Wear pad for a telescopic handler, wear pad arrangement, telescopic handler and method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a wear pad (20) for a telescopic handler (10). The pad body (21) extends over a thickness (22) between opposite sliding surfaces and a mounting surface (23). The sliding surfaces (23) are configured for sliding a boom section (14) therealong. Wire conductors (30) extend through the thickness (22) of the pad body (21) at a wear depth (40) from the sliding surfaces (23). The wire conductors (30) conduct current from a power source (51) to the sliding boom section (14) when the sliding boom section (14) wears the thickness (22) of the pad body (21) to the wear depth (40) to contact at least one wire conductor (30). A wear pad arrangement with a wear monitoring system (18), a telescopic handler with such an arrangement and a method of monitoring a wear pad of a telescopic handler are also disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an abrasion pad, particularly an abrasion pad for a telescopic conveyor, a machine or telescopic conveyor including such an abrasion pad, and a method for identifying wear on the abrasion pad. Background Technology

[0002] Machines (e.g., telescopic conveyors) typically include one or more sacrificial and replaceable wear pads for positioning between two contacting moving parts. Telescopic conveyors, also known as telescopic transporters or rotary telescopic conveyors, typically include an extendable boom or telescopic cylinder to which working tools such as forks or buckets can be attached. The extendable boom includes a main boom section attached via a hinge to the body of the telescopic conveyor and a telescopic boom section mounted within the main boom section. The telescopic boom section is slidable along the main boom section between a retracted orientation and an extended orientation. The telescopic conveyor may have an additional telescopic boom section mounted within another telescopic boom section.

[0003] One or more wear pads are located between boom sections; otherwise, they would be in contact with each other and are designed to wear sacrificially during use. If a wear pad reaches its maximum wear, it is replaced during maintenance or earlier. DE102018115872A1, published under the name LIEBHERR WERK TELF GMBH, discloses a wear detection device to help operators identify wear.

[0004] The wear condition of a sliding element having a sliding surface for guiding a movable telescopic section.

[0005] There is a persistent need to improve the detection of wear pads without direct visual inspection. Reducing maintenance costs is particularly important, as maintenance costs can be relatively high due to the cost of skilled labor required to repair telescopic conveyors. Furthermore, since many telescopic conveyors are rented to operators, minimizing maintenance or downtime would be especially beneficial. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, this disclosure provides an abrasion pad for a telescopic conveyor, the abrasion pad comprising: a pad body extending over a thickness between opposing sliding surfaces and a mounting surface, the sliding surfaces being configured for sliding a boom section thereal; and a wire conductor extending through the thickness of the pad body at a wear depth from the sliding surface, wherein the wire conductor is configured to conduct current from a power source to the sliding boom section when the boom section wears the thickness of the pad body to the wear depth to contact at least one wire conductor.

[0007] This disclosure also provides a wear pad device for a telescopic conveyor, the wear pad device comprising: the aforementioned wear pad; a wear monitoring system comprising: a power source electrically connected to the or each line conductor; and a detection system for detecting current from the power source conducted through the or each line conductor via the sliding boom section.

[0008] This disclosure also provides a telescopic conveyor including a mounting boom section, a sliding boom section, and the aforementioned wear pad device, wherein the wear pad is mounted to the mounting boom section, and the sliding boom section is configured to slide relative to the mounting boom section along a sliding surface of the wear pad.

[0009] This disclosure also provides a method for monitoring wear of a wear pad in a telescopic conveyor, the wear pad comprising: a pad body extending over a thickness between opposing sliding surfaces and a mounting surface; and a wire conductor extending through the thickness of the pad body at a wear depth from the sliding surface, wherein the method comprises: sliding a sliding boom section along the sliding surface, thereby wearing down the thickness of the pad body; and when the sliding boom section has worn down the thickness of the pad body to the wear depth, contacting the sliding boom section with the wire conductor and conducting current from a power source to the sliding boom section via the wire conductor. Attached Figure Description

[0010] By way of example only, embodiments of this disclosure will now be described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic side view of a telescopic conveyor including the wear pad device according to this disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional side view of a portion of the boom of a telescopic conveyor, showing the wear pad of the wear pad device;

[0013] Figure 3 It is used for Figure 1 A perspective view of the wear pad of the telescopic conveyor; and

