Crane cabin door system

Abstract

To provide a door system that operates a crane cabin door in a method that is always convenience and optimized in an ergonomically manner.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a crane cabin door system for a mobile crane, the crane cabin door system comprising a door designed to close an access opening part of a crane cabin and guided between an open position and a close position by a guide mechanism, a door driving device designed to move the door between the open position and the close position, and a control unit connected to the door driving device and at least one control element and operating the door driving device according to a user input performed via at least one control element.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a door system for a crane cabin of a mobile crane. The present invention also relates to a mobile crane in which the crane cabin is provided with such a door system.

[0002] During crane operation, a mobile crane is usually operated from a crane cabin by a crane operator. Large mobile cranes are provided with a driver's cab provided in the lower structure of the crane for driving operation, in addition to a crane cabin provided exclusively for operation during crane operation. On the other hand, for small mobile cranes such as so-called off-road cranes, there may be only one working space for operating the crane for both driving operation and crane operation.

[0003] In recent crane designs, it is common for the crane cabin to be equipped with a sliding door that can be opened as wide as the crane operator desires or can be slid open, which is much less obstructive than the hinged swing doors often found in older crane designs.

[0004] In particular, when the cabin of the crane is arranged on the upper structure, in order to open and close the cabin door from the outside of the cabin, the crane operator has to grip and operate the cabin door from different positions according to the rotational angular position of the upper structure of the crane. In addition, the door handle provided for this purpose is located at different positions according to the open position of the door, and therefore is not always convenient for the crane operator to grip and is not ergonomic.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to improve this drawback and provide a door system in which the crane cabin door is operated in a convenient and ergonomically optimized manner at all times.

[0006] This object is achieved by the crane cab door system according to claim 1 and by the mobile crane according to claim 10.

[0007] For this purpose, the crane cab door system according to the invention comprises a door designed to close an access opening of the crane cab and guided between an open position and a closed position by a guide mechanism, and a door drive designed to move the door between the open position and the closed position, and a control unit connected to the door drive and at least one control element and configured to operate the door drive in accordance with a user input effected via the at least one control element and is provided with.

[0008] This door system thus comprises an automatically moving cab door which, unlike conventional cab doors, no longer needs to be manually opened and closed by the crane operator. Instead, a simple user input via a control element is sufficient to open and close the door. In this way, in particular, the crane operator does not need to apply an operating force to the cab door from different positions, which improves not only the convenience of operation and the ergonomic advantages but also, in some cases, the safety level when operating the cab door of the crane.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the guide mechanism and / or the door drive are designed to fix the door at at least one intermediate position between the open position and the closed position, in particular at a predefined or arbitrary intermediate position, and in particular to fix it safely.

[0010] In other words, the door drive can be operated such that the cabin door can not only remain in its end positions, i.e., the closed and open positions, but instead can remain in one or any number of intermediate positions. This is particularly advantageous when it is desired to acoustically better perceive the surroundings of the crane or when additionally ventilating the crane cabin. In this context, at least one predetermined locking position of the cabin door is conceivable, in which the partially open cabin door effectively prevents a person from falling out of the cabin and, similarly, prevents objects from entering the cabin. It is also conceivable that the door is not only held by the guide mechanism and / or the door drive, for example by internal frictional forces, but instead is positively fixed in its current position, for example by a locking mechanism or a braking mechanism. The door drive may comprise one or more electric motors that provide the drive output necessary to move the door. In this context, it is particularly conceivable that the door drive comprises one or more 12-volt or 24-volt DC motors that act on one or more swing arms coupled to the cabin door and in particular rotate them.

[0011] The design according to the invention can in principle be used for any type of cabin door, for example a swing door rotatably attached to a crane cabin or a slide door that is substantially linearly guided. According to one embodiment, however, the guide mechanism can be embodied as a door mechanism that rotates outwards. Thus, the door moves between the open and closed positions in the manner of a door that rotates outwards. The door moves mainly parallel to the access opening and the associated cabin wall in order to open and close the access opening, while moving mainly vertically near the closed position in order to project out of or retract into the recessed part of the crane cabin wall. This enables the cabin door to be sealed off from the crane cabin, particularly in comparison with conventional slide doors, and has advantages particularly with regard to exposure to pollutants and noise, draft, and dust ingress. For this purpose, the guide mechanism can be embodied, for example, as a connecting linkage or a four-bar linkage.

