STABILITY MONITORING FUNCTION FOR A THICK MATTER CONVEYING SYSTEM

Abstract

The invention relates to, inter alia, a thick matter conveying system (10) comprising a thick matter pump (16) for conveying a thick matter, comprising a double-piston-type core pump (15) which has a pump frequency; an S tube (24) which can be switched by the pump frequency; and a thick matter distributing mast (18) for distributing the thick matter to be conveyed, wherein the thick matter distributing mast (18) has at least two mast arms (41); a substructure (30) on which the thick matter distributing mast (18) and the thick matter pump (16) are arranged, said substructure (30) comprising a support structure (31) for supporting the substructure (30) by means of at least one horizontally and/or vertically movable support leg (32); a sensor unit (11) for sequentially detecting at least one piece of operating information at at least one first and second point in time; and a processing unit (12) which is designed to determine a stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) on the basis of the at least one piece of operating information detected at the first point in time, the at least one piece of operating information detected at the second point in time, and the pump frequency.

Claims

1. A thick matter conveying system (10), having a thick matter pump (16) for conveying thick matter, comprising a double-piston core pump (15) having a pump frequency, and an S-pipe (24) which is switchable at the pump frequency, a thick matter distributor mast (18) for distributing the thick matter to be conveyed, wherein the thick matter distributor mast (18) has at least two mast arms (41), a substructure (30) on which are disposed the thick matter distributor mast (18) and the thick matter pump (16), wherein the substructure (30) comprises a support structure (31) for supporting the substructure (30) by way of at least one horizontally and/or vertically displaceable support leg (32), a sensor unit (11) for sequentially capturing at least one item of operational information at at least a first and a second point in time, and a processing unit (12) which determines a stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) depending on the at least one item of operational information captured at the first point in time, the at least one item of operational information captured at the second point in time, and the pump frequency.

2. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the sensor unit (11) has one or a plurality of sensors for capturing the pump frequency, and the processing unit (12) determines the stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) depending on the captured item of operational information and the captured pump frequency.

3. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein a temporal interval between the first and the second point in time is dependent on the pump frequency.

4. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 3, wherein the second point in time is shifted or lags by the duration of half a pumping period compared to the first point in time.

5. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the at least one item of operational information captured at the first point in time is the most recent captured item of operational information.

6. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the processing unit (12) determines the stability parameter depending on a result of a mean value formation, wherein the mean value formation takes place depending on the captured items of operational information.

7. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the processing unit (12) determines the stability parameter depending on items of operational information captured at a plurality of first and at a plurality of second points in time, wherein each of the plurality of the second points in time lags in relation to a respective corresponding point in time of the plurality of the first points in time by the duration of half a pumping period.

8. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the processing unit (12) at least temporarily stores a plurality of items of operational information which have been captured at points in time before the first point in time.

9. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 8, wherein the processing unit (12) stores captured items of operational information which have been captured at a point in time that lags behind the first point in time at most by the duration of one pumping period.

10. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the sensor unit (11) uses the same sensor to record the items of operational information to be sequentially captured at the first and second point in time.

11. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the sensor unit (11) sequentially records an item of operational information which is indicative of one of the following properties: a joint torque of at least one of the mast arms (41), a cylinder force of at least one of the mast arms (41), an inclination angle of at least one mast arm (41), an actuator force of at least one actuator of a mast arm (41), an operating speed of at least one actuator of a mast arm (41), a load weight at a load attachment point of the thick matter distributor mast (18), a rotating speed of a slewing gear (19), an inclination angle of the thick matter conveying system (10), a horizontal leg force of the at least one support leg (32), and a vertical leg force of the at least one support leg (32).

12. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 11, wherein the processing unit (12) calculates a load torque based on captured items of operational information which are indicative of the joint torques of all mast arms (41), and determines the stability parameter depending on the calculated load torque.

13. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the processing unit (12) calculates a current position of an overall center of gravity of the thick matter conveying system (10) from a plurality of different types of captured items of operational information, and determines the stability parameter depending on the calculated current position of the overall center of gravity.

14. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, further comprising a control unit (13) for emitting a first control signal if the determined stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) is greater than a maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10), and to emit a second control signal if the determined stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) is less than or equal to the maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10).

15. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 14, wherein the control unit (13) limits an operating range of the thick matter distributor mast (18) to a currently permissible operating range, if the determined stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) is greater than the maximum stability parameter.

16. The thick matter conveying system (10) of claim 1, wherein the substructure (30) is disposed on a vehicle (33).

17. A method (100) for operating a thick matter conveying system (10) which comprises a thick matter pump (16) for conveying a thick matter, a thick matter distributor mast (18) for distributing the thick matter to be conveyed by way of at least two mast arms (41), a substructure (30) on which are disposed the thick matter distributor mast (18) and the thick matter pump (16), a sensor unit (11) for sequentially capturing at least one item of operational information, and a processing unit (12), wherein the thick matter pump (16) comprises a double-piston core pump (15) having a pump frequency, and an S-pipe (24) which is switchable at the pump frequency, and wherein the substructure (30) comprises a support structure (31) for supporting the substructure (30) by way of at least one horizontally and/or vertically displaceable support leg (32), the method comprising the following steps: sequentially capturing, by the sensor unit (11), at least one item of operational information at at least a first point in time (101b) and a second point in time (101a), and determining (104), by the processing unit (12), a stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) depending on the item of operational information captured at the first point in time, the item of operational information captured at the second point in time, and the pump frequency.

18. The method (100) of claim 17, further comprising the following steps: emitting (105), by a control unit (13) of the thick matter conveying system (10), a first control signal if the determined stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) is greater than a maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10), and emitting (106), by the control unit (13), a second control signal if the determined stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10) is less than or equal to the maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system (10).

19. The method (100) of claim 18, wherein emitting (107) the first control signal comprises the following step: limiting (107) the operating range of the thick matter distributor mast (18) to a currently permissible operating range.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] The invention will be explained in more detail in an exemplary manner hereunder with reference to the appended drawings and by way of advantageous embodiments.

[0064] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a thick matter conveying system according to the invention;

[0065] FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a thick matter pump of a thick matter conveying system according to the invention;

[0066] FIG. 3 shows a diagram depicting the effects of the operation of a thick matter pump on an item of operational information to be captured; and

[0067] FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow chart of an embodiment of a method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Shown in FIG. 1 is a thick matter conveying system 10 which comprises a thick matter pump 16 for conveying a thick matter and a thick matter distributor mast 18 for distributing the thick matter to be conveyed, wherein the thick matter distributor mast 18 has a slewing gear 19, which is rotatable about a vertical axis, and a plurality of mast arms 41. Further illustrated is also a conveying line 17 which extends across the mast arms 41 and is connected to the thick matter pump 16.

[0069] Moreover, the thick matter conveying system 10 comprises a substructure 30 on which are disposed the thick matter distributor mast 18 and the thick matter pump 16. The substructure 30 has a support structure 31 having four support legs 32 for supporting the substructure 30. The substructure 30 by way of example is shown as disposed on a vehicle 33.

[0070] Further provided are a sensor unit 11 and a processing unit 12. The sensor unit 11 is specified to sequentially record at least one item of operational information at at least a first and a second point in time. For example, it can to this end access operational information repeatedly captured respectively by one or a plurality of sensors by way of wired or wireless signal lines.

[0071] Optionally, the sensor unit 11 can also be configured for capturing the pump frequency of the core pump 15 or of the S-pipe 24 and, for example, have one or a plurality of suitable vibration sensors.