[0014] Figure 4 It is used for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the wear pad device of a telescopic conveyor. Detailed Implementation

[0015] This disclosure generally relates to a wear pad for a telescopic conveyor and a wear pad monitoring system for monitoring the wear of such a wear pad. The wear pad is located between boom sections that slide relative to each other and includes a series of wear conductors at different wear levels. When the wear pad wears down to a first wear conductor, current from a power source can be conducted through the first wear conductor and returned to the power source via a grounding loop, which includes the boom sections sliding on the wear pad. As the wear pad wears further and each wear conductor sequentially contacts the sliding boom section to provide a grounding loop, the wear level can be determined.

[0016] Figure 1 A telescopic conveyor 10 including the wear pad 20 of the present invention is shown. The telescopic conveyor 10 (also referred to as a telescopic transporter) can be any type of telescopic conveyor, such as a rotary or rotating telescopic conveyor. The telescopic conveyor 10 includes a chassis or body 11 and a boom 12 mounted to the chassis or body at a boom hinge 13. The boom 12 includes a main boom section 14 and a telescopic boom section 15 mounted to the main boom section 14. A working tool 16 (in this case, a fork) is attached to the telescopic section 15 for operation.

[0017] like Figure 2 As further shown, the telescopic boom section 15 is retractably installed inside the main boom section 14, such that the telescopic boom section 15 can slide relative to the main boom section 14 along the sliding direction 80. The telescopic conveyor 10 includes a wear pad device 17, which includes a wear monitoring system 18 and at least one wear pad 20, such as Figure 4 As shown in the image.

[0018] At least one wear pad 20 is located between boom sections 14 and 15, and boom sections 14 and 15 can slide relative to each other along the wear pad 20. Typically, the telescopic conveyor 10 and the wear pad assembly 17 include multiple wear pads 20 between boom sections 14 and 15. Two upper and lower wear pads 20 are shown, but additional wear pads 20 may be located on the left and right sides, as well as the top and bottom of the main boom section 14. The following description of a single wear pad 20 can equally apply to some or all other wear pads 20.

[0019] Wear pads 20 are installed on the main boom section 14 such that the telescopic boom section 15 slides along it, or wear pads 20 are installed on the telescopic boom section 15 such that the main boom section 14 slides along it. Boom sections 14 and 15 with wear pads 20 installed may be referred to as pad-mounted boom sections 14 and 15, and boom sections 14 and 15 that slide along the wear pads 20 may be referred to as sliding boom sections 14 and 15. During extension and retraction, there may be no contact between boom sections 14 and 15 except via wear pads(one or more) 20.

[0020] like Figure 2 and 3 As shown, the wear pad 20 includes a pad body 21 extending over a thickness 22 between a sliding surface 23 and an opposing mounting surface 24. The sliding surface is configured for sliding the rod segments 14, 15 along it, and the opposing mounting surface can face and be mounted to the pad-mounted rod segments 14, 15. Therefore, the wear pad 20 is mounted to the pad-mounted rod segments 14, 15, and the sliding rod segments 14, 15 are configured to slide relative to the pad-mounted rod segments 14, 15 along the sliding surface 23 of the wear pad 20, particularly in the sliding direction 80.

[0021] The wear pad 20 and the pad body 21 may be plates, and the dimensions spanning the sliding and / or mounting surfaces 23, 24 may be substantially greater than the thickness 22. The wear pad 20 may be elongated along the sliding direction 80, as shown. The sliding and / or mounting surfaces 23, 24 may be substantially rectangular, and the wear pad 20 and the pad body 21 may be substantially cuboid.

[0022] The wear pad 20 can be mounted into a pad mount (not shown), such as a recessed plate, which is attached to the pad mount hanger sections 14, 15. The wear pad 20 may include at least one pad retainer 25, for example, Figure 3 The hole shown is for releasably mounting the wear pad 20 to the pad mount.

[0023] The pad body 21 includes a suitable pad material for wear during use. The pad material may have a lower hardness than the boom sections 14, 15, so that it wears rather than the sliding boom sections 14, 15. The pad material may include, for example, nylon.

