Systems and methods for measuring and regulating winch line pull for winches are disclosed. A tension measuring system may be mounted to a winch mounting bracket for measuring tension in the winch line during use. The tension measuring system may comprise at least one load cell for measuring the tension in the winch line. A control system may receive a measured tension value for the winch line, compare the measured tension value to a target tension value, and consequently adjust the motor. The control system may be configured to hold the winch line at a substantially constant tension. The measured tension values may be logged and graphically displayed.

Systems and methods for measuring and regulating winch line pull for winches are disclosed. A tension measuring system may be mounted to a winch mounting bracket for measuring tension in the winch line during use. The tension measuring system may comprise at least one load cell for measuring the tension in the winch line. A control system may receive a measured tension value for the winch line, compare the measured tension value to a target tension value, and consequently adjust the motor. The control system may be configured to hold the winch line at a substantially constant tension. The measured tension values may be logged and graphically displayed.

A forestry winch may include a rope drum driven by a drive motor, wherein a rope is wound up on the rope drum, wherein the rope drum is functionally connected with a brake device, wherein the brake device is in the form of a spring-loaded brake which is impinged by a spring device toward a braking position and by a hydraulic brake release pressure present in a brake release pressure line toward a release position, wherein the drive motor is in the form of a hydraulic motor which is connected by a first pressure medium line and a second pressure medium line to a multi-port control valve device controlling the drive motor, and a bypass valve device connecting the first and second pressure medium lines and is located in a connecting line connecting the first and second pressure medium lines and has a closed position and a flow position.

A conveying device of the present invention includes a holding unit configured to hold a conveying object, a support member swingably supporting the holding unit, a plurality of hanging members, each distal end of which is connected to the support member so as to hang the holding unit via the support member, reel units to which each proximal end of the plurality of hanging members is connected so as to be capable of feeding and wounding, a base part on which the plurality of reel units are mounted, a guide unit configured to engage with the holding unit, and guide the holding unit to be elevated, and a control unit configured to perform operation control on the reel units so as to feed and wind the hanging member.

A conveying device of the present invention includes a holding unit configured to hold a conveying object, a support member swingably supporting the holding unit, a plurality of hanging members, each distal end of which is connected to the support member so as to hang the holding unit via the support member, reel units to which each proximal end of the plurality of hanging members is connected so as to be capable of feeding and wounding, a base part on which the plurality of reel units are mounted, a guide unit configured to engage with the holding unit, and guide the holding unit to be elevated, and a control unit configured to perform operation control on the reel units so as to feed and wind the hanging member.

A switching assembly for rope-pulling equipment including mechanisms for holding an electrically-operated power tool for rotating a capstan about an axis and which power tool includes a depressible ON/OFF switch utilizes an actuator having a switch-engaging portion which is mounted for pivotal movement between a first condition at which the switch of the power tool is in an OFF position and a second condition at which the switch of the power tool is depressed by the switch-engaging portion to switch the power tool ON. The actuator further includes a rope-engaging section so that by wrapping a section of rope to be pulled about the capstan, routing an end of the rope about the rope-engaging section and then appropriately pulling upon the end of the rope, the actuator is pivoted from the first to the second condition, and the rope is advanced along the equipment by the rotating capstan.

An unmanned aerial vehicle system includes an unmanned aerial vehicle, a user input device, and ground station. The user input device is configured to generate a signal and control the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the generated signal. The ground station is coupled to the unmanned aerial vehicle via a tether assembly. The ground station includes a motorized spool and a controller. The motorized spool is coupled to the tether assembly and configured to electromechanically control spooling and unspooling of a tether of the tether assembly. The controller is configured to control operation of the motorized spool based on an anticipated movement of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

A self-localization method and system to estimate the position of a tethered quadcopter using only the onboard sensors. Embodiments of the invention are based on the dynamics of the tethered quadcopter and the principles of an accelerometer. The estimated orientation angles of the tether were used to estimate the location of the quadcopter with respect to the connecting point of the tether, which can be a ground vehicle. The results generated by both the software simulation and actual experiments reveal the effectiveness and accuracy of embodiments of the present invention.

There is described a hoisting system and method of lifting that make use of a particular fibre rope. The fibre rope includes a plurality of magnets that are embedded within the fibre rope and spaced apart along the rope with a known axial distance between the magnets. The system may include a fibre rope hoisting speed sensor, and a magnetic field sensor that can sense the presence of the magnetic field of the embedded magnets. Using the sensors, the hoisting speed of the rope may be determined by: measuring the time between the passing of consecutive magnets by using the magnetic field sensor; calculating the distance between consecutive magnets using the hoisting speed sensor and the measured time between the passing of the consecutive magnets; and comparing the calculated distance between the magnets with an original, predefined distance between the magnets.

An unmanned robot system for a tethered robot, for example, a tethered aircraft, is disclosed. The unmanned system, in one embodiment, includes an unmanned aircraft tethered to a ground station by a tether cable. In one embodiment, an aerial winch and cable unit is provided on the aircraft to manage cable release. Alternatively, winch and cable units may be provided on both the aircraft and ground station. As the aircraft is now able to freely operate cable release to overcome any disturbances along the cable length, the operational effectiveness of the aircraft is greatly improved.