Volvo Construction Equipment

An aspect of the present disclosure is a real-time weight compensation method for automatic swing control of a construction machine, wherein the construction machine comprises a lower traveling body and an upper structure swingably supported on the lower traveling body, the upper structure including an upper rotating body, a boom connected to the upper rotating body, an arm connected to the boom, and an attachment connected to the arm, the method comprising: measuring a current arm joint angle (θ<c>) using one or more detection means, measuring a current boom cylinder pressure (P<c>) at the current arm joint angle (θ<c>) using a pressure measuring means, calculating a pressure difference (ΔP) between the measured current boom cylinder pressure (P<c>) at the current arm joint angle (θ<c>) and a preset reference boom cylinder pressure (P<r>) at the corresponding arm joint angle (θ<c>), converting the calculated pressure difference (ΔP) into a preset reference additional weight (W<r>) at the corresponding pressure difference (ΔP), and updating a swing moment or inertia of the upper structure in real time by reflecting the reference additional weight (W<r>).

A working machine (1) having a dump body (3) configured to carry material (50). The working machine comprises: an electric drive line (8) comprising an electric traction machine (10) powered by a battery pack (12) or a fuel cell (14); a fuel supply system (110) including a fuel tank (112) configured to store gaseous or liquid fuel, the fuel supply system being separate and independent of the electric drive line; a catalytic heater (120) configured to produce heated gases using the fuel from the fuel tank; a dump body heating system (130) configured to receive the heated gases from the catalytic heater to heat the dump body. The working machine (1) further comprises a control system (17) comprising processing circuitry (18) configured to: in response to identifying a predefined condition, activate the catalytic heater by supplying fuel from the fuel tank.

A fuel cell system (120) for a vehicle (1) equipped with a regenerative braking system (5), the fuel cell system comprising: an electric traction machine (10); a fuel cell (14) configured to power the electric traction machine, the power output from the fuel cell being controlled by a throttle (15) introducing a lag time between operation of the throttle and the power output of the fuel cell; an energy storage system (12) comprising a first energy storage device (12a) being a first battery pack or a first super capacitor, and a second energy storage device (12b) being a second battery pack or a second super capacitor; a control and relay unit (16) electrically connecting the fuel cell, the energy storage system and the electric traction machine to each other; a control system (17) comprising a processing circuitry (18) configured to: in response to identifying an operation of the throttle indicating an intended reduction in the power output from the fuel cell, control the control and relay unit to direct electricity from the fuel cell to the first energy storage device at least during a time corresponding to said lag time, and control the control and relay unit to direct electricity received from the regenerative braking system to the second energy storage device.

Disclosed are a hybrid power system, a control method, a computer system, a program product, and a vehicle. The hybrid power system includes: an engine (1), a motor generator (2), a gearbox (3), a variable displacement hydraulic pump (4), and a battery (5) electrically connected to the motor generator (2), where the gearbox (3) includes a first transmission shaft (6), a second transmission shaft (7), a first gear (8) disposed on the first transmission shaft (6), and a second gear (9) disposed on the second transmission shaft (7), where the first gear (8) is coupled to the second gear (9); a rotation shaft of the motor generator (2) is coupled to one end of the second transmission shaft (7); and the engine (1) is connected to the variable displacement hydraulic pump (4) via the first transmission shaft (6) through 1:1 transmission. The present disclosure can simplify the structure and control of the hybrid power system, improve fuel economy, and reduce costs.

A method for controlling vehicle power, a computer system, and a vehicle are disclosed. The vehicle includes a fuel cell, a power battery, a hydraulic system, an accessory system, and a visual sensor. The method is performed by a processing circuit of a computer system. The method includes obtaining an image of a construction earthwork by the visual sensor; identifying a type of the construction earthwork by an earthwork classification model based on the image of the construction earthwork; obtaining a power demand load spectrum of the vehicle within a first time duration; correcting the type of the construction earthwork based on the power demand load spectrum; inputting the power demand load spectrum and the corrected type of the construction earthwork into a pre-trained neural network prediction model, and predicting a power load spectrum of the vehicle within a second time duration by the neural network prediction model; and determining optimal power allocation between the fuel cell and the power battery based on the predicted power load spectrum, so as to minimize an operating cost objective function within the second time duration.