[0024] During use, the thickness 22 of the wear pad 20 decreases due to the sliding contact of the sliding rod sections 14 and 15. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the wear monitoring system 18 is connected to one or more wear pads 20 and arranged to detect wear on one or more wear pads 20. In this disclosure, the term "wear" refers to the reduction in thickness from the original, predetermined, and pre-installed thickness 22 due to the removal of pad material during sliding contact of the sliding rod sections 14, 15 on the wear pad 20.

[0025] The wear pad 20 includes conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33, which extend through the thickness 22 of the pad body 21 at wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43 from the sliding surface 23. The conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33 are configured to conduct current from the power source 51 to the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 when the thickness 22 of the wear pad body 21 reaches the wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43 to contact the conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33. The sliding rod sections 14 and 15 may at least partially form a grounding loop to the power source 51.

[0026] like Figure 4 As shown, the wear pad 20 may include a plurality of wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33, each wire conductor extending through the thickness 22 of the pad body 21 at one of a plurality of wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43 from the sliding surface 23. If a plurality of wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 are present, each wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33 may extend through the pad body 21 at a different wear depth 40, 41, 42, 43 than the other wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33.

[0027] Multiple conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33 are configured to conduct current from the power source 51 to the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 when the thickness 22 of the wear pad body 21 of the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 reaches each of the wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43 to contact the corresponding conductor 30, 31, 32, and 33. Therefore, during the life of the pad body 21, each time the conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33 are exposed by wear at different wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43, a detectable current can be conducted, thereby enabling the determination of wear on the wear pad 20. During wear, each conductor 30, 31, 32, and 33 will also be at least partially worn away.

[0028] Prior to use and installation, each of the wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 is electrically insulated within the wear pad 20, for example, from the wear material of the wear pad 20, from conductors outside the wear pad 20 (except for their connection to the power source 51, as described below), and, if present, from other wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 in the wear pad 20.

[0029] As shown in the embodiment, the wear pad 20 may include at least a first conductor, a second conductor, a third conductor, and a fourth conductor 30, 31, 32, 33 that extend through the thickness 22 of the pad body 21 at respective first wear depths, second wear depths, third wear depths, and fourth wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43 from the sliding surface 23.

[0030] The first depth 40 can be located at approximately 25% of the thickness 22 of the sliding surface 23. The second depth 41 can be located at 50% of the thickness 22 of the sliding surface 23. The third depth 42 can be located at 75% of the thickness 22 of the sliding surface 23. The fourth depth 43 can be located at or adjacent to the mounting surface 24. Such measurements can be taken before installing the wear pad 20 and before wear begins.

[0031] The wear pad 20 may include additional wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 located at different wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43, or may include fewer than four first, second, third, and fourth wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33. For example, the wear pad 20 may include a fourth wire conductor 33 for determining that complete wear has occurred, and may optionally include one or more additional wire conductors 30, 31, 32.

[0032] One or more wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may be embedded substantially parallel to the sliding surface and mounting surfaces 23, 24 into the thickness 22 of the pad body 21. One or more wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may be embedded directly into the pad body 21 such that the wire conductors 30 only contact the abrasive material in the pad body 21. Each or every wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33 may include a metallic (such as copper) wire that may be exposed without an insulating sheath or sleeve. One or more wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may be formed in the pad body 21 during the formation of the pad body, for example, by molding pad material around them. Alternatively, one or more wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may be formed in the pad body 21 after the pad body is formed, for example, by sealing them in holes through the pad body 21.

[0033] The wear pad device 17 may also include at least one wire conductor connector 45 electrically connected to at least one wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33. The at least one wire conductor connector 45 is configured to electrically connect power supply 51 to at least one wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33.

[0034] At least one wire conductor connector 45 may form part of the wear pad 20, such as Figure 3 As shown, and can be mounted to the pad body 21. Alternatively, as Figure 4As shown, at least one wire conductor connector 45 may be part of the wear monitoring system 18, and at least one wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33 may extend outward from the pad body 21 (e.g., with insulating material surrounding at least one wire conductor on the outside of the pad body 21) for connection to at least one wire conductor connector 45 during installation. At least one wire conductor connector 45 may be a wire harness connector for the wire harness 54, such as a wire harness connector for the boom 12 or the body 11.

