Development of an onboard weighing system of the load of an excavator via sensor fusion
Synopsis
Logistics and transport companies are imposing ever stricter requirements on the precision of the measurement of loaded goods. Usually the corresponding weighings are conducted on truck scales. They are bound to one place and vehicles have to drive onto them. This procedure is very time consuming and inefficient, as additional technology is required and longer distances have to be covered.
An example for such a system is a shovel excavator. When such an excavator is loading a truck, an potential overload can only be recognized after the truck drives onto the scale. Current approaches incorporate the scale directly into the back hoe. This allows the loaded weight to be measured for every shovel. The used load cells though are prone to failure and easy to damage.
The presented project uses the fact, that todays excavators are equipped with hydraulic gearboxes. This allwos to determine the pressure of the hydraulic fluid via sensor fusion. The loaded weight can then be calculated from the pressure. This approach reduces the installation effort of a weighing system and reduces cost.