Abstract: An electric machine and sitewide control system and method that use a trolley power system at a worksite is disclosed. The trolley power system allows electric machines at the worksite to draw power from the trolley power system to concurrently operate to perform tasks and recharge their batteries. This allows the batteries on electric machines to be smaller than they would otherwise be, since a fully charged battery is not needed when operational power can be drawn from the trolley power system. The trolley power system is segmented, such that if one segment is faulted, the other segments can operate to provide power to electric machines at the worksite. Additionally, a sitewide controller initiates operational changes, such as a change in speed, for the electric machines at the worksite to compensate for one or more faulted segments.

Abstract: A control system is programmed for monitoring the health and charge of batteries used to power a battery electric machine (BEM) or other heavy equipment and determining when maintenance, service, or replacement should be performed for the batteries as a function of data related to travel route segments over which the BEM or other heavy equipment is operated. The control system is programmed to receive historical information mapping the performance and energy consumption of a BEM or other heavy equipment, such as battery state-of-charge, power usage, battery state-of-health, and number of charge cycles for a battery supplying power to the BEM or other heavy equipment operating over a travel route segment, and instruct an operator to replace or perform maintenance on the batteries if the difference between present and historical performance exceeds a threshold level.

Abstract: A control system for a battery electric machine (BEM) predicts the energy requirement of the BEM to complete one or more travel route segments along a path traversed by the BEM. The control system calculates the actual energy consumption of the BEM in completing the one or more travel route segments, compares the actual energy consumption with the predicted energy requirement, and updates the predicted energy requirement. The control system also maps the updated energy requirements for BEM’s to travel route segments to create a database of travel route segments mapped to energy requirements for particular BEM’s traveling over those segments. The control system may change the travel route segments for the BEM, tasks to be performed by the BEM, or repair or maintenance tasks to be performed on one or more travel route segments for the BEM based on a comparison of the predicted energy requirements with the actual energy consumption for the BEM traveling over the particular travel route segment.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to batteries health across a fleet of machines. The battery life on a machine varies significantly according to work applications. A site has a plurality of the same machine working in various applications to fulfill a productivity requirement. More particularly, the present disclosure pertains to a balancing state of health (SoH) of batteries across a fleet of machines. The harshness of the various machine applications on a given work site is determined using a site-wide model. The model proactively tracks the work history and current battery state of health of each machine to determine appropriate assignments such that the machines rotate through the various applications on a periodic basis. Additionally, the model ensures a sufficient state of health of the battery to complete the assigned task. The reduced battery life results in downtime troubleshooting a perceived problem along with the associated additional cost.

Abstract: A system can plan a route for a machine, such as an electric vehicle or other mobile machine, from a current location of the machine to a maintenance station where a service operation is to be performed on the machine. The service operation can be associated with a target state of charge (SoC) for a battery of the machine. The system can plan the route such that an expected energy consumption level, associated with traversal of the route by the machine, causes the SoC of the battery to satisfy the target SoC when the machine arrives at the maintenance station. The system can also dynamically adjust the route, charges of the battery, and/or machine operations performed along the route, during travel to cause the SoC of the battery to satisfy the target SoC when the machine arrives at the maintenance station.

Abstract: A brake controller of a machine can be configured to determine brake power associated with braking operations, such as operations to slow the machine or maintain a speed of the machine. The brake controller can allocate the brake power among systems such as a battery system, a resistive grid, auxiliary systems, a mechanical brake system, and/or other systems, based on a defined priority order of the systems. For example, the brake controller can prioritize using a regenerative brake system to charge a battery system during a braking operation up to a currently-available capacity of the battery system, and allocating any remaining brake power to a lower-priority system. The mechanical brake system can be the lowest-priority system, such that use of the mechanical brake system can be avoided unless an amount of brake power exceeds capacities of higher-priority systems to consume the brake power.

Abstract: A system can assign a machine to dispense material at designated areas along a route at a worksite. For example, the machine can be an electric water truck on a mine site, and the electric water truck can be assigned to spray water at areas along a route to control dust on the mine site. The system can verify that the machine is carrying enough material to dispense along the assigned route. The system can also verify that the battery of the machine is charged to a level sufficient to power travel of the machine through the assigned route and to power operations to dispense the material, based at least in part on a changing amount and/or weight of the material as the machine progresses along the route.

Abstract: A fuel cell machine control system and method to provide extended range and operating times of a fuel cell machine with a fuel cell and battery is disclosed. In some cases, the energy capacity of the battery relative to the energy capacity of a fuel tank may be in the range of about 0.2 to about 1.5. The range and/or the operating time of the fuel cell machine is extended by using the fuel cell fuel to power the fuel cell machine and continuing operating the fuel cell machine after the fuel cell fuel is depleted using the battery. In some cases, the fuel cell machine may autonomously be moved to a refueling/charging station when the remaining charge in the battery is within a threshold level of being depleted. Additionally, a total energy available to operate the fuel cell machine may be determined and displayed.

Abstract: Operating a machine includes supplying electric power from a fuel cell to a power bus connected to an electric motor and an energy storage device in a machine operated at a work site, and determining an expected efficiency gain condition based on at least one of terrain data of the work site or machine activity data of the machine. Operating a machine further includes prognostically limiting a power output of the fuel cell based on the determining an expected efficiency gain condition, and charging the energy storage device during occurrence of the expected efficiency gain condition using at least one of a regenerative energy device or the fuel cell. The energy storage device may be discharged during prognostically limiting a power output of the fuel cell so as to share a load demand of the power bus between the fuel cell and the energy storage device. Related apparatus and control logic is also disclosed.