Patent Grant
11118362
A hydraulic circuit arrangement is known from DE 10 2005 035 981 A1, in which, for a start-up phase of a concrete placing boom, a control group with a switching valve that responds to the load pressure is provided, which brings an adjusting element of the hydraulic pump into its position for maximum flow rate below a predetermined minimum value of the load pressure. The pickups for the load pressures transmitted by hydraulic control lines are located on the consumer side of proportional valves for controlling the drive cylinders, wherein they are passed on via a shuttle valve chain. Since so-called load holding valves are provided on the drive cylinders, the captured load pressures are initially zero. The higher the fixed specification for the switching valve is set, the higher the system pressure over a longer period of time, which results in a corresponding energy loss.
In current control systems for concrete placing booms, such as those sold by the applicant as so-called EBC control (ergonomic boom control), the operator can use a joystick on a remote control to control all boom arms simultaneously with the aid of a computer, so that targeted movements in a machine coordinate system are possible without any special handling effort. For this purpose, pressure signals are captured directly in the drive cylinders. For example, the boom could be located in an arched position, so that in order to move the boom tip or the end hose horizontally, individual boom arms have to be lifted and others have to be bent. In this coupled mode, due to the required pressure build-up, the boom arm or drive cylinders, which are subject to low loads due to their position, react earlier than drive cylinders with a higher load. This can cause the boom to vibrate and undesirably influence the trajectory curve of the boom tip.
The present disclosure relates to a method for the hydraulic control of a concrete placing boom that includes a plurality of boom arms, in which hydraulic drive cylinders designed to drive the boom arms that are connected to one another in an articulated manner are controlled via a hydraulic circuit, wherein a supply pressure is supplied to the hydraulic circuit via a hydraulic pump, and a pressure signal is captured in the drive cylinders by at least one pressure sensor in each case. The invention further relates to a system for carrying out such a method.
Proceeding from this, the disclosed embodiments improve the methods and systems for boom control known in the prior art and of specifying a pressure adjustment as quickly as possible, in particular for improving the trajectory curve during boom movement.
Advantageous embodiments and further developments will become apparent from the present disclosure.
The disclosed embodiments are based on the idea of using pressure measurement values which are tapped directly from the drive cylinders as electrically transmitted signals for electronic pilot control of the supply pressure. Accordingly, it is proposed that the maximum pressure in the drive cylinders is determined from the pressure signals and that the supply pressure is adjusted by an electronic control unit in accordance with the maximum pressure. The electrical signal transmission avoids dead times or runtime effects in hydraulic control chains, while the supply pressure dependent on the current or instantaneous boom position can be set precisely as a manipulated variable by the electronic control unit. This results in more precise trajectory curves and reduced vibrations, especially in the start-up phase, and without an excess of hydraulic energy being required.
To avoid a delayed pressure build-up, it is also advantageous if the pressure signals are transmitted as electrical signals from the pressure sensors to the electronic control unit via electrical signal lines. The pressure sensors, for example, which operate as piezoresistive or strain-measuring pressure transducers, convert the physical measured variable for pressure into an electrical signal, in particular a standard bus signal, for example for a CAN bus.
In order to avoid hydraulic signal lines, it is advantageous if the pressure signals are tapped directly on the bottom side and/or the rod side of the drive cylinder.
For electronic signal processing, it is advantageous if the electrical pressure signals are transmitted to a comparator of the control device which may, e.g., be formed by an electronic circuit or software.
For an indirect adjustment of the supply pressure, it is advantageous if the supply pressure is adjusted by a controllable pressure limiting valve as an actuator connected to a feed line of the hydraulic pump, in particular via a branch line.
In order to avoid runtime effects here too, and to enable a sensitive pressure setting, it is advantageous if the pressure limiting valve is actuated via an electrical control line, in particular by means of a magnet.
In a simple circuit variant, it is provided that the hydraulic pump is designed as a constant pump.
Alternatively, it is also possible for the supply pressure to be adjusted by regulating a hydraulic pump designed as a variable pump via a hydraulic or electrical pump regulator.
In order to ensure a sufficient supply for all hydraulic consumers, the supply pressure should be set to the value of the maximum pressure or a value above it by a predetermined amount.
The electronic control can be variably adapted to the fact that the respective pressure in the drive cylinders is influenced by the instantaneous or current position of the boom arms, wherein a starting position can be taken into account.
In order to enable robust operation, it is advantageous if the supply pressure is set independently of the pressure signals of the pressure sensors after a start-up phase of the concrete placing boom, in particular by means of a load-sensing controller.
For a boom movement that is as exact as possible, it is favorable if the drive cylinders are acted upon by a working pressure derived from the supply pressure via an associated actuator of the hydraulic circuit, in particular a proportional directional control valve.
A further increase in practical utility results from the fact that the movement of the boom arms of the concrete placing boom is coordinated with computer support according to the specification of travel commands.
