SYSTEM FOR MONITORING WIND INFLUENCES ON A WORKING MACHINE

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for monitoring wind influences on a working machine, in particular a mobile crane or crawler crane, comprising at least one detection unit that is arranged on the working machine and by means of which a current wind speed can be detected, a recording unit that is configured to receive, to store, and to transmit data of the detection unit during and outside the operation of the working machine, a controller of the working machine that is configured to determine a current working machine state, an external processing unit that is configured to directly or indirectly receive and process data from the detection unit relating to an current wind speed and data from the controller, and an output device that is configured to receive data from the external processing unit. The controller and/or the external processing unit is/are configured here to determine a limit value for a wind speed in dependence on the current working machine state. The output device is further configured to output a warning on a reaching and/or exceeding and/or impending reaching of the limit value by the current wind speed. The invention further relates to a working machine having components of the system in accordance with the invention.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring wind influences on a working machine (1), in particular a mobile crane or crawler crane, comprising: at least one detection unit (10) that is arranged on the working machine (1) and by means of which a current wind speed can be detected; a recording unit (12) that is adapted to receive, to store, and to transmit data of the at least one detection unit (10) during and outside the operation of the working machine (1); a controller (14) of the working machine (1) that is configured to determine a current working machine state; an external processing unit (16) that is configured to receive and to process data from the detection unit (10) relating to the current wind speed and data from the controller (14) directly or indirectly and in particular wirelessly; and an output device (18) that is configured to receive data from the external processing unit (16), in particular wirelessly, wherein the controller (14) and/or the external processing unit (16) is/are configured to determine a limit value for a wind speed in dependence on the current working machine state; and wherein the output device (18) is configured to output a warning on a reaching and/or exceeding and/or impending reaching of the limit value by the current wind speed.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that an energy source is provided by means of which the recording unit is also suppliable with energy with a working machine out of operation and that is preferably arranged on the working machine, with the energy source preferably comprising a battery of the working machine (1), a battery assigned to the recording unit (12), and/or an energy converter, in particular a solar cell.

3. A system in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the output device (18) is configured to present, in particular to graphically present, data relating to a current wind speed and/or the limit value and/or to a weather forecast and/or to a current working machine state and/or to the current configuration of the working machine.

4. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external processing unit (16) is configured to determine with reference to the transmission of the data by the controller (14), in particular with reference to transmission intervals, that the working machine (1) is out of operation and to continue to receive data from the recording unit (12) relating to a current wind speed.

5. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external processing unit (16) is configured to compare the data received from the recording unit (12) relating to the current wind speed and the data received by the controller (14) relating to the limit value with one another, with the external processing unit (16) further being configured to use a limit value last received by the controller (14) in operation in a time period in which the working machine (1) is out of operation for the comparison.

6. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the external processing unit (16) is configured to receive data from the controller (14) relating to a current position of the working machine (1) and/or to a current working machine state and/or to the current configuration of the working machine (1) and/or to the payload values of the working machine (1) and/or to limit values for wind speeds in dependence on the working machine state and/or to receive data from an external service (20) relating to a weather forecast.

7. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one sensor (22) is provided at the working machine (1) by means of which a parameter of the current working machine state is detectable, with the controller (14) being configured to receive data from the at least one sensor (22).

8. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one transmission unit (24) is provided at the working machine (1) and is configured to transmit data from the controller (14) and/or from the recording unit (12) wirelessly to the external processing unit (16).

9. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the controller (14) is configured to receive the data from the at least one detection unit (20) and to preferably present data relating to the current wind speed and/or to the limit value on a display unit of the working machine (1).

10. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that data relating to the current configuration of the working machine (1) and/or payload values and/or limit values for wind speeds in dependence on the working machine state and/or on the configuration of the working machine are stored in the controller (14) or in a memory (26 readable by the controller and/or by the external processing unit (16).

11. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a position detection unit (28), in particular a GPS module, arranged at the working machine (1) for the detection of the current position of the working machine (1) is provided, with the controller (14) being configured to receive position related data from the position detection unit (28).

12. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one detection unit (10) is an anemometer, in particular a cup anemometer, and is preferably arranged at a boom (3, 4) of the working machine (1).

13. A system in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one detection unit (10) works without an energy supply and has a signal detection means (11) for generating a signal, in particular a reed switch, with the recording unit (22) being configured to receive this signal.

14. A working machine (1), in particular a crawler crane or a mobile crane, having at least one detection unit (10), a recording unit (12), and a controller (14) of a system in accordance with one of the preceding claims.

