ES2982076T3 - Method and system for treating a road surface using an industrial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for treating a road surface (9) by means of an industrial vehicle (1), comprising: acquiring a digital map (20) of an area to be treated, divided into a plurality of sub-areas; acquiring information on an actual state of the road surface in at least a portion of territory for each sub-areas; associating for each sub-areas the information with corresponding treatment parameters; using, in each sub-areas, the corresponding treatment parameters to control the operations of the industrial vehicle, such that the treatment parameters remain unchanged while the industrial vehicle remains in the same sub-areas and vary when the industrial vehicle enters a different sub-areas. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Method and system for treating a road surface using an industrial vehicle

Cross reference to related requests

This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102019000014871 filed on August 20, 2019.

Technical field of the invention

This invention relates to a method and system for treating a road surface using an industrial vehicle.

Background of the invention

There are known industrial vehicles adapted to spread anti-icing products (such as chlorides, grains of salt, saline solutions or fluxes in general) on the road surface to prevent or reduce the formation of ice and the deposit of snow on the road surface itself; and/or to spread abrasive products, such as sand or gravel, which can be incorporated into the layer of ice that may cover the road surface to improve its adhesion characteristics.

In particular, vehicles of the above type are known, the operation of which is managed by electronic control devices adapted to control the product spreading parameters (for example the quantity of product spread per square metre, the width and symmetry of the spreading, etc.) in a predetermined manner. In particular, the known electronic control devices comprise a memory containing spreading parameters selected for the specific morphological and/or environmental and/or meteorological conditions of the route on which the vehicle is supposed to travel. Inside the vehicle there are user interface means which allow the most suitable program to be selected for the route taken by the vehicle itself, in order to determine the quantity of product to be delivered and the delivery methods.

There are well-known methods where, once a product spreading program has been selected, which is suitable for the climatic and morphological conditions of the chosen route, the corresponding parameters are implemented regardless of variations in the morphological, environmental and meteorological conditions of the route. Therefore, if these conditions change, the spreading parameters are no longer optimal and must be manually modified by the vehicle control operator, who must assess the specific situation and adjust the spreading parameters accordingly.

For example, changes in the morphological/environmental conditions of the route may occur as the vehicle moves from a central area of a city in which it is operating (typically warmer and with low humidity values) to a peripheral area, for example a river area (typically colder and wetter). If the vehicle is operating in cold conditions (e.g. after a snowfall), the central city area is very likely to have wet or partially melted snow, while the river area will have frozen portions along the route.

There is therefore a need for vehicles equipped with devices for automatic monitoring of the conditions of the road on which they circulate, in order to automatically intervene on the spreading parameters at each change in the environmental conditions of the route on which the spreading is carried out, also to avoid errors caused by difficult operating conditions and/or operator errors.

To solve the above problem, systems have been proposed in which the vehicle for spreading products on the road surface is equipped with a device for obtaining information on the current state of the road and transferring this information to a control unit on board the vehicle; the control unit, after receiving and interpreting this information, selects and sets spreading parameters adapted to the specific conditions detected. These systems, however, have the drawback of reacting to changes in the conditions of the spreading route with a non-negligible delay due to the slowness required to mechanically apply the different spreading systems. Furthermore, local (insignificant) changes in the road conditions may trigger an undesired change in the spreading parameters, followed by a subsequent restoration of the previous parameters as soon as the local change is finished. This possible alternation of the spreading parameters, which is in fact not justified by the actual general situation of the route on which the spreading takes place, is not desirable.

Other systems provide for “on-the-spot” learning, through a so-called self-learning operation, i.e. by executing for the first time each of the routes on which road surface treatment operations are to be carried out and memorizing the spreading parameters of each route associated with the corresponding position where they must be implemented. These systems also have obvious disadvantages, due to the need to “scan” the route in advance and only then actually treat it, which increases the time and associated costs. This system is useful for determining the morphology of the road, but not the weather conditions, always working with a long delay in relation to the “scanning” time.

Patent document US2014/136023 relates generally to vehicle-mounted spreading systems and, more particularly, to a vehicle-mounted spreader control system.

Patent document EP0853708 relates to methods, apparatus and control systems for dispensing salt, gravel or other substances onto surfaces, for example for spreading salt or gravel on icy roads. Patent document WO97/13926 relates to methods, apparatus and control systems for dispensing salt, gravel or other substances onto surfaces, for example for spreading salt or gravel on icy roads. Patent document EP3412833 relates to the field of intelligent control and in particular to an automatic moving snow removal device.

