Large manipulator and method for controlling a large manipulator

Abstract

The invention relates to a large manipulator, in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump, and to a method for controlling the movement of an articulated boom of a large manipulator, having a boom pedestal which is rotatable about a vertical axis by means of a rotary drive and is arranged on a framework, having an articulated boom which comprises two or more boom arms, wherein the boom arms are pivotably connected by means of respective slewing drives to the respectively adjacent boom pedestal or boom arm via articulated joints, and having a control device, controlling the drives, for the boom movement, wherein the control device is designed to move the articulated boom from a starting position into an end position by carrying out a predefined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints and / or rotation angles of the boom pedestal and / or positions of the boom tip which are intended to be taken up consecutively. The invention is characterised in particular in that the control device is designed to vary the execution speed of the sequence during the movement between the starting position and the end position.

Description

[0001] SHWG1289 AY / BD 11.09.2024 Large manipulator and method for controlling a large manipulator The invention relates to a large manipulator, in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump, with a mast stand which is rotatable about a vertical axis by means of a rotary drive and is arranged on a frame, an articulated mast which comprises two or more mast arms, wherein the mast arms are pivotally connected to the adjacent mast stand or mast arm via articulated joints by means of a swivel drive each, and a control device which controls the drives, wherein the control device is designed to move the articulated mast from an initial position to a target position by executing a predetermined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints and / or angles of rotation of the mast stand and / or positions of the mast tip to be assumed one after the other.The invention also relates to a method for controlling the movement of an articulated boom of a large manipulator, in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump. A corresponding large manipulator with an articulated boom is known, for example, from EP 3559374 B1. This document presents the calculation of a time-optimized control sequence that enables the articulated boom to be moved autonomously and in a time-optimized manner from an initial position to a predetermined target position. This time-optimized control sequence results in the articulated boom being moved along a sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints and / or the angle of rotation of the boom stand, which positions must be assumed one after the other. This sequence is ultimately a trajectory that defines the times at which the individual articulated joints and / or the boom stand each assume a specific angle of articulation and / or angle of rotation until the target position is reached. This sequence orHowever, the trajectory does not have to be related to, for example, the angular position of the articulated joints, but can just as easily be defined for the position of the mast tip, so that it should assume certain points in space at specific times. More generally, such a control device can be used to move the articulated mast along a path with a predetermined time progression for the articulated joints and / or the mast tip, for example to reach a target position in the shortest possible time. Due to the widely varying environmental conditions, for example the ambient temperature and the associated oil temperature of the hydraulic oil of the hydraulically driven swivel drives (actuators) of the articulated mast, and component variations, for example due to wear or manufacturing tolerances, the properties of the hydraulic actuators deviate from the models used in trajectory planning.Since these deviations vary for the individual actuators of the articulated boom, this leads to a deviation from the optimal path in real operation. This can, for example, lead to collisions with obstacles and thus to damage to the large manipulator or objects in the workspace. This is particularly problematic in the case where the actual possible maximum speed of an individual or multiple joints is lower than the maximum speed assumed when calculating the trajectory and the trajectory is optimized for a minimum travel time. This inevitably leads to an ever-increasing deviation from the trajectory, which can no longer be corrected. In the state of the art, the movement of the articulated boom is monitored by the operating personnel. In particular, the distance to obstacles is monitored and evaluated by the operating personnel during movement.It is therefore also necessary for the operating personnel to have the option of targeted intervention in the movement along the path. In addition, the folding process of the articulated mast is problematic in the large manipulator presented in EP 3559374 B1, because during a folding process the target position practically means that the articulated mast must be placed folded in the mast support. Self-collision of the segments of the articulated mast must be avoided, and the articulated mast must reach the mast support with a deviation of just a few centimeters. This makes the calculation of the trajectory for the folding process very complex, because the risk of self-collision is very high shortly before the target position. This is numerically disadvantageous, since the trajectory must be planned towards the obstacles or other restrictions that are actually to be avoided.The problem to be solved by the invention is therefore to provide an improved large manipulator in which the articulated boom follows the planned geometric path, i.e., the trajectory, with a sufficiently small error, even in the event of deviations in the dynamics of the articulated boom. In particular, the very limited computing power of the computing hardware of a large manipulator must be taken into account. Furthermore, the operator should be given the opportunity to intervene in the automatically executed movement of the articulated boom. Furthermore, the folding process of the articulated boom should be simplified.The invention achieves this object starting from a large manipulator of the type mentioned above in that the control device is configured to vary the execution speed of the sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints and / or angles of rotation of the mast support and / or positions of the mast tip, which are to be assumed one after the other, from an initial position to a target position during the movement of the articulated mast between the initial position and the target position. This means that the control device does not rigidly follow the predetermined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints and / or angles of rotation of the mast support and / or positions of the mast tip, which are to be assumed one after the other, but rather varies the time progression. This allows the speed of the movement of the articulated mast to be easily changed, deviating from the speed assumed when planning the sequence.This procedure opens up the possibility of intervening in a regulating manner if the position of the articulated mast deviates from the predetermined sequence and, for example, of slowing down the progression of the sequence so that the articulated mast can return to the position specified by the sequence as the movement continues. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention arise from the dependent claims. Advantageously, the control device is further configured, when executing the sequence, to determine a difference between actual values ​​of the angular positions of the articulated joints and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support and / or the position of the mast tip and target values ​​predetermined by the sequence and, using the difference, to determine a correction signal for the movement speeds of the articulated joints and / or the mast support.This opens up the possibility of intervening in a regulatory manner in the course of the movement of the articulated mast if the articulated mast does not follow the specified trajectory as planned, for example due to the properties of the hydraulic actuators differing in reality from the planning. