Concrete pump and method for operating a concrete pump

Abstract

Proposed is a concrete pump system comprising a concrete pump (14, 51) and a master control module (45, 54), wherein the concrete pump (14, 51) comprises a control unit (61), a boom arm (18) and a delivery line (17) extending along the boom arm (18). An outlet opening (63) of the delivery line (17) can be moved over a working region of the concrete pump (14, 51). The position of the concrete pump (14, 51) is defined within a first coordinate system (52, 57). The location of a concreting area (36) is defined within a second coordinate system (53). The master control module (45, 54) is designed to specify a concreting plan to the control unit (61). The concreting plan (64) defines a plurality of partial areas (39) of the concreting area (36). The control unit (61) is designed to control the boom arm (18) on the basis of a referencing between the first coordinate system (52, 57) and the second coordinate system (53) such that liquid concrete emerging from the outlet opening (63) of the delivery line (17) is introduced into a partial area (39) of the concreting area (36), said partial area being specified by the concreting plan (64). The invention also relates to a method for operating a concrete pump system.

Description

Concrete pump and method for operating a concrete pump

[0001] The invention relates to a concrete pumping system and a method for operating a concrete pumping system.

[0002] Concrete pump systems are used to convey liquid concrete along a boom arm of the concrete pump so that the liquid concrete can be delivered to a desired location via a distal end of the boom arm. Until now, the delivery of liquid concrete has been a process which requires the coordinated cooperation of several people and which is largely subject to manual control. The boom arm is aligned relative to a base of the concrete pump using operating steps carried out by a concrete pump operator. The position of the boom arm relative to the base of the concrete pump determines the rough area within which the liquid concrete is discharged. The exact positioning of the outlet end of the delivery line is achieved by the operator manually moving a flexible end hose of the delivery line.

[0003] This process requires a well-coordinated cooperation of the people involved, which, among other things, requires that those involved are clear about the spatial sequence in which the liquid concrete is to be distributed over the field to be treated.

[0004] The invention is based on the object of presenting a concrete pumping system and a method for operating a concrete pumping system that are highly user-friendly and offer improved automation. This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are specified in the subclaims.

[0005] A concrete pump system according to the invention comprises a concrete pump and a master control module. The concrete pump comprises a control unit, a boom arm and a delivery line extending along the boom arm. An outlet opening of the delivery line can be moved over a working area of the concrete pump. The position of the concrete pump is defined within a first coordinate system, and the position of a concreting area is defined within a second coordinate system. The master control module is designed to specify a concreting plan to the control unit, the concreting plan defining a plurality of partial areas of the concreting area.The control unit is designed to control the boom arm based on a referencing between the first coordinate system and the second coordinate system in such a way that liquid concrete emerging from the outlet opening of the conveyor line is introduced into a part of the concreting area specified by the concreting plan.

[0006] In one embodiment, the master control module is designed to subdivide the concreting area into a plurality of sub-areas based on predefined parameter criteria. In one embodiment, a set of parameter criteria is stored in the master control module. The parameter criteria can include, for example, the size of the concreting area, i.e., the area to be concreted. Based on the size of the concreting area, the master control module can, for example, determine the number of sub-areas into which the concreting area is divided.

[0007] A further parameter criterion that can be used in addition or as an alternative to this can be a specification for the width of the partial areas. In particular, the subdivision can be made in such a way that the width of the individual partial areas is not greater than the range of the concrete accessible with smoothing tools. The range accessible with smoothing tools can be stored as a parameter criterion in the master control module. The master control module can be designed to determine the width of the partial area depending on whether a partial area is accessible from two sides or from only one side.

[0008] The master control module can be designed to divide the area to be concreted into rectangular sub-areas. Alternative shapes for the sub-area are also possible, such as a trapezoidal shape or a parallelogram shape. The liquid concrete can be applied particularly effectively to rectangular, trapezoidal or parallelogram-shaped sub-areas by moving the end hose of the concrete pump along a uniformly meandering path. Other trajectory shapes are also possible, such as spiral trajectories, sinusoidal meanders and the like. Depending on the outline of the area to be concreted, it is not always possible to divide the area to be concreted completely into rectangular areas. It is advantageous if at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 80% of the area to be concreted is covered with rectangular, trapezoidal or parallelogram-shaped sub-areas.The width of these partial areas may be determined in such a way that the width of the narrowest partial area is not more than 50% smaller, preferably not more than 30% smaller, furthermore preferably not more than 20% smaller than the width of the widest partial area.

[0009] The outline of the concreting area includes an outer outline that encloses the entire area to be concreted. The outline of the concreting area may also include one or more inner outlines that enclose areas within the outer outline that are not to be concreted. The master control module may be designed to A concreting area that includes one or more interior contours is to be divided into sub-areas. These aspects of the concreting area can be represented in the digital model of the concreting area. The digital model can also include obstacles that are adjacent to the area to be concreted. Such obstacles can include trees or cranes on a construction site, for example. The obstacles can also include building components such as an elevator shaft or a column. Such obstacles can define boundary conditions that the master control module takes into account when creating a concreting plan.

[0010] The concreting plan can be used to specify a processing sequence for the sub-areas. The master control module can be designed to establish a processing sequence for the sub-areas. The processing sequence determines the order in which liquid concrete is poured into the sub-areas. One parameter criterion for determining the sequence can be that the distance the boom arm has to be moved between the various sub-areas is as short as possible. Another additional or alternatively applicable parameter criterion can be that the time interval between adjacent sub-areas is minimized.