[0035] The wear pad 20 can be configured such that when the sliding rod sections 14, 15 contact the said or each wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33, no grounding loop (i.e., to a power source configured to supply current to the said or each wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33) is provided except via the sliding rod sections 14, 15. One or more wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may terminate within the pad body 21 and may extend from one end at at least one conductor connector 45 to the opposite end terminating within the pad body 21. Specifically, the said or each wire conductor 30, 31, 32, 33 may include a metal wire extending from the edge of the pad body 21 into and terminating within the pad body 21.

[0036] One or more conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may extend elongatedly or longitudinally within the pad body 21 along and / or parallel to the sliding direction 80 (i.e., the relative direction of sliding between the sliding rod section and the pad mounting rod sections 14, 15). As a result, any uneven wear of the wear pad 20 in the sliding direction 80 can be detected. The wear pad 20 may be particularly prone to such uneven wear because the rod sections 14, 15 may pivot and apply greater forces at different locations on the wear pad 20 along the sliding direction 80.

[0037] Wear monitoring system 18 is configured to connect to wear pad 20 and supply and receive current to and from one or more conductors 30, 31, 32, 33. Specifically, wear monitoring system 18 includes a power supply 51 electrically connected to one or more conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 for supplying power thereto, and a detection system 52 for detecting current from power supply 51 conducted through the conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 via sliding rod sections 14, 15.

[0038] The wear monitoring system 18 may include a controller 50, such as an engine control unit or an auxiliary engine control unit, and the controller 50 may include a power supply 51 and a detection system 52. The detection system 52 may be any sensor, actuator, etc., capable of detecting the presence of current.

[0039] The wear pad device 17 includes a ground return path from one or more conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 through the sliding boom sections 14, 15 and back to the power supply 51. The wear monitoring system 18 may include a ground return line harness 53 connected between the power supply 51 or controller 50 and the sliding boom sections 14, 15. The ground return line harness 53 may be a common loop from the boom 12.

[0040] The wear monitoring system 18 may include a main wiring harness 54 extending between a power supply 51 or a controller 50 and at least one wire conductor connector 45 for conducting current from the power supply 51 to one or more wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33. The main wiring harness 54 may be connected to the controller 50 via different input / output pins, wherein each of the wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 has a separate input / output pin. Therefore, each of the wire conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 may be configured to receive current independently and separately from the power supply 51 or the controller 50.

[0041] The wear pad device 17, and particularly the wear monitoring system 18, may also include an alarm system 60 for alerting the operator when current is conducted from the power source 51 to the sliding boom sections 14 and 15 via one or more conductors 30, 31, 32, 33. The alarm system 60 may be connected to the controller 50 and may receive signals from the detection system 52 indicating whether current has been conducted through one or more conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 to the ground return path. The alarm system 60 may include an alarm device 61, such as a display, instrument, light, etc., for informing the operator of the status of the wear pad 20.

[0042] The wear pad device 17 may include a communication device 62 for wirelessly transmitting information related to the wear of one or more wear pads 20 to a remote computing system 70. The communication device 62 may be a transceiver and may be connected to or form part of a controller 50 and / or an alarm system 60. Information or data related to the wear of one or more wear pads 20 may be stored on the controller 50 and / or transmitted to the remote computing system 70 via the communication device 62. Wear data may store wear amounts or wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43 and the time at which the wear amounts or wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43 are reached. The remote computing system 70 may be a remote computing system of the owner, manufacturer, and / or supplier of the telescopic conveyor 10, and the wear data may be used to track the wear of multiple telescopic conveyors 10. The wear data may be used in the controller 50 and / or the remote computing system 70 to determine the wear rate through wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43.

[0043] In the method for monitoring the wear of the wear pad 20, sliding rod sections 14 and 15 slide along the sliding surface 23, thereby wearing down the thickness 22 of the pad body 21. When the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 wear down the thickness 22 of the pad body 21 to wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43, the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 contact the conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33 at wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43. Current is conducted from the power source 51 to the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 via the conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33. Once the current is conducted, the method may include a warning to the operator.

[0044] As the sliding rod sections 14 and 15 wear sequentially through wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43, at least partially through the conductors 30, 31, 32, and 33, the current will be conducted sequentially through each conductor 30, 31, 32, and 33 according to the wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43. For example, due to the sequential wear of the pad body 21 to the first wear depth, second wear depth, third wear depth, and fourth wear depth 40, 41, 42, and 43, the current can be conducted sequentially through the first conductor, second conductor, third conductor, and fourth conductor 30, 31, 32, and 33.