Patent document EP3067469 relates to an automatic anti-freeze agent atomizer control apparatus, an automatic anti-freeze agent atomizer control program, and an automatic anti-freeze agent atomizer control method for automatically atomizing an anti-freeze agent based on the road surface condition.

However, the problems mentioned above are not resolved.

Brief description of the invention

The objective of this invention is to provide a method and a system for treating a road surface using an industrial vehicle, which allows to overcome, at least partially, the drawbacks of the state of the art.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a method and system for treating a road surface using an industrial vehicle, as defined in the appended claims.

Brief description of the drawings

In order to better understand this invention, a preferred embodiment thereof will be described below, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, where:

- Figure 1 schematically illustrates a vehicle for spreading products on the road surface and removing snow/ice;

- Figure 2 is a block diagram of a device for controlling the product spreading and snow/ice removal operations of the vehicle of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a flow chart relating to a first series of environmental information acquisition operations; and

- Figure 4 is a flow chart relating to a second series of operations performed at the vehicle level of Figure 1;

- Figure 5 is a digital map divided into operational sub-areas for the acquisition of environmental information according to Figure 3 and for the operation of the vehicle of Figure 1 according to Figure 4; and - Figure 6 is a block diagram of a device for acquiring environmental information according to the steps of Figure 3.

Best way to carry out the invention

Figure 1 shows a vehicle, indicated, as a whole, by the numeral 1, in particular an industrial vehicle, equipped with a tractor 2, a tank 3 for housing one or more products 7 (solid or liquid) for the treatment of a road surface 9, and supply means 5, installed, for example, at the rear of the tractor 2, and adapted to spread the product 7 onto the road surface 9 of a road route P on which the vehicle 1 travels. In particular, in the embodiment shown, the vehicle 1 is adapted to supply anti-icing products (for example, fluxing or abrasive chlorides, both liquid and solid).

The supply medium 5 can be automatically controlled to perform one or more of the following operations:

• dosing of solid products (NaCl, CaCl, MnCl, abrasives, etc.),

• Dosing of liquid products (NaCl, CaCl, MnCl, specific chemicals, etc.).

The spreading mode can be defined by one or more spreading parameters, including:

• quantity of flux pastes or abrasives or liquid product supplied per square metre;

• spreading width;

• spread symmetry (lateral or central to the vehicle axis);

• whether or not humidification is present and, if present, percentage of humidification of the spread material.

The vehicle 1 also comprises a snow plough blade 4 equipped with a support arm for fixing the blade 4 to the tractor 2 and a blade handling unit 6, which is in turn known and partially illustrated. The blade 4 comprises, in a known manner, a swinging body 4a, a removal blade, or scraper blade, 4b permanently fixed to a lower portion of the swinging body 4a and projecting downwardly to remove at least part of the snow from the road surface 9. The blade 4b is made of metal or polymeric material.

The handling unit 6 can be automatically controlled to perform one or more of the following operations:

raise and lower blade 4 relative to the road surface 9;

rotating the blade 4 itself around at least one horizontal adjustment axis and/or around a vertical axis; adjusting the pressure on the ground of the scraper blade;

adjust the approach angle of the scraper blade (the more inclined it is, the more aggressive it is); adjust the roller and the upper guard (it should be very open in wet snow to allow its evacuation without additional effort, while it should be very closed in dry snow so that the powder snow can be controlled and does not disperse across the windshield).

The handling unit 6 and the supply means 5 may be automatically controlled to perform the above operations, depending on operating parameters, including (but not limited to) one or more of the following:

i. the presence of snow or ice on the road surface,

ii. road surface temperature,

iii. the air temperature,

iv. the moisture content of the road surface, including the relative thickness of any water film present, v. the presence of snow and its type or quality (wet snow, dry snow),

I saw the presence of ice,

vii. “soft ice” (weak ice, therefore better for vehicle friction),

viii. “hard ice” (less friction for vehicles),

ix. dew point.

In the following description, explicit reference will be made, when necessary and for a better understanding of the same, to the supply of salt, although it is clear that vehicle 1 can spread other products on the road surface, such as granulated abrasive products (like gravel or sand) or liquid anti-freeze products (such as saline solutions or melting solutions in general) intended to hinder (or reduce) the formation of ice and/or the deposit of snow on the road surface.

The vehicle 1 is also equipped with an electronic control device or system 10 adapted to control the supply means 5 to adjust, in a known manner, the quantity of product supplied and the supply modes based on a series of spreading parameters. The electronic control device 10 is also adapted to control the snow plough blade 4, by activating the handling unit 6 of the blade 4.

