System and method for controlling earthmoving implement position on a work vehicle

Abstract

A work vehicle includes an earthmoving implement configured to move material as the work vehicle travels across a surface within a work site. Additionally, the work vehicle includes a computing system configured to access a cut-fill map associated with the work site, with the cut-fill map depicting the material flow for transforming a current grade of the surface into a target grade of the surface. Moreover, the computing system is configured to determine at least one of the target grade of or a direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map. In addition, the computing system is configured to control the operation of an actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to a work vehicle frame based on the determined at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow.

1 . A work vehicle, comprising:
 a frame;   an earthmoving implement supported on the frame, the earthmoving implement configured to move material as the work vehicle travels across a surface within a work site;   an actuator configured to adjust a position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame; and   a computing system configured to:
 access a cut-fill map associated with the work site, the cut-fill map depicting a material flow for transforming a current grade of the surface into a target grade of the surface; 
 determine at least one of the target grade of or a direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and 
 control an operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow. 
   
     
     
         2 . The work vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein:
 when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine the target grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined target grade of the surface.   
     
     
         3 . The work vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein:
 when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine the direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined direction of the material flow for the surface.   
     
     
         4 . The work vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein, when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine a presence of an obstacle within or adjacent to the surface across which the work vehicle is traveling. 
     
     
         5 . A system for controlling earthmoving implement position on a work vehicle, the system comprising:
 a work vehicle frame;   an earthmoving implement supported on the work vehicle frame, the earthmoving implement configured to move material as the work vehicle travels across a surface within a work site;   an actuator configured to adjust a position of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame; and   a computing system configured to:
 access a cut-fill map associated with the work site, the cut-fill map depicting a material flow for transforming a current grade of the surface into a target grade of the surface; 
 determine at least one of the target grade of or a direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and 
 control an operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame based on the determined at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow. 
   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein:
 when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine the target grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined target grade of the surface.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein:
 when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine the direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined direction of the material flow for the surface.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein, when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine a presence of an obstacle within or adjacent to the surface across which the work vehicle is traveling. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein:
 when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine the target grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   the computing system is further configured to:
 determine a current grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and 
 determine a differential between the current grade of the surface and the target grade of the surface. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein, when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control the operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame based on the determined differential. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein:
 when determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow, the computing system is configured to determine the target grade of and the direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control the operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame based on the determined target grade and the determined direction of the material flow.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein, when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control the operation of the actuator to adjust a rotational angle of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame based on the determined at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein, when controlling the operation of the actuator, the computing system is configured to control the operation of the actuator to adjust a pitch angle of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame based on the determined at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the earthmoving implement corresponds to a moldboard assembly. 
     
     
         15 . A method for controlling earthmoving implement position on a work vehicle, the work vehicle including a frame and an earthmoving implement supported on the frame, the earthmoving implement configured to move material as the work vehicle travels across a surface within a work site, the method comprising:
 accessing, with a computing system, a cut-fill map associated with the work site, the cut-fill map depicting a material flow for transforming a current grade of the surface into a target grade of the surface;   determining, with the computing system, at least one of the target grade of or a direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   controlling, with the computing system, an operation of an actuator to adjust a position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein:
 determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow comprises determining, with the computing system, the target grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   controlling the operation of the actuator comprises controlling, with the computing system, the operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined target grade of the surface.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein:
 determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow comprises determining, with the computing system, the direction of the material flow for the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   controlling the operation of the actuator comprises controlling, with the computing system, the operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the frame based on the determined direction of the material flow for the surface.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow comprises determining, with the computing system, a presence of an obstacle within or adjacent to the surface across which the work vehicle is traveling. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein determining the at least one of the target grade or the direction of the material flow comprises determining, with the computing system, the target grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map, the method further comprising:
 determining, with the computing system, a current grade of the surface based on the accessed cut-fill map; and   determining, with the computing system, a differential between the current grade of the surface and the target grade of the surface.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein controlling the operation of the actuator comprises controlling, with the computing system, the operation of the actuator to adjust the position of the earthmoving implement relative to the work vehicle frame based on the determined differential.