A paving machine, such as an asphalt paver, is a self-propelled construction machine designed to receive, convey, distribute, profile, and partially compact paving material. Such a paving machine may accept heated paving material (e.g., asphalt) into a receiving hopper at the front of the paving machine. The heated asphalt material in the hopper is conveyed to the rear of the paving machine by conveyors positioned at a base of the hopper. The asphalt material is then distributed across a width of the paving machine by means of two opposing screws or augers. Finally, a screed assembly located at the rear of the paving machine profiles and compacts the asphalt material into a mat on a paving surface. Typically, one or more additional pieces of paving equipment, such as a cold planer, will remove a top layer of a roadway or other such work surface in order to expose the paving surface on which the mat is placed.
An example paving system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,382,395 (hereinafter referred to as the '395 patent). In particular, the '395 patent describes a system that includes a paving machine operable to receive information associated with a non-uniform paving surface. The system described in the '395 patent also includes a compactor, and a controller operable to control operation of the compactor based on information associated with a mat of material disposed on the paving surface by the paving machine. The '395 patent does not, however, describe the use of cut area information and/or other information associated with the operation of a cold planer in order to control a travel path of the paving machine, various screed width settings of the paving machine, or other paving machine functions.
Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward improving upon the various paving systems described above.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds