Control switch for operating a hoist or crane

Abstract

A control switch for operating, preferably in single-hand operation, a hoist or crane, having a device for manual actuation, preferably single-finger actuation, with a base element, which is preferably designed as a housing, and a control lever which can be pivoted relative to the base element and which can be pivoted by means of a pivot movement triggered by means of manual actuation, preferably single-finger actuation, from an unpivoted base position into an actuation position that is pivoted in relation to the base position, in order thereby to bring about a predefined movement of the hoist or crane.

Claims

1. A control switch for operating a hoist or crane, comprising: a base element including at least one receptacle; a control lever configured to pivot relative to the base element between a base position and an actuation position in order to bring about a predefined movement of the hoist or crane; a pushbutton separated from the control lever and configured to actuate functions of the hoist or crane; a shifting gate including a characteristic contour on a first surface of the shifting gate, the characteristic contour controlling a resulting force acting on the control lever and thus a shifting characteristic as the control lever is pivoted relative to the base element; the shifting gate further including at least one flexible detent lug extending from a second surface of the shifting gate, the second surface being opposite from the first surface; wherein the at least one detent lug of the shifting gate is configured to snap-fit to the at least one receptacle; a sensor system connected to an electrical circuit board, the sensor system configured to detect pivotal movement of the control lever with the electrical circuit board configured for generating control signals.

2. The control switch according to claim 1, further comprising a spring biasing the control lever to the base position.

3. The control switch according to claim 2, further comprising: a guide element; wherein the spring biases the guide element towards the shifting gate such that the guide element is guided along the characteristic contour when the control lever pivots relative to the base element.

4. The control switch according to claim 3, wherein the characteristic contour of the shifting gate is designed such that a continuous shifting characteristic of the device results.

5. The control switch according to claim 3, wherein the guide element is configured to slide along the control lever parallel to a longitudinal axis of the control lever.

6. The control switch according to claim 3, wherein the characteristic contour of the shifting gate is designed with a stepped shifting characteristic and wherein the stepped shifting characteristic comprises either a single-step or a multi-step shifting characteristic.

7. The control switch according to claim 2, wherein the control switch is a wired pendant control switch or a hand-held wireless transmitter.

8. The control switch according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic contour is designed with a continuous shifting characteristic.

9. The control switch according to claim 1, wherein the shifting gate is designed such that the pivot movement of the control lever is limited to a uniaxial pivot movement.

10. The control switch according to claim 9, wherein the shifting gate is frame shaped and wherein the control lever extends through an opening of the shifting gate, and wherein the shape of the opening of the shifting gate is designed such that the uniaxial limitation of the pivot movement results.

11. The control switch according to claim 1, wherein the sensor system is a non-contact sensor system.

12. The control switch according to claim 11, wherein the sensor system is designed to detect the pivot movement according to a magnetic operating principle.

13. The control switch according to claim 11, wherein the sensor system has a magnet and a Hall sensor interacting with the magnet.

14. The control switch according to claim 13, wherein the Hall sensor comprises a 3D Hall sensor.

15. The control switch according to claim 13, wherein the magnet is fastened to the control lever or integrated into the control lever and the Hall sensor is connected to the electrical circuit board.

16. The control switch according to claim 1, wherein the pivot movement comprises a pivot direction and/or a pivot angle of the control lever.

17. The control switch according to claim 1, wherein the shifting gate is designed such that the pivot movement of the control lever is limited to multiaxial pivot movement.

18. The control switch according to claim 17, wherein the shifting gate is frame shaped and wherein the control lever extends through an opening of the shifting gate, and wherein the shape of the opening of the shifting gate is designed such that the multiaxial limitation of the pivot movement results.

Description

(1) An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail with reference to the following description. The following are shown:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a joystick,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the joystick of FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a shifting gate for realizing the two-step shifting characteristic and a housing for the joystick of FIG. 1,

(5) FIGS. 4a to 4d show perspective views of seven exemplary variants of the shifting gate for the joystick of FIG. 1, and

(6) FIG. 5 shows a crane in a perspective view with a control switch which has a joystick according to FIG. 1.