15. A working machine in accordance with claim 14, characterized in that it further comprises an energy source in accordance with claim 2 and/or at least one sensor (22) in accordance with claim 7 and/or at least one transmission unit (24) in accordance with claim 8 and/or a memory (26) in accordance with claim 10 and/or a position detection unit (28) in accordance with claim 11.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0039] Further features, details, and advantages of the invention result from the embodiments explained in the following with reference to the Figures. There are shown:

[0040] FIG. 1: a side view of a crawler crane with components of the system in accordance with the invention in accordance with a first embodiment;

[0041] FIG. 2: a schematic representation of the components of the system in accordance with the invention and their connections in accordance with a first embodiment;

[0042] FIG. 3: a schematic representation of the components of the system in accordance with the invention and their connections in accordance with a second embodiment; and

[0043] FIG. 4: a schematic representation of the detection unit and its connections with other components of the system in accordance with the invention in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] A crawler crane 1 is shown in FIG. 1 as an example for a working machine having components of the monitoring system in accordance with the invention in a side view. A working machine in the sense of the present invention can, however, also be any other working machine that is exposed to wind influences and requires a corresponding monitoring.

[0045] A first embodiment of the system in accordance with the invention is shown schematically in FIG. 2.

[0046] The crane 1 has a superstructure 2 rotatably supported on an undercarriage and having a boom 3 pivotably connected thereto in an articulated manner and a needle boom 4 mounted thereto. Both the boom 3 and the needle boom 4 offer a large area of attack to wind so that a monitoring of the current wind conditions is necessary to prevent an accident or a tilting over. For this purpose, the crane 1 respectively has a detection unit 10 designed as a rotatably supported cup anemometer at the tip of the boom 3 and at the tip of the needle boom 4.

[0047] A crane controller 14 receives the data of the anemometers 10 (wind sensors) that relate to the current wind strength at corresponding positions and processes them for the purpose of a wind monitoring. For this purpose, the controller 14 has access to a database 26 of the crane 1 in which inter alia information with respect to the current crane configuration and further data such as payload values or limit values for wind speeds in dependence on the crane state and/or the crane configuration are stored. The current crane state (boom angle, needle boom angle, etc.) is detected by a series of sensors 22 (not shown) and provided to the controller 14. The controller 14 calculates from this information limit values for the maximum permitted wind speeds at the positions of the anemometers 10 or reads corresponding values from a memory.

[0048] The limit values are transmitted, optionally together with the wind data delivered by the anemometers 10 and optionally together with position data of the crane 1 provided by a GPS module 28, to an external processing unit 16, for example a cloud, by means of a transmission unit or telematics 24. It can include further information such as weather forecast data of an external supplier 20 and can analyze the data provided. On an impending exceeding or on a reaching of the limit values by the measured current wind speed, a warning can be output via an output device 18, for example an operator display in an operator's cabin of the crane 1, a smartphone, a PC a tablet, or the like to warn the operator. The latter can then initiate suitable measures such as placing the boom 3, 4 down on the ground.

[0049] A transmission of the data from the controller 14 to the external processing unit 16, however, only takes place in ongoing operation of the crane 1 when the controller 14 and the engine are activated. In machines of the category, it was therefore necessary on the positioning of the crane in a position “out of operation” to rely on the weather forecast data applicable at this time and had no possibility of also monitoring the wind conditions outside of operation and of taking suitable measures as required. This represented a substantial safety risk and led to accidents again and again.

[0050] To solve this problem, a recording unit 12 is provided in accordance with the invention at the crane 1 and is a low energy data logger in the present embodiment. The data logger 12 likewise receives the data of the anemometers 10 and stores them in a memory. The data logger 12 has its own energy source, for example the crane battery or a separately assigned battery, optionally also a solar cell or the like, to also be continuously functional outside the operation of the working machine 1 and to be able to record wind data. A separate transmission unit or telematics 24 (for example a separate modem) is associated with the data logger 12 to be able to transmit the recorded current wind data of the anemometers 10 to the external processing unit 16 independently of the operating status of the working machine 1 or of the controller 14. The transmission of the data here takes place at fixable time intervals.

[0051] A monitoring of the wind conditions by the external processing unit 16 is thus possible at any time, even when the crane 1 has been switched off. The limit values last provided by the controller 14 prior to the switching off of the crane 1 are used for the comparison with the current wind data. A warning can therefore also be output via the output device 18 even with a deactivated crane when the current wind speeds delivered by the data logger 12 exceed or threaten to exceed a limit value.

[0052] A second embodiment of the system in accordance with the invention is shown schematically in FIG. 3. Unlike the system in accordance with FIG. 2, the calculation of the limit values for the maximum permitted wind speeds does not take place locally by the controller 14 here, but rather by the external processing unit 16. The controller 14 therefore transmits the data of the sensors 22 and of the GPS module 28 via the telematics 24 of the crane 1 to the external processing unit 16 that additionally has access to the central database 26 having information with respect to the current crane configuration. This is not arranged locally at the crane 1 in this embodiment.

[0053] One of the anemometers 10, a measurement device 11 connected thereto, and the data connections to the data logger 12 and to the controller 14 in accordance with an embodiment are shown schematically in FIG. 4. The anemometer 10 itself does not require its own power supply, but rather switches one or more reed contacts during the wind-induced rotation, whereby signals (e.g. voltage pulses) that represent the current wind speed (in particular a number of revolutions per time unit or speed) are generated and transmitted to the data logger 12. Different detection units or anemometers 10 or a combination of different detection units or anemometers 10 can naturally be used that provide information relating to one or more wind speeds currently occurring (at different points) to the data logger 12.

