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EP-4130383-B1 - ASPHALT FINISHER

EP4130383B1EP 4130383 B1EP4130383 B1EP 4130383B1EP-4130383-B1

Inventors

  • TERAMOTO, Tota

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210318

Claims (6)

  1. An asphalt finisher (100) comprising: a tractor (1); a hopper (2) installed in front of the tractor (1) and configured to receive pavement material (PV); a conveyor (CV) configured to feed the pavement material (PV) in the hopper (2) to rear of the tractor (1); a screw (SC) configured to spread, behind the tractor (1), the pavement material (PV) fed by the conveyor (CV); a screed (3) configured to flatten, behind the screw (SC), the pavement material (PV) spread by the screw (SC); an information acquiring device (51) configured to acquire information related to a road targeted for application (RD); and a control device (50) configured to control movement of the tractor (1) based on a target trajectory (TPT) or a target position (Pf) that is determined by information related to the road targeted for application (RD) acquired by the information acquiring device (51), characterized in that the control device (50) is configured to set the target trajectory (TPT) or the target position (Pf) based on a distance between a rear wheel (5) and a front wheel (6) of the asphalt finisher (100) or a distance, in a direction of front and rear, between a steering reference point and the screed (3), such that a widthwise center of the road targeted for application (RD) and a widthwise center of the screed (3) match.
  2. The asphalt finisher (100) according to claim 1, wherein the control device (50) is further configured to set the target trajectory (TPT) or the target position (Pf) outside with respect to the widthwise center of the road targeted for application (RD) in a curved section of the road targeted for application (RD).
  3. The asphalt finisher (100) according to claim 1, wherein the control device (50) is further configured to set the target trajectory (TPT) or the target position (Pf) such that at least one of two end parts of the screed (3) matches an anchor point.
  4. The asphalt finisher (100) according to claim 1, wherein the control device (50) is configured to control the movement of the tractor (1) by controlling a steering angle of the front wheel (6) when the asphalt finisher (100) is a wheel-type asphalt finisher, and to control the movement of the tractor (1) by controlling respective control speeds of a left crawler and a right crawler individually when the asphalt finisher (100) is a crawler-type asphalt finisher.
  5. The asphalt finisher (100) according to claim 1, wherein the control device (50) is configured to control the movement of the tractor (1) such that the asphalt finisher (100) moves along the target trajectory (TPT) that is set in advance.
  6. The asphalt finisher (100) according to claim 1, wherein the information acquiring device (51) is an imaging device or a communication device.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to an asphalt finisher. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is an asphalt finisher, known as having: a tractor; a hopper installed in front of the tractor for receiving pavement material; a conveyor for feeding the pavement material in the hopper to the rear of the tractor; a screw for spreading, behind the tractor, the pavement material fed by the conveyor; and a screed for flattening, behind the screw, the pavement material spread by the screw (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, a driverless paver is known that comprises a rotary camera and a first sensor which are arranged at the top part of the paver, a second sensor arranged at the bottom of the front side of the hopper and a camera arranged at the bottom of the front part of the screed (see Patent Document 2). The driver of the asphalt finisher usually maneuvers a guiding rod (pointer rod) that is attached to the tractor, to drive the asphalt finisher such that the widthwise end surface of the pavement that is laid stretches along the steps on the road targeted for application. That is, the driver drives the asphalt finisher while maintaining the widthwise end surface of the screed and the bumpy surfaces of the steps in the road targeted for application substantially level. Note that the steps in the road targeted for application include, for example, the step between the curb and the roadbed, the step between existing pavement and the roadbed, the step between the formwork for the pavement and the roadbed, the step that is created when cutting the old pavement, and so on. RELATED-ART DOCUMENT PATENT DOCUMENT Patent Document 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-160636Patent Document 2: Chinese Patent Application No. CN 104278616 APatent Document 3: Japanese Utility Model Publication No. JP H07 31907 U SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION However, when the road to be constructed is curved, the driver is unable to make the widthwise end surface of the pavement stick to and be laid along the steps by maneuvering the guiding rod alone. This is because the trajectory that a predetermined point in the center part of the screed positioned in the rear of the tractor draws does not always trace the trajectory that a predetermined point in the center part of the tractor draws, and drifts outward along the curves. In view of the above-mentioned problem, it is desirable to provide an asphalt finisher that can appropriately lay pavement along the road to be constructed. MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEM The aforementioned objective is achieved by an asphalt finisher according to claim 1. ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION The above-described means provides an asphalt finisher that can appropriately lay pavement along the road to be constructed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of an asphalt finisher according to an embodiment of the present invention;FIG. 2 is a top view of the asphalt finisher of FIG. 1;FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example configuration of an automatic steering system;FIG. 4 is a top view of a construction site;FIG. 5 is a top view of a construction site;FIG. 6A is a top view of a construction site; andFIG. 6B is a top view of a construction site. EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is a side view of an asphalt finisher 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the asphalt finisher 100. In this embodiment, the asphalt finisher 100 is a wheel-type asphalt finisher, and composed mainly of a tractor 1, a hopper 2, and a screed 3. Hereinafter, the direction of the hopper 2 viewed from the tractor 1 (+X direction) will be defined as the front, and the direction of the screed 3 viewed from the tractor 1 (-X direction) will be defined as the rear. The tractor 1 is a mechanism that allows the asphalt finisher 100 to move. In this embodiment, the tractor 1 rotates a rear wheel 5 by using a rear wheel traveling hydraulic motor, and rotates a front wheel 6 by using a front wheel traveling hydraulic motor, thereby moving the asphalt finisher 100. The rear wheel traveling hydraulic motor and the front wheel traveling hydraulic motor are supplied with hydraulic oil from a hydraulic pump and rotate. However, the front wheel 6 may be a non-driving wheel. The asphalt finisher 100 may also be a crawler-type asphalt finisher. In this case, the combination of the rear wheel 5 and the front wheel 6 is replaced by the combination of a left crawler and right crawler. The controller 50 is a control device that controls the asphalt finisher 100. In this embodiment, the controller 50 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, a volatile memory device, a non-volatile memory device, and so forth, and is mounted on the tractor 1. The functions of the controller 50 are implemented as the CPU executes programs stored in the nonvolatile storage device. However, the functions of the controller 5