[0045] In each case, the sliding boom section 14 at least partially forms a ground return path to the power supply 51 or the controller 50, and the ground return line bundle 53 may also form a ground return path.

[0046] The detection system 52 or controller 50 can detect the conduction of current through each conductor 30, 31, 32, 33. The controller 50 can record the first conduction time of the current through each conductor 30, 31, 32, 33 and store it in local memory and / or on remote computing system 70.

[0047] Upon detection of current conduction, alarm system 60 can receive data from detection system 52 or controller 50 and can alert the operator via alarm device 61 to the achieved wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43. For example, alarm device 61 may be a display that graphically shows the achieved wear depths 40, 41, 42, and 43 (e.g., showing 25%, 50%, 75%, and / or 100% wear).

[0048] When current is first conducted through the first conductor 30 at a first wear depth 40 (e.g., at 25% wear), the alarm system 60 may not provide an alarm to the operator. The arrival of the first wear depth 40 may be stored in the controller 50, and the operator may be able to identify a 25% wear on the wear pad 20 through settings on the display 61 or in the vehicle information menu.

[0049] When current is first conducted through the second conductor 31 at the second wear depth 41 (e.g., at 50% wear), the alarm system 60 can provide a second wear depth alarm to the operator. The second wear depth alarm can be displayed on the alarm device 61 only when the telescopic conveyor 10 is started.

[0050] When current is first conducted through the third conductor 32 at the third wear depth 42 (e.g., at 75% wear), the alarm system 60 can provide a third wear depth alarm to the operator. The third wear depth alarm can be displayed on the alarm device 61 only at startup and / or continuously during the use of the telescopic conveyor 10, and can be visually different from the second wear depth alarm (e.g., a different colored light).

[0051] When current first conducts through the fourth conductor 32 at the fourth wear depth 42 (e.g., at nearly 100% or 100% wear), an alarm system 60 can provide a fourth wear depth alarm to the operator. The fourth wear depth alarm can be continuously displayed during use of the telescopic conveyor 10 and can be visually distinct from the second and / or third wear depth alarms. The fourth wear depth alarm can instruct the operator that they must stop using the boom 12 and / or the telescopic conveyor 10.

[0052] At each wear depth 40, 41, 42, 43, wear data indicating that the wear pad 20 has reached the corresponding wear depth 40, 41, 42, 43 can be transmitted to a remote computing system 70, where the wear data can be stored together with the time of reaching the wear depth.

[0053] Industrial applicability

[0054] Because the wear pad 20 can be intelligently tracked, the need for manual wear inspection is eliminated. This reduces downtime and costs, and also means that the need to replace the wear pad 20 can be identified earlier without manual inspection.

[0055] Including multiple conductors 30, 31, 32, 33 at sequential wear depths 40, 41, 42, 43 means that the wear of the wear pad 20 can be closely tracked and maintenance can be scheduled appropriately. Furthermore, the applications leading to high wear rates of the wear pad 20 can be identified.

[0056] In addition, wear data on the controller 50 or remote computing system 70 can be used to automatically identify when to order new wear pads 20 before they need to be replaced, and wear can be tracked remotely, for example, by the owner of the telescopic conveyor 10 who leases it to the operator.

Claims

1. An abrasion pad for a telescopic conveyor, the abrasion pad comprising: A pad body extending over a thickness between opposing sliding surfaces and mounting surfaces, the sliding surfaces being configured for sliding the rod section thereal; as well as A wire conductor extending through the thickness of the pad body at a wear depth from the sliding surface, wherein the wire conductor is configured such that when the sliding rod segment wears the thickness of the pad body to the wear depth to cause the sliding rod segment to contact at least one wire conductor, the wire conductor conducts current from a power source to the sliding rod segment; The wear pad is configured such that when the sliding rod section contacts the wire conductor, the sliding rod section at least partially forms a grounding loop to the power source, and no grounding loop is provided from the wire conductor to the power source configured to supply current to the wire conductor except via the sliding rod section.