[0011] In one embodiment of the invention, the concreting plan specifies a subdivision of the concreting area into sub-areas and a processing sequence for the sub-areas. Additionally or alternatively, the concreting plan can specify a trajectory for one or more of the sub-areas for the introduction of the liquid concrete into the sub-area. The trajectory can be used to specify a discharge path along which the discharge opening of the conveying line above a sub-area is to be moved in order to discharge liquid concrete. into the partial area. The trajectory can comprise a meandering section. The meandering section can extend over at least 60%, preferably over at least 80%, more preferably over at least 90% of the length of the trajectory. Mutually parallel regions of the meandering section can extend in the width direction of the partial area. The length direction of the partial area can be covered by a plurality of parallel regions. The master control module can be designed to define such trajectories for one or more partial areas on the basis of predetermined parameter criteria. The control unit of the concrete pump can be designed to control the boom arm such that the outlet end of the delivery line moves along a trajectory predetermined by the concreting plan. The boom arm can be controlled such that the outlet end moves along the trajectory without corrective manual intervention.

[0012] The trajectory with which liquid concrete is introduced into a partial area can comprise a plurality of parallel sections which extend in the width dimension of the partial area. The length of the partial area can be covered with a plurality of parallel sections. The transition from one parallel section to the next can take place via an arc-shaped connecting section or via straight connecting sections, so that the parallel sections together with the connecting sections form a meandering trajectory. The master control module can be designed to determine the distance between the parallel sections. The master control module can make the distance dependent on the slump of the liquid concrete, i.e. the width over which the liquid concrete emerging from the end hose spreads.For this purpose, information about the slump of the liquid concrete can be fed to the master control module as an input variable. unit can process the slump to determine the distance between parallel sections of the meandering trajectory.

[0013] In order to be able to create a concreting plan which includes a subdivision of the concreting area into sub-areas, a processing sequence for the sub-areas and / or one or more trajectories for the sub-areas, the master control module can process a digital model of the concreting area. The digital model can have been created in advance and made available to the master control module via an input interface. It is also possible for the digital model to be determined as a step within the method according to the invention. For this purpose, the concrete pump system can comprise one or more sensors which are designed to determine the spatial position of the area to be concreted. The sensors can be lidar sensors, for example. The sensors can be attached to the concrete pump, for example to the boom arm of the concrete pump.It is also possible that the sensors are attached to a separate component of the concrete pumping system, for example a drone.

[0014] The digital model can include information on the spatial position of the concreting area, information on obstacles within the concreting area or in the vicinity of the concreting area and / or information on connecting reinforcements within the area to be concreted. The information on the spatial position of the concreting area can be provided in a first three-dimensional format. The information on obstacles can be provided in a second three-dimensional format. The information on connecting reinforcements can be provided in a third three-dimensional format. Alternatively, it is also possible for the information to be presented within a uniform format , which is preferably also three-dimensional. It is also possible for the model of the concrete surface to be available as a BIM (Building Information Modeling) model, as a manually parameterized model, or as a camera-based model.

[0015] The master control module can be designed to determine the concreting plan by means of an optimization process. The parameter criteria to be considered when determining the concreting plan can be used in the optimization process as quality criteria to which the optimization refers. The master control module can include an output interface via which a concreting plan created in the master control module can be transmitted to the control unit of the concrete pump.

[0016] The master control module can process the digital model and other parameter criteria to subdivide the concreting area into several sub-areas. The master control module can process the digital model and other parameter criteria to determine the processing sequence in which the liquid concrete is poured into the sub-areas. The processing sequence can be determined using an optimization process in which, for example, the time required to concrete several sub-areas or the total length of the trajectories across several sub-areas is used as an optimization criterion. A further criterion can be to minimize the time interval between concreting adjacent sub-areas. This condition can preferably be met for any combination of preceding and subsequent sub-areas.Additional constraints can be taken into account, such as the requirement that the boom arm not collide with an obstacle. The master control module can process the digital model and additional parameter criteria to define a trajectory for one or more or each sub-area. along which the outlet end of the conveyor line is guided in order to introduce liquid concrete into the partial area to be concreted. The master control module can process the digital model and further parameter criteria in order to define a starting point at which the trajectory begins and / or an end point at which the trajectory ends for one partial area, for several partial areas or for each of the partial areas. In each of these steps the master control module can process one or more further parameter criteria / or boundary conditions as explained. A boundary condition is a condition that must be strictly adhered to.

[0017] The spatial position of the concreting surface can be determined, for example, by measuring the distance between sensors and the concreting surface. The distance measurements are used to define the position of the concreting surface within a coordinate system that depends on the spatial position of the sensors. This coordinate system is referred to as the second coordinate system in the sense of the invention. The first coordinate system is the coordinate system of the concrete pump. By referencing the first coordinate system with the second coordinate system, a relationship is established between the coordinate systems, so that points defined within the second coordinate system also have known coordinates in the first coordinate system. The relationship can be represented, for example, in the form of a transformation matrix.Referencing makes it possible, for example, for the control unit to control the boom arm of the concrete pump in such a way that the outlet opening of the delivery line has a specific position above the concreting surface or that the outlet opening is guided along a predetermined trajectory over the concreting surface.

