Methods and systems for tracking milling rotor bit wear

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11209812-B2
Application number	US-202016787004-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 10, 2020
Priority date	Feb 10, 2020
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

A method for determining part wear, such as using a wear model, includes receiving, from a sensor, sensor data representing a surface of a wear part. The method further includes determining an estimated time until the part should be replaced. The method further includes batching together multiple wear parts that need replacing to enable a user to replace multiple parts in one maintenance period. The method may also include providing information to the user during replacement of a worn part to indicate the part location.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
one or more processors; and
computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
receiving information associated with a wear surface of a part;
sending the information associated with the wear surface of the part to a wear processing system;
receiving, from the wear processing system, the wear processing system having determined based at least in part on the information and a wear model trained to identify a wear status, that the part should be replaced, an indication that the part should be replaced;
causing a notice indication to be displayed indicating that the part should be replaced;
causing the part to move to a replacement orientation for replacement; and
causing an indication to be visible to an operator indicating which part of a plurality of parts is the part that should be replaced.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the causing the part to move to a replacement orientation for replacement includes causing movement of an assembly containing the part to a position to allow the part to be removed by the operator.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the part comprises one or more of a tooth, a pick, a bit, a tool holder, or a combination thereof, and wherein causing movement of the assembly includes rotating a mill assembly drum to move the one or more of a tooth, a pick, a bit, or a combination thereof to the replacement orientation.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the causing the part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement includes, receiving an input from the operator indicative of a request to move the part to the replacement orientation; and based at least in part on the input, causing movement of an assembly containing the part to a position to allow the part to be replaced by the operator.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the causing the indication to be visible to the operator indicating which part of the plurality of parts is the part that should be replaced includes one or more of:
causing a laser diode to project a beam of visible light onto a portion of the part;
causing a device to display an indicator in an overlay on an optical element in a field of view of the operator augmenting an operator's real world view of the real world; or
causing a device to display an image illustrating the part installed and an indicator referencing the part.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
an optical sensor configured to capture one or more images of the part; and
wherein receiving information associated with the wear surface of the part includes receiving the one or more images captured by the optical sensor.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the receiving an indication that the part should be replaced includes receiving an indication that a second part of the plurality of parts should be replaced.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising:
causing a second notice indication to be displayed indicating that a second part should be replaced;
causing the second part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement; and
causing a second indication to be visible to the operator indicating which part of the plurality of parts is the second part that should be replaced.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the causing the second part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement includes causing movement of an assembly containing the second part to a second position to allow the second part to be removed by the operator.

10. A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving information associated with a wear surface of a part;
sending the information associated with the wear surface of the part to a wear processing system;
receiving, from the wear processing system, the wear processing system having determined based at least in part on the information and a wear model trained to identify a wear status, that the part should be replaced, an indication that the part should be replaced;
causing a notice indication to be displayed indicating that the part should be replaced;
causing the part to move to a replacement orientation for replacement; and
causing an indication to be visible to an operator indicating which part of a plurality of parts is the part that should be replaced.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the causing the part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement includes causing movement of an assembly containing the part to a position to allow the part to be removed by the operator.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein the part comprises one or more of a tooth, a pick, a bit, a tool holder, or a combination thereof, and wherein the causing movement of the assembly includes rotating a mill assembly drum to move the one or more of a tooth, a pick, a bit, a tool holder, or a combination thereof to the replacement orientation.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the causing the part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement includes, receiving an input from the operator indicative of a request to move the part to the replacement orientation; and based at least in part on the input, causing movement of an assembly containing the part to a position to allow the part to be replaced by the operator.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the causing the indication to be visible to the operator indicating which part of the plurality of parts is the part that should be replaced includes one or more of:
causing a light source to project a beam of visible light onto a portion of the part;
causing a device to display an indicator in an overlay on an optical element in a field of view of the operator augmenting an operator's real world view of the real world; or
causing a device to display, an image illustrating the part installed and an indicator referencing the part.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the receiving an indication that the part should be replaced includes an indication that a second part of the plurality of parts should be replaced.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising:
causing a second notice indication to be displayed indicating that a second part should be replaced;
causing the second part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement; and
causing a second indication to be visible to the operator indicating which part of the plurality of parts is the second part that should be replaced.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 , wherein the causing the second part to move to the replacement orientation for replacement includes causing movement of an assembly containing the second part to a second position to allow the second part to be removed by the operator.

18. A road milling machine, comprising:
a part having a wear surface;
one or more processors; and
computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
receiving information associated with the wear surface of the part;
sending the information associated with the wear surface of the part to a wear processing system;
receiving, from the wear processing system, the wear processing system having determined based at least in part on the information and a wear model trained to identify a wear status, that the part should be replaced, an indication that the part should be replaced;
causing a notice indication to be displayed ind

Assignees

• Caterpillar Paving Products Inc

Inventors

• Hirman Colton J
• Sondreal Dustin W
• Engelmann Eric S

Classifications

• G01N3/56

  Investigating resistance to wear or abrasion · CPC title

• G05B13/0265

  the criterion being a learning criterion · CPC title

• G05B2219/37256

  Wear, tool wear · CPC title

• G07C3/06

  in graphical form · CPC title

• G07C3/08

  Registering or indicating the production of the machine either with or without registering working or idle time · CPC title