Referring to Figure 2, the electronic control device 10 comprises: a GPS receiver 15 for generating an output signal S related to the position and direction of travel of the vehicle 1; a processing unit 17 cooperating with the GPS receiver 15; and a memory 19 communicating with the processing unit 17.

The handling unit 6 is controllable by the processing unit 17 depending on one or more of the above-mentioned operating parameters.

The vehicle 1 also comprises a transceiver unit 18, either integrated into or external to the device 10 and operatively coupled thereto. The transceiver unit 18 is configured to receive data signals using a known protocol. For example, the transceiver unit 18 is configured to receive data over a wireless channel (e.g., Wi-Fi or a cellular network, including 3G, 4G, and/or 5G), or over a cable, using a public or private network, as necessary.

The transceiver unit 18 communicates with the processing unit 17 to transfer the received data to it so that it can be processed and interpreted.

The device 10 optionally comprises an interface unit 21 which communicates with the processing unit 17 and is adapted to be used by an operator (not shown) in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 1 to monitor and control the salt spreading/snow removal operations and/or to detect any anomalies or alarms. The interface unit 21 may also be integrated into the processing unit 17.

The processing unit 17 is adapted to send control signals D to an interface 5a of the supply means 5 for controlling the quantity of salt supplied and the spreading methods. For example, the quantity of salt supplied per square metre, the spreading width, the symmetry of the spreading (lateral, central), the percentage of humidification of the spread salt, etc. can be adjusted (in a known manner) by means of the control signals D.

The processing unit 17 is also adapted to send control signals L to the handling unit 6 of the blade 4 to control, in a known manner, the operating parameters of the blade 4 (ground pressure, approach angle, etc.).

The GPS receiver 15 cooperates with a GPS satellite tracking system to detect the absolute position of the vehicle 1 on the earth's surface.

The invention uses the GPS satellite tracking system to determine the position and direction of the vehicle 1 and control the supply means 5 and the handling unit 6 accordingly, based on the detected geographical position (as detailed below).

In particular, the set of spreading parameters and blade operating parameters, relative to a route that may be travelled by the vehicle 1, define salt spreading/snow removal methods suitable for specific morphological conditions of the route and/or particular meteorological and/or environmental conditions of the road surface (presence and type of snow, ice, water, hail, etc.). The data representing these snow spreading/removal methods are contained in the memory 19, which communicates with the processing unit 17 to generate the control signal D of the supply means 5.

In accordance with this invention, different salt spreading methods are automatically selected based on the position of the vehicle along the road route detected by the GPS receiver. Similarly, different methods for adjusting the handling unit 6 of the blade 4 are also automatically selected based on the position of the vehicle along the road route detected by the GPS receiver.

In particular, a method of controlling the vehicle 1 will be described below by referring to the flow charts shown in Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3 shows a method of acquiring data and/or environmental information from an area in which vehicle 1 is expected to operate.

Figure 4 illustrates a method implemented onboard vehicle 1 to operate the salt spreading and blade handling systems 4.

Referring to step 100 of Figure 3, in accordance with one aspect of this invention, there is provided a digital map 20 of a geographic area in which vehicle 1 is expected to perform road cleaning/drying (e.g., spreading anti-freeze and/or abrasive products, snow and/or ice removal, etc.). Figure 5 is an illustrative graphical representation of digital map 20.

This digital map 20 includes, for example, the detailed planimetric representation of a city, province, region, etc., or part thereof. The digital map 20 is divided into a plurality of subareas 20a-20e covering the territorial extension of the city, or part thereof, in which the vehicle 1 is supposed to operate.

Each subarea 20a-20e is delimited by the sides of a polygon, or other geometric shape, and is chosen so that the portion of territory enclosed within it has uniform characteristics. These characteristics include, among others: morphological, environmental, estimated or projected temperature, climatic, and estimated or projected traffic.

In other words, one or more of the above characteristics are shared (or are estimated to be shared, or believed by an operator) for each point within the corresponding 20a-20e subarea (or for a majority of points within the corresponding 20a-20e subarea) and consequently differ between one 20a-20e subarea and another 20a-20e subarea.

For the purposes of the division into subareas 20a-20e, only those features which are significant for the technical context in which vehicle 1 operates are taken into account. In particular, since vehicle 1 is a vehicle adapted to improve road safety conditions during winter or in any case when the presence of snow, ice, hail and/or water may pose a danger to road users, the significant features taken into account for the division of the subarea include: altitude, estimated temperatures, ambient humidity, wind direction, estimated traffic, presence of activities likely to induce local warming, type of road paving, presence of side barriers or closed routes, etc.