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the control device is further configured to determine a difference between actual values ​​of the angular positions of the articulated joints and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support and / or the position of the mast tip and target values ​​predetermined by the sequence during execution of the sequence and to determine a deviation therefrom and to vary the execution speed of the sequence depending on the determined deviation, preferably in such a way that the execution speed is reduced as the amount of deviation increases.This means that the speed of the articulated mast is reduced by the reduced execution speed when executing the sequence, especially when deviating from the specified path. This speed reduction opens up the possibility of intervening in a control manner in the path progression, which is not fully possible as long as one or more drives are operating at maximum speed. This correction option ensures compliance with the specified path without the risk of the mast colliding with obstacles. An advantageous embodiment is that the control device is further configured to only reduce the execution speed when the deviation exceeds a predetermined first limit value.This allows the originally planned maximum movement speed of the articulated boom to be initially maintained by executing the specified sequence in order to move the articulated boom from the starting position to the target position, possibly accepting a small deviation. Furthermore, if a correction is necessary for drives that are not running at maximum speed, it is still possible to reach the planned target position or an intermediate position of the sequence without reducing the speed of the articulated boom movement. A preferred embodiment provides that the control device is further configured to stop the execution of the sequence if the deviation exceeds a predetermined second limit value.If the deviation becomes so great that the mast no longer reaches the specified position despite reducing the execution speed of the sequence, there may be a major malfunction in one or more mast drives, requiring manual intervention, which is possible after the execution of the sequence has been stopped. In a further preferred variant, it is provided that the control device, in an unfolded position of the articulated mast, is configured to determine the sequence for moving the articulated mast from a folded position as the starting position to the unfolded position as the target position and to fold the articulated mast by executing the sequence in reverse order. In practice, this means that the sequence for folding the articulated mast is executed, for example, in reverse chronological order, starting from the target position.The main advantage of this approach is that calculating the sequence from the folded position to the unfolded position is considerably easier than the other way around. This means that the articulated mast is in a fixed starting position for calculating the sequence. In other words, the articulated mast is "virtually" in the mast support or is at least already close to the mast support. And in the target position, there are generally few obstacles to consider. This means that no obstacles, or only those that are further away, need to be taken into account when determining the sequence, making the sequence considerably easier to determine or calculate. To fold the articulated mast, it is now simply moved from the target position to the starting position of the sequence by executing the sequence backwards, starting from the current, unfolded mast position.A particularly advantageous development is that the control device is further configured to continuously determine the sequence for moving the articulated mast from a folded position as the starting position to the unfolded position as the target position when the articulated mast is in the unfolded position. Determining or calculating a sequence for moving the articulated mast from a starting position to a target position is usually relatively time-consuming, particularly when computing power is limited. However, if the sequence is determined regularly and the position of the articulated mast has changed only slightly due to manual movement between the individual calculations, calculating the sequence is significantly simpler because the previously determined sequence can be used as a starting solution for the optimization problem to be solved, from which the optimal solution can be determined with less computing effort.This allows the articulated mast to be moved quickly from the extended position to the folded position at any time, without the need for a time-consuming, complete determination of the sequence beforehand. Another advantageous feature is that the control device is configured to design the sequence such that the total time for transferring the articulated mast from the starting position to the target position is minimal and / or that the total time for transferring the articulated mast from the starting position to the target position does not exceed a predetermined maximum duration and / or self-collisions and / or collisions with objects in the vicinity of the large manipulator are avoided.Partial or complete consideration of these conditions when determining the sequence results in the articulated mast being able to be moved automatically from a starting position to a target position at the greatest possible speed, but also with a reasonable amount of computational effort, without colliding with itself or with objects in the surrounding area. An advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the control device is further configured to vary the execution speed of the sequence depending on operator inputs and / or operating status data of the large manipulator. This allows an operator to specifically reduce the movement speed in critical situations, for example when the articulated mast is moving near an obstacle or when there are people near the mast tip, in order to enable safe movement of the articulated mast.Operating status data that lead to a variation in the execution speed are, for example, temperature data from the hydraulic system, which necessitates a reduction in the movement speed. A preferred embodiment provides that a mast sensor system is provided for detecting at least one angular position of at least one articulated joint and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support and / or the position of the mast tip, wherein the control device is configured to determine the position of the articulated mast with regard to the angular positions of the articulated joints and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support and / or the position of the mast tip based on the output signal of the mast sensor system. Such a mast sensor system can be used, on the one hand, to monitor the movement of the articulated mast during control as part of the control sequence.Furthermore, the mast sensor system can be used to check whether the articulated mast has reached the specified target position, which then terminates the control sequence. An advantageous embodiment is that the control device is configured to determine the starting position of the articulated mast based on the output signal of the mast sensor system. By using the sensor to detect the current mast position as the starting position, the control device can calculate a sequence for reaching a target position from each articulated mast position.In a further embodiment of the invention, the articulated mast comprises a concrete print head arranged at the mast tip, wherein this print head is pivotally connected to the last mast arm by means of an articulated