It is also favorable if the maximum pressure is determined from the pressure signals at the beginning of a movement phase, in particular when the concrete placing boom is approached.
With regard to a control system, it is proposed that an electronic control unit is designed to determine a maximum pressure from the pressure signals at least when starting the concrete placing boom and to adapt the supply pressure in accordance with the maximum pressure. This results in system advantages analogous to the advantageous effects explained in the introduction.
In order to enable rapid signal transmission directly from the drive cylinders to the control unit, it is advantageous if the pressure sensors are connected to the control unit on the output side via electrical signal lines.
The control unit advantageously has a comparator to which the pressure signals are applied to determine the maximum pressure, so that complex hydraulic valve chains for a pressure comparison can be dispensed with.
A flexible adaptation is made possible in that the control unit has an evaluation routine for determining a target value of the supply pressure depending on the maximum pressure.
Another system advantage results from the fact that the control unit has a hydraulic or electrical pump regulator or a controllable pressure limiting valve connected to a feed line of the hydraulic pump for adapting the supply pressure.
In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the embodiments schematically illustrated in the drawings. In the drawings:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the invention, in several forms, the embodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention to the precise forms disclosed.
The truck-mounted concrete pump 10 shown in a supported working position in
For this purpose, each drive cylinder 18 is provided with pressure sensors 38 on the base side and the rod side, the pressure signals of which are fed as electrical output signals to a comparator 42 of the control device 36 via electrical signal lines 40. This is designed to determine the maximum pressure value from the pressure signals and to forward it to an evaluation stage 44 of the control device 36. In the evaluation stage 44, a setpoint value for the supply pressure can be determined therefrom, wherein optionally the maximum pressure value is increased by a predetermined amount. In order to set the supply pressure to this setpoint value, a pressure actuator 46 is provided, which can be controlled by the control device 36 via a control line 48.
In the embodiment shown in
The supply pressure or delivery pressure of the hydraulic pump 32 designed as a variable pump is distributed in parallel to the actuators 26 via the hydraulic circuit 34. These are based on proportional changeover valves which can be connected to the drive cylinders 18 on the bottom or rod side and ensure hydraulic locking in their zero position, so that the boom arms 16 remain in a given position and the hydraulic pump 32 does not have to work continuously under full load.
The respective pressure in the drive cylinders 18 is influenced by the instantaneous position of the boom arms 16 and is therefore of different heights. For example, the first drive cylinder 18 near the vehicle in
If the concrete placing boom 14 is now to be approached from a given position, the automatic control system 24 automatically ensures that the maximum supply pressure that is currently required is provided. For this purpose, the measurement signals of the pressure sensors 38 provided as electrical signals or current signals are processed in the comparator 42 in order to electronically or digitally determine the maximum pressure required. The evaluation stage 44, as part of a microprocessor, provides for the corresponding energization of the proportional solenoid coil 56 of the pressure limiting valve 50 in order to set the maximum pressure required as a preload pressure. This means that all drive cylinders 18 can be started up simultaneously, because none of them remain undersupplied for their required working pressure during a certain dead time. After this start-up phase, runtime effects are rather subordinate in the chain of actuators 26 and sufficient hydraulic oil is available so that the pressure control can be deactivated if necessary.
Instead of indirect pressure control by means of a controllable pressure limiting valve 50, it is also conceivable that the control unit 36 acts directly on the pivot angle of a variable pump 32 via a control line 48′ and a pump regulator (not shown) in order to set a desired preload pressure.
As can be seen from
In the standby mode, that is to say in the middle position of the proportional valves 62 shown, the drive cylinders 18 are locked by the load holding valves 78 and no load-sensing signal is provided. Here, the control device 36 coupled to the pressure sensors 38 enables the required prestressing in order to use electronic boom control devices (known for example as EBC, ergonomic boom control) to convert a start-up command into suitable synchronized pivoting movements of the boom arms 16 without individual drive cylinders 18 leading with a lower supply pressure requirement.
While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2018 109 789.1 | Apr 2018 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT/EP2019/060499 filed on Apr. 24, 2019 which claims priority from DE 10 2018 109 789.1 filed on Apr. 24, 2018, the disclosures of both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6202013 | Anderson | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6883532 | Rau | Apr 2005 | B2 |
| 7487707 | Pfaff | Feb 2009 | B2 |
| 8925310 | Pirri | Jan 2015 | B2 |
| 20080072749 | Pfaff et al. | Mar 2008 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 10 2005 035 981 | Feb 2007 | DE |
| WO 02064912 | Aug 2002 | WO |
| WO-2015073329 | May 2015 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| English translation of the International Search Report, PCT/EP2019/060499, dated Jul. 11, 2019, 2 pages. |
| English translation of the International Preliminary Report on Patentability and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, PCT/EP2019/060499, dated Nov. 5, 2020, 8 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210017776 A1 | Jan 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2019/060499 | Apr 2019 | US |
| Child | 17063754 | US |