As an example, with reference to Figure 5:

- Subarea 20a is a busy, peripheral and flat geographical area;

- Subarea 20b is a fluvial, flat and highly humid geographical area;

- Subareas 20c and 20d are peripheral and rugged/mountainous geographic areas, with cooler temperatures than flat geographic areas; and

- subarea 20e is a central city, a flat geographic area with higher temperatures than peripheral areas (e.g. due to warming caused by commercial and residential activities) and with reduced traffic (e.g. due to traffic limitations).

The above considerations are only examples of a possible division into subareas, and may vary depending on the specific peculiarities of the geographical area considered.

The division into subareas 20a-20e is, in itself, a procedure known in the state of the art and can be carried out by an operator in a known manner, so it is not described further.

Referring to step 102 of Figure 3, one or more patrol vehicles 40 (one of which is schematically illustrated in Figure 6) are sent along routes that intersect, even if only partially, all of the subareas 20a-20e, to acquire information regarding environmental road surface conditions (presence and type of snow, ice, hail, water, etc.) and/or temperature and/or weather conditions (or other information as well) in each relevant subareas 20a-20e. The patrol vehicles may also be vehicles that routinely travel along portions of the subareas 20a-20e, such as buses or taxis.

The routes may be random or pre-established. For the purposes of the present invention, since the division into subareas 20a-20e is carried out taking into account the characteristics shared by each point (or a majority of points) belonging to the same subarea 20a-20e, it is sufficient for the patrol vehicles 40 to travel even if only a portion of the corresponding subarea 20a-20e, each portion having a size or spatial extent (for example, area) smaller than the total size or spatial extent (for example, area) of the corresponding subarea 20a-20e. The portion of the corresponding subarea 20a-20e traveled by the patrol vehicles 40 preferably has a minimum length chosen so that the environmental information acquired has a general and not punctual value. For example, the portion of the corresponding subarea 20a-20e traversed by the patrol vehicles 40 is chosen to have a length between 0.5 km and 1 km. However, lengths or distances greater than 1 km are possible.

The information acquired is therefore associated with the entire subarea 20a-20e.

The patrol vehicles 40 may be private vehicles equipped for the purpose or public vehicles (e.g. buses, trams, etc.) conveniently chosen based on the scheduled route.

Regardless of the type of patrol vehicle 40, in order to acquire the appropriate information, each patrol vehicle 40 is equipped with a sensor device (transducer) 42 for measuring the physical or chemical characteristics, or physicochemical properties, of the road surface, and is adapted to provide knowledge about the road condition, including ice formation or snow/hail/water accumulation. The sensor device 42 thus allows the acquisition of information relating to the condition of the road surface, distinguishing between dry, damp, wet, ice, snow, salt residue. The device 42 also optionally provides a value of the tires' “grip” to the road surface, based on the amount of water, snow and ice detected. Optionally, the sensor device 42 is configured to acquire additional types of information, such as, for example, ambient and/or road surface temperature, ambient humidity and/or the presence of obstacles or construction in progress.

A sensor device adapted for this purpose is well known, for example from US 2017/0131723. However, there are numerous other sensors available on the market that can be used in the context of this invention, which is therefore not limited to the choice of a specific one among them.

A respective sensor device 42 is therefore mounted on each patrol vehicle 40, in such a position as to allow the acquisition of the aforementioned information. If the sensor device 42 used does not allow the acquisition of all of the aforementioned information, it is possible to mount several sensors on the patrol vehicles 40, each of which is equipped to acquire one piece, or a plurality of pieces, of information.

In addition to, or alternatively to, the data acquired by the sensor device 42, the environmental information mentioned may also come from transducers or sensors of various types already present on the road section.

With joint reference to Figure 3, step 104, and Figure 6, the information thus acquired (transduced) is sent to a processing unit 44, provided with, or coupled to, a memory 46, for storing said information.

Furthermore, the vehicle 40 is provided with a geolocation system 47, through which the geographic position of the patrol vehicles 40 is monitored. Reference will be made below, without limitation, to a GPS-based geolocation system; however, other systems could be used instead of GPS, for example by triangulating the cellular network signal.

The patrol vehicle 40 is also provided with a transmission unit 48 configured to acquire information from the memory 46 and send it to a remote server 50 (e.g., a cloud-based platform). The information may be sent in real time, or at preset times (e.g., periodically), or at the end of the route, when the corresponding patrol vehicle 40 re-enters the base, or according to additional timing methods.