There is disclosed a computer system comprising processing circuitry. A wake-up request is received at a telematics gateway (108) in a construction machine from an on-board machine application in the construction machine. A timer is set in the telematics gateway (108) based on a control action and a timestamp. Responsive to the timer expiring, the system action and the timestamp is sent from the telematics gateway (108) to a communication bus implemented in the construction machine. The telematics gateway (108) initiates the machine master electric controller to wake up from an unpowered state. The machine master electric controller reads the system action and the timestamp on the communication bus. The machine master electric controller acknowledges receipt of the system action and the timestamp to the telematics gateway (108).

A working machine may comprise a tank; a working device including an actuator; an accumulator; a recovery path connecting the actuator and the accumulator; a return valve installed between the recovery path and the tank to control the flow rate of fluid discharged from the recovery path to the tank; a command generating device that generates a command; and a control unit that receives the command from the command generating device and controls the return valve so that the return valve has an opening amount corresponding to the command according to a preset relationship, thereby adjusting the operating speed of the actuator and the charging speed of the accumulator. The command generating device may be a first operator input device that receives a request from an operator for one of the operating speed of the actuator, the charging speed of the accumulator, and the opening amount of the return valve. As the requested operating speed input to the first operator input device becomes faster, the control unit may control the return valve to have a larger opening amount. The command generating device may be a sensor that detects the position of a predetermined portion of the working device. As the position of the predetermined portion of the working device detected by the sensor becomes lower, the control unit may control the return valve so that the return valve has a larger opening amount.

A method is disclosed for a vehicle (500) which comprises a primary power unit (PPU) and an energy storing system (ESS). The vehicle is configurable in different operation modes including a default mode (501), a preparation mode (505), and an energy transfer mode (508), and the vehicle is adapted to transfer energy (580) from the PPU and/or from the ESS to a piece of equipment (530) external to the vehicle when configured in the energy transfer mode.The method comprises obtaining (503) an indication of an upcoming activation of the energy transfer mode, activating (504) the preparation mode in response to the obtained indication, causing (506) the PPU to provide power for charging the ESS during the preparation mode, and performing (507) the indicated activation of the energy transfer mode following the preparation mode.There is also disclosed a method for centralized control of a plurality of vehicles.Corresponding computer systems, vehicle, computer program product, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are also disclosed.

This actuator (16), for moving a blade unit (14) relative to a frame (12) of a construction machine (10), comprises a motor (44) configured to generate a rotating torque, a drive unit (46) comprising a pushing rod, the drive unit (46) being configured to transform the rotating torque of the motor (44) into a translation movement of the pushing rod; and a bar (48) comprising a first extremity, connected to the pushing rod by a first joint (62), and a second extremity, connected to the blade unit (14) by a second joint (64). The motor (44) and the drive unit (46) are arranged at least partly in a housing defined in the frame (12) of the construction machine (10).

A computer system (7) comprising processing circuitry (21) configured to: receive a set of indications including an indication (23) of a requested propulsion force (F<prop>) for a vehicle (1) and an indication (25) of a longitudinal inclination (θ) of the vehicle (1); determine, based on the set of indications, an estimation of a height (h) above ground (2) of a center of mass (3) of the vehicle (1), and geometrical relations between the center of mass (3) of the vehicle (1) and each drive axle (5a-c), a drive axle propulsion force (F<ax>, F<bx>, F<cx>) or torque for each drive axle (5a-c) resulting in substantially equal friction utilization for each drive axle (5a-c); and control a power train arrangement (9a-c) of the vehicle (1) towards providing, to each drive axle (5a-c), the drive axle propulsion force (F<ax>, F<bx>, F<cx>) or torque determined for that drive axle (5a-c).