Drive device

Abstract

A drive device for moving a control part (12), arranged pivotably about a rotational axis (10), by means of a control device (14) consisting of at least - a lever mechanism (28) with at least one lever arm (32, 34) for the purpose of driving the rotatable control part (12), - an actuating device (40) for moving the lever mechanism (28), and - a brake device (50) which acts on the controllable control part (12) in such a way that a torque can be transmitted from the lever mechanism (28) to the control part (12).

Description

[0001] drive device

[0002] The invention relates to a drive device for moving a control part pivotably arranged about a rotation axis by means of a control device.

[0003] Such drive devices are primarily used for ship steering gear. In modern shipbuilding, hydraulic plunger steering gear and rotary vane steering gear are used to steer the ship. A plunger steering gear usually consists of an electrically driven pressure oil pump and a steering gear with two differential pistons or four plunger pistons. A stroke-adjustable axial piston pump is often used as the pressure oil pump, and the piston rods of the plunger steering gear act on movable sliding blocks for straight guidance, which in turn act on the tiller. The tiller is frictionally connected to the rudder stock. This allows a hydraulic volume flow to be adjusted by adjusting the stroke of the axial piston pump. This creates a travel for the pistons, which in turn causes an angle of rotation of the rudder stock.A feedback device is located on the rudder shaft that displays the actual rudder angle in real time on a rudder angle indicator on the bridge (source: Wikipedia). A rotary-vane steering system, on the other hand, uses two- or three-bladed, large-displacement hydraulic motors mounted on the rudder shaft that provide the torque to adjust the rudder. The rudder steers the ship by deflecting the propulsion current and the propeller current. The angle of rotation of such rudders can reach values ​​of up to + / - 72 degrees. The resulting flow forces on the rudder blade can generate considerable load torques, easily in the range of several thousand kNm; in addition, the steering system must absorb the bearing forces generated by the rudder in both axial and radial directions.Although rotary-vane steering machines can deliver maximum torque across their entire swivel range, their swivel angle is mechanically limited, and their complex geometry makes their internal sealing conditions difficult to control. This results in internal leakage between the control chambers, which can cause the rudder to drift under load. This requires a constant supply of drive energy to maintain a rudder angle position, thus creating unnecessary energy losses when stationary. Furthermore, to limit leakage, the maximum possible working pressure must be set to typical values ​​of < 150 bar, whereas standard hydraulics are usually designed for 300 bar. This, in turn, results in a 100% larger installation volume for the steering machine while maintaining the same performance. Such rotary-vane steering machines are shown as an example in EP 2 937 277 B1.

[0004] Based on this prior art, the object of the invention is to create a drive device that is improved compared to the prior art, in particular for operating steering systems on ships. This object is achieved by a drive device having the features of patent claim 1 in its entirety. The solution according to the invention is characterized in that the drive device for moving a control part arranged such that it can pivot about an axis of rotation by means of a control device, at least consists of a lever drive with at least one lever arm for driving the rotatable control part, an actuating device for moving the lever drive, and a braking device that acts on the rotatable control part in such a way that a torque can be transmitted from the lever drive to the control part.

[0005] Such a drive device can help eliminate the disadvantages identified in the cited prior art. In particular, the rudder swivel angle is not limited but can be extended as desired. Accordingly, swivel angles greater than 360 degrees are possible. The generated torque can be maintained at a virtually constant maximum level for any rudder swivel angle. Any predefined angular position can be maintained regardless of load, and readjustment to compensate for leakage losses is unnecessary. To prevent uncontrolled rudder movement, an additional brake or a second lever drive with an actuation and braking device can be provided, which will be explained in more detail below.

[0006] Standard hydraulic components for up to 300 bar can be used for the drive device according to the invention, resulting in compact drives. A symmetrical arrangement of the lever drive with the actuating device and the braking device avoids any existing bearing forces. In particular, the lever drive, which can be moved by means of the actuating device, can be used to pivot the rudder of the steering system and can be fixed in a defined, deflected rudder position by means of the braking device until the steering system is actuated again. In a preferred embodiment of the drive device according to the invention, provision is made for an additional control device to be present, consisting at least of an additional lever drive, an additional actuating device, and an additional braking device, which act on the rotatable control part as support and supplement to the first control device.

[0007] In this way, the entire drive device is constructed from identical parts in a modular manner.

