Automatic control system and method for winding and unwinding of water hose

Abstract

The invention discloses a water hose winding and unwinding automatic control system and method.The automatic control system adopts dual-mode control and comprises a programmable controller, a displayer, a remote controller, a chassis assembly and a water hose winding and unwinding system, and the programmable controller is connected with the displayer, the remote controller, the chassis assembly and the water hose winding and unwinding system; and the programmable controller autonomously executes corresponding output results to the chassis assembly and the water hose winding and unwinding system according to the selected mode and the executed action information. A set of safe and efficient water hose winding and unwinding automatic control system is formulated by taking a controller, a display, a remote controller, a crawler chassis assembly, a water hose winding and unwinding hydraulic system and an electromagnetic clutch as hardware carriers, and the water hose winding and unwinding automatic control system comprises two control modes: a manual mode and an automatic mode; an operator can freely select the corresponding mode on the remote controller according to the operation purpose, the valve state does not need to be manually switched on a vehicle, and real-time speed matching does not need to be carried out either.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a hose retracting and deploying system and method, and particularly to an automatic control system and method for hose retracting and deploying. Background Art

[0002] A hose laying vehicle is a special vehicle developed to solve the problem of low work efficiency of manual hose laying. It generally consists of a chassis assembly and a hydraulic system for hose retracting and deploying. The operator can control the movement of the vehicle and the operations of hose winding and laying. In actual engineering applications, it is often extremely demanding for operators to completely manually match the actions of the chassis and the hose. If the operating experience is insufficient, it is very likely that the hose will be crushed when the chassis moves forward, or the hose will form a loop and cannot be smoothly laid when the chassis moves backward.

[0003] Therefore, the automatic synchronous retracting and deploying control technology for hoses is crucial. This technology allows the operator to only operate the chassis to move, without the need to manually control the hose retracting and deploying. The hose can complete automatic winding / laying by automatically controlling and matching the driving direction of the chassis.

[0004] In view of this, each manufacturer has designed different automatic synchronous strategies and systems for hose laying vehicles to enable the hose to be automatically wound or laid, improving the level of operation automation and reducing the labor burden. In practice, the common difficulty faced is that the hydraulic system has a large lag, resulting in difficulty in matching the hose retracting and deploying speed with the chassis driving speed. When the chassis moves backward, if the hose laying speed is too fast, it is easy to form a loop; when the chassis moves forward, if the hose winding speed is too slow, it is easy to crush the pipeline; if it is too fast, it is easy to cause the hose to be damaged due to too much automatic winding force or the hose mechanism of the laying vehicle to be damaged.

[0005] There are generally two existing hose synchronous retracting and deploying control strategies:

[0006] Speed matching: Dynamically adjust the flow rate of the hydraulic motor for hose retracting and deploying according to the deviation between the chassis driving speed and the hose retracting and deploying speed, and then change the linear speed of hose retracting and deploying to achieve closed-loop control. Since hose laying vehicles generally have index requirements for the moving speed, and the chassis moving speed is relatively high during actual use, this method has extremely high requirements for the real-time response of the hose retracting and deploying system. Once the speed matching error becomes larger, a failure condition such as crushing the hose or the hose forming a loop will occur.

[0007] In terms of hydraulics, a bypass valve circuit design is used. By manually switching, the A / B ports of the motor are directly connected to form a closed loop to achieve the floating function of the motor. In this way, when laying the hose, if the floating function of the motor is turned on, there is no need for speed matching. Only need to fix the hose joint and then directly control the movement of the chassis. When winding the hose, a fixed rotational speed is given to the hose winding mechanism, and it is necessary to manually observe the speed deviation between the chassis and the hose and appropriately intervene in the chassis driving control, that is, semi-automatic synchronization.

[0008] In the speed matching scheme, limited by the low control sensitivity and accuracy of the hydraulic system, it is often necessary to manually observe the retraction and deployment of the hose in practical applications and intervene in the control at any time to ensure that no dangerous working conditions occur. At the same time, in order to capture the linear speed of the hose retraction and deployment, a large number of angle encoders, speed sensors and other devices need to be installed in this control strategy. There is no complete pressure monitoring and alarm limit measures during the synchronization process. When the winding pressure is too high, there is a risk of pulling the hose or damaging the hose winding mechanism.

[0009] In the hydraulic bypass scheme, the bypass valve is manually switched. When the operator wants to control the hose reel alone or synchronously control the retraction and deployment of the hose, he needs to go to the vehicle to manually turn the valve to switch the state, which is time-consuming and laborious. When the hose is laid, the oil fluid circulates through the bypass valve, and there is still oil viscosity resistance and pipeline pressure drop. Especially at low temperatures, the viscosity of the oil fluid increases and the resistance will be greater, resulting in low freedom of the hose reel. When the chassis moves very fast, there is a risk of pulling and damaging the hose winding mechanism if the hose reel cannot be released in time. When the reel rotates passively, a check valve for oil replenishment must be added to the hydraulic circuit to ensure oil replenishment on the low-pressure side, otherwise there is a risk of air suction. Summary of the Invention

[0010] Object of the Invention: The object of the present invention is to provide a safe and efficient automatic control system and method for hose retraction and deployment.

