The present invention relates to a cable winch, in particular a hoisting gear winch of a hoist, comprising a cable drum, an entry guide for a cable to be wound onto the cable drum, and an actuating drive for adjusting the entry guide relative to the cable drum. The invention also relates to a hoisting device, in particular in the form of a crane, having such a cable winch. According to the invention, a detection unit for detecting an image of the progression of the winding of the cable wound onto the cable drum is provided and the control unit is designed to adjust the entry guide relative to the cable drum depending on the winding progression image captured.

A system for controlling a winch assembly having a hydraulic motor, a drum, a cable, and a cable tension sensor. A controller is configured to access a winch load threshold defining a hold zone and a reel zone, and one of the hold zone and the reel zone including loads greater than the winch load threshold and another of the hold zone and the reel zone including loads less than the winch load threshold. The controller is further configured to determine whether the winch assembly is operating within the hold zone or the reel zone, and generate a zero flow command while the winch assembly is operating within the hold zone to prevent rotation of the hydraulic winch motor, and generate a pressure differential command while the rotatable winch drum is operating within the reel zone to permit rotation of the hydraulic winch motor.

A system for controlling a winch assembly having a hydraulic motor, a drum, a cable, and a cable tension sensor. A controller is configured to access a winch load threshold defining a hold zone and a reel zone, and one of the hold zone and the reel zone including loads greater than the winch load threshold and another of the hold zone and the reel zone including loads less than the winch load threshold. The controller is further configured to determine whether the winch assembly is operating within the hold zone or the reel zone, and generate a zero flow command while the winch assembly is operating within the hold zone to prevent rotation of the hydraulic winch motor, and generate a pressure differential command while the rotatable winch drum is operating within the reel zone to permit rotation of the hydraulic winch motor.

A vehicle, or control system thereof includes a winch and control circuitry. The winch includes a winch motor and is configured to extend and retract a cable. The control circuitry is coupled to the winch and a battery system. The control circuitry is configured to control operation of the vehicle, receive an indication to initiate a winch control mode, determine status information for the vehicle, and activate one or more selectors of an input interface for receiving input to control the winch based on the status information. The selectors can include buttons of a keyfob associated with the vehicle. The status information can include a gear selection of the vehicle, a security status of the vehicle, a capacity status of the battery system, authorization information, or other information. The control circuitry, while controlling the winch, receives commands for controlling the winch and monitors the status information.

A system that is configured to automatically control a spooling of a drum of a deployment unit used in hydrocarbon recovery operations.

Described herein are methods and systems to dampen oscillations of a payload coupled to a tether of a winch system arranged on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). For example, the UAV's control system may dampen the oscillations by causing the UAV to switch to a forward flight mode in which movement of the UAV results in drag on the payload, thereby damping the oscillations. In another example, the control system may cause the UAV to reduce an extent flight stabilization along at least one dimension, thereby resulting in damping of the detected oscillations due to energy dissipation during movement of the UAV along the dimension. In this way, the control system could select and carry out one or more such techniques, and could do so during retraction and/or deployment of the tether.

An example charging station for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the charging station generally including a nest and a charging device. The nest includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion defines an upper opening sized and shaped to receive a landing apparatus of the UAV, and a diameter of the nest reduces from a first diameter at the upper opening to a second diameter at the lower portion. The charging device is mounted in the nest, and includes a first contact pad and a second contact pad. The charging device is configured to apply a voltage differential across the first contact pad and the second contact pad such that the charging station is operable to charge a power supply of the UAV via the landing apparatus.

An example charging station for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the charging station generally including a nest and a charging device. The nest includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion defines an upper opening sized and shaped to receive a landing apparatus of the UAV, and a diameter of the nest reduces from a first diameter at the upper opening to a second diameter at the lower portion. The charging device is mounted in the nest, and includes a first contact pad and a second contact pad. The charging device is configured to apply a voltage differential across the first contact pad and the second contact pad such that the charging station is operable to charge a power supply of the UAV via the landing apparatus.

A hoist lifting system having planning and monitoring of components. The system monitors one or more components and may have a processing structure and memory storing instructions to configure the processing structure to: receive hoist machine data; determine a rotation speed of a bearing, a travel speed of a rope, a load on the bearing, a friction in the at least one bearing based on the hoist machine data; and store the rotation speed, the travel speed, the load, and the friction in a maintenance database in memory. The hoist lifting system may have the processing structure determine a wear of one or more components.

A method according to certain embodiments generally involves operating a system including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a base station. The base station includes a nest including an upper opening having an upper opening diameter and a lower opening having a lower opening diameter less than the upper opening diameter. The lower opening is accessible from within the base station. The method generally includes landing the UAV within the nest such that a portion of the UAV is accessible via the lower opening, releasably attaching a load to the UAV, and operating the UAV to deliver the load to a destination.