Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
1
Title: A vehicle for spreading products on a road surface
Technical Field
The invention relates to a vehicle for spreading products on a road surface,
in par-
ticular de-icing or friction-producing products, including
distribution means supported by said vehicle and adapted to spread said
products on
said road surface,
electronic control means cooperating with said distribution means to determine
the
spreading parameters in response to a preset route, said spreading parameters
for in-
stance being the quantity of product spread per unit area, the width and
symmetry of
the spreading,
positioning means for generating a position and direction signal correlated
with the
position and the direction of said vehicle, said electronic control means
cooperating
with said positioning means for controlling said spreading parameters in
response to
said position signal so as to associate at least one of said spreading
parameters with
the current position and speed of said vehicle.
Background Art
EP 835962 and US patent no 6 154 699 both disclose a vehicle of the above
type,
the spreading parameters being controlled in response to the position of the
vehicle.
However, a vehicle of this type is not completely satisfactory as it lacks the
ability to
adjust for various conditions, e.g. the conditions in an intersection or a
roundabout
or when travelling over or under bridges and through tunnels.
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
2
Disclosure of Invention
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a vehicle of the above
type, which
is more advanced than hitherto known.
According to the invention, a vehicle of the above type is characterised in
that the
spreading/distribution defined by the preset route is initiated only when the
position
and the direction of said vehicle generated by the positioning means
substantially
match a correlated position and direction according to the preset route.
The fact that the control means also control the spreading parameters in
response to
the speed and the direction of the vehicle allows for optionally increasing
the speed
in some areas while automatically adjusting for instance the quantity of
product
spread in relation thereto. This automatic adjustment enables the driver to
concen-
trate more on the traffic, which evidently increases road safety.
Furthermore, according to the invention, the positioning means may include a
GPS-
system.
Additionally, according to the invention, while driving, the driver may also
be navi-
gated by means of the GPS-system, which is also used as a GPS-navigation
system.
As a result, the driver no longer needs to concentrate as much on the route as
earlier,
and he will thus be able to concentrate more on the traffic.
Furthermore, according to the invention, the positioning means may include a
gyro
to enable to vehicle to also know the correct position and direction when
there is no
clear view of the GPS-satellites.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawings, in
which
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
3
Fig. I is a flow chart to show how a route is "recorded", edited and executed,
and
Fig. 2 is an example of a route depicted on a monitor.
Best Modes for Carrying out the Invention
An effective winter service provides passable roads throughout the winter
season by
using effective equipment minimising the consumption of salt while
distributing an
uniform spreading pattern across the entire width of the road.
The use of moistened salt has resulted in a reduced consumption of salt.
However,
under the right climatic conditions, liquid spreading can contribute to a
further re-
duction in the consumption of salt.
In the attempt to continuously optimise the road service and road safety,
focus has in
recent years been on the need for the spreading to also adjust for varying
road
widths, for instance at bus lay-bys, parking lots along the road, roundabouts,
etc.
For a driver who first and foremost needs to watch the road, it is no easy
task to at
the same time operate a remote control to a spreader mounted on the vehicle.
In ad-
dition, it should be taken into account that a vehicle moving at a speed of
approx. 50
km/h moves approx. 14 m per sec. Thus, it is easy to imagine how difficult it
must
be for the driver to react to the road situation in the exact moment required.
It is for
instance necessary to adjust the spreader just before the road width
increases, e.g. at
bus-lays, so as to distribute extra salt at the exact position required, but
not long be-
fore that particular point. An accurate and timely correct adjustment of the
spreading
width is thus vital for preventing slippery roads as effectively as possible.
In order to obtain such effectiveness, a so-called GSS-system is used, said
system
being based on a GPS-controlled spreading.
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
4
The GSS-system works as a module, first by making a "recording" and
subsequently
by "playing" it. Thus, a recording is made of a particular route by travelling
said
route, for instance when planning the route for the next winter season. As the
vehicle
travels, the desired spreading adjustments are made by means of a remote
control
unit placed in the cabin of the vehicle, and these adjustments are stored
together
with the current GPS-positions, thereby building a complete spreading route.
The route is then studied in the administration centre, where it is depicted
graphi-
cally on for instance a PC and optionally edited. Fig. 2 shows a display of a
route
edited by means of an editing program. The route is ready for use after
editing and is
stored on a memory card to be inserted into the remote control unit in the
driver's
cabin. The GSS-system is then ready to be used and can be activated by means
of
pressing a few keys on the remote control unit.
