This application corresponds to international patent application serial no. PCT/EP2014/058331, filed 24 Apr. 2014, which claims benefit to German patent application serial no. 10 2013 207 643.6, filed 26 Apr. 2013, which is incorporated by reference in their entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for the hand-guided movement of loads by means of a retaining or gripping element as a lifting aid, which retaining or gripping element is attached to a load-bearing rope. In such lifting aids, a load-bearing rope is guided along a cantilever, which is horizontally aligned, for example, which can be wound in or unwound over a cable or rope winch to in order to lift loads to be conveyed. As retaining element, various types of grippers are used, such as, for example, vacuum grippers, by means of which the loads can be attached to the end of the rope by an operator. The cantilever of the load-bearing apparatus generally can be swiveled to the side, and a rope articulation point on the cantilever is adjusted via an adjustment mechanism in the longitudinal direction of the cantilever, so that the load can be shifted from an original site to a destination site. After picking up the load by means of the retaining or gripping element, the operator of the device manipulates the load by hand in order to shift it to its destination site and deposit it there.
2. Description of Related Art
EP 1 551 747 B1 shows a device for preventing instabilities in such lifting aid devices, which comprises a trolley that can be shifted on a vertical support. A rope winch for a load-bearing rope is attached to the trolley. If an operating person wishes to perform a shifting of a load that has been picked up, the shifting is started by a sideways pushing of the load, so that the load-bearing rope is deflected from the vertical into a slanted alignment. Depending on the measured deflection, the magnitude and direction of the shift of the laser are determined. The trolley is then activated in the direction towards an adjustment of the rope angle with respect to the vertical. The speeds of the trolley is determined based on the direction and magnitude of the deflection angle of the rope. The rope winch is moved together with the trolley along the vertical cantilever. Therefore, a correspondingly dimensioned trolley and load-bearing apparatus as well as a comparatively large drive for the adjustment of the trolley are necessary.
The present invention is based on the problem of providing a lifting aid which can be activated manually and which has a simple, light-weight and space-saving design.
This problem is solved with a device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous designs and refinements of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
The device according to the invention comprises a load-bearing apparatus with at least one cantilever which preferably extends horizontally and over which a load-bearing rope or load-bearing cable is guided from sides of a rope winding device (for example, a rope winch which is driven or can be driven) by means of a rope articulation point which can be shifted or adjusted particularly along the cantilever. At the free end of the load-bearing rope, a retaining or gripping element is attached, which is adapted for picking up loads, for example, in the form of a gripper, a hook or a suction gripper.
A sensor is provided for measuring a rope angle of the load-bearing rope relative to the vertical, and a controller is also provided, which is connected to the sensor and works together with said sensor. Said controller is designed for the simultaneous control of a shifting of the rope articulation point and of a rope length of the load-bearing rope on the basis of a measured rope angle. In particular, by means of the controller, both the rope winding device and also at least one actuating drive can be activated for the shifting of the rope articulation point as a function of the rope angle measured with the sensor.
If an operating person, by applying a lateral force to the load, moves the load-bearing rope from the vertical, the sensor acquires the corresponding deflection angle of the load-bearing rope from the vertical. The acquisition values of the sensor are transmitted to the controller. By means of the controller, an automatic adjustment of the rope articulation point along the cantilever of the load-bearing apparatus is produced. At the same time, the controller controls, in accordance with an adjustment of the rope articulation point, the rope winding device for the adaptation of the effective rope length of the load-bearing rope. This makes it possible, in particular, to keep the load at a constant height on the retaining element of the device. In this manner, the rope winch can be mounted stationarily, for example, on a vertical support, without the adjustment of the rope articulation point leading to an adjustment of the height of the load to be carried. On the cantilever itself, only the rope articulation point which can be adjusted by means of an actuating device is provided.