2. The wear pad of claim 1, comprising a plurality of wire conductors, each wire conductor extending through the thickness of the pad body at one of a plurality of wear depths from the sliding surface, wherein the plurality of wire conductors are configured to conduct current from a power source to the sliding rod section when the sliding rod section wears the thickness of the pad body to each of the wear depths to contact the corresponding wire conductor.

3. The wear pad according to claim 2, comprising at least a first conductor, a second conductor, a third conductor, and a fourth conductor, each extending through the thickness of the pad body at a first wear depth, a second wear depth, a third wear depth, and a fourth wear depth respectively from the sliding surface, wherein the first depth is at 25% of the thickness from the sliding surface, the second depth is at 50% of the thickness from the sliding surface, the third depth is at 75% of the thickness from the sliding surface, and the fourth depth is at or adjacent to the mounting surface.

4. The wear pad according to claim 1, wherein the wire conductor is embedded in the thickness of the pad body substantially parallel to the sliding surface and the mounting surface.

5. The wear pad of claim 1, further comprising at least one wire conductor connector at least partially externally mounted to the pad body, the at least one wire conductor connector being electrically connected to the wire conductor and configurable for connection to a power source.

6. The wear pad according to claim 1, wherein the sliding surface is configured to allow the sliding rod section to slide along the sliding direction, and the wire conductor extends longitudinally through the pad body in the sliding direction.

7. The wear pad of claim 1, wherein the wear pad is configured such that when the sliding rod section contacts each conductor, the sliding rod section at least partially forms a grounding loop to the power source, and no grounding loop is provided from each conductor to the power source configured to supply current to each conductor except via the sliding rod section.

8. The wear pad of claim 1, wherein each wire conductor is embedded substantially parallel to the sliding surface and the mounting surface in the thickness of the pad body.

9. The wear pad of claim 1, wherein the sliding surface is configured to allow the sliding rod segment to slide along the sliding direction, and each wire conductor extends longitudinally through the pad body in the sliding direction.

10. An abrasion pad device for a telescopic conveyor, the abrasion pad device comprising: The wear pad according to claim 1; Wear monitoring system, the wear monitoring system comprising: A power source, which is electrically connected to the wire conductor; as well as A detection system for detecting the conduction of current from the power source through the line conductor via the sliding rod section.

11. The wear pad device of claim 10, wherein the wear monitoring system includes a controller, the controller including the power supply and the detection system.

12. The wear pad device according to claim 10 or claim 11, comprising a ground return path from the wire conductor through the sliding rod section and to the power supply.

13. The wear pad device according to claim 10 or 11, comprising a wire harness for conducting current from the power source to the wire conductor.

14. The wear pad device according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising an alarm system for warning the operator when the line conductor conducts current from the power source to the sliding boom section.

15. The wear pad device of claim 10, wherein the power supply is electrically connected to each wire conductor, and the detection system is used to detect the current from the power supply being conducted through each wire conductor via the sliding rod section.

16. The wear pad device according to claim 10 or 11, comprising a wire harness for conducting current from the power source to each wire conductor.

17. The wear pad device according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising an alarm system for alerting the operator when each conductor conducts current from the power source to the sliding boom section.

18. A telescopic conveyor comprising a mounting boom section, a sliding boom section, and an abrasion pad device according to claim 10, wherein the abrasion pad is mounted to the mounting boom section, and the sliding boom section is configured to slide relative to the mounting boom section along a sliding surface of the abrasion pad.

19. A method for monitoring the wear of a wear pad in a telescopic conveyor, the wear pad comprising: A pad body that extends in thickness between opposing sliding surfaces and mounting surfaces; as well as A linear conductor that extends through the thickness of the pad body at a wear depth from the sliding surface. The method includes: The sliding rod section slides along the sliding surface, thereby wearing down the thickness of the pad body; and When the sliding rod section wears down the thickness of the pad body to the wear depth, the sliding rod section comes into contact with the conductor, and the current is conducted from the power source to the sliding rod section via the conductor. The wear pad is configured such that when the sliding rod section contacts the wire conductor, the sliding rod section at least partially forms a grounding loop to the power source, and no grounding loop is provided from the wire conductor to the power source configured to supply current to the wire conductor except via the sliding rod section.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising warning the operator when the line conductor conducts current from the power source to the sliding boom section.

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