[0012] According to another embodiment, the control unit may be connected for the purpose of transmitting signals to the door drive and / or at least one control element via the CAN bus. It is likewise possible for the control unit to be integrated into the crane control device of the mobile crane and in particular to represent the functions of the crane control device of the mobile crane.

[0013] In other words, the operation of the door system according to the invention can be interpreted not only as an independent system, but can also be integrated or incorporated into the existing signal transmission infrastructure of the mobile crane.

[0014] According to another embodiment, the control unit can operate the door drive, in particular in dependence on at least one crane state variable and / or at least one environmental parameter, in particular in dependence on at least one sensor value, and in particular can give this priority over user inputs effected via the control element. It is likewise possible for this semi-automatic operation of the door drive to be subordinate to user inputs. For example, if it is detected by one or more sensors that the exposure to dust has increased, the cabin door may be automatically closed. Nevertheless, if the crane operator wishes to open the cabin door at least partially, for example to be able to better acoustically perceive the surrounding situation, the crane operator can open the cabin door again by means of a user input. In other cases, for example if it is measured by one or more sensors that the exposure to pollutants has increased, the cabin door may be closed regardless of user input until the concentration of the pollutants has reached the permissible level again. Similarly, one or more different crane state variables may influence the operation of the cabin door. If the crane cabin can be tilted depending on the luffing angle of the boom, it is conceivable that the cabin door cannot be fully opened until the crane cabin has returned to the horizontal position. Similarly, the cabin door may only be able to be fully opened after a lifting aid or access aid such as a running board has reached the position required for entering and leaving the cabin.

[0015] Instead of preventing the cabin door from opening, the control unit can generate acoustic and / or optical warning signals emitted by a signal lamp or a loudspeaker according to at least one state variable and / or at least one environmental parameter. Similarly, such acoustic and / or optical warning signals may be generated before or when the door drive moves the cabin door between the open position and the closed position.

[0016] According to another embodiment, one or more control elements can be arranged in particular on the mobile crane, in particular, in the driver's cab of the mobile crane, inside and / or outside the crane cabin of the mobile crane, in the lower structure of the mobile crane, in particular in the area for climbing into the crane cabin, and / or in the upper structure of the mobile crane, in particular in the area for climbing into the crane cabin.

[0017] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the aforementioned control elements, the control elements can be integrated into a portable, in particular wireless remote control device for a mobile crane, or can be provided in such a design.

[0018] Another aspect of the present invention relates to a mobile crane equipped with a crane cabin door system according to any one of the above-described embodiments. The door system can be provided in particular in a crane cabin arranged on the crane upper structure, but is equally suitable for a crane cabin arranged on the crane lower structure.

[0019] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may comprise all the features disclosed herein, individually or in any convenient combination.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] FIG. 1 schematically shows a plan view of a crane cabin 2 having a preferred embodiment of a door system according to the present invention. The front side, i.e., the side facing the crane boom of the crane cabin, is located on the left side in the illustrated representation. An access opening 1 through which a crane operator can enter and exit the crane cabin 2 is provided in the left side wall of the crane cabin 2, i.e., the side wall arranged at the lower part in the figure. A cabin door 5 connected to the crane cabin 2 via a guide mechanism designed as a connecting linkage or a four-bar linkage in the illustrated embodiment is provided to close the access opening 1. As can be seen by viewing FIGS. 1 to 4 together, the door 5 is connected to the crane cabin 2 via two swing arms 3, 4. The two swing arms 3, 4 are connected to the door 5 and the crane cabin 2 respectively at both ends via rotary bearings, and the rotation axes of all the rotary bearings extend in parallel. The first swing arm 3 extends below the access opening 1, while the second swing arm 4 is located in the upper region of the access opening 1 and can rotate about a vertical rotation axis via an electric motor 6. The electric motor 6 may particularly be a 12-volt DC motor or a 24-volt DC motor, and thus power may be directly supplied via the on-vehicle power supply of the crane. The first swing arm 3 is not driven and thus follows the movement of the second swing arm 4 and the door 5. In the conventional nomenclature, the crane cabin 2 thus represents the frame of the connecting link, while the door 5 forms the so-called joint.