drive and / or rotatably connected by means of a rotary drive, and the control device is configured to move the articulated mast with concrete print head from an initial position to a target position by executing a predetermined sequence of sequential angular positions of the articulated joints and / or rotation angles of the mast support and / or positions of the mast tip and pivot and / or rotation angles of the concrete print head. This means that even during 3D concrete printing with a print head, the articulated mast can be advantageously controlled with the print head according to the invention in order to move the articulated mast together with the print head along a predetermined path without deviations and thus achieve an excellent printing result.The invention further relates to a method for controlling the movement of an articulated boom of a large manipulator, in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump, having a boom stand which is rotatable about a vertical axis by means of a rotary drive and which is arranged on a frame, an articulated boom comprising two or more boom arms, wherein the boom arms are pivotally connected to the adjacent boom stand or boom arm via articulated joints by means of a respective pivot drive, wherein the articulated boom is moved from a starting position to a target position by executing a predetermined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints and / or angles of rotation of the boom stand and / or positions of the mast tip, which are to be assumed one after the other. The method is characterized in particular in that the execution speed of the sequence is varied during the movement between the starting position and the target position.Further features, details, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the drawings. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated purely schematically in the following drawings and are described in more detail below. Corresponding objects or elements are provided with the same reference numerals in all figures.: Figure 1: Large manipulator according to the invention with an articulated mast in the folded position, Figure 2: Large manipulator according to the invention with an articulated mast in the unfolded position, Figure 3: Block diagram of a control device according to the invention in a first embodiment, Figure 4: Block diagram of a control device according to the invention in a second embodiment, Figure 5: 3D concrete pressure representation with a large manipulator according to the invention. Figures 1 and 2 schematically show a large manipulator according to the invention in the form of a truck-mounted concrete pump, which is designated overall by the reference numeral 1. In the context of this disclosure, the term large manipulator 1 is understood to mean a working device such as an arm, a boom, a lifting gear, a lifting frame or a mast. The large manipulator 1 has an extendable articulated mast 5 which is arranged on a mast stand 3 which can be rotated about a vertical axis y0.In the illustration in Figure 1, the articulated mast 5 is folded and placed on the mast support 12, and in Figure 2, the articulated mast 5 is shown in the unfolded position. The articulated mast 5 is arranged via a mast support 3 on a frame 4, which, in the case of a truck-mounted concrete pump, has in particular a concrete pump 28, which conveys fresh concrete filled into the filling hopper 29 from a truck mixer along a delivery line 30 to the mast tip 10 or to the end hose 14. The rotation of the mast support 3 about the vertical axis is initiated via a rotary drive 2, which consists of a gear and a hydraulic motor, preferably controlled via a proportional control valve.The articulated mast 5 is hinged to the mast support 3 and has a plurality of mast arms 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, in the exemplary embodiment a total of four. These arms are pivotable at articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, each pivotable about an articulated axes relative to an adjacent mast arm 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d or the mast support 3 by means of a pivot drive 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d. The first mast arm 6a is pivotably mounted on the mast support 3 via a joint about a horizontal axis in the articulated joint 7a. The pivoting movement of the first mast arm 6a is effected by the first pivot drive 8a. The remaining boom arms 6b, 6c, and 6d are pivotally connected to the adjacent boom arms via the articulated joints 7b, 7c, and 7d about parallel horizontal axes. The pivoting movement in these articulated joints 7b, 7c, and 7d is effected by one of the pivot drives 8b, 8c, and 8d.The swivel drives each have one or more hydraulic cylinders or other suitable drives, such as a worm gear or a hydraulic rotary drive, which are controlled, for example, via proportional control valves. These, as well as the control valve for the hydraulic motor of the rotary drive 2, are in turn controlled by an electronic control device 19 (Figs. 3, 4) for the mast movement. In the exemplary embodiment, the frame 4 of the large manipulator 1 has four extendable supports 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d for support on the ground. In the illustration according to Figure 2, it is clearly visible that all supports 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d are fully extended / folded down, so that the articulated mast 5 can be rotated in any direction around the vertical axis in this support configuration without the large manipulator 1 losing its stability.In this way, the mast tip 10 can assume any target position B that can be reached with the articulated mast 5. With regard to an unfolding process, Figure 1 shows a starting position A and Figure 2 a target position B. With regard to a folding process, this would be the other way around. The folding position can vary for the automatic mast movement because the placement of the folded articulated mast 5 in the mast support 12 must be very precise, i.e., accurate to the centimeter, which should be done manually. So that for the automatic movement process during folding, a position of the articulated mast 5 can be provided slightly above the mast support 12 and the rest of the folding process is carried out manually by the operator.The large manipulator 1 preferably has a mast sensor system, for example in the form of angle sensors for the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and the rotation of the mast support 3, or displacement sensors for detecting the piston positions of the individual hydraulic cylinders, or geodetic inclination sensors. The mast sensor system is used to measure, for example, the slewing angle φ. DW for the rotation of the mast support 3 and the swivel angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4 of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, wherein the control device 19 preferably controls the speed of the mast movement depending on the slewing angle φ by appropriately controlling the valves of the hydraulic cylinders and the hydraulic motor of the rotary drive 2. DWand the current swivel angles φ1, φ2, φ3, and φ4 of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d. Figure 3 shows a control device 19 according to the invention in a first, simple form. The control device 19 has a block 20 in which a previously determined, predetermined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and / or angles of rotation of the mast support 3 and / or positions of the mast tip 10 are stored, for example in the form of tables or splines, with which the articulated mast 5 is to be moved from a starting position A to a target position B. This means that the block 20 contains the swivel angles φ1, φ2, φ3, and φ4 and / or the slewing angle φ DWand / or the position of the mast tip 10, which the articulated mast 5 is to assume at predefined times in order to automatically move the articulated mast 5 from a starting position A to a target position B. This sequence is also referred to as a trajectory in the following description. The sequence