[0018] The referencing of the first coordinate system with the second coordinate system can be done by at least three different points, whose coordinates within the second coordinate system are known, coordinates within the first coordinate system are determined. Using three points, the relative position of two coordinate systems can be uniquely identified, making it possible to assign coordinates in the first coordinate system to each point in the second coordinate system. If referencing occurs between the first coordinate system and the second coordinate system, the transition between the coordinates of the two coordinate systems can be represented with a transformation matrix.

[0019] In one embodiment, the position of three points is determined by moving a component whose position in the first coordinate system is known to three positions whose position is known in the second coordinate system. For example, the position of the boom tip in the coordinate system of the concrete pump is defined if it is known which angle the slewing gear assumes, at which the boom arm is mounted on the frame of the concrete pump, and which joint angles the mast joints have between the boom arm segments and between the proximal boom arm segment and the slewing gear. All of this information is available in the control unit of the concrete pump. In more general terms, the first coordinate system can be referenced to the second coordinate system by scanning at least three positions whose coordinates are known in the second coordinate system with the boom arm.The corresponding control of the concrete pump can be carried out under manual control of an operator.

[0020] If the boom arm is controlled with the control unit of the concrete pump in such a way that the boom arm tip is moved to a known position of the second coordinate system, Using the known parameters of the mast arm and forward kinematics (forward transformation of the mast), coordinates of the first coordinate system are assigned to this position. The known position can, for example, be a corner of the concreting area. This process can be performed for three known positions of the second coordinate system, for example, for three corners of the concreting area, in order to reference the first coordinate system with the second coordinate system.

[0021] Alternatively, it is also possible, starting from a position whose coordinates are known in the first coordinate system, to measure the position of three points known in the second coordinate system. A sensor for measuring distance and angle could be attached to a component of the concrete pump, for example on the boom arm, in particular on the boom arm tip. In one embodiment, the sensor is a lidar sensor. If the position and orientation of the sensor in the first coordinate system are known and the sensor measures the position of three points within the second coordinate system, sufficient information is available to reference the first coordinate system with the second coordinate system. In one embodiment, the sensor scans the concreting surface in order to determine a second digital model of the concreting surface.Using known optimization methods, the second digital model can be superimposed on the existing first digital model to reference the first and second coordinate systems. Position determination using other systems, such as GNSS, radar, or UWB, is also possible.

[0022] The concrete pumping system may include a first concrete pump and a second concrete pump. The second concrete pump may have features, individually or in combination, that, in conjunction in connection with the first concrete pump. The concrete pump system can be designed so that a concreting area is concreted by the first concrete pump and the second concrete pump together. Liquid concrete can be introduced into the concreting area simultaneously by the first concrete pump and the second concrete pump. Using the concreting plan, a first set of partial areas of the concreting area can be assigned to the first concrete pump for processing. Using the concreting plan, a second set of partial areas of the concreting area can be assigned to the second concrete pump for processing. The first set of partial areas and the second set of partial areas can together make up the entire concreting area. The concrete pump system can comprise more than two concrete pumps, with each concrete pump being assigned a set of partial areas of the concreting area. Individual or all of the concrete pumps in the concrete pump system can be designed as concrete pump vehicles.

[0023] The first concrete pump can comprise the master control module. In one embodiment, the first concrete pump is operated in a master-slave configuration with the second concrete pump, wherein the first concrete pump is configured as the master concrete pump and the second concrete pump is configured as the slave concrete pump. Via a communication connection, which can be configured, for example, as a radio connection or a wired connection, the master control module of the first concrete pump can specify the set of sub-areas of the concreting area to be processed, the processing sequence, and / or trajectories for the sub-areas to the control unit of the second concrete pump.

[0024] It is also possible for the concrete pumps of the concrete pumping system to operate side by side under the control of a higher-level master control module.

[0025] If several concrete pumps of a concrete pumping system are used simultaneously on a concreting area, it is It is advantageous if the concrete pumps are informed of each other's location. This allows for better coordination of processes and avoids collisions between the boom arms. There are various ways to determine the relative positions of two concrete pumps.

[0026] In one embodiment, the first concrete pump references its concrete pump coordinate system with the coordinate system of the concreting area, and the second concrete pump references its concrete pump coordinate system with the coordinate system of the concreting area. The positions of the two concrete pumps relative to one another are then known via the coordinate system of the concreting area. By transforming their own coordinate system via the coordinate system of the concreting area to the other coordinate system, the position of the other concrete pump can be transferred to their own coordinate system. All that is required is that each concrete pump informs the other concrete pumps of its own position relative to the concreting area. Each control unit can then carry out the transformation of the coordinates automatically.

[0027] If the concrete pumping system comprises one or more concrete pumps that do not know their own position relative to the concreting area, their positions relative to one another can also be determined directly. For this purpose, the concrete pumps of the concrete pumping system can be equipped with a sensor system that enables mutual location of the concrete pumps. For example, mutual distances can be determined using the time-of-flight method, or localization can be carried out using TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival). Suitable transmission methods can include UWB (Ultra-Wideband), infrared, WLAN / 5G, or Bluetooth.

[0028] For the accuracy of relative position determination, it can be advantageous if one or more concrete pumps in the concrete pump system are equipped with position sensors mounted on the boom arm of the concrete pump. Position sensors on the boom arm can be provided in addition to or as an alternative to position sensors on a base of the concrete pump. Using position measurements on the extended boom arm can achieve greater accuracy than if position sensors are provided exclusively on the base of the concrete pump.