This information can be sent using a wireless connection, freely chosen according to the needs. For example, a Wi-Fi network, a cellular network (e.g. 3G, 4G, 5G or other technology), a satellite transceiver network, etc. can be used. If the data is only sent when the patrol vehicle 40 has re-entered the base, a wired connection can also be used, or portable storage devices such as “hard drives”, “USB sticks”, SD cards, etc.

Along with the information transmitted by the sensor device 42, the transmission unit 48 also sends GPS data relating to the position of the patrol vehicle 40 during its use.

More specifically, the processing unit 44 associates the spatial position (GPS data) of the patrol vehicle 40 and the data/information acquired through the sensor device 42, so that at each acquisition moment the transduced data and information are uniquely associated, through the sensor device 42, with the GPS coordinates of the patrol vehicle 40 in the analyzed environment (subarea). In this way, it is possible to identify the actual position of the patrol vehicle 40 on the digital map 20 and in particular in relation to each subarea 20a-20e, and to know the road conditions at this position.

Furthermore, according to one embodiment, and with reference to step 106 of Figure 3, the data and information transmitted to the remote server 50 (during step 104 of Figure 3) are associated with dispersion and/or control parameters of the blade 4 adapted to the environmental conditions detected (parameterization step). This association is carried out at the level of the remote server 50. To this end, for example, the remote server 50 has a database by means of which it is possible to associate each environmental data with a corresponding dispersion parameter and/or operating method for the blade 4.

According to one embodiment, to avoid contraction of memory space and to reduce the computational load at the level of the patrol vehicle 40, the digital map 20 is stored at the level of the remote server 50 and the identification of the actual position of the patrol vehicle 40 on the digital map 20 and, in particular, in relation to each subarea 20a-20e, is also performed at the level of the remote server 50. Other embodiments are possible, as is apparent to a person skilled in the art.

By way of non-limiting example, the database may be designed to associate, for the corresponding environmental conditions detected by the sensor device 42, specific road surface treatment parameters, including, but not limited to, salt spreading. For example, for each macro condition, including:

• the presence of snow,

• the presence of ice,

• the presence of water,

the road surface temperature values detected by the sensor device 42 are taken into account, for example, in the intervals:

• below -5 °C,

• between -1 and -5 °C,

• between -1 and 1 °C.

The thickness of the layer of snow (and/or snow mixed with water), or ice, or water, measured in millimetres on the road surface, is also taken into account.

Based on the detected values, the treatment values are automatically set, for example the salt dosage to be spread, measured in grams per square metre.

The following table illustrates an example of a database (predefined and/or freely modifiable according to needs) that can be used in the above-mentioned context, with explicit reference (but not limiting the present invention) to the presence of ice and the salt spreading doses, for various detected road surface temperatures:

Known sensor devices 42 that can be used in the context of the present invention also provide a value of the “grip” of the tires on the road surface, under the various conditions detected on the road surface, including: dry, snow, snow mixed with water, water only, or ice.

If grip information is not provided directly by the sensor device 42 used, this information may, however, be inferred from the amount of water, snow or ice present on the road surface. As the amount increases, the grip is reduced (i.e. the grip value is inversely proportional to the thickness of water, snow or ice detected).

If the information provided by the sensor device 42 indicates that the current grip value, in a given subarea 20a-20e, is below a preset threshold (low grip), the road surface treatment parameters are modified, compared to the theoretical data provided by the database. For example, if the grip is below the threshold, the amount of salt spread is increased. This increase may be a fixed or proportional amount or may depend on the displacement of the actual grip relative to the threshold. For example, the salt spread is increased by a percentage value (e.g., 10%) for each corresponding percentage reduction (e.g., 10%) of the detected grip value.

Similarly, if the grip is above the threshold, the amount of salt spread is reduced. This decrease may be a fixed or proportional amount or may depend on the displacement of the actual grip relative to the threshold. For example, the salt spread is reduced by a percentage value (e.g. 10%) for each corresponding percentage reduction (e.g. 10%) in the detected grip value.

It is clear that, although the subareas 20a-20e are chosen so as to group together areas or points that are uniform from a morphological/environmental point of view, as discussed above, it may happen that the patrol vehicle 40 detects, in the same subarea 20a-20e, environmental and/or adhesion conditions that are not uniform.

In this case, if the same environmental and/or grip conditions (or a subset of conditions considered “critical” or particularly important) are reproduced for a majority of detection points, or above a threshold (e.g. at least 70% of detection points show the same conditions), treatment parameters to treat these majority environmental and/or grip conditions are set for the entire subarea 20a-20e.

