A payload coupling apparatus is provided that includes a housing having an upper portion, a lower portion, and a side wall positioned between the upper and lower portions, an attachment point on the housing adapted for attachment to a first end of a tether, a slot in the housing that extends downwardly towards a center of the housing thereby forming a hook or lip on the lower portion of the housing beneath the slot, a plurality of holes in the upper portion of the housing; and a plurality of holes in the lower portion of the housing. A method of retracting a payload coupling apparatus during UAV flight is also provided.

Methods and systems for monitoring at least one crane, preferably two or more cranes, in particular revolving tower cranes, on a construction site, wherein one or more optical detection means are provided, and wherein a collision monitoring unit analyzes the recorded optical data to recognize a possible collision between at least one crane and one further crane and/or another projecting edge.

A construction machine, in particular in the form of a crane, cable excavator or similar, comprising an electronic control device for controlling and/or detecting operating parameters, in addition to at least one drive device for moving a functional element, especially a load take-up means. The functional element of the construction machine is guided in the desired direction by the exertion of manipulation forces on the functional element, or on a component fastened thereto, or the functional element is moved manually in a designated direction, this motion then being assisted by the drives of the construction machine. If the functional element is manually pressed or pulled in a designated direction and/or rotated, or if this is at least attempted, these motion attempts are detected and converted into a corresponding positioning motion of the construction machine.

An intuitive control system for lifting equipment is described. The intuitive control system translates user defined inputs into machine expressions of movement that are in turn used to control a construction lift or similar piece of construction equipment. Orientation and relative position sensors may be incorporated into the translation and control system for correct user control of the lifting equipment in various operating conditions.

A gantry stacker having a spreader for containers and including a locating system arranged on the gantry stacker that determines a position of the gantry stacker. To permit a more precise receiving or depositing of containers in a predefined position in a container terminal, sensors are arranged on the gantry stacker, with the sensors and the locating system being connected to a control unit, and the control unit determines a position of the spreader, of a container to be received or of a deposit site from the position of the gantry stacker using the signals from the sensors.

A device for detecting a position of a hoisting frame includes one or more image sensors connected movably to the hoisting frame and protruding outside a periphery thereof in a position of use. The image sensors can be movable between the position of use and a protected position lying within the periphery of the hoisting frame. The device can be provided with means for biasing the image sensor(s) from the protected position to the position of use. A method for controlling a hoisting frame suspended from a crane includes moving the hoisting frame to a first position under the control of an automatic control system, holding the hoisting frame stationary in the first position, making one or more image recordings of the area around the hoisting frame in the first position and moving the hoisting frame to a second position on the basis of the image recording(s), wherein the image recording(s) is/are made by one or more image sensors connected to the hoisting frame.

A measuring device for load sensing in a lifting-cable-based hoist, in particular a crane, having at least one pulley for deflecting the lifting cable of the hoist, a fastening means in the form of a cable loop, at the end of which the pulley is mounted so as to be rotatable about its roller axis, and at least one measuring element for sensing a force applied to the pulley.

The invention relates to a method for generating a trajectory for a load transported by a hoisting appliance spanning a hoisting area. The method includes providing a 3-dimensional model of the hoisting area with located obstacles within the hoisting area, providing load parameters including load length, height, width and weight. Generating a trajectory for navigating through the hoisting area using the model of the hoisting area and taking in account located obstacles, load parameters; and load movement parameters including a maximum attainable speed of the hoist appliance with the load, wherein the generated trajectory includes a starting point, a target point and a number of consecutive line segments connecting the starting point and the target point. And optimizing the trajectory for speed by maximizing the length of at least one line segment in a main direction of travel in order to travel at a maximum attainable speed of the hoisting appliance with the load in the main direction of travel.

A payload coupling apparatus is provided that includes a housing having an upper portion, a lower portion, and a side wall positioned between the upper and lower portions, an attachment point on the housing adapted for attachment to a first end of a tether, a slot in the housing that extends downwardly towards a center of the housing thereby forming a hook or lip on the lower portion of the housing beneath the slot, a plurality of holes in the upper portion of the housing; and a plurality of holes in the lower portion of the housing. A method of retracting a payload coupling apparatus during UAV flight is also provided.

This crane is provided with: a operable functional unit; an actuator; a generation unit that generates a first control signal including a first deceleration signal section composed of a control signal for decelerating a speed of the operable functional unit from a first speed to a second speed and a first constant-speed signal section composed of a control signal for maintaining the speed of the operable functional unit at the second speed; a filter unit for filtering the first control signal to generate a second control signal; and a control unit that controls the actuator so as to decelerate the operable functional unit based on the second control signal, then controls the actuator so as to maintain the speed at the second speed, and controls the actuator so as to zero the speed when a load has been moved to a location satisfying a prescribed condition.