is designed, for example, such that the total time for transferring the articulated mast 5 from the starting position A to the target position B is minimal and / or the total time for transferring the articulated mast 5 from the starting position A to the target position B does not exceed a predetermined maximum duration and / or self-collisions of the large manipulator 1 and / or collisions with objects in the vicinity of the large manipulator 1 are avoided.This sequence or trajectory stored in the memory 20 can, for example, be determined by the control device 19 or, for example, for a repeatedly required unfolding process from the folded state of the articulated mast 5 to a target position B, can be calculated and specified by an external computer or, for example, read in via a radio connection. In order to vary or influence the temporal progression of the trajectory, i.e., the execution speed of the sequence during the movement of the articulated mast 5 between an initial position A and a target position B, the time parameter ^ ∈ [0, ^] is in the form ^^ = ^. ^ used, where ^ is the end time of the planned movement of the articulated mast 5. A trajectory progress parameter ^ ^ ∈ [−1,1] now allows to influence the time progression along the given sequence. Thus, the value ^ ^= 1 to a movement according to the pre-planned, for example maximum speed, ^ ^ = −1 to a movement in the opposite direction with the planned speed and ^ ^ = 0 stops the progress and thus the movement. This means that using the parameter ^ ^ the speed or timing specified by the sequence, with which the articulated mast 5 is to be moved, for example, in a minimum time from a starting position A to a target position B, is varied. In the block 20 with the trajectory, in addition to the sequence of the angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d to be taken at a defined time and the angle of rotation of the mast support 3 and / or positions of the mast tip 10, hereinafter also referred to as also a sequence of those control variables of the system ^ ^^^^, which are to be understood as joint angle speed specifications for the swivel drives 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d and the rotary drive 2, which, according to the previously performed calculation, lead to a movement of the articulated mast 5 along the sequence of the swivel angles φ1, φ2, φ3, φ4 of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and / or rotation angle φ DW of the mast stand 3 and / or positions of the mast tip 10 ^ ^ ^^^ lead. In case ^ ^^^^ refers only to the swivel angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4 and the rotation angle φDW, the following applies: ^^ ^^^^ = This sequence for the manipulated variables obtained from the trajectory planning is passed to block 25, which limits the joint angular velocities if necessary, as will be explained later. It should be noted that although the manipulated variables in the exemplary embodiment shown here are described as joint angular velocity specifications, these manipulated variables can also be specified differently in the system. For example, the manipulated variables can also be specified by specifications for the cylinder piston speeds in the case of articulated joints driven by hydraulic cylinders or directly by the control signals for the hydraulic valves for controlling the hydraulic actuators. The possibly limited joint angular velocities ^ ^to system 26, including subordinate controls of drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, according to the manipulated variables. This means that, for example, the speed specifications ^ ^ for the drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d are converted into the physical movement of the articulated mast 5 by translating these into the positions of the hydraulic valves for controlling the drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d. The output signal of block 26 is the actual joint angles of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support 3 and / or the position of the mast tip 10, hereinafter generally referred to as ^, continuously determined by the mast sensors. The determined values ​​^ are fed back to the adder 31 and there compared with the planning values ​​^ expected from the trajectory for the respective time. ^ ^^^ compared or subtracted from it. The result of this difference is the trajectory following error ^ ^^^^ − ^ , which indicates the deviation between the expected and the actually achieved position of the articulated mast 5 for the respective time. The difference determined by the summer 31 ^ ^ ^^^ − ^ is used on the one hand as an input signal for a trajectory follow-up control 23, on the other hand as an input signal for the calculation of the trajectory progress parameter ^ ^,^ used. The trajectory following control 23 determines a correction signal ^ ^ for the joint angular velocities, with which a position of the articulated mast 5 that deviates from the planned position is corrected. The correction signal ^ ^ for the joint angular velocities, the joint angular velocities are added in the summator 32 added to the planning and fed to the system 26. The deviation determined in the summator 31 by subtraction ^ ^ ^^^ − ^ is used as input signal for the calculation of the trajectory progress parameter ^ ^,^of Block 21, which complies with the standard ^^ = the determined deviation, hereinafter also simplified as deviation ^ ^ denoted by a trajectory progress parameter ^ ^,^ as shown in the diagram below block 21 in Figure 3. The trajectory progress parameter ^ ^,^ is the input signal for block 22, which determines a corrected time parameter ^ for the processing of the sequence in block 20. This corrected time parameter ^ causes the execution speed of the sequence to vary during the movement of the articulated mast 5 between the starting position A and the target position B, i.e., in this case, to be reduced. Therefore, if a deviation ^ ^of actual values ​​of the angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and / or the angle of rotation of the mast bracket 3 and / or the position of the mast tip 10 from target values ​​specified by the sequence, the execution speed of the sequence is determined depending on the determined deviation ^ ^ varies, preferably in such a way that the execution speed of the sequence increases with increasing deviation ^ ^ This allows the position of the articulated mast 5, while it continues to move and follows the sequence specifications, to be adjusted using the correction signal ^ ^for the movement speeds of the drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d are corrected by the trajectory follow-up control 23. This is particularly advantageous if the pre-planned trajectory envisages individual drives traveling at maximum speeds, but these cannot be achieved by the real system for whatever reason. Deviations can then be corrected by the trajectory follow-up control 23 because the individual articulated drives 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d or the rotary drive 2 are no longer traveling at the originally planned maximum speed due to the reduced trajectory timing. In the event of deviations ^ ^ ≤ ^ ^,^^^ is used for the trajectory progress parameter ^ ^,^ in this example the value ^ ^,^= 1. This means that in the event of minor deviations in the articulated boom movement, the time progress during the execution of sequence 20, i.e., the execution speed of the sequence, is not reduced in order to continue to move the articulated boom 5 at the planned, optimal, or maximum speed. However, the trajectory progress control 23 will send a correction signal ^ ^ for the joint angular velocities so that the articulated boom can follow the originally planned path again, which is only possible to a limited extent, because one or more of the joint drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d may already be moving at maximum speed. Only when the deviation ^ ^ ≥ ^ ^,^^^ is, the control takes effect via the trajectory progress control 23 and generates depending on ^ ^ a reduced trajectory progress parameter 0 ˂ ^ ^,^˂ 1, which results in the time progress during the processing of the sequence being slowed down by the reduced time parameter ^. If the deviation ^ ^ ≥ ^ ^,^ ! be, i.e. a maximum value for the deviation is reached or exceeded, the trajectory progress control 23 sets the time progress parameter ^ ^,^ = 0, which temporarily stops the execution of the sequence, for example. This is then carried out by the trajectory progress control 23, which continues to operate even when the sequence is stopped and continues to control the articulated mast 5 with a correction signal ^ ^ for the movement speed of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, a reduction of the deviation to a value ^ ^ < ^ ^,^ ! , the processing of the sequence can be continued. Alternatively, it may also be useful to use the "reset" function in the event of a deviation ^ ^ ≥ ^ ^,^ !also to stop the intervention of the trajectory progress control 23, as will be explained again later in the description of block 25. Then, from this point on, the articulated boom 5 could only be controlled manually. Figure 4 shows a variant or a further developed version of the control device 19, in which an operator can vary, preferably reduce, the speed of movement of the automatically moved articulated boom 5 via an input device 16, for example the joystick of a remote control. By moving the joystick 16, another trajectory progress parameter ^ ^,# which is derived directly from the joystick signal of the remote control 26 of the large manipulator 1. A fully positive deflection of the joystick corresponding to^ ^,#= 1 corresponds to the operator's desire to move the articulated mast 5as quickly as possible in the positive direction of the planned path. Accordingly, ^ ^,# =- 1 the desire for the fastest possible movement in the negative direction of the planned path and^ ^,# = 0 stops the movement of the articulated mast 5. The trajectory progress parameter^ ^,# wird im Example in multiplier 33 with the deviation ^ ^ derived trajectory progress parameters ^ ^,^ multiplied. From the trajectory progress parameter ^ resulting from the multiplication ^In block 22, the time parameter ^ for the temporal processing of the sequence in block 20 is determined and the execution speed of the sequence and thus the movement speeds of the drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d are varied accordingly. In addition to influencing the path progress, a stabilization of deviations in the movement ^^$^ of the articulated mast from the planned specification is realized. This serves to compensate for the previously described deviations in the actuators due to model inaccuracies, variations in the ambient conditions or wear. A possible implementation of this trajectory follower controller 23 is described below for the case that the specification purely refers to the angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support 3. Then the trajectory follower controller can be implemented in the form of a PID controller with the trajectory following error & ^ = ^ ^− ^ and its time derivative &^ ^ , as well as the positive definite weighting matrices % ^ , % ( , % ^ > 0. The total manipulated variable ^ is then divided by the sum of the feedforward control ^ ^ and the regulation ^ ^ given, that is, ^ = ^ ^ + ^ ^. Trajectory tracking control in the form of a PID controller represents only one control option. Other control strategies such as sliding mode control, state controller (LQR), and EA linearization are also possible. The PID controller specified here is characterized by its simple structure and easy parameterization without detailed system knowledge. In the event that the specification relates purely to the position of the mast tip 10, block 23 can, for example, be additionally equipped with a coordinate transformer, by which the coordinates of the mast tip 10 are converted into angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d of the articulated mast 5 and / or the rotation angle of the mast support 3. This allows the trajectory tracking error & ^ = ^ ^− ^ can be converted into deviations for the individual joint positions and / or slewing gear positions. These can then be corrected analogously to the above, for example, by PID controllers for the angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and / or the rotation angle of the mast support 3. The speed limitation of block 25 already mentioned above is briefly explained below. The trajectory tracking control of block 23 can, under certain circumstances, lead to significantly higher joint angular velocities that are no longer achievable by the drives 2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, or are so high that the speed of the articulated mast 5 exceeds a legally specified maximum speed. To circumvent this problem, the manipulated variable ^, which corresponds to the desired joint angular velocity, is limited as follows: Therein referred to - ^ , 6 = the 6th component of ^, 8 ^denotes the number of joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d of the articulated mast 5 and - / 01 is the speed limit. The speed limit - / 01 will be displayed depending on the user preferences in the form specified. Where ^ / 01 > 1 is a parameter that determines how much the planning speed may be exceeded. In the example presented here, this restriction ensures that when specifying ^ ^,# = 0, that means stop the processing of the sequence, also ^ ^ = < applies and thus also stops the movement of the kick mast 5. Due to this limitation, a suitable anti-windup measure should be provided for the trajectory follow-up control 23 if necessary. As explained above, the trajectory progress parameter ^ ^ = -1 (or ^ ^,#= -1) to a movement in the opposite direction at the planned (maximum) speed. A negative trajectory progress parameter 0 ˃ ^ ^ ≥ -1 can be used in particular for the folding process of the articulated mast 5. As mentioned in the introduction, the problem when calculating a sequence for the folding process of the articulated mast 5 is that it is particularly computationally intensive to calculate a trajectory for the articulated mast 5 towards a folded position of the articulated mast 5 in or in the immediate vicinity of the mast support 12, since the movement occurs in the direction of the obstacles to be avoided. Thanks to the negative trajectory progression parameter 0 ˃ ^ ^≥ -1, it is possible to calculate a trajectory for an unfolding process instead of the trajectory for a folding process and to use this trajectory for the folding process. Calculating the trajectory for an unfolding process is comparatively significantly less computationally intensive because, in the target position of the articulated mast 5 or the target position of the mast tip 10 at the end of the unfolding process, the articulated mast 5 is generally sufficiently far away from the obstacles to be considered, and the planned movement occurs away from the obstacles to be avoided.In addition, since the articulated mast 5 is generally sufficiently far away from the obstacles to be considered, the target position during the unfolding process does not need to be controlled or reached as precisely as the target position at the end of the folding process due to the generally given freedom of the articulated mast 5, during which the articulated mast 5 must be moved in the area of ​​the mast support 12, i.e., an obstacle that must be protected against collision when calculating the trajectory. With the trajectory progress parameter 0 ˃ ^. ^ ≥ -1, the trajectory or sequence actually determined for the unfolding process can be executed in reverse order, which leads to the folding of the articulated mast 5. As with the trajectory progress parameter 0 ˂ ^ ^ ≤ 1, it is now possible to use the trajectory progress parameter ^ ^between -1 and 0 to compensate for trajectory tracking errors. In particular, the trajectory progress parameter could be used automatically or by the operator via the joystick 16 to specifically reduce the mast speed towards the end of the folding process, in order to prevent the mast arms 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d