US 12,078,017 B2
System and method to automatically position a machine in a shipping configuration
Saravanan S. Mathivanan, Chennai (IN); Sridhar Thondikulam Raveendran, Chennai (IN); and Sudhagar Selvam, Chennai (IN)
Assigned to Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Denison, TX (US)
Filed by Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Denison, TX (US)
Filed on Mar. 14, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/121,370.
Application 18/121,370 is a continuation in part of application No. 17/150,492, filed on Jan. 15, 2021, granted, now 11,649,679.
Claims priority of application No. 202011002017 (IN), filed on Jan. 16, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0272676 A1, Aug. 31, 2023
Int. Cl. E21B 15/04 (2006.01); E21B 7/02 (2006.01)
CPC E21B 15/045 (2013.01) [E21B 7/023 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
8. A method to render a machine from an expanded configuration into a shipping configuration, the machine having a boom and a drilling work device coupled to the boom, the method comprising:
receiving, by a controller, signals indicative of a spatial orientation of the boom, wherein the boom has at least one boom actuator;
receiving, by the controller, signals indicative of a spatial orientation of the drilling work device, wherein the drilling work device has at least a first actuator, and a second actuator;
actuating, by the controller, at least one of the at least one boom actuator, the first actuator and the second actuator based on the received spatial orientation of the boom and the drilling work device, received from an at least one boom sensor, which includes an inertial measurement unit sensor, and an at least one drilling work device sensor, which includes another inertial measurement unit sensor, through a series of predetermined steps to automatically position the machine in the shipping configuration within constraints of a shipping receptacle, the series of predetermined steps include:
raising the boom by a first pre-determined angle until the drilling work device is at a predetermined distance above ground;
lowering the boom by a second pre-determined angle contemporaneously with tilting the drilling work device by a fourth pre-determined angle; and
lowering the boom by a third pre-determined angle contemporaneously with tilting of the drilling work device by a fifth pre-determined angle.