US-12618206-B2 - Robotic maintenance vehicle and modules

US12618206B2US 12618206 B2US12618206 B2US 12618206B2US-12618206-B2

Abstract

The robotic maintenance vehicle (RMV) has a propulsion system, a control system, an electrical power source, a maintenance module, a multi-axis robot, an optical system, and a location translator. The maintenance module is configured to hold different kinds of road maintenance materials. The multi-axis robot is configured to convey the road maintenance material from either the maintenance module to the road, the road to the maintenance module, or both. The optical system and the location translator are configured to be controlled by the control system and operate in conjunction to instruct the multi-axis robot where to pick up and/or place the road maintenance material. The multi-axis robot is configured to be selectively coupled to a distal arm tool.

Inventors

Todd Hendricks, SR.

Assignees

PIONEER INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220715

Claims (20)

1 . A robotic maintenance vehicle comprising: a vehicle platform; an electrical power source; a multi-axis robot powered by the electrical power source, the multi-axis robot configured to perform a road maintenance operation; an optical system configured to identify a road feature; a location translator spaced apart from the multi-axis robot, the location translator including a linear encoder, the location translator configured to translate a location of the road feature identified by the optical system to a working area of the multi-axis robot; a propulsion system configured to propel the robotic maintenance vehicle; and an autonomous control system spaced apart from the location translator, the autonomous control system configured to control motion of the multi-axis robot based on the translated location of the road feature.
2 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , including a maintenance module configured to hold a road maintenance material, and wherein the autonomous control system controls the functions of the multi-axis robot configured to perform a road maintenance operation including (1) semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from a road to the maintenance module, (2) semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from the maintenance module to the road, or (3) semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from the road to the maintenance module and semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from the maintenance module to the road.
3 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 2 , wherein the road maintenance material includes a sealant; the multi-axis robot is configured to convey the sealant from the maintenance module to the road; and the road feature identified by the optical system includes a crack in a surface of the road, the optical system further comprises an optical mapping module configured to map the crack, and a visual representation generator for generating a visual representation of the road feature from the optical mapping module and the multi-axis robot is configured to convey the sealant from the maintenance module to the crack mapped by the optical mapping module.
4 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the road feature identified by the optical system includes a crack in a surface of the road, the optical mapping module further comprises a calculator to calculate an operation speed of the multi-axis robot and a pump rate of the road maintenance material, wherein the autonomous control system controls a rate of dispensing of the road maintenance material and an amount of the road maintenance material dispensed based on a size of the crack though a computer program.
5 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the optical mapping module includes: a shroud configured to substantially enclose the crack in the surface of the road; and a member selected from a group consisting of a laser, a digital camera, and combinations thereof to generate a visual representation.
6 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the autonomous control system controls the multi-axis robot including a distal arm tool fluidly coupled to the road maintenance material and configured to dispense the sealant.
7 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the distal arm tool has a spring actuated dampener and the autonomous control system allows the distal arm tool to follow a contour of the road as the distal arm tool moves across a surface of the road.
8 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 7 , further comprising an airstream module controlled by the autonomous control system wherein the airstream module is configured to provide an airstream to blow debris from one of the road and a crack in a surface of the road.
9 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the airstream module includes an oscillating air knife coupled to one of the robotic maintenance vehicle and the multi-axis robot.
10 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 2 , further comprising: another multi-axis robot powered by the electrical power source and controlled by the autonomous control system, the another multi-axis robot configured to (1) convey the road maintenance material from the road to the maintenance module, (2) convey the road maintenance material from the maintenance module to the road, or (3) convey the road maintenance material from the road to the maintenance module and convey the road maintenance material from the maintenance module to the road; wherein the optical system is configured to identify another road feature; and wherein the location translator is configured to translate a location of the another road feature identified by the optical system to a working area of the another multi-axis robot.
11 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 2 , wherein: the road maintenance material includes a plurality of traffic cones; and the multi-axis robot is configured to convey one of the traffic cones from the road to the maintenance module and convey one of the traffic cones from the maintenance module to the road.
12 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the multi-axis robot includes a distal arm tool having a vertical clamp configured to releasably grasp a traffic cone disposed substantially vertical on a surface and a horizontal clamp configured to releasably clasp a traffic cone disposed substantially horizontal on a surface.
13 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 12 , wherein: the another multi-axis robot is configured to convey one of traffic cones from the road to the maintenance module and convey one of the traffic cones from the maintenance module to the road.