[0008] Preferably, the respective control device comprises pairs of mutually associated lever drives, actuating devices, and braking devices. In this way, both lever drives can act alternately on the control element, here in the form of a rudder. While one lever drive, in the clamped position, generates a torque by means of the associated braking device, the second lever drive, in the released position, can return to a starting or initial position at increased speed, before accelerating in the direction of movement and being clamped again by the braking device upon reaching a predeterminable target speed. Immediately thereafter, the clamping of the first lever drive is released. This results in a smooth movement of the rudder blade.It is also possible to first initiate the clamping using the respective braking device and then subsequently trigger a control process using the actuating device.

[0009] Instead of a rudder, the propulsion system can also be used to operate a pivoting thruster, which generates counter-rotating propulsion in the direction of the thruster, which then rotates the associated vessel around a predefined vertical axis as part of a turning movement. Such a thruster can also be pivoted by more than 360 degrees if necessary, so that the thruster does not necessarily have to return to its original position to perform a new rudder movement.

[0010] In a further preferred embodiment of the drive device according to the invention, it is provided that each lever arm of a lever drive merges in a fictitious extension into a lever arm of the same lever drive, that the axis of rotation for the control part, in particular in the form of the rudder, is arranged at the point of transition from one lever arm to the adjacent further lever arm, and that the respective actuating device acts on the free end region at a joint point of each lever arm, in cooperation with at least one associated braking device, forming one of the two control devices.

[0011] The two levers of one control device form a cross with the two levers of the other control device, with the respective levers, adjacent to one another in pairs in the area of ​​the axis of rotation, spanning a smallest opening angle of < 90 degrees, so that the remaining complementary angle, starting from 90 degrees, is correspondingly larger, and all the angles addressed together add up to 360 degrees. In this way, continuous control behavior for the control element, in particular in the form of the rudder, is achieved via the angle specification. In particular, the rudder swivel angle is not limited, but can be extended as desired, so that swivel angles greater than 360 degrees are possible. The torque to be generated here can be kept almost constant at a maximum level for any rudder swivel angle, and in this respect any angular position can be maintained regardless of the load.Readjustment to compensate for leakage losses is therefore no longer necessary. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the drive device according to the invention, the rotatable control part comprises a drivable structure, such as a disk, to which the rudder is preferably hinged, which is connected to the respective lever arm via the

[0012] This allows the rotational position of the disc to be adjusted smoothly with minimal operating forces, thus specifying the swivel angle for the ship's rudder.

[0013] Preferably, the respective actuating device is formed from at least one hydraulic actuator, preferably in the form of a hydraulic working cylinder, which engages on the rod side at an associated articulation point of the respective lever arm and is pivotally connected on the housing side to a receptacle that is part of stationary ship components. In this way, the working cylinders, hydraulically supplied with the same pressure, can generate force pairs of the same magnitude but with opposite force directions. For a uniform force application, it is provided that the adjacent working cylinders of two control devices, in a fictitious extension along their rod axes, enclose a fictitious angle with each other in every state of movement, which angle is approximately constant and preferably amounts to approximately 60 degrees.In this way, the movable rudder system can be attached to what appear to be stationary ship components, such as a ship's hull, in a particularly space-saving manner.

[0014] In this respect, the pivotable control part represents a rudder blade of the steering system or forms a separate steering ship propulsion system, preferably in the manner of a thruster, and the control part is pivotally mounted relative to a stationary part, such as the ship's hull, and can be controlled from a wheelhouse of the ship. The invention also relates to a method for operating a drive device as described above, consisting of at least two control devices, each with a lever drive, an actuating device, and a braking device, which act on a control part rotatable about a rotational axis, with at least the following method steps:

[0015] Clamping a first lever drive by means of a braking device to a structure for generating a torque on the rotatable control part by means of the first control device, in which

[0016] Releasing a further lever drive previously clamped to the structure in an operating position by releasing a further braking device by means of a further control device, and preferably at an increased travel speed, assuming a start position and then

[0017] Moving the further lever drive by means of the associated actuating device starting from this start or initial position with a predefined target speed and clamping it to the structure, at

[0018] Releasing the first lever drive using the first control device. This results in a smooth, continuous movement of the control disc and the associated rudder blade.