[0011] Technical Solution: The automatic control system of the present invention adopts dual-mode control, including a programmable logic controller, a display, a remote controller, a chassis assembly and a hose retraction and deployment system. The programmable logic controller is connected to the display, the remote controller, the chassis assembly and the hose retraction and deployment system; the programmable logic controller independently executes the corresponding output results to the chassis assembly and the hose retraction and deployment system according to the selected mode and the action information executed.

[0012] The hose retraction and deployment system includes an electromagnetic clutch, a reel hydraulic motor, a hose reel, an overflow regulating valve and an oil pressure sensor.

[0013] The reel hydraulic motor is engaged with the hose reel through an electromagnetic clutch.

[0014] The electromagnetic clutch is normally closed. In the default state, the reel hydraulic motor is engaged with the hose reel, so that the reel hydraulic motor can drive the hose reel to rotate to complete the hose retraction and deployment operation.

[0015] When the programmable logic controller outputs to make the electromagnetic clutch energized, the reel hydraulic motor is separated from the hose reel, and the hose reel is in a free rotation state.

[0016] The overflow regulating valve is used to regulate the driving oil pressure of the reel hydraulic motor.

[0017] The oil pressure sensor collects the driving oil pressure of the hose reel hydraulic motor and transmits it to the programmable logic controller. The oil pressure sensor can collect the driving oil pressure of the hose reel hydraulic motor and transmit an electrical signal to the programmable logic controller for analysis and logical judgment. The analyzed pressure value and alarm information are sent to the display and remote controller via the CAN bus for display.

[0018] The oil pressure sensor provides pressure protection for the hose retraction operation. If the pressure remains abnormal, the vehicle is restricted from moving and an alarm is issued through the display and remote controller, preventing damage to the hose or the hose retraction mechanism when the retraction pressure is too high.

[0019] The remote controller sends the operator's operation information to the programmable logic controller.

[0020] An automatic control method for hose retraction and deployment includes the following steps:

[0021] After the whole machine is powered on, the programmable logic controller determines whether the heartbeat of the remote controller is normal. If it is not normal, an alarm is first issued on the display and the action signal of the remote controller is cut off. If the heartbeat of the remote controller is normal, the currently selected mode by the operator is recognized;

[0022] When the manual mode is selected, the electromagnetic clutch is normally closed, the output shaft of the hose reel hydraulic motor is combined with the hose reel rotating shaft, and the chassis assembly travel and the hose reel are independently controlled by separate handles, with no associated logic between them. The hydraulic system pressure for hose retraction and deployment can reach the maximum. At this time, the operator can freely control the hose retraction and deployment actions and the chassis travel actions through the remote controller handle, which is suitable for the operation scenario of hose handling and movement.

[0023] When the automatic mode is selected, the programmable logic controller determines the operator's operation intention based on the chassis travel handle on the remote controller and performs the corresponding output, which is suitable for the operation scenarios of hose synchronous laying or retraction.

[0024] When the chassis assembly moves forward, the programmable logic controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to de-energize and engage, and the hose reel hydraulic motor drives the hose to automatically retract at a rated speed and constant pressure, where the rated speed >= the maximum chassis forward speed; the constant pressure can be freely set on the display. During synchronous retraction, the programmable logic controller also judges the retraction pressure collected by the oil pressure sensor. When the actual retraction pressure is greater than the set constant pressure, the overflow regulating valve opens, causing the retraction pressure to return below the set pressure. If the actual retraction pressure continuously exceeds the set pressure for more than three seconds, it is determined that the retraction pressure is too high, triggering the vehicle restriction, and the remote controller and display issue an alarm of "excessive retraction pressure";

[0025] When the chassis assembly moves backward, the programmable logic controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to be energized and disengaged. The hose reel hydraulic motor is separated from the hose reel, and the hose reel is in a free state. At this time, if the hose connector is connected to a fire hydrant or other object, the hose can be freely released as the chassis moves backward;

[0026] When the chassis assembly rotates left and right in place or there is no chassis movement, the controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to be energized and disengaged, and the hose reel is in a free state. At this time, the hose can be manually dragged and retracted freely.

