EP3628779B1 - Ski trail maintenance vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a snow groomer for grooming a slope, having a vehicle support frame, a rear implement carrier which is arranged at the rear on the vehicle support frame, a snow groomer which is detachably arranged on the rear implement carrier, at least one actuating unit which is supported at one end on the vehicle carrier frame and at the other end on the snow groomer and by means of which at least one position and one inclination of the snow groomer can be changed relative to the vehicle support frame, and a control unit that is set up to control the actuating unit.

Such a snow groomer is in the form of a snow groomer from the DE 101 41 155 A1 known and provided for the preparation of a snow slope. The well-known snow groomer has a vehicle support frame on which a rear implement carrier is arranged at the rear. A snow groomer in the form of a snow blower with a downstream smoothing device is arranged on the rear implement carrier. The height and inclination of the rear implement carrier and thus the snow groomer can be changed relative to the vehicle support frame by means of a hydraulic adjusting unit. A control unit is provided for controlling the actuating unit. In the known snow groomer, an evaluation unit is used to compare an actual condition of the runway with a characteristic map stored in the control unit. The map represents various target settings for the height and inclination of the snow groomer. These target settings relate to different runway surface configurations and are achieved empirically through dry settings. In EP1418275 describes a method for distributing the drive power made available by a drive motor of a snow groomer to a traction drive and other consumers.

The object of the invention is to create a snow grooming vehicle of the type mentioned at the outset, which enables snow grooming which is further improved compared to the prior art and in particular allows improved grooming of contoured slopes, i.e. slopes provided with crests and hollows.

This object is achieved in that a detection unit connected to the control unit is provided, which is set up for the direct or indirect detection of several detection variables during a driving movement of the snow groomer along a movement path, namely at least one longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame, a course of the longitudinal inclination along the movement path and thus a longitudinal contour of the piste to be maintained, an actual position and/or an actual inclination of the piste maintenance device relative to the vehicle support frame and a longitudinal position of the piste maintenance device along the movement path and thus along the piste to be maintained, and that a connected to the control unit and the detection unit investigation unit is provided, which is set up to determine a desired position that follows the longitudinal contour and/or a desired inclination of the snow groomer as a function of the detection variables, the control unit for activating the actuating unit depending on the determined desired position and/or the desired inclination is set up. In particular, the solution according to the invention enables improved guidance of the piste maintenance device along the longitudinal contour of the piste to be maintained. This counteracts an unintentional removal of the crests, an unintentional filling of the troughs or an unintentional change in the gradient transitions when working with the snow groomer, particularly in the case of a piste provided with crests, troughs or other gradient transitions. Without an activation of the piste grooming device that follows the longitudinal contour, the same would, for example, reach too deep into the piste when driving over the piste or be lifted off it, which would be accompanied by an undesirable change in the piste or an inadequate grooming result. The solution according to the invention counteracts this. For this purpose, the detection variables are detected by the detection unit, the detected detection variables are processed by the determination unit and the target position and/or the target inclination of the snow groomer is determined as a function of this. This enables a regulated activation of the actuating unit and thus a regulation of the position and/or the inclination of the snow groomer device, which follows the longitudinal contour of the slope, as a function of the detection variables. As a result, a further improved maintenance of contoured slopes is ultimately made possible, with the greater human experience potential of an operator of the snow groomer vehicle being able to be dispensed with in particular. The detection variables recorded for the contour-following regulation of the snow groomer include, on the one hand, the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame. To detect the longitudinal inclination, the detection unit can have a sensor system suitable for this purpose, which is preferably arranged directly on the vehicle support frame. When driving through troughs or over crests of the slope with the snow groomer, the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame changes accordingly. This change, ie the course of the longitudinal gradient along the path of movement of the snow groomer, is detected by the detection unit. The course of the longitudinal gradient corresponds to the longitudinal contour of the runway to be maintained, at least when neglecting acceleration-related pitching effects of the slope maintenance vehicle. In addition, the detection unit is set up to detect the actual position and/or the actual incline of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame. For this purpose, the detection unit can have a corresponding sensor system. This sensor system can be assigned to the control unit. For example, the actuating unit can have hydraulic actuating elements, in particular in the form of hydraulic cylinders, whose stroke positions can be detected by means of the sensor system. The stroke positions recorded in this way allow, taking into account those specified by the design geometric conditions a conclusion about the actual position and / or the actual inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame. In addition, the detection unit is set up to detect the longitudinal position of the piste maintenance device in relation to the detected longitudinal contour of the piste to be maintained. This is because the piste grooming device has to be controlled with a time and/or distance delay due to the rear mounting on the vehicle support frame on the one hand and the detection of the longitudinal contour of the piste to be groomed depending on the inclination of the vehicle support frame - which is in front of the piste maintenance device - on the other hand. This requires the detection of the longitudinal position of the snow groomer along the longitudinal contour, for which purpose the detection unit can preferably have a distance measuring device. Alternatively or additionally, the longitudinal position can be determined by means of a locating unit assigned to the snow groomer, for example a satellite-supported GPS unit or the like.