[0054] In summary, the system in accordance with the invention has the following components in accordance with the embodiment shown here:

[0055] A plurality of cup anemometers 10 that have an output (for example a digital output) via which the controller 14 can detect the wind speed in the ongoing operation of the working machine 1 to present it to the operator on an operator display in the operator's cabin.

[0056] A low energy data logger 12 that can detect the wind speed at a minimal power takeup round the clock and can transmit it to the external processing unit 16 at settable intervals. This low energy data logger 12 can detect the wind speed by means of the cup anemometers 10, for instance via additional reed switches. An addition voltage supply of the anemometers 10 is not necessary due to such reed switches. The wind drives the anemometers 10 and the rotating cups switch the reed contact. The anemometers 10 therefore have two outputs, one each for the controller 14 for the presentation and one for the low energy data logger 12 for the detection of the wind speed round the clock (cf. FIG. 3).

[0057] A controller 14 that, in dependence on the crane configuration (e.g. boom lengths used) and on the geometrical crane position (crane 1 out of operation: crane 1 erected in the parked position, crane 1 erected outside the parked position, crane 1 partially placed down (=jack knife position, crane 1 placed down; crane 1 in operation: crane 1 within the payload curve range, crane 1 outside the payload curve range), calculates the limit values (maximum permitted speed). The maximum permitted wind speeds are transmitted to the external processing unit 16 at regular intervals by means of a further telematic unit 24. These transmissions, however, only take place in the ongoing operation of the working machine 1.

[0058] A decentral server or an external processing unit 16 that compares the wind speeds detected by the low energy data logger 12 with the maximum permitted wind speeds calculated by the controller 14 and triggers warnings, for instance via email, SMS, or push notifications on an output device 18 in danger situations. This decentral server 16 is familiar round the clock from the crane with the detected wind speed and the maximum permitted wind speed (or the respective speeds for the respective anemometers 10) in operation and also with the maximum permitted wind speed out of operation. The server 16 determines the status of the crane 1 (out of operation=switched off or in operation=switched on) and compares the detected wind speed having the corresponding last known maximum permitted wind speed. The information can be expanded e.g. by additional data from corresponding meteorological weather services 20 by additional known measured values (for instance GPS position, height of the boom head above the ground, etc.) to warn the user of future weather situations.

[0059] A major part of the invention is the linking of the measured wind speeds with the limit values of the working machine 1 that are known to the controller 14 and the transmission of the data to an external server/cloud 16 at which, on the one hand, a storage of the data (current wind speed, working machine configuration, position or state and/or operating status of the working machine 1, permitted weed speed for a given position and configuration, location of the working machine 1, wind predictions corresponding to meteorological models, etc.) takes place and, on the other hand, warnings can be generated to the operator of the working machine 1 in real time on an approaching and/or exceeding of limit values. The warning can e.g. take place via an app using user management.

[0060] The wind data (e.g. of the last few minutes) are also transmitted to the external processing unit 16, for instance via GMS or another wireless technology, at settable time intervals outside the operation of the working machine 1. The anemometers 10 and the low energy data logger 12 detect the data completely independently of the remaining working machine 1. Only a power supply is required. A permanent recording and transmission of the data is thus made possible.

[0061] The crane is controlled by the crane controller 14 in ongoing operation. It detects data of different sensors 22 (and the wind speed of the anemometers 10) that in totality detect the crane configuration, crane position, GPS position, via a corresponding module 28, etc. The crane configuration is here for instance: how is the crane set up (main boom, needle boom), how long are the boom part pieces, at how many meters height are the respective anemometers 10, etc. The maximum permitted wind speeds or limit values for the different crane positions are calculated locally on the working machine 1 from these data: maximum permitted wind speed in the parked position, in the jack knife position, in the work position, but also in the switched off state. These data are likewise transmitted to the server 16 by means of telematics (e.g. a modem internal to the crane) 24. The data are transmitted at settable intervals that are comparable with but asynchronous to the transmissions of the data logger 12 or its associated transmission unit 24.

[0062] The incoming data are now analyzed on the external processing unit 16. Whether the crane 1 is switched on or in operation or whether it has been switched off can be determined on the basis of the transmission intervals of the data from the crane controller 14. A maximum wind speed can now be determined in dependence on the switched-on state of the crane 1 and on the geometrical data. The direct comparison of the wind data from the data logger 12 with these maximum permitted wind speeds now provides a very fast indication of the wind situation at the crane 1 and the current wind load. If now, for instance, the currently measured wind speed approaches the maximum permitted wind speed, a corresponding warning/alarm can be communicated to a user.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

[0063] 1 working machine (crawler crane)

[0064] 2 superstructure

[0065] 3 boom

[0066] 4 needle boom

[0067] 10 detection unit (anemometer)

[0068] 11 signal generation means

[0069] 12 recording unit

[0070] 14 controller

[0071] 16 external processing unit/server/cloud

[0072] 18 output device

[0073] 20 external service

[0074] 22 sensor

[0075] 24 transmission unit/telematics

[0076] 26 memory/database

[0077] 28 position detection unit (GPS module)