[0019] In the following, the drive device according to the invention is explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment relating to parts of a ship's steering machine. In this case, the following are schematic and not to scale illustrations:

[0020] Figure 1 is a plan view of essential parts of the rudder system including the drive mechanism;

[0021] Figures 2a, b, c and d show various hydraulic components for controlling the steering machine according to Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a partial side view of the steering machine shown in Figure 1, viewed in the direction of the arrow.

[0022] The drive device according to the invention serves to move a control part 12, which is arranged so as to be pivotable about a rotational axis 10, by means of a first control device 14. The control part 12 has a drivable structure in the form of a circular, flat disk 16, the center of rotation of which passes through a rotational axis 10, which in this respect, according to the illustration in Figure 3, also forms the vertical axis for the rudder system 18 as a whole, which is oriented vertically as an axis provided the associated ship (not shown) is at rest and is therefore not performing any pitching, yawing, or rolling movements; movements such as those normally encountered in shipping operations. The disk 16 in question is, as shown in more detail in Figure 3, firmly connected on its underside to a rudder stock 20, which in turn merges into a rudder blade 22 on its underside.In this respect, the individual components in the form of the disk 16, the rudder stock 20 and the rudder blade 22 are rigidly connected to one another, and pivoting movements of the disk 16 are transmitted in the same direction via the rudder stock 20 to the rudder blade 22. The rudder stock 20 is rotatably mounted in a fixed bearing 24, which is part of a support frame 26, in which the disk 16 is movably, in particular rotatably, guided. In this respect, the rudder blade 22 is a component of the control part 12. The support frame 26 is to be regarded as stationary insofar as it is firmly connected to associated ship components, here for example the ship's hull. The rudder blade 22 is designed as a symmetrical flow body, with a thickening in the direction of the oncoming flow and, in contrast, a thinner fin in the direction of the outflowing medium in the form of water.The first control device 14 has a first lever drive 28 and a further control device 29 has a further lever drive 30, each with two pairs of lever arms 32, 34 and 36, 38. The two lever arms 32, 34, as shown in Figure 1, merge into one another in one piece and without any protrusion, being guided over the axis of rotation 10 in the transition area. This arrangement also applies to the lever arms 36, 38 of the further lever drive 30. Furthermore, the lever arms 32, 34 are guided above the lever drive 30 with its two lever arms 36, 38, as is particularly evident from the illustration in Figure 1. Overall, the lever arm pairs 32, 34 and 36, 38, in the aforementioned superimposed arrangement, are movable relative to one another in pairs in alignment with the axis of rotation 10, which will be explained in more detail below. Furthermore, each control device 14, 29 and each lever drive 28, 30 has an actuating device 40, 42 assigned to it.Hydraulic actuators in the form of identically designed hydraulic working cylinders 44 are provided for the actuation of the two lever drives 28, 30. Each working cylinder 44 is in the form of a differential cylinder, articulated on the rod side to a joint 46 of the respective lever arm 32, 34, 36, 38 and pivotally mounted on the housing side on a holder 48 which is part of stationary ship components, here in the form of the support frame 26. A total of four working cylinders 44, each pivotably articulated at their ends, are provided, which are assigned in pairs to one lever drive 28 and the other lever drive 30, diametrically opposite one another with respect to the axis of rotation 10. Viewed in the direction of Figure 1, the two working cylinders 44 for the lever drive 28 are shown in the extended position, and the two pairs of working cylinders 44 for the further lever drive 30 are shown in the retracted position.Subsequently, for a further control operation, the working cylinders 44 of the first lever drive 28 assume the retracted position, and the other cylinders 44 of the further lever drive 30 extend. Furthermore, each lever drive 28, 30 is assigned a braking device 50, 52. Each braking device 50, 52, designed as a common part, has two hydraulically actuated disc brake calipers 54, which are only shown in principle in Figure 1, and whose correct arrangement below a lever arm 32, 34, 36, 38 and in fixed connection with these is shown in Figure 3. If, which is not shown in more detail but is common in the prior art, hydraulic pressure is applied to the respective disc brake caliper 54, the disc 16, which is overlapped by the brake calipers 54 on the edge, is clamped in its respective position and when the brake pressure is removed, the disc 16 is then again freely rotatable about the axis of rotation 10.It is understood that even a single disc brake caliper 54 in its braking position at least inhibits or completely stops the rotational movement of the disc 16. With the respective braking device 50, 52 of each control device 14 or 29, a control process for the disc 16 can be realized via the associated pairs of disc brake calipers 54, and thus for the other components of the control part 12, that is, for the rudder stock 20 and rudder blade 22. It should be noted that, for the sake of simplicity of illustration, only the lever arm 32 and the lever arm 36 with associated brake calipers 54 are shown in Figure 3.