The solution according to the invention is suitable in a particularly advantageous manner for a snow groomer in the form of a chain-driven snow groomer for grooming ski or snowboard slopes with a snow groomer in the form of a snow blower with a downstream smoothing device.

In an embodiment of the invention, it is provided that a transverse inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame can be changed by means of the actuating unit, that the acquisition unit is set up to acquire further detection variables, namely a transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame, a course of the transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame along the movement path and thus a transverse contour the slope to be maintained and an actual transverse slope of the slope maintenance device relative to the vehicle support frame, and that the determination unit is set up to determine a target transverse slope of the slope maintenance device that follows the transverse contour as a function of the detection variables and the other detection variables. This embodiment of the invention represents a particularly advantageous extension of the regulation of the position and position of the snow grooming device according to the invention and in particular enables improved grooming of slopes that have troughs, crests and/or gradient transitions oriented transversely to the movement path. The transverse slope is oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal slope. In order to change the transverse inclination of the snow groomer, the control unit preferably has appropriate hydraulic control elements. In order to detect the transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame, the detection unit preferably has a sensor system provided for this purpose. When driving on a runway with a variable transverse gradient, the transverse gradient of the vehicle support frame inevitably changes. The profile of the transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame, which is detected by the detection unit, is negligible, at least driving dynamic effects - a clear conclusion about the transverse contour of the slope to be maintained. In order to detect the actual transverse slope of the snow groomer relative to the support frame, the detection unit preferably has a sensor system provided for this purpose. The sensor system is preferably assigned to the actuating unit. For example, the actuating unit can have at least one hydraulic actuating cylinder provided for changing the transverse slope, the stroke position of which can be detected by the sensors and allows conclusions to be drawn about the transverse slope of the snow groomer. When determining the target transverse slope that follows the transverse contour, on the one hand the detection variables, in particular the actual position of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame and the longitudinal position of the snow groomer along the movement path, and on the other hand the aforementioned other detection variables are taken into account.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the detection unit has an inclination sensor assigned to the vehicle support frame, by means of which the longitudinal inclination and/or the transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame can be detected. The inclination sensor is thus used for indirect detection of the longitudinal contour and/or the transverse contour of the slope to be maintained. The inclination sensor is preferably arranged directly on the vehicle support frame. Inclination sensors are generally known as such, particularly in the field of vehicle construction.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the detection unit has an electronic memory unit, by means of which the longitudinal inclination and/or the transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame can be stored over time and/or over the movement path and the longitudinal contour and/or the transverse contour of the runway to be maintained can thus be detected . The electronic storage unit is used for data-based storage of the detected longitudinal inclination and/or the transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame during the driving movement of the snow groomer. This means that corresponding measured values for the longitudinal gradient and/or the transverse gradient are stored in the memory unit as a function of a time-based and/or distance-based sampling rate. The longitudinal gradient values and/or transverse gradient values stored in the storage unit in this way represent the course of the corresponding gradient and thus the longitudinal contour and/or the transverse contour of the runway to be maintained.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the actuating unit has a plurality of actuating cylinders, with the detection unit having a plurality of displacement sensors assigned to the actuating cylinders, by means of which the actual position, the actual incline and/or the actual transverse incline of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame can be detected. The actuating cylinders are preferably each in Form of a hydraulic cylinder formed. For example, at least one of the adjusting cylinders can be provided to change the inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame. At least one other of the adjusting cylinders can be variable in order to change the position of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame. The position is preferably a lifting position of the snow groomer and the corresponding actuating cylinder is therefore preferably a lifting cylinder. If the adjustment unit is set up to change the transverse inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame, at least one of the adjustment cylinders is provided for this purpose. The displacement sensors are preferably integrated into the actuating cylinders. In this case, the position and/or inclination and/or transverse inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame can be inferred by detecting a stroke path of the respective actuating cylinder.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the detection unit has a path measuring device, by means of which a route covered along the movement path can be measured and thus the longitudinal position of the snow groomer along the longitudinal contour can be indirectly detected. Since the snow groomer is arranged at the rear on the vehicle support frame, i.e. on the rear implement carrier, contour-following control of the snow groomer - when the snow groomer is moving forward - requires a distance or time-delayed control. This is because the slope grooming device follows the vehicle support frame and thus only reaches the corresponding contour of the slope to be groomed after the vehicle support frame. The distance measuring device allows a local assignment or a kind of referencing of the detected longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame and/or the detected transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame in relation to the trajectory that serves as the basis for the displacement-delayed activation of the actuator. The path measuring device is preferably assigned to a chain drive of the snow groomer and can be designed, for example, in the form of a rotary encoder that detects the revolutions of a sprocket wheel of the chain drive. The rotations of the sprocket wheel detected in this way allow conclusions to be drawn about the distance covered along the movement path.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the control unit is set up to activate the actuating unit depending on at least one scaling factor that can be selected by an operator and is provided for scaling the target position, the target slope and/or the target transverse slope of the snow groomer. The scaling factor can be adjustable, for example, in the form of a setting value on an operating unit assigned to the control unit. The operator can use the at least one scaling factor to influence a result to be achieved for the slope maintenance. For example, by means of at least one Scaling factor influences whether the snow groomer device is to be tracked exactly along the longitudinal contour and/or the transverse contour or is to be tracked at a distance from the respective contour.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a first value of the scaling factor causes a contour-removing control of the actuating element, a second value of the scaling factor a contour-preserving control, and a third value of the scaling factor a contour-enhancing control. The contour-preserving control of the actuating element causes the piste grooming device to be tracked as precisely as possible along the longitudinal contour and/or the transverse contour of the piste to be groomed. To put it simply, the contour-removing control causes the snow groomer to be placed more firmly against the slope, which still follows the contour, but in which the snow groomer engages the slope more deeply in the depth direction. In contrast, the contour-enhancing control effects a control that tracks the contour, in which the snow grooming device is spaced parallel to the contour of the slope to be groomed. As a result, piste material removed during maintenance of the piste can be deposited at the appropriate point on the piste, increasing the contour.