Otherwise, if the same environmental and/or grip conditions (or a subset of conditions considered “critical” or particularly important) are detected for a low or insignificant number of detection points, 0 below a threshold (e.g. only 100 of the detection points show the same conditions), the treatment parameters for the entire subarea 20a-20e are chosen at an intermediate value of the expected values for the different environmental conditions detected, or at a value included between the expected values for the different environmental conditions detected. For example, the choice of this value for the treatment parameters can be made using a weighted average. In this way, it is possible to provide adequate treatment to the few points with irregular environmental conditions and a non-oversized treatment to the other points with uniform environmental conditions.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, to implement the above, the following steps are performed:

• The sensor 42 detects data and information relating to the road surface at measurement/detection points of a corresponding subarea 20a-20e, at predefined intervals, for example, every 5 minutes;

• The sensor 42 transmits this data/information to the remote server 50;

• the remote server 50 stores, processes and calculates, for each measuring point, the weight of the salt to be spread, based on a table or database of the type illustrated above;

• If critical conditions are detected at one or more measuring points, the weight of the salt to be spread will be weighted and the increment will be calculated for each point,

• A weighted average is calculated for all weighted values;

• If the number of critical points is greater than a minimum threshold value (for example, more than 30%), the weighting assigned to the entire subarea 20a-20e is the one with the highest value (for the entire corresponding subarea, since each area is subject to a uniform, non-point treatment of the road surface);

• If the number of critical points is below the threshold (for example, below 300) the calculated weighted average is used.

The updated road surface treatment parameters are therefore transmitted from the remote server 50 to the vehicle 1, which applies them to treat the corresponding subarea 20a-20e. The updated road surface treatment parameters are transmitted from the remote server 50 to the vehicle 1 before and/or during the road surface treatment, in particular depending on the route that the vehicle 1 will have to follow or is following.

It is clear that Figure 6 is only illustrative of a possible embodiment and not limiting of this invention; in fact, the memory 46 can be omitted if the acquired data and information, such as the GPS position, are sent in real time to the remote server 50. Furthermore, the sensor device 42, the processing unit 44, the GPS sensor device and/or the transmission unit 48 can be integrated within the same container or distributed on board the vehicle 40, and conveniently connected to each other.

It is therefore clear that, according to this invention, environmental and road data and information are “real” or “current” data, i.e. data acquired in the reference territory and not estimated by weather forecasts.

With reference to Figure 4, step 200, the vehicle 1 acquires from the remote server 50 the environmental and road data and information stored and parameterized therein (at step 106 of Figure 3), together with the position indications (GPS coordinates) to which said environmental information refers.

According to another embodiment, during step 200, the vehicle 1 sends GPS data relating to its position (acquired via the GPS receiver 15) to the remote server 50 (via the processing unit 17 and the transceiver unit 18), and the remote server 50 sends to the vehicle 1 commands relating to the extension and handling parameters of the blade 4, associated with that specific geographic position.

In step 202, the vehicle 1, after having received these orders through the transceiver unit 18, starts up the supply means 5, in accordance with the orders received (automatically and without manual intervention by the operator), through the processing unit 17. In the same step 202, the vehicle 1, after having received these orders through the transceiver unit 18, starts up through the processing unit 17 (automatically and without manual intervention by the operator) including the handling unit 6 of the sheet 4, in accordance with the orders received.

Based on the above, it is clear that a unique association is determined between leaf spreading/handling parameters and geographical position.

In step 204, the processing unit 17 continuously or at regular intervals monitors the position signal S provided by the GPS receiver, and checks whether the route on which these parameter acquisition operations are being carried out is still included in the subarea 20a-20e, for which the current commands have been received, or whether a change has occurred in the subarea 20a-20e. This operation can be performed on board the vehicle 1 if the memory 19 stores the digital map 20. On the contrary, the vehicle 1 continuously or at time intervals sends its GPS position to the remote server 50, which performs this check. If the subarea 20a-20e changes, the processing unit 17 acquires from the remote server 50 the new spreading parameters for the subarea 20a-20e entered by the vehicle 1, and implements the supplying means 5 according to these new parameters (step 206).

According to this invention, therefore, for each subarea 20a-20e (regardless of the specific position assumed by vehicle 1 in the corresponding subarea 20a-20e), vehicle 1 maintains the same spreading parameters and only changes them when it enters a different subarea 20a-20e.