[0029] Another possibility for determining relative positions could be for several concrete pumps to each know their position within a third coordinate system, such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). By comparing the coordinates within such a system, the relative position can also be easily determined.

[0030] If a first concrete pump, in particular a master concrete pump, knows its position relative to the concreting area as well as its position relative to a second concrete pump, in particular a slave concrete pump, the first concrete pump can send instructions to the second concrete pump regarding the areas of the concreting area into which liquid concrete should be poured. This is possible without the second concrete pump directly knowing its position relative to the concreting area.

[0031] The distance between two concrete pumps deployed on a concreting site is often so small that the working areas of the boom arms overlap. There is a risk that the boom arms will collide with each other. If the relative positions of the two concrete pumps are known, steps can be taken to prevent such a collision. avoid . For example, the concreting plan may specify a danger zone within which there is a risk of collision . As long as the danger zone is not touched, the boom arm of a concrete pump can be moved freely . Before it enters the danger zone, coordination can be carried out with the other concrete pump . In a simple version, coordination is carried out in such a way that the boom arm of one concrete pump is only allowed to enter the danger zone if, at the relevant time, the boom arm of the other concrete pump or the boom arms of all other concrete pumps are outside the danger zone . In other embodiments, it may be permitted for the boom arms of several concrete pumps to move within the danger zone at the same time . A collision can still be avoided by continuously coordinating the boom arm positions between the concrete pumps. For this purpose, each concrete pump can send information about the current position of its boom arm to the other concrete pump. In addition, information about the current direction and speed of a boom arm movement can be transmitted. Additionally or alternatively, information about the intended trajectory of the boom arm movement can be transmitted. By taking this information into account, a collision between the boom arms can be avoided even if multiple boom arms are located within the danger zone.

[0032] For a coordinated approach of the two concrete pumps, a specification can be transmitted as to the times at which the first concrete pump and / or the second concrete pump should carry out certain steps. This can, for example, be a specification that liquid concrete should be poured into a certain part of the area at a certain time and / or which delivery rate should be applied in a certain period of time. The times can be set so that one of the second concrete pumps assigned second partial area adjoins a first partial area assigned to the first concrete pump, wherein liquid concrete is introduced into the first partial area before the second partial area and wherein the time interval between the introduction into the first partial area and the introduction into the second partial area is so small that the time interval in which adjoining partial areas are concreted is minimized.

[0033] If the concrete pump system is operated with a master control module that is higher level than the concrete pumps, in a master-slave network, or with a number of concrete pumps that are not in a hierarchical relationship, then the creation of the concreting plan can comprise one or more of the following steps individually or in combination. The concreting area can be divided into a number of sub-areas. The planning can include assigning sub-areas to the concrete pumps in the concrete pump system. The assignment can be made in such a way that each sub-area of the concreting area is assigned to a concrete pump in the concrete pump system. Each concrete pump can be given a processing sequence in which the sub-areas assigned to it are concreted. A starting point at which the pouring of the liquid concrete begins can be specified for selected sub-areas or all sub-areas.A trajectory can be specified for selected areas or all areas along which the boom arm is guided to distribute the liquid concrete. A time can be specified at which the trajectory begins. A path speed can be specified at which the trajectory is traveled.

[0034] The allocation of the subareas to the concrete pumps can be carried out in the form of an optimization process. The quality criterion of the optimization can, for example, be that the distance between the base of the concrete pump and the assigned partial area should be as small as possible. If this quality criterion is applied to all partial areas, then all concrete pumps serve the partial areas that are not a great distance from the base of the concrete pump. In an alternative optimization process, the distance between the concrete pump and the partial area is used only as a boundary condition in such a way that no concrete pump is assigned a partial area that is outside the reach of the concrete pump. The quality criterion of the optimization can be that the time interval in which adjacent partial areas are concreted should be small. This has the advantage that the transition between neighboring partial areas can be formed before the concrete has hardened in one of the partial areas.This quality criterion can also be applied when determining the order in which the sub-areas are to be concreted, when determining the starting points at which the liquid concrete is to be poured within the individual sub-areas and / or when determining the delivery rate. Other additional or alternatively applicable quality criteria for optimization can be the distances to be covered by the concreting personnel or the energy efficiency of the boom arm positions involved. The implementation of the aforementioned steps and the determination of the concreting plan can each be carried out in a master control module that is higher than the concrete pumps and then transmitted to the concrete pumps involved. It is also possible for the master control module to be a component of a concrete pump and for this concrete pump to act as the master concrete pump for one or more slave concrete pumps.

[0035] Within the framework of central control, an adaptive approach can be provided, which provides the possibility of updating an initially created concreting plan based on newly acquired information. The master The control module can be designed to process current information received and check whether the existing concreting plan is still optimal. If this is not the case, a new concreting plan can be created for the remaining period of the concreting process and sent to the concrete pumps involved. The current information received can be internal or external information. Information that is generated within the concrete pump system is referred to as internal, while external information is generated outside the concrete pump system and fed to the concrete pump system via an interface. An example of internal information is that a concrete pump involved fails during the concreting process. In such a situation, the completion of a section that has already been started with the failed concrete pump could be transferred to another concrete pump.The order in which the remaining sections are concreted using the remaining concrete pumps could also be adjusted. An example of external information is that a crane used on the construction site has broken down and is stuck in a position that is hindering the planned concreting process. This could, for example, mean that a section that was previously assigned to a first concrete pump is now only accessible to a second concrete pump. In such a situation, the concreting plan could be adjusted and responsibility for the section could be transferred from the first concrete pump to the second concrete pump. In another example, the external information could relate to the availability of a concrete mixer.