[0022] To move the door 5 between the closed position shown in FIG. 1 and the open position shown in FIG. 4, the door drive device 6 acting on the second swing arm 4 is actuated by the control unit 8 via the signal line of the CAN bus 9. The control unit 8 likewise receives corresponding user inputs via the signal line of the CAN bus 9, and the control unit 8 is connected to the control element 7 for the purpose of signal transmission via the signal line of the CAN bus 9. The control element 7 may be designed as a push button. As shown in FIG. 1, when the control element 7 is arranged both on the outer wall of the crane cabin 2 and inside the crane cabin 2, the crane operator can open and close the door 5 without gripping the door 5. The door 5 and the handle fixed thereto take different positions relative to the crane cabin 2 depending on the open position of the door 5, while the control element 7 or the push button remains in a known position.

[0023] When moving the door 5 from the closed position shown in FIG. 1 to the fully open position or a partially open position, the electric motor 6 is actuated via the control unit 8 by operating one of the control elements 7. The electric motor 6 rotates the second swing arm 4 about its rotary bearing in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1. The first swing arm 3 follows the movement of the second swing arm 4 coupled via the door 5 and likewise moves about the rotary bearing in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows how the door 5 first moves mainly vertically with respect to the range of the door opening 1, i.e., it moves out of the fitting part of the cabin wall so to speak. The position of the door 5 shown in FIG. 2 may sometimes be called the first intermediate position where the crane operator can acoustically perceive the surroundings of the mobile crane from within the crane cabin more easily.

[0025] In FIG. 3, the door 5 is in a second intermediate position that is more open than the intermediate position shown in FIG. 2, for example, ensuring that the crane cabin 2 is sufficiently ventilated.

[0026] If the door drive 6 continues to be operated, the door 5 will finally reach the open position shown in Fig. 4, in which the access opening 1 is opened wide enough to allow access to the crane cabin 2. To close the door 5 in the open position again, one of the control elements 7 is operated again, and the door drive 6 rotates the second swing arm 4 about the rotary bearing in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 4. The first swing arm 3 follows this movement and rotates in the same direction about the rotary bearing.

[0027] Instead of, or in addition to, the discrete positions of the cabin door 5 shown in Figs. 1 to 4, it is also possible to position the cabin door 5 so to speak "continuously" in any position, or to firmly fix it in any position, in particular using a braking mechanism (not shown). For this purpose, the door drive 6 can, for example, rotate the second swing arm 4 while a control element 7 designed as a push button is pressed. When the push button is released, the door 5 remains in its current position or is firmly fixed in that position against unexpected movements. When the control element 7 is pressed again, the movement of the door 5 is resumed.

Claims

1. A crane cabin door system for a mobile crane, comprising: a door (5) designed to close the access opening (1) of the crane cabin (2) and guided between an open position and a closed position by a guide mechanism (3, 4); a door drive (6) designed to move the door (5) between the open and closed positions; a control unit (8) connected to said door drive (6) and to at least one control element (7) for operating said door drive (6) according to a user input provided via said at least one control element (7); A crane cabin door system comprising:

2. 2. The crane cabin door system according to claim 1, wherein the guide mechanism (3, 4) and / or the door drive (6) are designed to fix, in particular safely fix, the door (5) in at least one intermediate position, in particular a predefined or arbitrary intermediate position, between the open position and the closed position.

3. 3. The crane cabin door system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide mechanism (3, 4) is embodied as an outwardly rotating door mechanism.

4. 4. The crane cabin door system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (8) is connected for signal transmission purposes to the door drive (6) and / or to the at least one control element (7) via a CAN bus (9).

5. 5. The crane cabin door system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit (8) is integrated into a crane controller of the mobile crane and in particular represents the functions of the crane controller of the mobile crane.

6. 6. The crane cabin door system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (8) activates the door drive (6) depending on at least one crane state variable and / or at least one environmental parameter, in particular depending on at least one sensor value.

7. 7. The crane cabin door system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit (8) causes the emission of an acoustic and / or optical warning signal before and / or during a movement of the door drive (6) in dependence on at least one crane state variable and / or at least one environmental parameter.

8. At least one control element (7) A driver's seat of the mobile crane; the interior and / or exterior of the crane cabin (2) of the mobile crane; an area for climbing onto the undercarriage of the mobile crane, in particular onto the crane cabin (2), and / or 8. The crane cabin door system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, arranged in the superstructure of the mobile crane, in particular in the area for ascending to the crane cabin (2).

9. 8. The crane cabin door system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control element (7) is integrated in or provided in a portable, in particular wireless, remote control device of the mobile crane.

10. A mobile crane comprising a crane cabin door system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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