Shovel and shovel control device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12467238-B2
Application number	US-202318473556-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2023
Priority date	Mar 30, 2021
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

A shovel includes a lower traveling body, an upper turning body turnably mounted on the lower traveling body, an attachment attached to the upper turning body, and an attitude detection device (a boom angle sensor, an arm angle sensor, a bucket angle sensor, a machine attitude sensor, and a turning angle sensor), and a controller configured to calculate a target angle related to a working angle formed by a plane or a line determined based on a shape of a bucket included in the attachment and a target surface. The controller changes the target angle in accordance with the attitude of the attachment and information relating to the target surface.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A shovel comprising:
a lower traveling body; an upper turning body turnably mounted on the lower traveling body; an attachment attached to the upper turning body, the attachment including a bucket; and a hardware processor configured to change a working angle formed by a plane or a line determined based on a shape of the bucket and a target surface, wherein the hardware processor is configured to change the working angle in accordance with a positional relationship between the bucket and the target surface during execution of a machine control function, and wherein the hardware processor is configured to change a target angle relating to the working angle in accordance with a change in a distance between the bucket and the target surface and a change in an operation speed of the bucket, and to control the working angle to follow the changed target angle.

2 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to control the attachment to close the bucket as the bucket at a position higher than the target surface approaches the target surface.

3 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to control the attachment to open the bucket as the bucket at a position lower than the target surface approaches the target surface.

4 . The shovel according to claim 1 ,
wherein the hardware processor is configured to set a predetermined angle or a predetermined dimension relating to a trajectory of the bucket during excavation, and to set a target trajectory of the bucket based on the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension, and wherein the target trajectory includes the target surface.

5 . The shovel according to claim 4 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to set the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension based on a working environment of the shovel, the working environment including a type of work site of the shovel or a type of excavation target.

6 . The shovel according to claim 4 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to learn the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension so that an evaluation index relating to an excavation work increases as the excavation work is actually performed.

7 . The shovel according to claim 4 , wherein the predetermined dimension includes a dimension of the trajectory of the bucket with respect to a ground during excavation, and the predetermined angle includes an angle of the trajectory of the bucket with respect to a reference surface during excavation.

8 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to set a predetermined angle or a predetermined dimension relating to a trajectory of the bucket during excavation, and to set a target trajectory of the bucket based on the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension.

9 . The shovel according to claim 8 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to learn the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension so that an evaluation index relating to an excavation work increases as the excavation work is actually performed.

10 . A control device for a shovel, the shovel including a lower traveling body, an upper turning body turnably mounted on the lower traveling body, and an attachment attached to the upper turning body and including a bucket, the control device comprising:
a hardware processor configured to change a working angle formed by a plane or a line determined based on a shape of the bucket and a target surface in accordance with a position relationship between the bucket and the target surface, wherein the hardware processor is configured to change a target angle relating to the working angle in accordance with a change in a distance between the bucket and the target surface and a change in an operation speed of the bucket, and to control the working angle to follow the changed target angle.

11 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to change the target angle based on a correspondence between the target angle, the operation speed, and the distance, the correspondence being set such that a ratio of an increase in the target angle to an increase in the distance increases as the operation speed increases.

12 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to change the target angle based on a correspondence between the target angle, the operation speed, and the distance, the correspondence being set such that the target angle increases as an absolute value of the distance increases and the target angle increases as an absolute value of the operation speed increases when the bucket is at a position higher than the target surface and that the target angle decreases as an absolute value of the distance increases and the target angle decreases as an absolute value of the operation speed increases when the bucket is at a position lower than the target surface.

13 . The shovel according to claim 12 , wherein the correspondence is set such that the target angle becomes a predetermined value regardless of the operation speed when the distance is zero.

14 . The shovel according to claim 12 , wherein the correspondence is stored as a database or expressed using a mathematical expression.

15 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the target surface is a design surface whose data is stored in a storage.

16 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein
the distance between the bucket and the target surface is a distance between a predetermined point on the bucket and the target surface, and the hardware processor is configured to cause the predetermined point to differ depending on an attitude of the bucket changes as the distance changes.

17 . The shovel according to claim 1 , wherein the distance between the bucket and the target surface is a distance between a predetermined point on the bucket and an intersection of the target surface and a circumference of a circle centered at a boom foot pin and passing through the predetermined point.

18 . The shovel according to claim 7 , wherein
the dimension of the trajectory of the bucket with respect to the ground includes an excavation length and an excavation depth, and the angle of the trajectory of the bucket with respect to the reference surface includes a penetration angle, a horizontal pulling angle, and a scooping angle.

19 . The shovel according to claim 8 , wherein the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension is predefined for each of different types of work site or each of different types of excavation target.

20 . The shovel according to claim 8 , wherein the hardware processor is configured to update the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension by performing reinforcement learning related to the predetermined angle or the predetermined dimension as actual work of the shovel progresses, so as to maximize an evaluation index as a reward.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Heavy Industries

Inventors

• Onodera Masaru
• Sano Yusuke
• Honda Keiji

Classifications

• E02F9/2296

  Systems with a variable displacement pump · CPC title

• E02F9/2292

  Systems with two or more pumps · CPC title

• E02F9/2285

  Pilot-operated systems · CPC title

• E02F9/2203

  Arrangements for controlling the attitude of actuators, e.g. speed, floating function · CPC title

• E02F3/435

  for dipper-arms, backhoes or the like · CPC title