[0036] The invention also relates to a method for operating a concrete pumping system, in which the concrete pumping system comprises a concrete pump and a master control module. The concrete pump comprises a control unit, a boom arm and a delivery line extending along the boom arm. The position of the concrete pump is defined within a first coordinate system. The location of a concreting area is defined within a second coordinate system. The master control module provides the control unit with a concreting plan, wherein the concreting plan defines a plurality of partial areas of the concreting area and a processing sequence for the partial areas. The control unit controls the boom arm on the basis of a referencing between the first coordinate system and the second coordinate system in such a way that liquid concrete emerging from the outlet opening of the delivery line is introduced into a partial area of the concreting area specified by the concreting plan.

[0037] The disclosure includes further developments of the method, which are described in connection with the concrete pumping system according to the invention. The disclosure includes further developments of the concrete pumping system, which are described in connection with the method according to the invention.

[0038] The invention is described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings using advantageous embodiments. They show: Fig. 1: a concrete pump vehicle with a boom arm in the folded state; Fig. 2: the concrete pump vehicle from Fig. 1 with the boom arm unfolded; Fig. 3: a schematic view from above of a concrete pump vehicle according to the invention; Fig. 4: the view according to Fig. 3 in a different state of the concrete pump vehicle; Fig. 5: a top view of a concreting surface; Fig. 6: the concreting area according to Fig. 5 divided into sub-areas; Fig. 7: a block diagram of a master control module of a concrete pumping system according to the invention. Fig. 8: a block diagram of a method according to the invention; Fig. 9: a concrete pump system according to the invention with a Concrete pump vehicle; Fig. 10: a concrete pump system according to the invention with two Concrete pump vehicles; Fig. 11: a block diagram of a method according to the invention; Fig. 12-14: the view according to Fig. 10 in an alternative embodiment of the invention; Fig. 15: the view according to Fig. 9 in an alternative Embodiment of the invention.

[0039] A concrete pump vehicle 14 shown in Fig. 1 is equipped with a feed pump 15 that feeds liquid concrete from a pre-filling tank 16 through a feed line 17. The feed line 17 extends along a boom arm 18, which is rotatably mounted on a slewing ring 19. The boom arm 18 comprises three boom arm segments 20, 21, 22 that are pivotally connected to one another. By pivoting the boom arm segments 20, 21, 22 relative to one another via the joints, the boom arm 18 can be moved between a folded state (Fig. 1) and an unfolded state (Fig. 2). Delivery line 17 extends downwards in the form of an end hose 62 from the distal end 60 of the third boom arm segment 22, so that liquid concrete emerging from an outlet opening 63 of the end hose 62 can be applied in an area remote from the delivery pump 15.

[0040] In order to ensure that the concrete pump vehicle has a stable stand even when the boom arm 18 is unfolded, support legs 31 are provided which can be pivoted between a retracted state (Fig. 3) and an extended state (Fig. 4). The support legs 31 each have a support cylinder 35 at their distal ends, which can be extended vertically downward until a foot attached to the support cylinder 35 touches the ground. By further extending the support cylinder 35, the concrete pump vehicle 14 can be raised so that it rests solely on the feet of the support cylinder 35.

[0041] The concrete pump vehicle 14 comprises a control unit 61, via which various components of the concrete pump vehicle 14 are controlled. For example, the boom arm 18 can be controlled to trigger folding movements between the boom arm segments 20, 21, 22 or to rotate the boom arm 18 about the slewing ring 19. The feed pump 15 can be controlled to switch the feed pump 15 on or off or to adjust the amount of liquid concrete pumped. A pivoting movement or telescopic movement of the support legs 31 can be triggered. The pivoting legs can be controlled individually or in groups. There are other functions of the concrete pump vehicle 14 that can also be controlled via the control unit 61. The control unit 61 is designed to receive a concreting plan 64 from a higher-level master control module 45 and to control the components of the concrete pump vehicle 14 according to the specified concreting plan. plan 64. Manual intervention is not required while the control unit 61 executes the concreting plan 64.

[0042] Fig. 5 shows a concreting area 36, i.e., an area prepared for the pouring of liquid concrete. The concreting area 36 has a rectangular outer contour 37 and two inner contours 38, which delimit those areas within the outer contour 37 into which no concrete is to be poured.

[0043] There is a digital model 44 of the concreting area 36, which was created, for example, as part of prior planning or a previously carried out survey of the area. The digital model 44 is made available to a master control module 45 of the concrete pump system via an input interface 48, see Fig. 7. The master control module 45 comprises a computing module 47 and a storage module 46. Several parameter criteria relating to a concreting process are stored in the storage module 46. The parameter criteria include data on the concrete pump used for concreting, such as the reach of the boom arm, the delivery rate of the concrete pump, the slump of the liquid concrete, data on the reach and / or the width of the smoothing tools used by the concreting personnel and comparable data.The calculation module 47 accesses the data of the digital model 44 and the parameter criteria stored in the storage module 46 in order to subdivide the concreting area 36 into a plurality of partial areas 39, see Fig. 6.