[0072] The processing unit 12 is specified to determine a stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10 depending on the item of operational information captured at the first point in time, the item of operational information captured at the second point in time, and the pump frequency. The stability parameter characterizes the current stability of the support structure 31 and thus of the thick matter conveying system 10. Accordingly, the processing unit 12 has access to the item of operational information sequentially captured at at least a first and a second point in time as well as to the pump frequency of the core pump 15. Provided to this end for the thick matter conveying system 10 is a corresponding design embodiment of the sensor unit 11 and of the processing unit 12 with the necessary hardware and/or software components. In this way, the processing unit 12 can, for example, access data stored in a memory, the item of information pertaining to the respective mass and/or to the respective spatial extent of all components of the thick matter conveying system 10, and in particular to the pump frequency, as required. The operating parameter pump frequency can be defined or else likewise captured by the sensor unit 11 and then be rendered accessible to the processing unit 12 and stored, for example, in a corresponding memory.

[0073] FIG. 2 shows a thick matter pump 16 for conveying a thick matter. The thick matter pump 16 comprises a double-piston core pump 15 and a switchable S-pipe 24. The core pump 15 here has a pump frequency which corresponds to a switching frequency of the S-pipe 24, by way of which the one end of the S-pipe 24 is switched back and forth between the two pistons of the core pump. At an output 28 of the thick matter pump 16, the other end of the S-pipe 24 is connected to the conveying line 17 of the thick matter distributor mast.

[0074] A processing unit 12 of an exemplary design embodiment is to be described in more detail by way of FIG. 3 which represents a diagram which illustrates the effects of the operation of a thick matter pump 16 on an item of operational information to be captured. Here, the values of the observed operational information 8 have a component oscillating at the pump frequency of the core pump 15. An item of operational information indicative of the cylinder force of the mast arm 41 connected to the slewing gear 19 can be used as an example of such an item of operational information 8. In the diagram of FIG. 3, captured values of the item of operational information S are plotted over time T. The time T=0 represents the present, and T=?x represents the x.sup.th time in the past at which the operational information S was captured, whereby the operational information captured at the time T=?1 represents the most recent captured operational information. Accordingly, the processing unit 12 is specified to store at least the operational information captured at 26 historical points in time. A pumping period comprises in the present case a period from T=?x to T=x?25, so the pump frequency is the reciprocal value over this period. T_U marks the times of the changeovers of S-pipe 24 and thus also provides information pertaining to the pump frequency.

[0075] The processing unit 12 is specified to determine the stability parameter depending on the item of operational information captured at the first point in time, and the operational information captured at the second point in time. The second point in time is delayed by the duration of half a pumping period compared to the first point in time. A mean value is formed from the most recent item of operational information S(T=?1) captured at the time T=?1 and the item of operational information S(T=?14) captured half a pumping period prior thereto, i.e. at the time T=?14. The result represents an item of operational information modified by smoothing S_mod(T=?1), which has been relieved of the effect of the operation of the pump on the captured item of operational information.

[0076] Moreover, the processing unit 12 can be specified to determine the stability parameter depending on items of operational information captured at a plurality of first and at a plurality of second points in time, each of the plurality of second points in time being delayed by the duration of half a pumping period compared a corresponding point in time of the plurality of first points in time.

[0077] In the process, further or even all of the items of operational information captured by a sensor of the sensor unit 11 and accessible to the processing unit 12 can be viewed. In addition to the modified item of operational information S_mod(T=?1) described above, further modified items of operational information S_mod(T=?x) can be calculated. These further modified items of operational information can then represent the mean value from an item of operational information captured at a first point in time T=?x and an item of operational information captured a second point in time T=?x?13 and thus half a pumping period prior thereto. In order to further improve the accuracy, a mean value of S_falt can then also be formed from all modified items of operational information, which then in turn corresponds to a deconvolution of the most recent captured first item of operational information:

[00001]$S_{\mathrm{falt}}\left(T=-1\right)=\mathrm{Mean}\mathrm{Value}\left(\frac{S\left(T=-1\right)+S\left(T=-14\right)}{2},\left(\frac{S\left(T=-2\right)+S\left(T=-15\right)}{2}\right),...\right)$

[0078] It is also conceivable that the items of operational information captured at earlier points in time will be given less weight. Thus, the weighting of the modified items of operational information S_mod(T=?x) can decrease gradually or continuously as x increases.

