A Bucket Discharge Control for a Backhoe Excavator

Abstract

The study presents a practical, optimal control system of the discharge process of a backhoe bucket. The process begins when the bucket is filled and ends when the bucket come back to the digging position. In the process, several geometrical constraints are considered, such as, clearance dimension, and obstacles in the excavator working zone. In other words, the operator has to give the path of the discharge process. The problem is considered as a multi body, chain system, driven by hydraulic actuators. The system is decomp osed in free body diagrams of separate elements. Starting from the bucket, each element is solved separately, as many times, as many it is needed to get optimal time for given actuator forces.