14 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 2 , wherein: the road maintenance material includes a plurality of traffic cones; the multi-axis robot is configured to convey one of the traffic cones from the road to the maintenance module and convey one of the traffic cones from the maintenance module to the road; and the robotic maintenance vehicle further comprises: another maintenance module configured to hold another road maintenance material, the another road maintenance material including a sealant; another multi-axis robot powered by the electrical power source, the another multi-axis robot configured to convey the sealant from the another maintenance module to the road; the optical system is configured to identify another road feature; and the location translator is configured to translate a location of the another road feature identified by the optical system to a working area of the another multi-axis robot.
15 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle platform includes one of: (1) a trailer; (2) a vehicle including the propulsion system, the propulsion system includes one of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, and an internal combustion engine (3) a vehicle having a trailer coupled to the vehicle; and (4) a trailer including the propulsion system, the propulsion system includes one of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, and an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
16 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the autonomous control system is further configured to control the vehicle platform.
17 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 16 , including a maintenance module configured to hold a road maintenance material, and wherein the autonomous control system controls the functions of the multi-axis robot configured to perform a road maintenance operation including (1) semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from a road to the maintenance module, (2) semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from the maintenance module to the road, or (3) semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from the road to the maintenance module and semi-autonomously conveying the road maintenance material from the maintenance module to the road.
18 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a distal arm tool is coupled to the multi-axis robot.
19 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 18 , wherein the distal arm tool includes one of a sealant dispenser, a cone picker, a saw, a grinder, a painter sprayer, and a scanner.
20 . The robotic maintenance vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the location translator is disposed on an underside of the robotic maintenance vehicle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/189,841, filed on Mar. 2, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application. No. 62/985,018 filed on Mar. 4, 2020. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to road maintenance technology, more particularly, robotic systems for use in construction or maintenance of roads. INTRODUCTION This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art. There are several problems facing today's highway and road maintenance teams. These include, but are not limited to, the following examples. There are safety issues, where workers can be exposed to high-speed traffic, distracted drivers, hazardous materials and equipment, and poor climate conditions. Ergonomic issues exist as maintenance work can involve several miles of walking and heavy lifting of material and equipment. Undesirably, this can lead to muscle strain, muscle imbalances, and fatigue. Efficiency issues exist relating to time spent training employees, preparing for zone control, setting up work zones, taking down work zones, and breaks. This wasted time reduces the overall time available for efficient work. Labor requirements place certain demands on projects, where road maintenance can take multiple people to set up, maintain zones, patrol zones, do the actual work, act as spotters, maintain safety, and maintain equipment. In addition, it can be difficult to find and keep good workers due to the hard-manual labor required and the rise of unemployment or shortage thereof. Traffic issues relate to where traffic can be hindered due to the length of the work zones and the amount of time needed to complete the maintenance. Undesirably, this can damage local economies. Equipment limitations can be present where road maintenance projects require multiple trucks and dedicated equipment to perform a single task, such as sealing cracks, setting cones, painting lines or arrows, etc. This equipment can be cost prohibitive, especially for smaller contractors. Material usage considerations include where different operators may apply too little or too much material for a given task. This can result in suboptimal coverage resulting in waste. Quality issues can occur, as most road maintenance generally involves manual labor and judgment based decisions, hence the quality of the end product can be inconsistent due to the skill of the individual worker. Environmental issues can be present, as with multiple vehicles, chemicals, and fuels being used in road maintenance, there is always the risk of an environmental accident. In addition, construction or maintenance vehicles and equipment emit carbon and heat into the atmosphere. Finally, other labor issues can impact road maintenance, including worker no-shows, vacations, scheduled breaks, allowing an operator to set a work pace, the high cost of benefits, as well as insurance and workers compensation claims. There is a continuing need for a robotic maintenance vehicle and modules that improve the quality of road maintenance. Desirably, functions of the robotic maintenance vehicle and modules can be automated to optimize road maintenance tasks, thereby improving worker safety and efficiency while more consistently tending transportation and community infrastructure. SUMMARY In concordance with the instant disclosure, a robotic maintenance vehicle and modules that improve the quality of road construction and/or maintenance, and which functions of the robotic maintenance vehicle and modules can be automated to militate against human error, has been surprisingly discovered. In certain embodiments, a robotic maintenance vehicle (RMV) includes a vehicle platform, a control system, an electrical power source, a multi-axis robot, an optical system, and a location translator. The RMV may further include a maintenance module. The vehicle platform may include a propulsion system configured to propel the vehicle platform. The control system may be configured to control the vehicle, the maintenance module, the electrical power source, the multi-axis robot, the optical system, the location translator, or a combination thereof. The maintenance module may be configured to hold a road maintenance material. Non-limiting examples of the road maintenance material may include traffic cones, road sealant (e.g., tar), and paint. The multi-axis robot and/or control system may be powered by the electrical power source. The multi-axis robot may be configured to convey the road maintenance material from either the maintenance module to the road, the road to the maintenance module, or both. The multi-axis robot may also be configured to be selectively coupled to a distal arm tool. Non-limiting examples of the distal arm tool may include a sealant dispenser, a cone picker, a saw, a grinder