[0023] If, for example, the rudder blade 22, which is deflected clockwise in Figure 1, is to be returned to the starting position 66, which, as a vertical plane, intersects the drive device as a whole in the center and passes through the rotation axis 10, the second lever drive 30 with its lever arms 36, 38 must be fixed or clamped to the disk 16 via the respectively assignable disc brake calipers 54 of the further braking device 52. The first lever drive 28, on the other hand, is separated from the disk 16 by releasing the associated disc brake calipers 54 of the first braking device 50. While the two hydraulic working cylinders 44 of the second lever drive 30 now extend from their fully retracted position shown, the two working cylinders 44 of the first lever drive 28 remain extended.The working cylinders 44 of the second lever drive 30 then extend until the rudder blade 22 assumes its center or starting position along the vertical plane 66. To this extent, the disk 16, as part of the control part 12, is pivoted counterclockwise about the rotation axis 10 by means of the second control device 29. The possible pivot positions of the two lever drives 28, 30 are shown in Figure 1 by dashed lines with double arrows. Preferably, each lever drive 28, 30 pivots through a maximum angle of 30 degrees, so that in addition to a good force transmission to the control part 12, rapid control movements for the disk 16 can be achieved.

[0024] If a subsequent further counterclockwise pivoting movement by means of the first lever drive 28 is not intended, this can also be maintained in its position according to Figure 1. In this position of the first lever drive 28, the associated disc brake calipers 54 of the braking device 50 are then clamped onto the disc 16 and hold the rudder blade 22 in this position. The disc brake calipers 54 of the braking device 52 of the second lever drive 30 can then be opened. If a subsequent further counterclockwise pivoting movement is required, this can be achieved by the first lever drive 28 by retracting the pistons 44 of the first lever drive 28. In this way, by continuously releasing and clamping by means of the two lever drives 28, 30 both clockwise and counterclockwise, a continuous adjustment of the disc 16 and thus of the rudder blade 22 can be initiated, even by more than 360 degrees.This has no equivalent in the state of the art.

[0025] In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1, the two lever drives 28, 30 with their lever arm pairs 32, 34 and 36, 38 respectively form a type of cross in which the opening angle a between two adjacent lever arms 32, 36 and 34, 38 is less than 90 degrees, and the complementary angle b between the lever arms 34 and 36 or 32 and 38 is correspondingly greater than 90 degrees. Furthermore, the fictitious extensions of two adjacent working cylinders 44 enclose a fictitious angle c with each other, which is essentially constant regardless of the deflection situation of the working cylinders and, in the present case, is 60 degrees, for example. Preferably, a value range of 30 to 90 degrees is provided for angle a, a value range of 90 to 150 degrees for angle b, and a value of 60 degrees for angle c.

[0026] A hydraulic supply system is used to control the hydraulic working cylinders 44. Figure 2a shows a hydraulic control system for the individual working cylinders 44 with an electromagnetically actuated control valve 68, which assumes its central locking position in the position shown in Figure 2a and otherwise, in an actuated switching position, supplies fluid to the rod side of a pair of working cylinders 44 and to the piston side of the same pair of working cylinders 44 for the purpose of controlling one lever drive 28 or the other lever drive 30. In order to be able to maintain the respective position of the rudder blade 22 even under the influence of forces from the environment, two lowering brake valves 70 are also connected in the hydraulic valve supply according to Figure 2a in the usual way.

[0027] Figure 2b shows a conventional switching valve 72, which in turn actuates pairs of disc brake calipers 54 electromagnetically actuated to clamp or fix the disc 16 in their respective positions or leaves them hydraulically unactuated for release.

[0028] The valve arrangement according to Figure 2c with adjustable flow control valve 74 allows a lubricant supply not shown or described in detail, in particular for the rudder bearing in the form of the bearing point 24. The simplified representation according to Figure 2d again shows a redundant multiple pump system in the form of two motor-pump units 76 to supply the hydraulic supply circuit. Furthermore, such a hydraulic supply can be supplemented by means of the respective motor-pump unit 76 with a filtration 78 and a cooling 80.