The object on which the invention is based is also achieved in that a detection unit connected to the control unit is provided, which is set up for the direct or indirect detection of several detection variables during a driving movement of the snow groomer along a movement path, namely at least one longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame, an actual Position and/or an actual inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame, and that a determination unit connected to the control unit and the detection unit is provided, which is set up to determine a target inclination of the snow groomer, aligned parallel to the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame, as a function of the detection variables, wherein the control unit is set up to control the actuating unit as a function of the determined desired inclination. In particular, this solution according to the invention enables improved maintenance of non-contoured, ie level or uniformly steep, slopes without significant gradient transitions. It has been shown here that the inventive alignment of the snow groomer, which is inclined parallel to the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame, is particularly advantageous for this purpose. Depending on the driving condition, the actual position and/or the actual incline of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame inevitably also changes on level slopes. Depending on the processing status of the piste maintenance device, this change in the actual position and/or actual inclination can be undesirable and detrimental to an intended maintenance result. This solution according to the invention counteracts this in that the slope of the snow groomer is regulated in such a way that it is always parallel to the vehicle support frame remains aligned. In this solution according to the invention, the setup of the detection device differs from the setup of the detection device in connection with the solution according to the invention with the features of claim 1 only by a reduced scope of the detection variables. The same applies to the establishment of the determination unit, which processes the longitudinal inclination of the vehicle support frame, the actual position and/or the actual inclination of the snow groomer relative to the vehicle support frame in this inventive solution for determining the target inclination of the snow groomer. Otherwise, to avoid repetition, reference is made to the further disclosure in connection with the solution according to the invention with the features of claim 1, which applies in a corresponding manner to the solution according to the invention with the features of claim 9 relevant here, taking into account the aforementioned differences.

