AN APPROXIMATION OF THE WEIGHT OF THE LOADED MATERIAL DURING THE SCOOPING OPERATION OF A MECHANICAL LOADER

摘要

As part of a study towards automation of the loading process in a mechanical loader, in excavation or a reclaiming operation from a muck pile, the forces involved in the scooping action must be analyzed. In the present approach, the cutting edge of a bucket is regarded as the tool point for a robot manipulator. The loader, itself, is considered to be a robot arm for which the relevant knowledge and state of the art in robotics can be utilized for automation of its operation. There are five forces at each instant during scooping that must be provided for the bucket by the actuators moving the bucket. These forces are: The weight of material to be moved; the force towards pushing, pressing and compacting the material; the friction forces; the digging or cutting force; and the dynamic or inertia forces for the motion. Analysis of these forces and formulating their variation during scooping needs a great deal of theoretical and experimental research. This work is confined to the first force, the weight of the loaded material. After a general description of all these forces, approximate expressions are derived for the calculation of this force in terms of the parameters of motion and dimensions of a loader bucket.