[0079] The modified items of operational information or mean values, respectively, in turn dependent on the pump frequency, can then be utilized to determine the stability parameter. For example, a current position of the overall center of gravity of the thick matter conveying system 10 can be calculated to this end from a plurality of suitable modified items of operational information of different types while taking into account the masses and the spatial extents of relevant components of the thick matter system, such as the mast arms, for example. The smaller the spacing of the line of action from the tilting edges of the contact surface, which takes into account at least the weight force of the thick matter conveying system acting at the overall center of gravity, the lower the stability, and the higher the stability parameter is determined.

[0080] Moreover in the present example, an optional control unit 13 of the thick matter conveying system 10 is additionally configured to actuate one or a plurality of components of the thick matter conveying system 10 by way of control signals, depending on the stability parameter determined by the processing unit 12. Accordingly, the control unit 13 is specified for emitting a first control signal if the stability parameter determined by the processing unit 12 is greater than a maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10. In this case, the control unit 13 then limits an operating range of the thick matter distributor mast 18 to a currently permissible operating range. Further, the control unit 13 is additionally specified to emit a second control signal if the determined stability parameter is less than or equal to the maximum stability parameter.

[0081] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of a method 100 according to the invention.

[0082] In a step 101a, the sensor unit 11 records an item of operational information of the thick matter conveying system 10. In a sequentially following step 101b, the sensor unit 11 then records the item of operational information again. According to the convention applied here, the point in time of capturing in step 101a is the second point in time, and the point in time of capturing in step 101b is the first point in time. By way of example, step 101a lags here by half a duration of a pumping period compared to step 101b. The item of operational information captured in step 101b is to be the most recent captured item of operational information. In steps 102 and 103, the pump frequency can likewise have been captured by the sensor unit 11.

[0083] Depending on the items of operational information captured sequentially by the sensor unit 11 in steps 101b and 101a at the first and the second point in time, and depending on the pump frequency, a stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10 is determined in step 104 by the processing unit 12. As already explained in the context of FIG. 3, a mean value is to be formed here from the item of operational information captured in step 101b and the item of operational information captured in step 101a. Obtained as a result is a modified item of operational information which has been relieved of the effect of the operation of the pump on the captured item of operational information. On this basis, the processing unit 12 then determines a stability parameter, for example, by calculating a current position of the overall center of gravity of the thick matter conveying system 10, while taking into account the mass and the spatial extent of all mast arms 41.

[0084] Optionally here, this is followed by one of steps 105 and 106.

[0085] If the stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10 determined by the processing unit 12 is greater than a maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10, a control unit of the thick matter conveying system 10 emits a first control signal in step 105. By means of such a control signal, the control unit actuates at least one component of the thick matter conveying system 10 and thus acts on an operating parameter of the component. This can include, for example, a further step 107 in the form of limiting the operating range of the thick matter distributor mast 18 to a currently permissible operating range.

[0086] In the opposite case, that is, in a determination of the stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10 by the processing unit 12 being less than or equal to the maximum stability parameter of the thick matter conveying system 10, the control unit can emit a second control signal in a step 106. For example, the control unit can in this way drive a thick matter pump 16 so that the pump frequency is increased or reduced.

[0087] The embodiments of the present invention described in this specification and the optional features and properties listed respectively in this regard are also to be understood as being disclosed in all combinations with one another. In particular, the description of a feature comprised by an embodiment is also presently not to be understood in such a way that the feature is crucial or essential for the functioning of the embodimentunless explicitly stated to the contrary.