(7) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a joystick 1. The joystick 1 can be used as a device for manual actuation on a control switch 107 for operating a hoist or crane (see FIG. 5). For this purpose, the joystick 1 is connected in terms of control technology to the corresponding hoist or crane or to its controller. The joystick 1 is actuated manually by single-finger actuation in order to bring about a movement of the hoist or crane.

(8) The joystick 1 has an optional actuating element 2 for manual actuation. The actuating element 2 defines the direct contact surface 2a of the actuating finger, preferably of the thumb, of the operator. In order to improve the ergonomics in the sense of a simple and intuitive operation for the operator for the respective application of the joystick 1, it optionally has concave contours for receiving a fingertip and likewise optionally projecting touch lugs, which represent the movement directions of the hoist or crane, in particular preferred directions, such as the X and Y directions (see FIG. 5).

(9) A housing 7 of the joystick 1 serving as base element is arranged opposite the actuating element 2. In particular, the elements of the joystick 1 described in more detail below are accommodated in the housing 7. In addition, the housing 7 and thus also the joystick 1 can be fastened to a component, for example to a control switch 107 (see FIG. 5).

(10) An elastic protective cover 11 is arranged between the actuating element 2 and the housing 7, by means of which protective cover the further components of the joystick 1 mentioned below are covered and thus protected against environmental influences. This applies to all variants of the device according to the invention.

(11) FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the joystick 1 of FIG. 1. In addition to the components described in FIG. 1, the joystick 1 comprises the following elements that are relevant to the function of the joystick 1 as a device for manual actuation.

(12) On the base element, which is, for example, designed as a housing 7, a control lever 4 is mounted so as to be pivotable about a pivot point S. By means of a pivot movement, the control lever 4 can be pivoted from an unpivoted base position shown in FIG. 2 into an actuation position (not shown) that is pivoted in relation to the base position. The control lever 4 extends through an opening 7b into the housing 7, in whose interior the pivot point S is located. The actuating element 2 is attached to the end of the control lever 4 lying outside the base element or housing 7. A magnet 8 is arranged at the end of the control lever 4 facing away from the actuating element 2 with respect to the pivot point S of the control lever 4 and is connected to the control lever 4 in order to be able to be pivoted together therewith and in particular uniformly therewith.

(13) In addition, a Hall sensor 9 for detecting the pivot movement, preferably the associated pivot direction and/or the associated pivot angle, including its magnitude, of the control lever 4 is arranged in the housing 7. The Hall sensor 9 interacts with the magnet 8 in that it is excited differently by it depending on the pivot movement executed. The magnet 8 and the Hall sensor 9 are part of a sensor system for detecting the pivot movement. An electrical circuit board 10 for generating the control signals is likewise arranged in the housing 7 and is connected to the sensor system, in particular to the Hall sensor 9, in a signal-transmitting manner, and to the controller of the hoist or crane that is arranged outside the joystick 1.

(14) The pivot movement or actuation position of the control lever 4 detected by the Hall sensor 9 is then converted into control signals which bring about a predefined movement of the hoist or crane assigned to the respective pivot direction and/or to the respective pivot angle in particular with respect to direction and/or speed. In the unpivoted base position of the control lever 4, no movement of the hoist or crane is brought about. The control signals required for a movement of the hoist or crane are thus only generated, output and/or processed by the controller when the control lever 4 is in an actuation position.

(15) The control lever 4 is pretensioned in relation to the base element or housing 7 by means of a spring element 3, which takes the form of a helical spring, for example. In an unactuated state, the control lever 4 is held in the unpivoted base position by a pretensioning force generated by the spring element 3 and acting on the control lever 4, and can only be pivoted into a pivoted actuation position by means of a force against the pretensioning force and preferably applied by manual actuation. The pretension applied in this way serves to satisfy safety requirements since this ensures an automatic pivot movement of the control lever 4 back into the unpivoted base position as soon as manual actuation of the control lever 4 is finished.