Fig. 1

zeigt in schematischer Darstellung eine Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Pistenpflegefahrzeugs und

Fig. 2

in schematischer Seitenansicht eine weitere Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Pistenpflegefahrzeugs.

Further advantages and features of the invention result from the claims and from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated with the aid of the drawings.

1

shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a snow groomer according to the invention and

2

a schematic side view of a further embodiment of a snow groomer according to the invention.

A snow groomer 1 according to 1 is designed in the form of a chain-driven snow groomer and intended for maintaining a snow-covered runway 2 . The piste 2 covered with snow is a ski or snowboard piste and, for reasons of drawing, has troughs, crests and/or gradient transitions that are not shown. In that regard, the snow-covered runway 2 is a contoured runway and not how 1 suggests, just extends.

The piste grooming vehicle 1 has a vehicle support frame 3, which in the present case is in the form of a welded construction made from sheet metal, on which the other components of the piste grooming vehicle 1 are mounted. The vehicle support frame 3 thus forms the supporting structure of the snow groomer 1. The snow groomer 1 has a structural design that is fundamentally known as such. Accordingly, a driver's cab 4 is arranged on the support frame 3 in a front area of the support frame 3--in relation to a forward direction of travel of the snow groomer 1. Furthermore, the snow grooming vehicle 1 has a clearing blade 5 which is arranged at the front on the vehicle support frame 3 and which is activated by means of hydraulic actuating cylinders which are not specified in any more detail fundamentally known manner in its position and location relative to the vehicle support frame 3 is variable. On the underside of the vehicle support frame 3 there is a chain running gear, not designated in any more detail, which has a sprocket wheel 6 arranged at the rear in the present case. The sprocket wheel 6 can be driven via a central combustion engine, not designated in any more detail, which is designed as a diesel engine, in order to move the snow groomer 1 over the slope 2 . The snow groomer 1 also has a rear implement carrier 7 which is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle support frame 3 and on which a snow groomer 8 is detachably arranged in a manner which is known in principle. In the present case, the slope maintenance device 8 is a snow blower with a downstream smoothing device, as is customary for the maintenance of ski or snowboard slopes and as such is known in principle. The rear implement carrier 7 and thus indirectly the snow groomer 8 can be positioned and changed in position by means of an actuating unit 9 . The control unit 9 is supported in a known manner on the vehicle support frame 3 at one end and at least indirectly on the snow grooming device 8 at the other end. The actuating unit 9 has a structure which is known in principle as such and provides for an arrangement of a plurality of hydraulic actuating cylinders, with reference to FIG 1 only one actuating cylinder 10 can be seen. At least one position P and one inclination N of the snow groomer 8 relative to the vehicle support frame 3 can be changed by means of the adjusting unit 9 . The position P and the inclination N are based on 1 schematically drawn in an imaginary focus of the snow groomer 8. Here, the position P is a lifting position of the snow grooming device 8 and the inclination N is an inclination about an unspecified perpendicular to the plane of the drawing 1 oriented axis of rotation of the snow groomer 8.

In addition, the snow groomer 1 has a control unit S, which is set up to control the actuating unit 9 . In the present case, the control unit S is an electronic control unit that has a structure that is fundamentally known as such. Based 1 the control unit S is only indicated schematically and, for drawing reasons, drawn in outside of the structure of the snow groomer 1 . The control unit S is connected to the actuating unit 9 by means of a control line which is indicated by dashed lines and is not described in any more detail. The setting unit 9 can be controlled by the control unit S via the control line in a basically known manner to change the position P and the inclination N of the snow groomer 8 .

As stated above, runway 2 - is different than 1 suggests - provided with troughs, crests and/or gradient transitions that are not shown in the drawing. In order to ensure that the piste 2 contoured in this way is maintained as required, the actuating unit 9 must be controlled accordingly and the position of the piste maintenance device 8 must be adjusted accordingly. Otherwise is not rule out that the piste maintenance device 8 acts on the piste 2 in an unintentional manner and causes, for example, an unintentional removal of said crests, an unintentional filling of the troughs and/or a change in the gradient transitions.