from folding into their final position at the highest possible speed, which is undesirable due to the risk of self-collision. The calculation of the trajectory for the unfolding process, which is used for the folding process, is possible with relatively little computational effort, especially if the unfolding trajectory is carried out at regular intervals during the concreting process, in which the articulated mast 5 is manually controlled by an operator.This is due to the fact that the position of the mast tip 10 or the position of the articulated mast 5 generally changes only slightly between two trajectory calculations, so that the existing trajectory needs to be used as a basis for the subsequent trajectory calculation or only slightly modified, which significantly simplifies the trajectory calculation. For example, when folding and unfolding the articulated mast 5 or in other operating situations, the sequence can also be used to control only the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d or only some of these articulated joints, for example, the last three articulated joints 7b, 7c, 7d, and the mast support 3 is not controlled. This has the advantage that the articulated mast 5 is practically only moved or traversed automatically in one plane.This is significantly easier to handle, for example, with regard to taking collisions into account, because within this two-dimensional area in which the articulated mast 5 is then moved via the joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, the probability of collisions with obstacles unknown to the control device 19 is significantly lower. For a folding process, for example, this could occur in such a way that the articulated mast 5 is automatically folded from the unfolded position into a mast package by controlling only the articulated joints 7b, 7c, 7d and possibly the articulated joint 7a. This mast package can, for example, stand vertically on the mast support 3 at the end of the automatic folding process, and the operator manually controls the rotation of the mast support 3 and the angle of the first articulated joint 7a and places the folded mast package on the mast support 12.Conversely, the operator could first manually raise the folded mast assembly from the mast support 12 into an elevated or vertical position by controlling the first articulated joint 7a and align the mast support 3 so that the articulated mast 5 points in the direction of the desired working position. The control device 19 then takes over the unfolding process of the articulated mast via the joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d by executing the sequence explained above. Other divisions between manual and automatic operation are of course conceivable and possible. So far, the invention has been described essentially with reference to the folding and unfolding process for the articulated mast 5 of a large manipulator 1. The invention also offers considerable advantages, for example, when using a large manipulator 1 for filling the formwork of a building with fresh concrete or for 3D concrete printing of buildings, as shown for 3D concrete printing in Figure 5.The predetermined sequence of sequential positions of the mast tip 10 and / or angular positions of the articulated joints 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d from a starting position A to a target position B is used in 3D concrete printing to follow a predetermined path along which the concrete is discharged from a print head 27 mounted on the mast tip 10, for example, to build a concrete wall. For 3D concrete printing, a print head 27 with an outlet nozzle having a horizontal outlet opening is arranged on the mast tip 10 or on the last mast arm 6d, from which a concrete strand is discharged for the construction of a wall. The print head 27 is pivotally connected to the last mast arm 6d by means of an articulated drive in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 8e and rotatably connected to the last mast arm 6d by means of a rotary drive 17. A corresponding sensor system checks compliance with the rotation angle Ɵz or swivel angle Ɵy of the print head 27.The swivel drive 8e ensures that the pressure head 27, or rather its outlet nozzle, is always aligned horizontally, and the rotary drive 17 aligns the pressure head 27 toward the wall to be constructed. Other pressure head variants are conceivable, for example, with a round outlet nozzle from which the concrete is discharged vertically downwards. In this case, the rotary drive 17 would not be necessary. The control device 19 controls the swivel drive 8e and the rotary drive 17 of the pressure head 27, as well as the articulated drives 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d of the mast arms 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d and the rotary drive of the mast support 3. Varying the temporal processing of the sequence or trajectory during the movement of the articulated mast 5, which results in a change in the speed of the pressure head 27, should of course lead to the quantity of concrete delivered by the pressure head 27 being adapted to the changed speed of the articulated mast 5.This can, for example, be done automatically at the pressure head 27 by detecting the thickness of the applied concrete strip or by detecting the delivery rate of a concrete pump arranged in the pressure head 27, for example a screw pump. The concrete application of the pressure head 27 can be taken into account by the controller 19 in the form of operating status data. If, for example, the amount of concrete applied by the pressure head 27 does not correspond to the specified amount of concrete or, for example, the concrete consistency deviates from the planned consistency, which requires a change in the speed of the articulated boom movement, this can be adjusted by varying the execution speed of the sequence. A corresponding further trajectory progress parameter ktB for the concrete application could be taken into account by the control device 19 via the multiplier 33 of Figure 4 and incorporated into the control system.The path to be followed by the print head 27, which forms the basis for the sequence or trajectory in block 20 of Figures 3 and 4, can be specified, for example, by a building information model (BIM) or in another way. With the invention presented here, the specified path can be adhered to very precisely, and the speed of movement of the articulated boom 5 can be specifically adjusted by an operator observing the concreting process. The various parameters used to calculate the deviation ^. ^can also be prioritized or weighted if necessary. For example, a deviation at the first mast joint 7a or the angle of rotation of the mast stand 2 is more likely to lead to a variation in the processing sequence than with other joints. The invention presented here can of course also be used to move the articulated mast 5 from a first working position as the starting position to a second working position as the target position. The core of the invention is therefore a control strategy for the best possible following of the movement of the articulated mast 5 along a pre-planned path of a large manipulator 1 under the real conditions on the construction site. For this purpose, the operator's specifications as well as the limitations of the (non-ideal) actuators, i.e. the rotary drives 2, 17 and the articulated drives 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, are systematically taken into account.This ensures that the specified path is followed precisely, thus achieving the desired configuration without collisions with obstacles. The control strategy is very low in complexity and is therefore easily implemented on mobile computing hardware. Furthermore, the invention allows the operator to easily and intuitively influence the movement of the articulated mast 5. Finally, the invention does not require detailed mathematical models of the articulated mast 5 (especially the actuators) and can therefore be transferred to different designs with little effort. - List of reference symbols -.