By means of the controller which is adapted especially for this purpose and connected to the sensor for the acquisition of the rope angle, an activation of the rope winding device thus occurs in such a way that, when the rope articulation point on the cantilever of the load-bearing apparatus is adjusted as a function of the rope deflection angle, the load-bearing rope is wound in or unwound in accordance with the degree of the adjustment, so that, while the carried load is indeed moved with the shift of the rope articulation point, the rope length between the rope articulation point and the carried load remains constant. Therefore, by means of the controller, as a function of the rope angle acquired by the sensor, not only the movement of the rope articulation point on the load-bearing apparatus is actively controlled, but, in addition, a winding up or unwinding of the load-bearing rope is produced in order to maintain the carrying height by the rope winch.
The rope winding device is mounted in particular stationarily on the load-bearing apparatus. For example, the rope winding device is attached at a rear end of the cantilever or on a vertical support of the load-bearing apparatus.
The controller comprises, in particular, a means for the active tracking of the rope articulation point on the cantilever of the load-bearing apparatus in a direction of adjustment of the rope angle of the load-bearing rope toward the vertical. If an operator of the device moves a held load in a certain direction (for example, forward), then the sensor acquires the magnitude of the angle of the load-bearing rope and transmits this value to the controller. In the controller, an algorithm, for example, is stored which produces a corresponding adjustment of the rope articulation point in the given direction (for example, forward). For this purpose, the rope articulation point is provided with a corresponding drive or actuating drive, by means of which a corresponding shift of the rope articulation point can be brought about, in such a manner that the load-bearing rope is moved back again towards the vertical.
The controller comprises, in particular, a means for keeping the rope length between the load and the cantilever constant in the case of a sideways shift of the load by a user. As a result, it is possible to ensure that the load is always at the height above the ground selected by the user. This facilitates the handling of the device according to the invention by a user, who needs to use less force when shifting the loads.
Preferably, a trolley which is adjustable on the load-bearing apparatus and which can be activated by the controller is provided between the rope articulation point and the cantilever. The trolley comprises, in particular, a drive means for shifting in the longitudinal direction of the cantilever.
The rope articulation point can be implemented, for example, by a deflection roll. The deflection roll is arranged on the trolley, for example. A trolley that can be driven automatically can be formed, for example, from a base body having a C-shaped cross section and used in a corresponding inverted T profiled part or H profiled part of the cantilever.
When an adjustment of the load-bearing rope from the vertical is acquired, the driven trolley is automatically moved by the controller in the direction which leads to a return of the load-bearing rope to the vertical (adjustment). The forces for moving the rope articulation point and the cantilever are thereby decoupled from the user, which is advantageous particularly in the case of rapid handling procedures, since the inert mass that has to be moved is reduced as a result.
In a further design, it is possible to provide actuating drives connected to the controller for adjusting the rope articulation point in the longitudinal direction of the cantilever and/or in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the cantilever. For example, the trolley can be shifted and/or the arrangement (for example, rotation angle) of the cantilever on a support can be changed. In this manner, an active tracking of the position of the rope articulation point from front to back or from back to front, and optionally also sideways, can be performed by the cantilever of the load-bearing apparatus.
The cantilever can be arranged rotatably on a support, for example, on an axle that can be actively rotated about a vertical support. In this manner, a two-dimensional movement can be implemented with the cantilever.
Then, for example, two different actuating drives can be present, each connected to the controller which receives the respective rope angle, as input signal, from the sensor.
Advantageously, the load-bearing apparatus comprises a cantilever that can be swiveled sideways (particularly in the horizontal plane) on a vertical support, which is provided with an actuating drive for the active turning of the cantilever about a vertical rotation axle. The load-bearing apparatus can a comparatively simple structural design in the form of a substantially L-shaped lifting beam.
The load-bearing apparatus can also comprise a pivot arm cantilever with an additional vertical rotation axle on which a pivot joint which can be adjusted via an actuating drive is provided. In this manner, the radius of action of the device is further increased.
It is also conceivable for the load-bearing apparatus to comprise a scissor cantilever, in which two cantilevers or load-bearing arms coupled to one another by a joint are provided.