In order to counteract this, a detection unit E connected to the control unit S is provided in particular. The detection unit E is connected to the control unit S, which is used for signal and/or data transmission, by means of a signal line, not designated in any more detail. In the present case, the signal line is indicated as a wired line, but this is not absolutely necessary. Alternatively, the signal line can be wireless. In this case, the detection unit E is set up for the direct and/or indirect detection of a plurality of detection variables during a travel movement of the snow groomer 1 along a path of movement over the slope 2, which is not specified in any more detail. The individual detection variables and in particular the manner in which they are detected by the detection unit E will be discussed in detail later.

In addition, a determination unit M connected to the control unit S and the detection unit E is provided. The determination unit M is connected to the control unit S on the one hand and the detection unit E on the other hand for signal and/or data transmission by means of two signal lines, not designated in any more detail. In this case, the determination unit M is used to process the detection variables detected by the detection unit E. The determination unit M is set up to determine a target position SP and/or a target inclination SN of the snow groomer 8 as a function of the detection variables detected by the detection unit E. In this case, the target position SP and/or the target slope SN is adapted to the contour of the slope 2 to be maintained in a manner to be described in more detail below. Furthermore, the control unit S is set up to control the actuating unit 9 as a function of the setpoint position SP determined by the determination unit M and/or the setpoint inclination SN. The setpoint position SP and the setpoint inclination SN are shown schematically in FIG 1 drawn.

To this extent, the control unit S, the detection unit E and the determination unit M are used—to put it very simply—to regulate the position P and the inclination N of the piste maintenance device 8 as a function of the detection variables recorded when driving on the piste 2 . The features of this regulation according to the invention are explained in detail below.

The detection variables on which the regulation is based and which are detected directly and/or indirectly by means of the detection unit E are, on the one hand, a longitudinal inclination L of the vehicle support frame 3. The longitudinal inclination L is shown in the present case in the area of an imaginary center of gravity of the vehicle support frame 3 for the purpose of basic clarification. The longitudinal inclination L describes an orientation of the vehicle support frame 3 in relation to a vertical direction predetermined by the earth's gravity vector g. The detection unit E has an inclination sensor 11 for detecting the longitudinal inclination L. The inclination sensor 11 is assigned to the vehicle support frame 3 and is arranged in the present case in the area of the center of gravity of the vehicle support frame 3, which is not specified in any more detail. The inclination sensor 11 can be designed in a manner known in principle as a precision mechanical or electronic component.

When driving over said crests, troughs and/or gradient transitions of the runway 2 to be maintained, the longitudinal inclination L of the vehicle support frame 3 naturally changes Snow groomer 1 set up. The profile of the longitudinal gradient, which can also be referred to as the longitudinal gradient profile L′, is therefore related to a longitudinal contour LK of the runway 2 , which can therefore be detected at least indirectly by the detection unit E. For this purpose, the detection unit E has an electronic storage unit 12 . The longitudinal inclination L of the vehicle support frame can be stored by means of the storage unit 12 over the duration of the travel movement of the snow grooming vehicle 1 and thus along the movement path. The values of the longitudinal inclination L stored in this way by means of the memory unit 12 thus describe the longitudinal inclination course L' and ultimately the longitudinal contour LK of the runway 2 to be maintained the course of the longitudinal gradient L′ and the longitudinal contour LK of the runway in relation to this point are thus also recorded or stored indirectly.

In addition to the longitudinal inclination L and the longitudinal contour LK, an actual position PI and/or an actual inclination NI of the snow groomer 8 relative to the vehicle support frame 3 are detected by the detection unit E as a further detection variable. For this purpose, the detection unit E has at least one displacement sensor 13 assigned to the actuating cylinder 10 of the actuating unit 9 . The actual position PI and/or the actual inclination NI can be detected indirectly by means of the at least one displacement sensor 13 . In the present case, only the actuating cylinder 10 is based on 1 seen, but several actuating cylinders are provided, each with a Displacement sensor are provided. Depending on the position of the actuating cylinder, which can be determined, for example, by determining the relative position between the cylinder and the piston of the actuating cylinder, the actual position PI and the actual inclination can be determined with known structural dimensions of the rear-side arrangement of rear implement carrier 7, actuating unit 9 and snow groomer 8 NI of the piste maintenance device 8 are closed.