[0002] List of reference symbols 1 Large manipulator / truck-mounted concrete pump 2 Rotary drive 3 Mast support 4 Frame 5 Articulated mast 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d First to fourth boom arm 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d First to fourth articulated joint Joint pressure head 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d First to fourth swivel drive 8e Swivel drive pressure head 10 Mast tip 11 Driver's cab Mast support 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d Supports 14 End hose 15 Delivery line 16 Input unit 17 Rotary drive pressure head 19 Control device 20 Optimal path / trajectory 21 Calculation of trajectory progress parameters ^ ^,^ 22 Calculation ^ 23 Trajectory follow-up control 25 Limitation of joint angular speeds 26 System including subordinate control of the actuators 27 Pressure head 28 Concrete pump 29 Filling hopper 30 Delivery line 31 Adder 32 Adder 33 Multiplier A Starting position B Target position φDW Rotation angle of mast stand φ1, φ2, φ3, φ4Swivel angle of the mast jointsƟy Swivel angle of pressure head Ɵz Rotation angle of pressure head Patent claims -

Claims

1. Large manipulator (1), in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump, with - a mast stand (3) which is rotatable about a vertical axis by means of a rotary drive (2) and which is arranged on a frame (4), - an articulated mast (5) with a mast tip (10) which comprises two or more mast arms (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d), wherein the mast arms (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) are pivotally connected via articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) to the respectively adjacent mast stand (3) or mast arm (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) by means of a respective pivot drive (8a, 8b, 8c, 8d), and - a control device (19) which controls the drives (2, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e), wherein the control device (19) is designed to move the articulated mast (5) from a starting position (A) to a target position (B) by executing a predetermined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e) and / or angles of rotation of the mast support (3) and / or positions of the mast tip (10) to be assumed one after the other,characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to vary the execution speed of the sequence during the movement of the articulated mast (5) between the starting position (A) and the target position (B).

