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BR-102020020816-B1 - VEHICLE, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AIR MOVEMENT THROUGH A VEHICLE WITH A VEHICLE FAN

BR102020020816B1BR 102020020816 B1BR102020020816 B1BR 102020020816B1BR-102020020816-B1

Abstract

VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AIR MOVEMENT THROUGH A VEHICLE WITH A VEHICLE FAN. A vehicle, a system, and a method are provided for controlling air movement through the vehicle with a vehicle fan. The vehicle includes the fan mounted on the vehicle and configured to move air at a vehicle fan end, an object detector mounted at the vehicle fan end and configured to detect an object within a detection distance from the vehicle fan end, and a controller configured to control the fan's actuation based on the detection of the object within the detection distance at the vehicle fan end.

Inventors

  • THOMAS L. KENNEDY

Assignees

  • DEERE & COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date
20260317
Application Date
20201009
Priority Date
20191016

Claims (13)

  1. 1. Vehicle (10), characterized in that it comprises: a fan (14) mounted on the vehicle (10) and configured to move air at a fan end (16) of the vehicle (10); an object detector (42) mounted at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) and configured to detect an object (44) located outside the vehicle (10) within a detection distance (46) from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10); and a controller (48) configured to control the actuation of the fan (14) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10); wherein the object detector (42) is configured to detect the object (44) being moved away from the vehicle (10) by an object distance (60) within the detection distance (46).
  2. 2. Vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the fan (14) is configured to move air in an outward direction from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) and in an inward direction opposite to the outward direction, and in that the controller (48) is configured to control the actuation of the fan (14) to limit the air movement in the inward direction based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  3. 3. Vehicle (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the controller (48) is additionally configured to control a fan speed (14) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  4. 4. Vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller (48) is configured to control a fan speed (14) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  5. 5. Vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller (48) is configured to control a fan blade pitch angle (14) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  6. 6. Vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the object detector (42) is additionally configured to determine the object distance (60) from the object (44) from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) within the detection distance (46), and in that the controller (48) is additionally configured to control the actuation of the fan (14) to be proportional to the object distance (60) from the object (44) from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  7. 7. Vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle (10) is configured to operate in a state of travel direction of one of a forward travel direction (80) and a reverse travel direction (82) opposite to the forward travel direction (80), wherein the fan (14) is configured to move air in an outward direction from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) and an inward direction from the fan end (16) and opposite to the outward direction, and wherein the controller (48) is configured to control the actuation of the fan (14) to limit the air movement in the inward direction based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) and the operation of the vehicle (10) in a travel direction opposite to the inward direction.
  8. 8. Method for controlling air movement through a vehicle (10) with a vehicle fan (14), the method characterized in that it comprises: moving the vehicle (10) towards an object (44) located outside the vehicle (10); detecting the object (44) being moved away from the vehicle (10) by an object distance (60) within a detection distance (46) at a fan end (16) of the vehicle (10); and controlling the actuation of the fan (14) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  9. 9. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises: determining the object distance (60) of the object (44) from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) within the detection distance (46); and controlling the fan actuation (14) to be proportional to the object distance (60) of the object (44) from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  10. 10. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises: moving air with the fan (14) in an outward direction from the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) and in an inward direction at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) opposite to the outward direction; and eliminating the inward air movement based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  11. 11. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises: controlling a fan speed (14) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  12. 12. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises: controlling a fan blade pitch angle (14) based on object detection (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10).
  13. 13. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that it further comprises: operating the vehicle (10) in one of a forward direction of travel (80) and a reverse direction of travel (82); eliminating air movement in the vehicle (10) at the fan end (16) based on the detection of the object (44) within the detection distance (46) at the fan end (16) of the vehicle (10) and operating the vehicle (10) in the reverse direction of travel (82).

Description

FUNDAMENTALS [001] Vehicles may be operated in a forward mode in which the vehicle moves in a given direction, usually the direction the operator is facing, and a reverse mode, usually the opposite direction from the direction the operator is facing. Vehicles may be operated in forward and reverse modes at an operating location, including, by way of non-limiting example, at a work site having one or more objects, including a stack, pile, heap, collection, or other mass of objects that may be located near the vehicle. Additionally, vehicles may include radiators, coolers, and/or other heat exchanger(s) and one or more fans that move air through or around the heat exchanger(s) to cool one or more fluids of a propellant, engine, or other vehicle component. SUMMARY [002] Several aspects of examples of the present description are set forth in the claims. [003] According to an embodiment of the present description, a vehicle includes a fan mounted on the vehicle and configured to move air at a fan end of the vehicle, an object detector mounted at the fan end of the vehicle and configured to detect an object within a detection distance from the fan end of the vehicle, and a controller configured to control the actuation of the fan based on the detection of the object within the detection distance at the fan end of the vehicle. [004] The fan can be configured to move air in an outward direction from the vehicle's fan end and in an inward direction opposite to the outward direction. The controller can be configured to control the fan actuation to limit air movement in the inward direction based on object detection within the detection distance at the vehicle's fan end. The controller can be further configured to control a fan speed based on object detection within the detection distance at the vehicle's fan end. The controller can be configured to control a fan blade pitch angle based on object detection within the detection distance at the vehicle's fan end. The object detector can be further configured to determine an object distance from the object at the vehicle's fan end within the detection range, and the controller can be further configured to control the fan actuation to be proportional to the object distance from the vehicle's fan end. The vehicle can be configured to operate in a forward travel direction state and a reverse travel direction opposite to the forward travel direction. The fan can be configured to move air in an outward direction from the vehicle's fan end and an inward direction from the fan end opposite to the outward direction, and the controller can be configured to control the fan actuation to limit air movement in the inward direction based on object detection within the detection range at the vehicle's fan end and vehicle operation in a travel direction opposite to the inward direction. [005] According to one embodiment of the present description, a system for controlling air movement through a vehicle with a vehicle fan includes an object detector configured to detect an object within a detection distance from the vehicle, and a controller configured to control the fan actuation based on the detection of the object within the detection distance. [006] According to an embodiment of the present description, a method for controlling air movement through a vehicle with a vehicle fan includes moving the vehicle towards an object, detecting an object within a detection distance at one end of the vehicle fan, and controlling the fan actuation based on the detection of the object within the detection distance at the end of the vehicle fan. [007] The above features and others will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [008] The detailed description of the drawings refers to the attached figures in which: Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle and a system for controlling air movement through a vehicle with a vehicle fan according to an embodiment of the present description; Figure 2 illustrates the fan speed for temperature and object detection within a detection distance according to an embodiment of the present description; and Figure 3 illustrates a method for controlling air movement through a vehicle with a vehicle fan according to an embodiment of the present description. [009] Similar reference numbers are used to indicate the same elements throughout the various figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0010] At least one embodiment of the subject matter of this description is understood by reference to figures 1 to 3 of the drawings. [0011] With reference now to Figure 1, a vehicle 10 is illustrated according to an embodiment of the present description. Figure 1 further illustrates a system 12 for controlling the movement of air through the vehicle 10 with a fan 14 of the vehicle 10. In the embodiment illustrated, the vehicle 10 is a front loader or similar construction vehicle having the fan 14 located at a fan end 16 of the vehicle 1