How further based 1 As can be seen, the imaginary center of gravity of the snow groomer 8 is spaced in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle support frame 3 from the imaginary center of gravity of the vehicle support frame 3, which is not specified in detail, by a distance that is not specified. As previously described, the position P and the inclination N refer to the center of gravity of the snow groomer 8 and the detection of the longitudinal inclination L, the longitudinal inclination course L' and thus the longitudinal contour LK relate to the imaginary center of gravity of the vehicle support frame 3. This is the case with the control To be able to take the position P and inclination N into account, the detection unit E is set up to detect a longitudinal position LP of the snow groomer along the longitudinal contour LK. The longitudinal position LP is shown in the area of the center of gravity of the piste grooming device 8 for basic clarification. In order to detect the longitudinal position LP, the detection unit E has a path measuring device 14, by means of which a route covered along the slope 2 or the movement path of the snow groomer 2 can be measured. The distance traveled recorded in this way allows conclusions to be drawn about the longitudinal position LP. In the present case, the position measuring device 14 is arranged in the form of a fundamentally known rotary encoder in the area of the sprocket wheel 6 . The distance traveled and thus the longitudinal position LP of the snow groomer 8 can be recorded indirectly by recording the revolutions of the sprocket wheel 6 .

By processing the aforementioned detection variables L, LK, PI, NI and LP, the determination unit M determines the target position SP and/or the target slope SN of the snow groomer 8 in such a way that the longitudinal contour LK of the slope 2 is tracked. This means that the piste grooming device 8 is controlled in relation to its position P and inclination N by means of the control unit S in such a way that an unintentional change in the longitudinal contour LK during piste grooming is prevented. The process of controlling the position P and the inclination N is explained again below.

When driving on the contoured runway 2 in the forward direction of travel, the longitudinal inclination L of the vehicle support frame 3 is detected by the inclination sensor 11 . The longitudinal gradient L detected in this way is stored in the storage unit 12 at predetermined time or distance intervals during the travel movement of the snow groomer 1 . the on this Values stored in this way indirectly describe the longitudinal contour LK of the piste 2 . In addition, the actual position PI and the actual incline NI of the piste maintenance device 8 are recorded by means of the displacement sensors 13 relative to the vehicle support frame 3 . The longitudinal contour LK is detected in relation to the attachment location of the inclination sensor 11 , which in the present case is in the area of the imaginary center of gravity of the vehicle support frame 3 . Since the piste grooming device 8 is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle support frame 3 and is correspondingly spaced in the longitudinal direction from the reference point for detecting the longitudinal contour LK, there is - to put it simply - a path or time-delayed activation of the control unit 9, taking into account the distance covered by the distance measuring device 14, which Conclusions about the longitudinal position LP of the snow groomer 8 in relation to the longitudinal contour of the runway 2 LK.

When determining the target position SP and the target inclination SN, the current longitudinal inclination L of the vehicle support frame is taken into account as a correction value, so to speak. This ensures that the piste grooming device is not unintentionally lifted off the piste 2 or interferes with it when driving over the troughs, crests or gradient transitions of the piste 2 . This means that the snow grooming device 8 is instead guided along or tracked along the longitudinal contour LK by means of the regulation.

In addition, the control unit S is presently set up to control the actuating unit 9 as a function of at least one scaling factor F that can be selected by an operator. The scaling factor F can be entered by the operator, for example in the form of an input value, into an input unit, which is not designated in any more detail and is assigned to the control unit S, which can be arranged in the driver's cab 4 . The scaling factor F is used to scale the target position SP and the target inclination SN. This means that the operator can use the scaling factor F to influence whether the piste grooming device 8 rests exactly along the longitudinal contour LK on the piste 2 or instead, for example, is fed in the depth direction of the piste parallel to the longitudinal contour LK or lifted off the piste 2. In the present case, the control unit S allows the selection of several values of the scaling factor F. A first value F1 effects a contour-removing, a second value F2 a contour-preserving and a third value F3 a contour-increasing activation of the actuating unit 9. Contour-removing means that the snow groomer is parallel to the longitudinal contour LK penetrating in the depth direction into the runway 2 by means of the actuating unit 9 . Contour-maintaining means that the snow grooming device 8 is tracked approximately exactly in contact with the longitudinal contour LK. Contour-enhancing means that the piste grooming device 8 is slightly lifted off the piste 2 parallel to the longitudinal contour LK, so that during piste grooming snow picked up by means of the snow groomer 8 can be accumulated accordingly on the longitudinal contour LK in order to increase it.