(16) The spring element 3 is supported at one end via the actuating element 2 on the control lever 4 and at the other end via a guide element 5 and a shifting gate 6 on the housing 7 in order to achieve the pretension in the base position. The spring element 3 is thereby arranged in terms of force flow between the ring-shaped guide element 5 and the control lever 4, in particular between the guide element 5 and the actuating element 2, and extends coaxially therewith in the base position of the control lever 4. The guide element 5 has a cylindrical section 5a onto which the spring element 3 is plugged on the outside on a side facing the actuating element 2. A circumferential recess 5b, in which the spring element 3 is supported on the guide element 5, is provided around the cylindrical section 5a on the guide element 5. The control lever 4 extends through the guide element 5, wherein the guide element 5 and the control lever 4 are arranged coaxially with one another at least in the illustrated base position. The pretension acting on the control lever 4 by the spring element 3 thus takes place indirectly with the guide element 5 and the actuating element 2 interposed in terms of force flow between the base element and the control lever 4, in particular between the shifting gate 6 and the control lever 4.

(17) By means of the guide element 5, the control lever 4 is supported on the shifting gate 6, which, due to its shape, influences the pivot movement of the control lever 4 and is detachably, preferably in a positive-locking manner, connected to the base element or housing 7 and is thus fastened to the latter. The shifting gate 6 is ring-shaped and is thus formed by a ring element 6b. The control lever 4 extends into the housing 7 through an opening 6d in the shifting gate 6, which in FIGS. 2 and 3 takes the form of an opening 6d.1 for multiaxial pivot movements, for example. The housing 7 also has an opening 7b for this purpose. The enclosure function of the housing 7 for a part of the control lever 4, the sensor system for detecting the pivot movement with the magnet 8 and the Hall sensor 9, as well as the electrical circuit board 10 is independent of the function of the shifting gate 6 due to the detachable connection to the shifting gate 6. As a result, variants of the joystick 1 with different shifting gates 6 can be realized in a particularly simple manner for different applications of the joystick 1. Only the shifting gate 6 needs to be varied for this purpose.

(18) In the base position of the control lever 4, the control lever is arranged coaxially with the shifting gate 6. During a pivot movement of the control lever 4, the guide element 5 is guided along a characteristic contour 6c, 6c.1 of the shifting gate 6. Instead of the characteristic contour 6c.1, other characteristic contours are also possible (see FIGS. 4a to 4d). Here, depending on the respective pivot angle of the control lever 4, the guide element 5 is moved counter to or in the direction of the pretensioning force relative to the control lever 4, in particular in parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, in order to define a shifting characteristic of the joystick 1. The shifting gate 6 hereby defines an actuating force as a shape-related and force-related influence on or restriction of the possible pivot movements of the control lever 4, which actuating force must be applied in order to bring the control lever 4 into a possible pivoted actuation position.

(19) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a shifting gate 6 for the realization of the two-step shifting characteristic and of the housing 7 used as a base element for the joystick 1 of FIG. 1. For the detachable and positive-locking connection or fastening of the shifting gate 6 to the housing 7, the shifting gate 6 has at least one detent lug 6a, in the present case, for example, four detent lugs 6a. The detent lugs 6a are arranged on the shifting gate 6 on the side of the shifting gate 6 facing away from the characteristic contour 6c.1. In order to produce the detachable connection on a side facing the shifting gate 6, the housing 7 accordingly has four receptacles 7a for receiving the detent lugs 6a. The positioning of the shifting gate 6 within the joystick 1 and relative to its movable components, in particular the control lever 4, is defined by the position of the receptacles 7a. The detachable and in particular positive-locking connection produced by the detent lugs 6a and the receptacles 7a can also be referred to as a snap-in connection.

(20) The opening 7b on the housing 7, which serves for the passage of the control lever 4, is also clearly visible.

(21) FIGS. 4a to 4d show plan views of a total of seven exemplary variants of the shifting gate 6 for the joystick 1 of FIG. 1. All variants are ring-shaped with an opening 6d. The differences between the individual variants of the shifting gate 6 which are described below can basically be combined with one another in order to obtain further variants, which are not illustrated.

