Caterpillar Inc.
Slope Compensation System for Rotary Drill Machines

Abstract:

A system for compensating for a slope of a work surface while drilling holes in the work surface includes a leveling system, a rotary drill mechanism, a position sensor, an inclination sensor, and controller. The controller is configured to access coordinates of a desired map drill hole, determine current coordinates of a machine reference, and determine a current slope of the machine. A dynamic offset compensation is determined to compensate for movement of the rotary drill mechanism by the leveling system from a first position offset from the desired map drill hole to a second position aligned with the desired map drill hole, with the dynamic offset compensation being based upon the characteristics and the current slope of the machine. Upon the rotary drill mechanism being aligned with the first position, generating a leveling command to move the machine so that the rotary drill mechanism is aligned with the desired map drill hole.