[0027] Advantageous effects: The present invention has the following advantages:

[0028] 1) The present invention formulates a set of safe and efficient automatic control strategies for hose retraction and deployment with a controller, a display, a remote control, a crawler chassis assembly, a hose retraction and deployment hydraulic system, and an electromagnetic clutch as the hardware carriers. The entire control strategy includes two control modes: manual mode (individually controlling hose actions) and automatic mode (when controlling the chassis to move, the hose automatically synchronizes its actions). The operator can freely select the corresponding mode on the remote control according to the operation purpose, without manually switching the valve state on the vehicle, nor requiring real-time speed matching;

[0029] 2) The rotation shaft of the hose reel of the present invention is engaged with the output shaft of the hydraulic motor by an electromagnetic clutch, which has the characteristics of rapid and complete separation, ensuring the timeliness of response and a very high degree of freedom of the hose reel. Moreover, the state of the electromagnetic clutch is automatically switched through a programmable logic controller to write an automatic control strategy, greatly simplifying the difficulty for the operator to get started;

[0030] 3) A more perfect safety alarm and limit movement strategy: When the chassis moves forward, as long as the hose retraction speed and the constant retraction pressure are set through the display, fully automatic hose retraction can be achieved, without the operator having to adjust the chassis driving speed, nor worrying about excessive pulling force damaging the hose or the hose retraction mechanism. Description of the Drawings

[0031] Figure 1 is the system block diagram of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 2 is the flow chart of the present invention. Detailed Embodiments

[0033] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Embodiment 1

[0035] As Figure 1As shown in the figure, the automatic control system for hose retraction and deployment in this embodiment includes a programmable logic controller 1, a display 2, a remote controller 3, a chassis assembly 4, and a hose retraction and deployment system 5. The programmable logic controller 1 is connected to the display 2, the remote controller 3, the chassis assembly 4, and the hose retraction and deployment system 5. The programmable logic controller 1 is the logical processing core of the entire system and is responsible for processing and executing the vehicle control strategy. The remote controller 3 can send the operator's operation information to the programmable logic controller 1, and the controller autonomously executes the corresponding output results to the chassis assembly 4 and the hose retraction and deployment system 5 according to the selected mode and the executed action information of the operator. The chassis assembly 4 can drive the vehicle to move. It is a crawler structure and has the function of in-situ steering.

[0036] The hose retraction and deployment system 5 includes an electromagnetic clutch 6, a winch hydraulic motor 7, a hose reel 8, an overflow regulating valve 9, and an oil pressure sensor 10. Among them, the winch hydraulic motor 7 and the hose reel 8 are engaged through the electromagnetic clutch 6. The electromagnetic clutch 6 is normally closed. In the default state, it can engage the winch hydraulic motor 7 and the hose reel 8, so that the winch hydraulic motor 7 can drive the hose reel 8 to rotate to complete the hose retraction and deployment operation. When the programmable logic controller 1 outputs to make the electromagnetic clutch 6 energized, the winch hydraulic motor 7 and the hose reel 8 are separated, and the hose reel 8 is in a free rotation state. The overflow regulating valve 9 can regulate the driving oil pressure of the winch hydraulic motor 7. The oil pressure sensor 10 can collect the driving oil pressure of the winch hydraulic motor 7 and transmit an electrical signal to the programmable logic controller 1 for analysis and logical judgment. The analyzed pressure value and alarm information are sent to the display 2 and the remote controller 3 through the CAN bus for display.

[0037] This embodiment adopts a complete dual-mode control strategy. According to the operator's intention, it automatically switches the state of the hose winding mechanism by using the electromagnetic clutch to complete automatic / manual retraction and deployment. Based on the oil pressure sensor, pressure protection is carried out on the hose winding action. If the pressure is continuously abnormal, the vehicle is limited and an alarm is given through the display and the remote controller to avoid damaging the hose or the hose winding mechanism when the winding pressure is too high.

[0038] Embodiment 2

[0039] As Figure 2 shown, the automatic control method for hose retraction and deployment in this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0040] S1. After the whole machine is powered on, the programmable logic controller 1 judges whether the heartbeat of the remote controller 3 is normal. If it is not normal, an alarm is first given on the display 2 and the action signal of the remote controller 3 is cut off. If the heartbeat of the remote controller 3 is normal, the currently selected mode of the operator is identified.

[0041] S2. When the manual mode is selected, the electromagnetic clutch 6 is normally closed, the output shaft of the reel hydraulic motor 7 is combined with the rotating shaft of the hose reel 8, and the driving of the chassis assembly 4 and the hose reel 8 are independently controlled by separate handles. There is no associated logic between them, and the hydraulic system pressure for hose retraction and deployment can reach the maximum. At this time, the operator can freely control the hose retraction and deployment actions and the chassis driving actions through the handle of the remote controller 3, which is applicable to the operation scenario of hose handling and movement.

