System and method for vehicle tank refilling
A vehicle or machine may include a consumable that requires refilling, such as fuel. Refilling the consumable may occur at a regular interval and the amounts may be recorded. Based on the past intervals and amounts, there may be modifications to future amounts. The weight of the consumable on a vehicle may decrease efficiency. Accordingly, the amount of consumable should be kept to a minimum to avoid carrying excess weight. Reducing an amount of the consumable upon replenishment can improve efficiency of the vehicle.
1. A method for adjusting a replenishment of a consumable to a vehicle, the method comprising:
recording past amounts for the replenishment of the consumable;
determining an optimal replenishment amount based on the recorded past amounts;
comparing a current replenishment amount with the optimal replenishment amount;
comparing, when the current replenishment amount is different from the optimal replenishment amount, the current replenishment amount with the recorded past amounts;
adjusting the optimal replenishment amount when the current replenishment amount matches at least one of the recorded past amounts; and
recording the current replenishment amount without adjustment to the optimal replenishment amount when the current replenishment amount matches the optimal replenishment amount.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
maintaining a counter for the recorded past amounts, wherein the adjusting is performed with the counter is above a minimum number of iterations.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the minimum number of iterations comprises three recorded past amounts.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
adjusting a current replenishment amount for the consumable based on the comparison.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the consumable comprises fuel and the replenishment comprises refueling.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the vehicle includes a fuel reservoir that is replenished.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the optimal replenishment amount is less than a maximum amount of fuel that the reservoir can hold.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the reservoir comprises a diesel fuel tank, the vehicle comprises a mining haulage dump truck, and replenishment comprises an automated fill level shutoff device.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the reservoir comprises a diesel emissions fluid (DEF) tank, the vehicle comprises a mining haulage dump truck, and replenishment comprises an automated fill level shutoff device.
10. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
setting the optimal replenishment amount based on a fuel usage profile of the vehicle.
11. A method for adjusting a replenishment volume of material to a vehicle, the method comprising:
determining a volume of at least one previous replenishment;
determining an optimal reservoir volume that corresponds to the at least one of the previous replenishments;
initiating automatic control of the vehicle reservoir to adjust a current replenishment volume; and
adjusting the optimal reservoir volume based on a comparison of the current replenishment volume with the optimal reservoir volume and a comparison with the previous replenishment volumes.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the material comprises fuel.