In the present case, regulation of the piste maintenance device 8 in relation to a transverse contour QK of the piste 2 is also provided. For this purpose, a transverse inclination QN of the snow groomer 8 relative to the vehicle support frame 3 can be changed by means of the setting unit 9 . For this purpose, the actuating unit 9 has a hydraulic actuating cylinder, not designated in any more detail, which can be actuated by means of the control unit S in a manner known in principle in order to influence the transverse inclination QN. In addition, the acquisition unit E is set up to acquire further acquisition variables, namely a transverse inclination of the vehicle support frame Q, a course of this transverse inclination Q (transverse inclination course Q' of the vehicle supporting frame 3) along the movement path of the snow groomer 2 and thus the transverse contour QK of the slope to be groomed 2. Also include the other detection variables an actual transverse slope QNI of the slope maintenance device 8 relative to the vehicle support frame 3. The determination unit M is set up to determine a transverse contour QK of the runway 2 that tracks the target transverse slope QNS as a function of the detection variables and the other detection variables. The transverse inclination Q of the vehicle support frame 3 is here detected by means of the inclination sensor 11 . The transverse gradient Q recorded in this way is stored in the memory unit 12 in accordance with the longitudinal gradient L, so that a type of measurement record is recorded that describes the transverse contour QK of the runway 2 . In order to be able to provide the required displacement or time-delayed actuation of the actuating unit 9, the longitudinal position LP determined by means of the displacement measuring device 14 is used when determining the desired lateral inclination QNS in a similar way to when determining the desired position SP and the desired inclination SN considered. The transverse gradient QK of runway 2 is oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal contour LK.

Based 2 Another embodiment of a snow groomer 1 according to the invention can be seen which, in terms of its structural design, has a similarity to the snow groomer 1 according to 1 has an essentially identical structure and differs only with regard to the way in which the detection unit E, the establishment of the determination unit M and the establishment of the control unit S are set up. In that regard, in connection with the embodiment 2 with the embodiment 1 matching reference symbols used. Only the different setups of the detection unit E, the determination unit M and the control unit S are discussed below. Otherwise, reference is made to the disclosure in connection with the exemplary embodiment 1 referenced in a corresponding manner for the present embodiment 2 is applicable.

In contrast to the embodiment according to 1 the detection unit E is set up only for detecting the longitudinal inclination L and for detecting the actual position PI and/or the actual inclination NI of the snow groomer 8 relative to the vehicle support frame 3 . In this respect, a reduced range of detection variables is provided. The longitudinal inclination is in turn detected by means of the inclination sensor 11 . With regard to the detection of the actual position PI and/or the actual inclination NI, reference is made to that in connection with the exemplary embodiment 1 Said referenced.

The determination unit M is set up to determine a target inclination SN′ of the snow groomer, aligned parallel to the longitudinal inclination L of the vehicle support frame 3, as a function of the longitudinal inclination L, the actual position PI and the actual inclination NI. The control unit S is set up to control the actuating unit 9 as a function of the determined desired inclination SN'.

Put simply, the embodiment differs according to 2 by the manner of determining the target inclination SN' of the embodiment 1 . The inclination N of the snow groomer 8 is regulated in such a way that it remains unaffected by external influences, such as forces acting on the snow groomer 8 due to the driving state, and always remains aligned parallel to the vehicle support frame. This type of regulation has proven to be particularly advantageous, in particular for slopes that are level.

