Material handling and / or construction machine, in particular in the form of a crane

Abstract

The present invention relates to a material handling and / or construction machine, in particular in the form of a crane (1) such as a slewing tower crane or telescopic boom crane, comprising a boom (2), a lifting means (6) suspended on the boom (2), and a working tool (7) fastened to the lifting means (6), in particular a load hook, and a plurality of actuating drives for multiaxially moving the working tool (7), wherein said actuating drives comprise at least one slewing gear drive for rotating the boom (2) about a vertical axis of rotation (5), a trolley drive and / or boom drive for adjusting the outreach of the lifting means (6) from the axis of rotation (5), and a lifting gear drive for adjusting the height of the lifting means (6), and also a control device (8) for controlling said actuating drives, which control device comprises an input device (10) for inputting movement commands with respect to different axes of a coordinate system (100; 200; 300; 400) of the control device (8), wherein the control device (8) comprises different coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400) with differently oriented coordinate system axes (X, Y, Z; R, U, Z), and a switching device (16) for switching between said coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400), wherein the input device (10) is designed to control actuating movements parallel to or about a respective coordinate system axis (X, Y, Z; R, U, Z) of the different coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400) by actuating only one control element (12) of the input device (10) in each case.

Description

[0001] Material handling and / or construction machinery, particularly in the form of a crane

[0002] The present invention relates to material handling and / or construction machines, in particular in the form of a crane such as a tower crane or telescopic boom crane, with a boom, a lifting means suspended from the boom and a working tool, in particular a load hook, fastened to the lifting means, as well as a plurality of actuators for multi-axis movement of the working tool, wherein said actuators have at least one slewing gear drive for rotating the boom about an upright axis of rotation, a trolley and / or boom drive for adjusting the outreach of the lifting means from the axis of rotation and a hoist drive for adjusting the height of the lifting means, as well as a control device for controlling said actuators, which has an input device for entering travel commands with respect to various axes of a coordinate system of the control device.

[0003] In cranes such as tower cranes or telescopic boom cranes, various actuators must be operated simultaneously if the desired travel movement of the load hook does not coincide with one of the crane's movement or actuator axes. Considering a tower crane, for example, it is relatively easy to move a load suspended from the load hook along a horizontal line that passes through the tower's rotation axis, since in this case the desired travel path coincides with or is parallel to the actuator axis of the trolley travel drive. The crane operator therefore only needs to operate the trolley travel drive and enter the control commands by operating the corresponding control or input element. Such a control or input element could, for example, be a joystick that can be tilted forwards or backwards to move the trolley further outwards or further inwards along the boom.Depending on the input device, other control elements can be used instead of a joystick to input corresponding movement commands, such as slide switches, touchscreen elements that can be moved in a specified direction on the touchscreen like a controller, or a push or force switch that, similar to a joystick or slide switch, can be manually pressed, pushed, or pulled in a predetermined direction. However, they do not move themselves, but only detect the actuation force and its direction. Other control or input elements such as rotating balls or rotating wheels, toggle switches, or similar are possible.

[0004] However, the control task becomes more complex if the aforementioned travel path along a horizontal line through the slewing gear axis is to be carried out not with a tower crane with a traveling trolley, but with a telescopic jib crane. This is because the outreach of the load hook, i.e., its distance from the upright slewing gear axis, can usually only be changed by luffing the boom up or down and / or telescoping the boom in or out. Therefore, the load hook changes its height when only the luffing drive for luffing the boom or only the telescoping drive for telescoping the boom is operated. To travel horizontally, a second drive must be operated simultaneously. This could, for example, be the hoist drive for retracting or releasing the hoist rope. However, if necessary, the luffing drive and telescoping drive can also be operated in concert with one another.The superimposed operation of multiple actuators is required for tower cranes, telescopic boom cranes, and, for example, for duty cycle cranes if the load hook or duty cycle crane bucket is to be moved along a horizontal axis that does not pass through the slewing gear axis, but rather runs diagonally past the undercarriage or support base, for example. In a tower crane, the trolley drive and the slewing gear drive must be operated in parallel and coordinated with each other in terms of travel speed. For this purpose, for example, one joystick must be tilted forward or backward for moving the trolley, and a second joystick must be tilted right or left for the slewing gear. Other control or input elements, as previously mentioned, can also be used here.

