US 11,885,222 B2
Inclination-based levelling system
Rex Aaron Glover, Deer Creek, IL (US); and Timo Diekmann, Castrop-Rauxel (DE)
Assigned to Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Denison, TX (US)
Filed by Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Denison, TX (US); and Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Dortmund (DE)
Filed on Sep. 28, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/034,936.
Prior Publication US 2022/0098930 A1, Mar. 31, 2022
Int. Cl. E21B 7/02 (2006.01); E21B 44/00 (2006.01); E21B 15/00 (2006.01); G05B 19/042 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 7/024 (2013.01) [E21B 7/022 (2013.01); E21B 15/00 (2013.01); E21B 44/00 (2013.01); G05B 19/0426 (2013.01); G05B 2219/45129 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A drilling machine with an inclination-based levelling system, the drilling machine comprising:
a frame including a front portion and a rear portion,
a tilt sensor coupled to the frame,
a plurality of support jacks including a pair of rear support jacks proximate the rear portion of the frame and a front support jack proximate the front portion of the frame, each support jack being retractable and extendable, wherein each of the plurality of support jacks includes a hydraulic cylinder coupled to a hydraulic fluid system of the drilling machine,
a plurality of support jacks including a pair of rear support jacks proximate the rear portion of the frame and a front support jack proximate the front portion of the frame, each support jack being retractable and extendable, wherein each of the plurality of support jacks includes a hydraulic cylinder coupled to a hydraulic fluid system of the drilling machine,
a plurality of pressure sensors, each pressure sensor coupled to one of the plurality of hydraulic cylinders,
a sensor configured to monitor and transmit sensor data, the sensor data including at least one of a roll of the drilling machine and a pressure; and
a controller, including a processor, the controller operatively associated with the sensor, the controller configured to calculate a volume of debris to be produced during an operation of the drilling machine, to select a machine height setting based on the calculated volume of debris, and to extend and retract the plurality of support jacks according to the selected machine height setting using the sensor data wherein the machine height setting is one of a low setting, a medium setting, and a high setting.