[0044] Each partial area 39 has a length 40 and a width 41. The width 41 of each partial area 39 is dimensioned such that a concreting crew standing to the side of the partial area 39 has the opportunity to smooth the poured liquid concrete over the entire width 41 of the partial area 39. When determining the subdivision, the calculation module 47 also takes into account that the sub-areas 39 should have the simplest possible geometric shape, that the number of sub-areas 39 should be kept as low as possible, and that comparable targets are met. These targets are considered as quality criteria within the framework of an optimization process.

[0045] After determining the partial areas 39, the calculation module 47 determines an order in which the partial areas 39 are to be processed, i.e. in which liquid concrete is to be introduced into the partial areas, in a further optimization process. Quality criteria for the optimization process can be, for example, that the time required for the concreting process is as short as possible, that the transfer distances when changing from one partial area 39 to the next partial area 39 remain short and / or that the concreting personnel have short routes to travel. The storage module 46 can be used to make the calculation module 47 available with the information required to apply these quality criteria. Within the same optimization process, start points 49 and end points 50 can be defined at which the concreting process begins or ends within a partial area 39.

[0046] Subsequently, the calculation module 47 can define a trajectory 42 for each of the partial areas 39, along which the outlet opening of the concrete pump is guided over the partial area 39 in order to introduce the liquid concrete into the partial area 39. When defining the trajectory 42, the slump of the liquid concrete can be taken into account in particular. Information about the slump of the liquid concrete can be made available to the calculation module 47 from the storage module 46. In the example in Fig. 6, a meandering trajectory 42 results, the parallel sections of which are aligned parallel to the width dimension 41 of the partial area 39. The Trajectory 42 extends from a starting point 49 to an end point 50. The distance between the parallel sections can be selected to suit the slump of the liquid concrete.

[0047] As a result of these steps, a concreting plan 64 is available to the control unit 45, which includes the subdivision of the concreting area 36 into sub-areas 39, the processing sequence of the sub-areas 39, and, for each sub-area 39, the trajectory 42 for pouring the liquid concrete. The concreting plan 64 can be transmitted to the control unit 61 of the concrete pump vehicle via an output interface 65 of the master control module 45. Based on the concreting plan 64, the components of a concrete pump can be controlled such that the distal end 60 of the boom arm 18 is guided along the predetermined trajectories 42 over the sub-areas 39 and that the appropriate amount of liquid concrete is poured in each case.

[0048] The steps of the method are shown in a block diagram in Fig. 8. In step 110, the previously determined digital model 44, which represents the concreting surface 36, is fed to the master control module 45. In step 120, the master control module 45 subdivides the concreting surface 36 into a plurality of sub-surfaces 39. In step 130, the master control module 45 determines the order in which the sub-surfaces 39 are to be concreted. Step 130 comprises the definition of a starting point 49 and an end point 50 for each of the sub-surfaces 39, at which concreting begins and at which concreting ends. In step 140, a trajectory 42 is defined for one of the sub-surfaces 39. In step 150, a query is made as to whether a trajectory 42 exists for each of the sub-surfaces 39. If this is not the case, step 130 is repeated for the next sub-area 39 If this is the case, the finished concreting plan 64 is transmitted to the control unit 61 of the concrete pump 14 in step 160. This is used to introduce liquid concrete into the partial areas 39 of the concreting area 36 in the specified sequence.

[0049] Fig. 9 refers to an embodiment in which the master control module 45 is a component of the concrete pump vehicle 14. In step 170, the first coordinate system 52 of the concrete pump vehicle 14 is referenced to the second coordinate system 53 of the concreting area 36. As a result of the referencing of the coordinate systems 52, 53, the control unit 61 can specify coordinates within its own coordinate system 52 which correspond to defined positions in relation to the concreting area 36. The control unit 61 can send control commands to various components of the concrete pump vehicle 14 in order to control them in a suitable manner so that liquid concrete is introduced into the concreting area 36 in accordance with the concreting plan 64.The controlled components include the slewing ring 19, with which the boom arm 18 is oriented in a specific direction, the joints between the boom arm segments 20, 21, 22, with which the distance between the distal end 60 of the boom arm 18 and the base of the concrete pump vehicle 14 is adjusted in two dimensions, and the feed pump 15, in order to adjust the quantity of liquid concrete pumped. Once the trajectory 42 of a partial area 39 has been traversed and the concreting process for this partial area 39 is thus completed, the feed pump 15 is switched off, the distal end 60 of the boom arm 18 is moved from the end point 50 of this partial area 39 to the starting point 49 of the subsequent partial area 39, so that concreting of the subsequent partial area 39 can continue. If the end point 50 and the starting point 49 of the two partial areas are adjacent to each other, the feed pump 15 can remain in continuous operation and the trajectories can follow one another without interruption.

[0050] Fig. 10 shows a concrete pump system with a first concrete pump and a second concrete pump. The first concrete pump is part of a first concrete pump vehicle 14, the second concrete pump is part of a second concrete pump vehicle 51. The concrete pump system comprises a central master control module 54 which is superior to the first concrete pump vehicle 14 and the second concrete pump vehicle 51. The already available digital model 44 of the concreting area 36 is fed to the master control module 54 so that the master control module 54 can divide the concreting area 36 into partial areas 39 and can determine an order in which the partial areas 39 are to be processed. The master control module 54 has the information that two concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 are available for the concreting area 36. This information is already taken into account when dividing the concrete area 36 into sub-areas 39.A first set 55 and a second set 56 of partial areas 39 are defined. The first set 55 of partial areas 39 is assigned to the first concrete pump vehicle 14. The second set 56 of partial areas 39 is assigned to the second concrete pump vehicle 51. In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 10, the division has been carried out in such a way that the master control module 54 has checked for each partial area 39 whether the distance to the intended location of the first concrete pump vehicle 14 or the distance to the intended location of the second concrete pump vehicle 51 is smaller. In this way, each partial area 39 is assigned to the nearest concrete pump vehicle 14, 51.