2. Large manipulator (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to determine a difference (^, ^ ^^^ − ^) of actual values ​​(^^ of the angular positions of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e) and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support (3) and / or the position of the mast tip (10) from target values ​​specified by the sequence (^ ^ ^^^^ to determine and using the Difference (^ ^ ^^^ − ^) a correction signal (^ ^) for the movement speeds (^) of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) and / or of the mast support (3).

3. Large manipulator (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to determine a difference (^ ^ ^^^ − ^) of actual values ​​(^^ of the angular positions of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support (3) and / or the position of the mast tip (10) from target values ​​specified by the sequence (^ ^ ^^^^ and calculate a deviation (^ ^ = ‖ ^ ^ − ^ ‖ ^ and to determine the execution speed of the sequence depending on the determined deviation to vary, preferably in such a way that the execution speed increases with increasing deviation is reduced.

4. Large manipulator (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to reduce the execution speed only from a deviation which is above a predetermined first limit value (^ ^ ˃ ^ ^,^^^ ^ to reduce.

5. Large manipulator (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to stop the execution of the sequence in the event of a deviation (^) which is above a predetermined second limit value. ^ ˃ ^ ^,^^^^ to stop.

6. Large manipulator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to vary the execution speed of the sequence depending on operator specifications and / or operating status data of the large manipulator (1).

7. Large manipulator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (19) is configured to, in an unfolded position of the articulated mast (5), the sequence for the To determine the movement of the articulated mast (5) from a folded position as the starting position (A) to the unfolded position as the target position (B), and to fold the articulated mast (5) by executing the sequence in reverse order.

8. Large manipulator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control device (19) is further configured to regularly determine the sequence for the movement of the articulated mast (5) from a folded position as the starting position (A) to the unfolded position as the target position (B) in an unfolded position of the articulated mast (5). 9.Large manipulator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sequence is designed such that - the total time for transferring the articulated mast (5) from the starting position (A) to the target position (B) is minimal and / or - the total time for transferring the articulated mast (5) from the starting position (A) to the target position (B) does not exceed a predetermined maximum duration and / or - self-collisions of the large manipulator (1) are avoided and / or - collisions with objects in the vicinity of the large manipulator (1) are avoided. 10.Large manipulator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a mast sensor system is provided for detecting at least one angular position (φ1, φ2, φ3, φ4, φ5,) of at least one articulated joint (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e) and / or the angle of rotation (φDW) of the mast support and / or the position of the mast tip (10), wherein the control device (19) is designed to determine the position of the articulated mast (5) with regard to the angular positions of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d) and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support (3) and / or the position of the mast tip (10) based on the output signal of the mast sensor system.

11. Large manipulator (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the control device (9) is configured to determine the starting position (A) of the articulated mast (5) based on the output signal of the mast sensor system.

12. Large manipulator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the articulated mast (5) comprises a concrete pressure head (27) arranged at the mast tip (10), wherein the pressure head (27) is pivotally connected to the last mast arm (6d) by means of an articulated drive (8e) and / or rotatably connected to the last mast arm (6d) by means of a rotary drive (17), and the control device (19) is configured to move the articulated mast (5) with the concrete pressure head (27) by executing a predetermined sequence of angular positions of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d,7e) and / or angles of rotation of the mast support (3) and / or positions of the mast tip (10) and the pivoting and / or rotation angle of the concrete pressure head (27) from a starting position (A) to a target position (B).

13. Method for controlling the movement of an articulated mast (5) of a large manipulator (1), in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump, in particular according to one of the preceding claims, with a mast stand (3) which is rotatable about a vertical axis by means of a rotary drive (2) and which is arranged on a frame (4), an articulated mast (5) which comprises two or more mast arms (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d), wherein the mast arms (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) are pivotally connected via articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e) to the respectively adjacent mast stand (3) or mast arm (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) by means of a respective pivot drive (8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e), wherein the articulated mast (5) is pivotally moved by executing a predetermined sequence of angular positions of the Articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c,7d) and / or angles of rotation of the mast support (3) and / or positions of the mast tip (10) from a starting position (A) to a target position (B), characterized in that the execution speed of the sequence is varied during the movement between the starting position (A) and the target position (B).

14. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that when executing the sequence a deviation (^ ^ ^ of actual values ​​of the angular positions of the articulated joints (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e) and / or the angle of rotation of the mast support and / or the position of the mast tip (10) from target values ​​specified by the sequence and the execution speed is determined as a function of the determined deviation (^ ^ ^ is varied, preferably in such a way that the execution speed increases with increasing deviation (^ ^ ^ is reduced.

Images