It is also possible, taking into account the mechanical implementation latency of the spreading systems of the vehicle 1 for the change of the spreading parameters, to vary the spreading parameters near a new subarea 20a-20e, such that, at the entrance of the new subarea 20a-20e, the vehicle 1 is already adjusted with the corresponding spreading parameters. For this purpose, the memory 19 stores the latency values relating to the different mechanical implementations, so that the processing unit 17 is able to estimate, based on the values of position, direction and speed of the vehicle 1, when to implement the mechanical parts thereof with new spreading parameters.

Furthermore, it is apparent that modifications and variations may be made to the granular or liquid road surface treatment vehicle described and illustrated herein without departing from the scope of this invention.

In particular, the present invention is obviously applicable to vehicles 1 configured to perform even one of the following operations: mechanical spreading and removal of snow/ice by means of the blade 4.

Furthermore, the operations carried out remotely by the server 50 and locally by the industrial vehicle 1 can be carried out entirely at the level of the industrial vehicle 1, if sufficiently powerful processing and storage means are available. In this case, the information acquired by the patrol vehicles 40 during their use is transferred directly to the industrial vehicle 1. In general, this invention therefore obviously applies to a situation in which the processing means of the remote server 50 and of the industrial vehicle 1 are of the distributed or centralized type.

Claims (14)