[0029] In this respect, hydraulic supply elements as shown in Figures 2a, b, c and d are common in the context of controlling hydraulic consumers, such as working cylinders and / or disc brakes, so that the relationships are explained only in a very simplified manner.

[0030] In an embodiment not shown in detail, it can also be provided that at least one lever arm 32, 34, 36, 38 is equipped with a double arrangement of disc brake calipers 54. Preferably, each lever arm 32, 34, 36, 38 can be equipped with such a double brake arrangement. Furthermore, it is also possible to arrange the arrangement shown in Figure 3 several times in a stack arrangement one above the other; preferably, the solution presented in Figure 1 is arranged again below the associated arrangement according to Figure 3, so that due to this double arrangement, very high actuating forces can be exerted on the rudder blade 22 while requiring little installation space.The solution discussed above need not be limited to the use of rudder systems, but can rather be used wherever a control element of any kind is to be continuously actuated, in particular to allow a continuous, continuous actuating movement. In an embodiment not shown, it is also possible to equip the drive device with only one lever drive 28 or 30. However, this requires a brake unit 55 attached to the frame 26. However, with two lever drives 28, 30, redundancy of the entire system can be achieved.

Claims

Patent claims 1 . Drive device for moving a control part (12) pivotably arranged about a rotation axis (10) by means of a control device (14) consisting of at least - a lever drive (28) with at least one lever arm (32, 34) for driving the rotatable control part (12), - an actuating device (40) for moving the lever drive (28), and - a braking device (50) which acts on the rotatable control part (12) in such a way that a torque can be transmitted from the lever drive (28) to the control part (12).

2. Drive device according to claim 1, characterized in that a further control device (29) is present, at least consisting of - another lever drive (30), - a further actuating device (42), and - a further braking device (52) acting on the rotatable control part (12) as support to the first control device (14).

3. Drive device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the respective control device has individual pairs (14, 29) of mutually associated lever drives (28, 30), actuating (40, 42) and braking devices (50, 52).

4. Drive device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each lever arm (32, 34; 36, 38) of a lever drive (28; 30) merges in a fictitious extension into a lever arm of the same lever drive (28; 30), that at the location of the The axis of rotation (10) for the control part (12) is arranged at the transition from one lever arm (32; 36) to the adjacent further lever arm (34; 38), and that the respective actuating device (40, 42) acts on a joint point (46) of each lever arm (32, 34, 36, 38) at the free end region and, in cooperation with at least one associated braking device (50, 52), also forms one of the two control devices (14, 29). Drive device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two lever arms (32, 34) of one control device (14) span a cross with the two lever arms (36, 38) of the other control device (29), which, in pairs adjacent to one another in the region of the axis of rotation (10), span an opening angle of < 90 degrees, that accordingly the remaining complementary angle is larger than 90 degrees, and that all angles taken together add up to 360 degrees.Drive device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotatable control part (12) has a drivable structure, such as a disc (16), which interacts with the respective lever arm via the braking devices (50, 52). Drive device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the respective actuating device (40, 42) is formed from at least one hydraulic actuator, preferably in the form of a hydraulic working cylinder (44), which engages on the rod side at a joint point (46) of the respective lever arm (32, 34, 36, 38) and is pivotally articulated on the housing side to a receptacle (48) which is part of a stationary support device (26). Drive device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adjacent working cylinders (44) of two control devices (14, 29) enclose a virtually constant, virtually constant angle (c) with each other in every state of movement, as a fictitious extension along their rod axes. Drive device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pivotable control part (12) comprises a rudder blade (22) of a rudder system (18) or represents a ship's propulsion system, and in that the control part (12) is pivotally arranged relative to a stationary part (26), such as a ship's hull. Method for operating a drive device comprising at least two control devices (14, 29), each with a lever drive (28, 30), an actuating device (40, 42), and a braking device (50, 52), which act on a control part (12) rotatable about a rotational axis (10), comprising at least the following method steps: - clamping a first lever drive (28) by means of a braking device (50) to a structure (16) for generating a torque on the rotatable control part (12) by means of the first control device (14), - releasing a further lever drive (30) previously clamped to the structure (16) in an operating position by releasing a further braking device (52) by means of a further control device (29), and preferably at an increased travel speed, assuming a starting position and subsequently - moving the further lever drive (30) by means of the associated actuating device (42) starting from the starting position at a predeterminable target speed and clamping it to the structure (16), - releasing the first lever drive (28) by means of the first control device (14).

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