[0005] Such superimposed movements can only be carried out with a high level of concentration, even for experienced crane operators, and are difficult or almost impossible to control for less experienced crane operators or even assistants, since the input devices of the input device, such as two joysticks or two slide switches, must be operated with both hands and are coordinated with one another in order to operate the multiple actuators in interaction with one another in such a way that the desired travel path is achieved.

[0006] Although such travel paths, which require superimposed actuator movements, often have a simple course in the form of a straight line or a circular arc and are therefore frequently executed, they are nevertheless difficult for the crane operator to control because the axis of the desired travel movement rarely coincides with an actuator axis of the crane.

[0007] For example, straight, horizontal movements often need to be performed along a facade or a building contour, for example, to move a concrete bucket along a formwork. Similarly, linear movements often need to be performed along an inclined plane, such as along a roof truss or a sloped roof surface. Circular movements are required, for example, in the construction of silos. This would be easy to perform if the crane were positioned at the center of the silo, thus allowing the slewing axis for rotating the boom to coincide with the silo's axis of symmetry. The circular movements could then be performed solely by operating the slewing drive.In practice, however, the crane is often located outside the silo, so that the circular path movement to be performed is no longer concentric to the upright slewing axis of the crane, but offset from it, which in turn requires the complex superimposed operation of several actuators.

[0008] In order to make it easier for the crane operator to move the crane hook along a straight line that does not pass through the slewing gear axis, it has already been proposed to use a mobile remote control that the crane operator can carry around with him. The coordinate system in which the remote control joysticks work is always aligned with the position and orientation of the remote control, i.e. the coordinate system in which the joysticks or control elements work depends on the standing position or “line of sight” of the crane operator, cf. J. Fottner et al., “Development of an intuitive control concept for load lifting machines”, research report of the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Materials Handling - Material Flow - Logistics, ISBN: 978-3-948514-04-4, 2020.In the remote control proposed therein, the joystick for travel movements in the horizontal plane always generates a load hook movement when tilting forward, which is in the direction of the crane operator's line of sight or, depending on the remote control's orientation, straight forward away from the remote control. Since remote controls carried by crane operators are usually constantly in slight motion because the crane operator cannot stand completely still and walks back and forth, it can be helpful with the remote control mentioned to freeze the coordinate system as soon as a crane movement is initiated or a joystick on the remote control issues a travel command. As long as the joystick is deflected to command a travel movement, the coordinate system that was valid at the beginning of the commanded crane movement can also usefully remain frozen.

[0009] Even if such a remote control makes things easier, it remains difficult to actually move the crane hook or a load hanging from it exactly parallel to, for example, a house facade, because the crane operator can hardly manage to align the mobile remote control exactly parallel to the building facade. Any misalignment between the orientation of the remote control and the building facade that exists when initiating the crane movement remains or "frozen", meaning that the crane operator must again control a superimposed movement by simultaneously operating two coordinated control elements. In the case of the aforementioned linear movements along an inclined plane such as a roof surface or a movement along a circular contour as described above, the remote control can be even more difficult to align into the required position and therefore hardly simplifies the control task.

[0010] The present invention is therefore based on the object of creating an improved material handling and / or construction machine of the aforementioned type that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art and advantageously develops them further. In particular, the control of essentially single-axis travel movements along or around an axis, which, despite their single-axis nature, require the simultaneous operation of several actuators, is to be simplified for the crane operator.