Claims (9)

1. Piste grooming vehicle (1) for preparing a piste (2), having

   - a vehicle support chassis (3),

   - a rear equipment carrier (7) which is disposed on the rear side to the vehicle support chassis (3),

   - a piste grooming device (8) which is removably disposed on the rear equipment carrier (7),

   - at least one setting unit (9) which is supported on one end on the vehicle support chassis (3) and on the other end on the piste grooming device (8) and by means of which at least one position (P) and an inclination (N, QN) of the piste grooming device (8) is variable relative to the vehicle support chassis (3), and

   - a control unit (S) which is configured for controlling the setting unit (9),

   - characterized in that a detection unit (E) is provided and connected to the control unit (S), which detection unit is configured for direct and/or indirect detection of multiple detection variables during a travel motion of the piste grooming vehicle (1) along a trajectory, namely at least

   - a longitudinal inclination (L) of the vehicle support chassis (3),

   - a progress of the longitudinal inclination (L') along the trajectory and thus a longitudinal contour (LK) of the piste (2) to be groomed,

   - an actual position (PI) and/or an actual inclination (NI) of the piste grooming device (8) relative to the vehicle support chassis (3), and

   - a longitudinal position (LP) of the piste grooming device (8) along the trajectory and thus along the longitudinal contour (LK) of the piste to be groomed,

   - and in that an identification unit (M) is provided and connected to the control unit (S) and the detection unit (E), which identification unit is configured for identification of a target position (SP) adjusted to the longitudinal contour (LK) and/or a target inclination (SN) of the piste grooming device (8) in response to the detection variables,

   - wherein the control unit (S) is configured for controlling the setting unit (9) as a function of the identified target position (SP) and/or the target inclination (SN).
2. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that

   - using the control unit (S), a cross slope (QN) of the piste grooming device (8) relative to the vehicle support chassis (3) is variable,

   - that the detection unit (E) is configured for detecting further detection variables, namely a cross slope (Q) of the vehicle support chassis (3), a progress of the cross slope (Q') of the vehicle support chassis (3) along the trajectory and thus a cross contour (QK) of the piste (2) to be groomed, and an actual cross slope (QNI) of the piste grooming device (8) relative to the vehicle support chassis (3),

   - and in that the identification unit (M) is configured for identification of a target cross inclination (QNS) adjusted to the cross contour (QK) in response to the detection variables and the further detection variables.
3. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the detection unit (E) has an inclination sensor (11) associated with the vehicle support chassis (3), by means of which sensor the longitudinal inclination (L) and/or the cross slope (Q) of the vehicle support chassis (3) is detectable.
4. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection unit (E) has an electronic storage unit (12), by means of which storage unit the longitudinal inclination (L) and/or the cross slope (Q) of the vehicle support chassis (3) is storable over time and/or in intervals along the trajectory and thus the longitudinal contour (LK) and/or the cross contour (QK) of the piste (2) to be groomed is detectable.
5. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the setting unit (9) has multiple positioning cylinders (10), wherein the detection unit (E) has multiple path sensors (13) assigned to the positioning cylinders (10), by means of which sensors the actual position (PI), the actual inclination (NI) and/or the actual cross slope (QNI) of the piste grooming device (8) relative to the vehicle support chassis (3) is detectable.
6. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the detection unit (E) has a distance measuring device (14), by means of which measuring device a driving distance travelled along the trajectory is measurable and thus indirectly the longitudinal position (LP) of the piste grooming device (8) along the longitudinal contour (LK) is detectable.
7. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (S) is configured for controlling the setting unit (9) as a function of at least one scaling factor (F) which is selectable by an operator, which factor is provided for scaling the target position (SP), the target inclination (SN) and/or the target cross inclination (QNS) of the piste grooming device (8).
8. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that a first value (F1) of the scaling factor (F) causes a contour removing, a second value (F2) of the scaling factor causes a contour maintaining and a third value (F3) of the scaling factor causes a contour increasing control of the setting unit (9).
9. Piste grooming vehicle (1) according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that

   - a detection unit (E) is provided and connected to the control unit (S), which detection unit is configured for direct and/or indirect detection of multiple detection variables during a travel motion of the piste grooming vehicle (1) along a trajectory, namely at least

   - a longitudinal inclination (L) of the vehicle support chassis (3),

   - an actual position (PI) and/or an actual inclination (NI) of the piste grooming device (8) relative to the vehicle support chassis (3),

   - and in that an identification unit (M) is provided and connected to the control unit (S) and the detection unit (E), which identification unit is configured for identification of a target inclination (SN') of the piste grooming device (8) oriented in parallel to the longitudinal inclination (L) of the vehicle support chassis (3) in response to the detection variables,

   - wherein the control unit (S) is configured for controlling the setting unit (9) as a function of the identified target inclination (SN').

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