(22) As a shape-related influence on the pivot movement of the control lever 4, the shifting gate 6, depending on the variant, only allows uniaxial or multiaxial pivot movements of the control lever 4, in that due to its shape, it defines a corresponding pivot range. For this purpose, the opening 6d is either designed as an opening 6d.1 for multiaxial, in particular spherical, pivot movements and in this case is round, preferably circular, or is designed as an opening 6d.2 for uniaxial pivot movements, which is then elongate with two edges extending in parallel to one another and linearly in order to limit the pivot range or the possible pivot movements spatially to pivot movements about exactly one axis. In FIGS. 4a to 4c, the left-hand shifting gate 6 is in each case designed with an opening 6d.1 for multiaxial, in particular spherical, pivot movements and the right-hand shifting gate 6 is in each case designed with an opening 6d.2 for uniaxial pivot movements. The shifting gate shown in FIG. 4d has an opening 6d.1 for multiaxial, in particular spherical, pivot movements.

(23) In the case of the variants with multiaxial, in particular spherical, pivot movements, preferred directions can be defined in the above-described sense by the characteristic contour 6c being designed as described above with a surface profile, which extends in sections around the respective opening 6d, 6d.1 or 6d.2 in the circumferential direction and thus has the shape of circular ring segments, and with corresponding recesses between the segments of the characteristic contour 6c or 6c.1 to 6c.3. This is the case in all variants shown in FIGS. 4a to 4c, whereas in the variant of the shifting gate 6 shown in FIG. 4d, no preferred direction is defined. Accordingly, the characteristic contour 6c or 6c.2 there is formed circumferentially not in sections but completely, i.e., continuously and uninterruptedly.

(24) Characteristic contours 6c of the shifting gate 6 are also provided as a shape-related influence on the pivot movement of the control lever 4 and have the common features and differences described below in the illustrated variants.

(25) In all variants, the characteristic contour 6c is located as a profiled surface of the shifting gate 6 on the side of the shifting gate 6 facing the guide element 5 (not shown in FIGS. 4a to 4d) and thus opposite the detent lugs 6a (hidden in FIGS. 4a to 4d). In the radial direction, the characteristic contours 6c each have a surface profile which rises from the inside to the outside initially in a ramp-like manner and decreases toward the outer edge of the shifting gate 6. In between, the surface profile has exactly one maximum in the radial direction in the case of the single-step characteristic contour 6c.3 (FIG. 4c) and of the continuous characteristic contour 6c.2 (FIGS. 4b and 4d) but two maxima in the case of the two-step characteristic contour 6c.1 (FIG. 4a). When the control lever 4 is pivoted starting from the base position, the guide element 5 is guided radially outward in all variants of the shifting gate 6 starting from the innermost section 6f of the respective characteristic contour 6c.

(26) An edge 6e can also be formed between two sections or surface profiles of the characteristic contour 6c which are adjacent in the radial direction and have different slopes relative to one another. If the inner of the adjacent sections has a positive slope and the outer of the adjacent sections has a negative slope, the edge 6e formed between them defines a maximum (see FIGS. 3 and 4a). However, an edge 6e may also be designed to define a start detent as described above by both sections adjacent to the edge 6e having a positive slope, but the slope of the inner section being steeper than the slope of the outer section (see FIG. 4c).

(27) The variants of the shifting gate 6 shown in FIG. 4a with in each case a two-step characteristic contour 6c.1 have radially from the inside to the outside an initially linearly increasing ramp-shaped surface profile, followed by in each case two maxima, forming an edge 6e, which maxima are connected by a concave surface profile. The outer maximum is followed by a surface profile which falls linearly toward the outer edge.

(28) The variants of the shifting gate 6 shown in FIGS. 4b and 4d, each with a continuous characteristic contour 6c.2, have radially from the inside to the outside an initially linearly increasing ramp-shaped surface profile or section 6f, which is followed by a convex surface profile, initially increasing and then falling after the maximum, forming the only maximum in each case. The convex surface profile is followed by a surface profile which falls linearly toward the outer edge.