The sensor for the acquisition of the rope angle relative to the vertical can be formed as a one-dimensionally measuring deflection sensor or angle sensor, which is arranged at a predefined distance beneath the rope articulation point adjoining the load-bearing rope. Such a one-dimensional angle measurement of the rope angle relative to the load-bearing rope can be implemented using a so-called line sensor, for example. For the measurement of the rope angle, a laser can also be used, which is directed from top down onto the operating unit or the gripping element, in order to measure, in this manner, the deflection of the load-bearing rope from the vertical. Such a sensor can also be used advantageously for the acquisition of the rope length between the rope articulation point and the load to be carried.
According to another advantageous design of the invention, the rope articulation point is formed as a deflection roll with lift-off protection. This reduces the frictional forces that form at the time of the adjustment of the load-bearing rope on the rope deflection point. As a result, the winding up and the unwinding of the load-bearing rope are further accelerated.
Below, the invention is explained in further detail in reference to the appended figures.
In
Independently of the concrete embodiment, it is also conceivable to provide, on the gripping element 11, a low-pressure generator (for example, an ejector) operated by pressurized air, or an electrically driven low-pressure generator, for example, integrated in the gripping element 11. In that case, the line 13 can be a pressurized air line 13 or an electrical supply line 13.
The load-bearing apparatus 1 here consists of a vertical post 15, at the top end of which a cantilever 3 is articulated so that it can be swiveled about a vertical axle. The load-bearing rope 2 is guided over a rope articulation point 5 on the cantilever 3, wherein the rope articulation point 5 can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction of the cantilever 3. In this manner, loads picked up with the vacuum gripper 11 can be shifted by an operating person to a target position, by adjusting the rope articulation point 5 on the cantilever 3 as well as the swivel direction of the cantilever 3 as desired. At the rear end of the cantilever 3, in the area of the rotation axle relative to the post 15, a rope winding device 4 is provided, by means of which the load-bearing rope 2 can be wound up for lifting loads and unwound for depositing loads.
According to the invention, a sensor 6 is provided for measuring a rope angle of the load-bearing rope 2 relative to the vertical. The principle of the invention is illustrated in the diagrammatic side views of
Accordingly, by using the invention, a kind of active tracking of the position of the rope articulation point 5 and automatic adjustment of the rope angle are provided. The force for moving the load by an operating person is accordingly considerably reduced in comparison to conventional lifting aids of this type in which the operating person additionally must apply force for the adjustment of the rope articulation point 5 on the cantilever 3 and/or a turning of the cantilever 3 about the vertical rotation axle. Since the forces for moving the cantilever are thus decoupled from the user, rapid handling procedures for the dynamic shifting of loads become possible. The inert masses of the loads to be moved are clearly reduced in comparison to conventional lifting aids of this type. By the active tracking according to the invention of the position of the rope articulation point 5 and/or of the rotational position of the cantilever 3, a more intuitive use of the device 10 by an operating person becomes possible. Therefore, the work procedures for shifting loads can now be executed clearly more rapidly than in the case where the operating person must adjust a merely passively adjustable rope articulation point 5 additionally by a force applied to the load on the gripping element 11.
The cantilever 3 can be provided with an actuating drive on the vertical rotation axle. Using such an actuating drive, the swivel position of the cantilever 3 can also be actively tracked in accordance with a deflection of the load-bearing rope 2 on the basis of the rope angle measured by the sensor 6. In the represented first embodiment example of the invention, a vacuum gripper is provided as a gripping element 11. Said vacuum gripper can be supplied with a vacuum pressure, for example, via a low-pressure line 13 which is guided along the load-bearing rope 2. Alternatively, other gripping elements 11 can also be used, such as, for example, a force-transmitting glove or simple hook elements. The invention is also not limited to the represented form of a load-bearing apparatus 1 with a single swivelable cantilever 3 and can be transferred to various other load-bearing apparatuses of this type, by means of which a lifting aid for shifting loads becomes possible. The sensor 6 for measuring the rope angle is preferably a sensor with a one-dimensional measurement principle. However, other types of sensors can also be used as sensor 6, by means of which an adjustment of the load-bearing rope 2 away from the vertical can be measured. In the embodiment example shown, the sensor 6 is attached at a defined distance beneath the trolley 7 of the rope articulation point 5. The sensor 6 can be, for example, a line sensor or alternatively a sensor with a laser measurement directed from top down onto the gripping element 11. Thus, the rope angles relative to the vertical of a load-bearing rope 2 can be measured in different ways and used for the active adjustment of the rope angle according to the invention by means of the controller and the actuating drive of the trolley 7.