[0042] S3. When the automatic mode is selected, the programmable logic controller 1 determines the operator's operation intention based on the chassis driving handle on the remote controller 3 and performs corresponding outputs, which is applicable to the operation scenarios of synchronous hose laying or winding.

[0043] S4. When the chassis assembly 4 moves forward, the programmable logic controller 1 automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch 6 to be de-energized and engaged, and the reel hydraulic motor 7 drives the hose to be automatically wound at a rated speed and a constant pressure, where the rated speed ≥ the maximum forward speed of the chassis; the constant pressure can be freely set on the display. During synchronous winding, the programmable logic controller 1 also judges the winding pressure collected by the oil pressure sensor 10. When the actual winding pressure is greater than the set constant pressure, the overflow regulating valve 9 opens, so that the winding pressure returns below the set pressure. If the actual winding pressure continuously exceeds the set pressure for more than three seconds, it is determined that the winding pressure is too high, triggering the overall machine limit, and the remote controller 3 and the display 2 emit an alarm of "excessive winding pressure".

[0044] S5. When the chassis assembly 4 moves backward, the programmable logic controller 1 automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch 6 to be energized and disengaged, and the reel hydraulic motor 7 is separated from the hose reel 8, and the hose reel 8 is in a free state. At this time, if the hose connector is connected to a fire hydrant or other object, the hose can be freely released as the chassis moves backward; when the chassis assembly 4 rotates left and right in place or there is no chassis movement, the controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to be energized and disengaged, and the hose reel is in a free state, and at this time, the hose can be manually dragged for retraction and deployment freely.

Claims

1. A hose retracting and releasing automatic control system, characterized in that: The automatic control system adopts dual-mode control, including a programmable controller, a display, a remote control, a chassis assembly and a hose retracting and extending system. The programmable controller is connected to the display, the remote control, the chassis assembly and the hose retracting and extending system; the programmable controller autonomously executes the corresponding output results to the chassis assembly and the hose retracting and extending system according to the selected mode and the executed action information.

2. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a hose according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The water hose retracting and releasing system comprises an electromagnetic clutch, a reel hydraulic motor, a water hose reel, an overflow regulating valve and an oil pressure sensor.

3. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a water hose according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The reel hydraulic motor is connected to the hose reel via an electromagnetic clutch.

4. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a water hose according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The electromagnetic clutch is a normally closed type, and in a default state, the reel hydraulic motor is engaged with the hose reel.

5. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a water hose according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the programmable controller output energizes the electromagnetic clutch, the reel hydraulic motor is separated from the hose reel, and the hose reel is in a free rotation state.

6. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a water hose according to claim 2, characterized in that: The overflow regulating valve is used to regulate the driving oil pressure of the reel hydraulic motor.

7. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a hose according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The oil pressure sensor collects the driving oil pressure of the reel hydraulic motor and transmits it to the programmable controller.

8. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a water hose according to claim 7, characterized in that: The oil pressure sensor performs pressure protection on the hose reeling action.

9. The automatic control system for retracting and releasing a hose according to claim 1, characterized in that: The remote controller sends the operator's operation information to the programmable controller.

10. A method for automatically controlling the retraction and release of a hose, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: After the whole machine is powered on, the programmable controller determines whether the heartbeat of the remote control is normal. If it is abnormal, an alarm will be issued on the display and the remote control action signal will be cut off. If the heartbeat of the remote control is normal, the mode selected by the current operator will be identified; When the manual mode is selected, the electromagnetic clutch is normally closed, the reel hydraulic motor output shaft is combined with the hose reel shaft, the chassis assembly travel and the hose reel are independently controlled by separate handles, the hydraulic system pressure of the hose retracting and releasing can reach the maximum, and the operator can freely control the hose retracting and releasing action and the chassis travel action through the remote control handle; When the automatic mode is selected, the programmable controller determines the operator's operating intention based on the chassis driving handle on the remote controller and executes the corresponding output; When the chassis assembly moves forward, the programmable controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to lose power and engage, and the reel hydraulic motor drives the hose to automatically reel at the rated speed and constant pressure. During the synchronous reeling, the programmable controller will also determine the reeling pressure collected by the oil pressure sensor. When the actual reeling pressure is greater than the set constant pressure, the overflow regulating valve opens to return the reeling pressure to below the set pressure; if the actual reeling pressure is greater than the set pressure for more than three seconds, it is determined that the reeling pressure is too large, triggering the whole machine limit, and the remote control and display alarm; When the chassis assembly moves backward, the programmable controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to be energized and separated, the reel hydraulic motor is separated from the hose reel, and the hose reel is in a free state; When the chassis assembly turns left or right in place or there is no chassis movement, the controller automatically controls the electromagnetic clutch to be energized and disengaged, and the hose reel is in a free state.

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