When the route is to be executed, the desired route is selected via the remote
control
unit, and the GSS-system then sets the correct quantities, widths and other
relevant
spreader parameters as the vehicle travels. Hence, it is now possible for the
driver to
concentrate on steering the vehicle to a greater extent than earlier, which
increases
road safety and the driver's convenience.
Furthermore, only the desired quantity is spread on the roads, which evidently
bene-
ficial to the environment and road safety.
When developing the GSS-system, it was important to make the operation thereof
as
simple and user-friendly as possible, while a considerable precision also was
re-
quired. In addition, the GSS-system should be able to adjust for unexpected
inci-
dents along the route and still be adapted so as to automatically adjust for
inaccura-
cies in the GPS-system, mechanical inaccuracies, etc.
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
A GSS-system operates on the basis of the preset settings and reacts within
5m. If
the driver were to react with a precision of 5m, he would need to react within
1/3
sec., which naturally is not realistic in practice.
5 However, drivers often travel different routes, thereby significantly
reducing the
knowledge of each particular route. This problem is also solved by means of
the
GSS-system according to the invention.
The flow chart of Fig. 1 illustrates how it is possible to record and edit a
route for a
road machine by means of the GSS-system according to the invention.
Initially, the starting position of the vehicle is stored together with the
relevant start-
ing spreading parameters. Thereafter, the desired route is travelled, the
position of
the vehicle being stored every second and the spreading settings being stored
by the
adjustment thereof.
The recorded reference route with the respective spreading settings is then
transmit-
ted to a portable medium and inserted into a PC having a programme for
processing
the route. This processing programme allows for making the necessary or
desired
adjustments of the spreading parameters on the route.
Several routes can be collected into a route data set, which is loaded into
the PC.
The generated route data sets are then transmitted to a portable registration
medium
corresponding to the previously used and are brought to the respective road
machine
for insertion into a remote control unit in the driver's cabin of the vehicle.
One of the routes in the data set is selected and activated.
The route is travelled and the specified spreading settings are activated when
the ve-
hicle reaches the respective positions. It should be noted that the respective
spread-
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
6
ing settings not only depend on the position but also on the speed and the
direction
of the vehicle. In a particular preferred embodiment, the respective spreading
pa-
rameters also depend on the air temperature and air humidity as well as the
tempera-
ture and the friction of the road.
Thus, the control means can be said to be vector-based, the control not only
being
dependent on a position but more generally dependent on a vector in a space.
In order to ensure that the route is executed correctly, the driver is to
regularly keep
an eye on the direction of travel, the speed, the coming spreading
settings.and the
dead times.
Prior to travelling the recorded route, it is necessary to check several
conditions on
the chosen route. These conditions have to meet predetermined requirements in
or-
der to allow the control to be taken over by the GSS-system, and likewise when
the
route is deviated from, predetermined requirements have to be met before the
con-
trol can be switched from the GSS-system to a subsequent manual control. In
order
to switch to "on-route", it is necessary to find the nearest point, said point
having to
be situated within 15 seconds of travel, however maximum 50m. In addition, the
next point on the route has to be situated in the direction of travel, and the
previous
point has to be situated behind the spreader. If these conditions are met, the
system
switches to "on-route". In order to switch to "off-route", the next point and
a number
of subsequent points have to be situated behind the spreader. Alternatively,
the dis-
tance between the next point on the route and a point perpendicular to the
direction
of travel and the point on the route has to be larger than a predetermined
value
(50m).
When the route is deviated from, the last known spreading parameters are main-
tained and the driver is simultaneously notified by an alarm from the remote
control
unit that he has left the route.
CA 02582154 2007-03-28
WO 2006/039928 PCT/DK2005/000657
7
In addition, during the execution of a route, it is possible to override the
route se-
lected by the driver by means of a radio contact, such as a GSM-connection
with the
spreader. This option can for instance be helpful when the road service
control cen-
tre receives information, through forecasts or the like, that the weather
appears to be
changing, in which case it can be advantageous to travel the route with a
different
dosage than the dosage the driver was informed of earlier.
Furthermore, the GPS-controlled spreading can optionally be combined with a
con-
tinuous measurement of the road temperature in order to adjust the preset
dosage.
In addition, the GPS-controlled spreading can combined with a continuous meas-
urement of the friction on the road surface in order to adjust the preset
dosage.
Furthermore, the route forecasts can generally be transmitted via GSM in order
to
adjust the preset dosage.
In a particular advantageous embodiment, the system is also equipped with a
gyro to
enable the vehicle to also know the correct position and direction when the
route
travels through a city with buildings so high that there is no clear view of
the respec-
tive satellites constituting the GPS-system.
The route recording and editing are described in more details in the enclosed
Manual
for Eposat~.