In
At a predetermined distance beneath the trolley 7, the sensor 6 for measuring the rope angle of the load-bearing rope 2 is provided. In this embodiment example, the sensor 6 is a so-called line sensor which allows a one-dimensional angle measurement. For this purpose, the sensor 6 comprises two facing sensor sections arranged next to the load-bearing rope 2 and attached to a sensor holding plate. The sensor 6 is connected to a controller (not shown), in which regulation algorithms are stored, which allow an active tracking of the rope articulation point 5 for the adjustment of the rope angle of the load-bearing rope 2. In addition, the controller, in accordance with the device 10 according to the invention, is coupled to the rope winding device 4, so that, simultaneously with the movement of the trolley 7 and thus of the rope articulation point 5, the load-bearing rope 2 is wound up or unwound accordingly, not only in order to maintain the load-bearing rope 2 in the vertical, but also in order to keep said carried load at a constant length between the rope articulation point 5 and the load carried by the gripping element 11. Since the controller, for an adjustment of the rope angle, is coupled directly to the actuating drive of the trolley 7 and to the rope winding device 4, the rope angle is immediately reduced again after a shifting of the load by an operating person, so that, in the case of a shift, the load-bearing rope 2 is always located substantially in the vertical position. Additional force for the tracking of a passive rope articulation point 5 is not necessary.
In this embodiment as well, according to
The principle according to the invention of an active tracking of the position of the rope articulation point 5 in combination with the adjustment of the rope length of the load-bearing rope 2 can be used on different types of lifting aids and lifting devices of this type. For example, the invention can also be used with so-called scissor cantilevers. Instead of a vertical post 15, another form of load-bearing apparatus 1 can also be provided, for example, a frame, mounted on the ceiling, with different vertical cantilever elements.
It should be understood that, unless stated otherwise herein, any of the features, characteristics, alternatives or modifications described regarding a particular embodiment herein may also be applied, used, or incorporated with any other embodiment described herein. Also, the drawings herein are not drawn to scale.
Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, the foregoing and various other additions and omissions may be made therein and thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2013 207 643 | Apr 2013 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2014/058331 | 4/24/2014 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2014/174006 | 10/30/2014 | WO | A |
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5865426 | Kazerooni | Feb 1999 | A |
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20020113448 | Kazerooni | Aug 2002 | A1 |
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20130112643 | Lecours | May 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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201002931 | Jan 2008 | CN |
202132477 | Feb 2012 | CN |
1551747 | Nov 2012 | EP |
453260 | Jun 1913 | FR |
136660 | Jan 1920 | GB |
S56-128510 | Oct 1981 | JP |
S63-226809 | Sep 1988 | JP |
H10-187221 | Jul 1998 | JP |
2001-039683 | Feb 2001 | JP |
2002-017795 | Jan 2002 | JP |
2003-063800 | Mar 2003 | JP |
Entry |
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English Language Abstract of JP 2003-063800. |
English Language Abstract of JP 2002-017795. |
English Language Abstract of JP J10-187221. |
English Language Abstract of JP 2001-039683. |
English Language machine translation of JPS56-128510—Description only. |
English Language machine translation of JPS63-226809—Description only. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20160068371 A1 | Mar 2016 | US |