1. A method of treating a road surface (9) by means of an industrial vehicle (1), comprising the following steps: - acquiring a digital map (20) of a geographical area to be treated, said digital map being divided into a plurality of subareas (20a-20e), each subarea being defined based on a prevailing characteristic, among: geomorphological, and/or estimated or real meteorological, and/or estimated or real traffic, and/or presence of commercial/industrial activity, and/or residential, including city periphery, city centre, type of road surface and paving; - for each subarea (20a-20e), acquire local information relating to an actual state of the road surface (9) in a respective portion of territory whose size is less than the total size of the corresponding subarea (20a-20e); - for each subarea (20a-20e), assign the respective road surface treatment parameters (9) chosen on the basis of such local information; and - operate the industrial vehicle (1) in said geographical area to be treated, to carry out said treatment of the road surface (9), including: • acquire the current geographic coordinates of the industrial vehicle, • keep the treatment parameters unchanged as long as the current geographical coordinates of the industrial vehicle remain in the same subarea (20a-20e), and • update the processing parameters when the current geographical coordinates of the industrial vehicle show that the industrial vehicle (1) has entered a different subarea (20a-20e), characterized by: the step of acquiring said local information about the road surface (9) comprises acquiring, for a plurality of non-coincident geographic coordinates of each subarea, at least one respective point information relating to the actual state of the road surface (9) at each of said geographic coordinates; and The step of associating, for each subarea, the acquired local information to the respective parameters of said treatment includes: assign to each respective point information a corresponding point treatment parameter, and use, for the treatment of the same subarea, i) the main point treatment parameters, in percentage, in that subarea, where the point treatment parameters are considered main if, in the subarea (20a-20e) considered, the same point treatment parameters are associated with a number of geographical coordinates greater than a pre-established threshold, or ii) global treatment parameters calculated as a weighted average of the point treatment parameters. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said geomorphological characteristic is one of: flat, fluvial, rugged or mountainous; and said meteorological characteristic is one of: ambient humidity, ambient temperature or wind direction. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the step of acquiring said local road surface information (9) comprises: - coupling a respective sensor device (42) to one or more patrol vehicles (40), each sensor device (42) being adapted to acquire information relating to said actual state of the road surface (9) between: presence of snow, presence of ice, presence of water, thickness of a water layer, snow conditions, including compacted snow and slush, ice conditions, including hard ice and soft ice, road surface temperature, adhesion of tires to the road surface; - sending said one or more patrol vehicles (40) provided with the respective sensor device (42), through said subareas (20a-20e). 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of sending said information and geographic coordinates from said one or more patrol vehicles (40) to a remote server (50), where the step of associating the treatment parameters to all the geographic coordinates belonging to the respective subarea is performed by said remote server (50), The method further comprises the step of sending said treatment parameters from said remote server (50) to said industrial vehicle (1). 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the steps of: - generate, by means of the industrial vehicle (1), a position signal (S) correlative to the geographical position of said industrial vehicle (1); - communicate, from the industrial vehicle to the remote server, the position signal (S); - evaluate, from the position signal (S), whether the industrial vehicle (1) has changed the subarea (20a-20e) in which it operates and, if so, send new processing parameters from the remote server to the industrial vehicle. 6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of operating the industrial vehicle (1) comprises: - spreading a solid and/or liquid product (7) on the road surface through the delivery means (5) carried by said vehicle (1); and - adjusting the spreading parameters of said product (7), including at least one of: type of product spread, a quantity of product spread per unit of surface, a spreading width, a spreading symmetry. 7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the industrial vehicle (1) is provided with a blade (4) provided with a rocking body (4a) and a scraper blade (4b) permanently connected to the rocking body, for mechanical removal of snow and/or ice from the road surface (9), the operating step of the industrial vehicle (1) comprising at least one of: raising and lowering the blade (4) relative to the road surface (9), rotating the blade (4) about at least one adjustment axis, adjusting the ground pressure of the scraper blade, adjusting an approach angle of the scraper blade, adjusting the rocking body. 8. A system for treating a road surface (9), comprising: - an industrial vehicle (1), adapted to carry out said treatment of the road surface (9); - a processing assembly (17, 50), configured to: acquiring a digital map (20) of a geographic area to be treated, said digital map being divided into a plurality of subareas (20a-20e), each subarea being defined based on a main characteristic, among: geomorphological, and/or estimated or current meteorological, and/or estimated or current traffic, and/or presence of commercial/industrial activities, and/or residential including city periphery, city center, type of road surface and paving; acquiring, for each subarea (29a-20e) from at least one sensor device (42), local information relating to an actual state of the road surface (9) in a respective portion of territory whose size is less than the total size of the corresponding subarea (20a-20e); assign, for each subarea (20a-20e), respective treatment parameters chosen on the basis of such local information; and control, in each sub-area to be treated, the operation of the industrial vehicle (1) to carry out said treatment of the road surface (9), including: • acquire the current geographic coordinates of the industrial vehicle, • keep the treatment parameters unchanged as long as the current geographical coordinates of the industrial vehicle remain in the same subarea (20a-20e), and • update the processing parameters when the current geographical coordinates of the industrial vehicle show that the industrial vehicle (1) has entered a different subarea (20a-20e), characterized in that the system comprises one or more patrol vehicles (40), each provided with a respective sensor device (42), configured to move through said subareas (20a-20e) in order to acquire said information relating to the actual state of the road surface (9) in each subarea (20a-20e), the operation of acquiring said local information on the road surface (9) comprises acquiring, for a plurality of geographic coordinates, not coinciding with each other, of each subarea, at least one respective point information relating to the actual state of the road surface (9) in each of said geographic coordinates; and in that the operation of associating, for each subarea, the acquired local information with the respective parameters of said treatment includes: assign to each respective point information a corresponding point treatment parameter, and use, for the treatment of the same subarea, i) the main point treatment parameters, in percentage, in that subarea, where the point treatment parameters are considered the main ones if, in the subarea (20a-20e) considered, the same point treatment parameters are associated with a number of geographical coordinates greater than a pre-established threshold, or ii) global treatment parameters calculated as a weighted average of the point treatment parameters. 9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the industrial vehicle (1) is further provided with a position detector configured to identify a geographical position of the industrial vehicle (1) in said geographical area to be treated. 10. The system according to any of claims 8-9, wherein said geomorphological characteristic is one of: flat, fluvial, rugged or mountainous; and said meteorological characteristic is one of: ambient humidity, ambient temperature, wind direction. 11. The system according to any of claims 8-10, wherein said one or more patrol vehicles (40) include a respective transceiver (48) configured to send said information and geographic coordinates to the processing assembly (17, 50), and wherein said industrial vehicle (1) includes its own transceiver (18) to receive said processing parameters from said processing assembly (17, 50). 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the industrial vehicle (1) comprises geolocation means configured to generate a position signal (S) correlated with the geographic position of said industrial vehicle (1), the processing assembly (17, 50) being configured to evaluate, based on the position signal (S), whether the industrial vehicle (1) has changed the subarea (20a-20e) in which it operates and, if so, update the processing parameters. 13. The system according to any of claims 8-12, wherein the industrial vehicle (1) is configured to spread a solid and/or liquid product (7) on the road surface through supply means (5) carried by said vehicle (1), the processing assembly (17, 50) being configured to adjust the spreading parameters of said product (7) including at least one of: type of spread product, an amount of spread product per unit area, a spreading width, a spreading symmetry. 14. The system according to any of claims 8-13, wherein the industrial vehicle (1) is provided with a blade (4) provided with a rocking body and a scraper blade permanently connected to the rocking body, for mechanical removal of snow and/or ice from the road surface (9), the processing assembly (17, 50) being configured to control operations of the industrial vehicle (1) to: raise and lower the blade (4) relative to the road surface (9), rotate the blade (4) about at least one adjustment axis, adjust a ground pressure of the scraper blade, adjust an approach angle of the scraper blade, adjust the rocking body.