[0051] When determining the processing sequence of the partial surfaces 39, first a sequence within the first set 55 of partial surfaces 39 is determined and then a sequence within the second set 56 of partial surfaces 39. In the subsequent definition of the trajectories 52 and the associated starting points 49 and end points 50, the information as to which concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 the respective partial area 39 was assigned is also included.

[0052] The method begins according to Fig. 11 in step 210 by feeding the digital model 44 of the concreting surface 36 to the master control module 54. In step 220, a check is made to determine which concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 the current partial surface 39 is closer to, and the partial surface 39 is assigned accordingly to the first set 55 or the second set 56. This step is repeated after query 230 until all partial surfaces 39 have been assigned. In step 240, a processing sequence is then defined for the first set 55 of partial surfaces 39. This step is repeated after a query in step 250 until a processing sequence is defined for each set 55, 56. In step 260, a trajectory 42 is defined for each partial surface 39 of the first set 55, along which trajectory the liquid concrete is poured. This step is repeated after a query in step 270 until the required trajectories 42 are determined for all sets 55, 56.

[0053] If the complete concreting plan 64 is available after completion of the loop in step 270, each of the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 is transmitted its share of the concreting plan 64 in step 280. Furthermore, each of the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 is transmitted a rough position that the concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 is to assume in the vicinity of the concreting area 36. Each concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 that has taken up a position near the concreting area 36 reports its exact position and orientation, which may have been determined, for example, via a GPS module, to the central master control module 54 in step 290. In addition to the coordinates system 53, which was already known to the central master control module 54, the central master control module 54 thus also knows the coordinate system 52 of the first concrete pump vehicle 14 and the coordinate system 57 of the second concrete pump vehicle 51. In step 300, the central master control module 54 can reference the coordinate systems 52, 57 of the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 with the coordinate system 53 of the concreting area 36. In step 310, a transformation matrix is transmitted to each of the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51, so that the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 are enabled to specifically control positions within the coordinate system 53 of the concreting area 36. In step 320, concrete is poured into the concreting area 36 according to the concreting plan 64.

[0054] Fig. 12 shows an embodiment in which the first concrete pump vehicle 14 is used as the master concrete pump and the second concrete pump vehicle 51 as the slave concrete pump. The first concrete pump vehicle 14 comprises a master control module 45 in which the calculation steps for subdividing the concreting area 36 into sub-areas 39, for determining the order of the sub-areas 39 and for determining the trajectories 42 within the sub-areas 39 are carried out. The master control module 45 references its own coordinate system 52 with the coordinate system 53 within which the digital model 44 maps the concreting area 36. The master control module 45 receives information from the second concrete pump vehicle 51 about its coordinate system 57 relative to the coordinate system 52 of the first concrete pump vehicle 14.Based on this information, the first concrete pump vehicle 14 can establish a reference between the coordinate system 57 of the second concrete pump vehicle 51 and the coordinate system 53 of the concreting area 36. After the concreting plan 64 has been created, the part of the concreting plan 64 relating to the second concrete pump vehicle 51 is displayed. the second concrete pump vehicle 51. Likewise, the transformation matrix resulting from the referencing is transmitted to the second concrete pump vehicle 51, based on which the second concrete pump vehicle 51 can transfer positions from the coordinate system 53 of the concreting area 36 into its coordinate system 57. The concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 can travel the trajectories 42 specified by the concreting plan 64 over the partial areas 39 without manual intervention being necessary. The contribution of the concreting personnel can be limited to shaping and smoothing the surface of the applied liquid concrete.

[0055] In this exemplary embodiment, the set 55 of partial areas 39 assigned to the first concrete pump vehicle 14 comprises those partial areas 39 which are closer to the second concrete pump vehicle 51 than to the first concrete pump vehicle 14. A further quality criterion was incorporated into the optimization process for assigning the partial areas 39 to the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51, according to which the time interval between adjacent partial areas 39 is to be concreted should be as short as possible. This has the advantage of avoiding a situation in which the liquid concrete is introduced into a partial area 39 at a time when the concrete in an adjacent area has already completely hardened. In Fig. 12, the optimization process thus leads to an assignment and a sequence in which the first set 55 and the second set 56 of partial areas 39 are processed essentially parallel to one another from left to right.

[0056] In Fig. 13, the concreting area 36 includes a danger zone 58, which is within the reach of both the boom arm 18 of the first concrete pump vehicle 14 and within the reach of the boom arm 18 of the second concrete pump vehicle 51. When creating the concreting plan 64, the master control module 45 uses the known data and positions of the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 to determine the danger zone 58 and communicates this to the second concrete pump vehicle 51. Outside the danger zone 58, the concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 can move their boom arms 18 freely. Before entering the danger zone 58, a comparison is made with the other concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 and the current position of its boom arm 18. If the boom arm 18 of the other concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 is outside the danger zone 58, the danger zone 58 can be entered without restrictions. If both boom arms 18 are within the danger zone 18 at the same time, the positions and directions of movement are continuously compared in order to avoid a collision.