(29) The variants of the shifting gate 6 shown in FIG. 4c with in each case a single-step characteristic contour 6c.3 have in common with the continuous variants that they likewise have a convex surface profile to form the only maximum. In the case of the continuous characteristic contour 6c.2, the slope of the ramp-shaped surface profile which rises from the inside to the outside is less steep than in the case of the single-step characteristic contour 6c.3, so that in the case of the continuous characteristic contour 6c.2, the maximum lies further outward in the radial direction and is thus reached at a larger pivot angle than in the case of the single-step characteristic contour 6c.3.

(30) In the variants shown in FIG. 4c, a start detent as described above is also realized by way of example in that the surface profile of the characteristic contour 6c.3, which rises in the radial direction from the inside to the outside, has an inner first section 6f with a significantly steeper slope than the second section following radially outside. An edge 6e is formed between the inner first section 6f and the section following on the outside. In the base position, the guide element 5 rests against the first inner section 6f.

(31) The illustrated shifting gates 6 with a single-step characteristic contour 6c.3 result in a single-step shifting characteristic of the joystick 1, while those with a two-step characteristic contour 6c.1 result in a two-step shifting characteristic, and those with a continuous characteristic contour 6c.2 result in a continuous shifting characteristic.

(32) In the case of the stepped characteristic contours 6c.1 and 6c.3, the manually actuated reaching of shifting steps is perceptible; in the case of the continuous characteristic contour 6c.2, the manually actuated reaching of the maximum speed is perceptible. Otherwise, the above statements apply in each case to the individual shifting characteristics.

(33) FIG. 5 shows a crane 100 in a perspective view with a control switch 107, which has a joystick 1 according to FIG. 1. As can be seen, the crane 100 takes the exemplary form of a traveling crane in the form of a single-girder bridge crane, which comprises a crane girder 101 movably mounted along a crane track (not shown). The crane girder 101 can be moved, driven by a motor, in particular by an electric motor, in a substantially horizontal direction of crane travel or X direction transversely to its longitudinal axis. For this purpose, running gear 104, 105 driven by an electric motor, for example, is arranged on the opposite ends 102, 103 of the crane girder 101 in each case, being supported in each case on a crane rail of the crane track, which is not shown in detail here. Arranged on the crane girder 101 is a crane trolley 106 with a hoist embodied as a cable pull, for example, which can be moved together with the hoist and its lifting mechanism h, likewise driven by a motor or electric motor, in parallel to the longitudinal axis x of the crane girder 101 in a trolley travel direction or Y direction, driven by a motor, in particular an electric motor, along the crane girder 101.

(34) The operation of the crane 100, i.e., in particular the control of movements and functions of the running gear 104, 105, of the crane trolley 106 and of the lifting mechanism h and of the respective drive, takes place via the control switch 107, which in this example takes the form of a wired pendant control switch, and in particular by manual actuation of its joystick 1 according to the invention. The control switch 107 is connected to the control unit 108 in a signal-transmitting manner. Of course, it is also conceivable for the control switch 107 to be designed as a hand-held radio transmitter.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(35) 1 Device, here joystick 2 Actuating element 2a Contact surface 3 Spring element 4 Control lever 5 Guide element 5a Section 5b Recess 6 Shifting gate 6a Detent lug 6b Ring element 6c Characteristic contour 6c.1 Two-step characteristic contour 6c.2 Continuous characteristic contour 6c.3 Single-step characteristic contour 6d Opening 6d.1 Opening for multiaxial pivot movements 6d.2 Opening for uniaxial pivot movements 6e Edge 6f Section 7 Housing 7a Receptacle 7b Opening 8 Magnet 9 Hall sensor 10 Electrical circuit board 11 Protective cover 100 Crane 101 Crane girder 102 End 103 End 104 Running gear 105 Running gear 106 Crane trolley 107 Control switch 108 Control unit h Lifting mechanism S Pivot point X Crane travel direction Y Trolley travel direction