodiments, the electronic processor  208  may comprise a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a programmable logic array, a programmable logic controller, or other suitable programmable circuitry that is adapted to perform data processing and/or system control operations. The electronic processor  208  executes or otherwise relies upon computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, or data structures, etc. Software routines resident in the included memory of the electronic processor  208  or other memory are executed in response to signals received. 
     The computer software applications, in other embodiments, may be located in the cloud. The executed software includes one or more specific applications, components, programs, objects, modules, or sequences of instructions typically referred to as “program code”. The program code includes one or more instructions located in memory and other storage devices which execute the instructions which are resident in memory, which are responsive to other instructions generated by the system, or which are provided by an operator interface  88  operated by the user (e.g., located in the operator cab or at a remote location). The electronic processor  208  is configured to execute the stored program instructions. 
       FIG.  4    is a flow diagram of a method for operating a work vehicle, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. A method  300  for removing material from a work tool can include a step  302  of receiving, by an electronic processor, a signal from an operator control, and a step  304  of automatically moving the work tool in a cleaning sequence, where the cleaning sequence comprises a step  304   a  of actuating a first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in a first direction (e.g., a first yaw direction), a step  304   b  of actuating a second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in a second direction (e.g., a second yaw direction), a step  304   c  of actuating the first movement actuator causing the first end portion of the work tool to move in the second direction, and a step  304   d  of actuating the second movement actuator causing the second end portion of the work tool to move in the first direction. 
     The cleaning sequence in step  304  can further comprise a step  304   e  of distributing the material along the work tool. During operation of the work vehicle, material can build up along the work tool (e.g., more material in the middle of the work tool and less along the edges). The cleaning sequence described here can help distribute the material more evenly along the work took (e.g., move material from the build up in the middle of the work tool towards the edges of the work tool with less material). This material distribution can be helpful when trying to create a graded surface, including a final grade.