[0057] 14, the two concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 are equipped with a sensor system 59. The sensors of the sensor system 59 are designed to determine the distance and direction to other sensors of the sensor system 59. Each concrete pump vehicle 14, 51 comprises two sensors which are arranged on the base of the concrete pump vehicle 14, 51, and one sensor which is arranged at the distal end 60 of the boom arm. Based on the directions and distances determined with the sensor system 59, the coordinate systems 52, 57 of the two concrete pump vehicles 14, 51 can be referenced to one another. The sensors arranged on the boom arms 18 result in increased accuracy due to the greater distances between the sensors of a concrete pump vehicle 14, 51.A collision of the mast arms 18 can be prevented by continuous distance measurements between the two sensors attached to the mast arms 18.

[0058] In Fig. 15, an embodiment is shown in which the master control module 45 of the first concrete pump vehicle 14 has defined the concreting plan 64. Before the concreting surface 36 can be processed according to the concreting plan 64, the coordinate system 52 of the first concrete pump vehicle 14 must be referenced with the coordinate system 53 of the concreting surface 36. To do this, under the manual control of an operator, the mast arm 18 is moved to three different predetermined positions on the concreting surface 36. In Fig. 15, two of the positions are shown in dashed lines. Using three points whose position is known in both coordinate systems 52, 53, the two coordinate systems 52, 53 can be referenced to one another.

Claims

Patent claims 1. A concrete pump system comprising a concrete pump (14, 51) and a master control module (45, 54), wherein the concrete pump (14, 51) comprises a control unit (61), a boom arm (18) and a delivery line (17) extending along the boom arm (18), wherein an outlet opening (63) of the delivery line (17) is movable over a working area of the concrete pump (14, 51), wherein the position of the concrete pump (14, 51) is defined within a first coordinate system (52, 57), wherein the position of a concreting surface (36) is defined within a second coordinate system (53), wherein the master control module (45, 54) is designed to specify a concreting plan to the control unit (61), wherein the concreting plan (64) defines a plurality of partial areas (39) of the concreting surface (36), wherein the control unit (61) is designed to control the mast arm (18) based on a referencing between the first coordinate system (52, 57) and the second coordinate system (53) in such a way thatthat liquid concrete emerging from the outlet opening (63) of the conveying line (17) is introduced into a partial area (39) of the concreting area (36) specified by the concreting plan (64).

2. Concrete pump system according to claim 1, wherein the master control module (45, 54) is designed to subdivide the concreting area (36) into a plurality of partial areas (39) based on predetermined parameter criteria.

3. Concrete pump system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the concreting plan (64) specifies a processing sequence for the partial areas (39).

4. Concrete pump system according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the concreting plan (64) for one or more partial areas (39) a trajectory (42) is specified along which Liquid concrete is introduced into the partial area (39).

5. Concrete pump system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit (61) of the concrete pump (14, 51) is designed to control the boom arm (18) such that the outlet opening (63) of the delivery line (17) moves along a trajectory (42) predetermined by the concreting plan (64).

6. Concrete pumping system according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first coordinate system (52, 57) is referenced to the second coordinate system (53) by scanning at least three positions, the coordinates of which are known in the second coordinate system (53), with the mast arm (18).

7. Concrete pump system according to one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a first concrete pump (14) and a second concrete pump (51), wherein the concreting plan (64) assigns a first set (55) of partial areas (39) of the concreting surface (36) to the first concrete pump (14) and a second set (56) of partial areas (39) of the concreting surface (36) to the second concrete pump (51) for processing.

8. The concrete pump system of claim 7, wherein the first concrete pump (14) includes the master control module (45).

9. Concrete pump system according to claim 7, comprising a master control module (45) superordinate to the first concrete pump (14) and the second concrete pump (51).

10. Concrete pump system according to one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the first concrete pump (14) and the second concrete pump (51) comprise a sensor system (59) for mutual location.

11. Concrete pump system according to claim 10, wherein the sensor system (59) comprises a sensor attached to the boom arm (18) of the first concrete pump (14) and a sensor attached to the boom arm (18) of the second concrete pump (51).

12. Concrete pump system according to one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the concreting plan (64) indicates a danger zone (58) within which the boom arms (18) of the concrete pumps (14, 51) may collide.

13. Concrete pumping system according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the master control module (45, 54) is designed to adaptively adjust the concreting plan (64) by updating the concreting plan (64) on the basis of newly added information after the start of the concreting process.

14. A method for operating a concrete pump system, wherein the concrete pump system comprises a concrete pump (14, 51) and a master control module (45, 54), wherein the concrete pump (14, 51) comprises a control unit (61), a boom arm (18) and a delivery line (17) extending along the boom arm (18), wherein the position of the concrete pump (14, 51) is defined within a first coordinate system (52, 57), wherein the position of a concreting surface (36) is defined within a second coordinate system (53), wherein the master control module (45, 54) specifies a concreting plan to the control unit (61), wherein the concreting plan (64) defines a plurality of partial surfaces (39) of the concreting surface (36) and a processing sequence for the partial surfaces (39), wherein the control unit (61) based on a referencing between the first coordinate system (52, 57) and the second coordinate system (53) controls the mast arm (18) in such a way that the conveyor line exits the outlet opening (63) Liquid concrete emerging from the device (17) is introduced into a partial area (39) of the concreting area (36) specified by the concreting plan (64).

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