[0011] According to the invention, the stated object is achieved by a material handling and / or construction machine according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0012] What is proposed is an assistance system that offers the machine operator various coordinate systems with differently arranged, in particular mutually offset and / or tilted and / or differently oriented, coordinate system axes, from which they can choose in order to use the most suitable coordinate system for the respective work task. Travel movements parallel to or around a coordinate system axis of a selected coordinate system can be controlled by operating just one master switch or control element of the input device, so that by switching between the various coordinate systems, straight travel movements in different directions and / or circular path movements around differently oriented axes can be carried out simply by operating or operating just one switch orcontrol element of the input device, even if several actuators have to be superimposed and coordinated to produce the respective straight travel movement or circular path movement. Despite superimposed actuator movements, the actuating movement can be easily controlled by just one control or input element or a single-axis joystick movement if the selected coordinate system has a "suitable" axis. By switching between the coordinate systems, the control device assigns different movement directions for control to a respective control element. Depending on the selected coordinate system, the control device converts the actuation of the respective master switch or control element into, if necessary, several actuating signals to control several actuators.

[0013] According to the invention, the control device has various coordinate systems with differently arranged coordinate system axes and a switching device for switching between the coordinate systems. The input device is designed to control actuating movements parallel to or around a respective coordinate system axis of the various coordinate systems by actuating only one control element of the input device. This makes it considerably easier for less experienced machine operators to precisely and controlledly control superimposed actuating movements of the tool of the material handling and / or construction machine, in particular a crane, which require the simultaneous operation of several actuators of the crane, since multiple control elements such as joysticks or slide switches do not have to be operated manually simultaneously and in a coordinated manner.

[0014] In order to be able to easily control a wider range of different travel movements, the control device can, in an advantageous development of the invention, provide various types of coordinate systems. These different types of coordinate systems can, in particular, comprise at least one Cartesian coordinate system and at least one cylindrical coordinate system. Optionally, a polar coordinate system can also be provided as an alternative or in addition to a cylindrical coordinate system, in particular to enable circular tool movements to be carried out in a plane parallel to the ground or parallel to the machine's footprint.Alternatively or additionally, the control device can also provide at least one affine coordinate system with system axes that are not at right angles to each other in order to be able to adapt positioning movements to contours that are not inclined at right angles to each other, for example facade parts that are at acute or obtuse angles to each other.

[0015] The aforementioned Cartesian coordinate system or several Cartesian coordinate systems between which it is possible to switch, enables / makes it possible to easily control straight travel movements in different directions, even if they require the superimposed operation of different actuators of the material handling and / or construction machine, since through clever selection of the respective coordinate system the travel axis coincides with a coordinate system axis and thus only one master switch or control element needs to be controlled.

[0016] For circular arc-shaped travel movements, such as those to be carried out when erecting cylindrical structures such as silos or when working on circular foundations such as tower foundations, the aforementioned cylindrical coordinate system or, if necessary, a polar coordinate system is advantageous, since here the control of the radial travel can be assigned to a control element or master switch of the input device and the travel on the circular arc or in the circumferential direction can be assigned to another control element or master switch, so that simple control of circular path movements of different diameters is possible.

[0017] Preferably, the various coordinate systems can each have an axis that extends parallel to a main axis of the actuator movements of the material handling or construction machine, in particular parallel to the lifting or vertical movement axis of the lifting means and / or parallel to the rotation axis of the boom. If the material handling or construction machine is on a horizontal support surface, the coordinate systems can advantageously have a vertical axis.

[0018] However, if inclined surfaces, such as sloping roof surfaces, are to be machined, it may be advantageous to use a coordinate system with a perpendicular axis or with two axes that span a plane parallel to the inclined machining plane. For example, a Cartesian coordinate system can be used, which has an xy-axis tilted relative to the crane or machine's support surface or a z-axis inclined relative to the vertical.

[0019] The input device for entering the respective control commands for a desired travel movement can, in principle, have different control elements or master switches for different coordinate systems. For example, a first set of control elements can be provided for the use of a Cartesian coordinate system and a further set of control elements for the use of cylindrical coordinate systems. In principle, it would also be possible to have different sets of control elements that are used for different coordinate systems of the same type, for example, two differently arranged Cartesian coordinate systems. Depending on the switching or selection of a coordinate system, an associated set of control elements of the input device is selected orarmed or activated, wherein, for example, a first pair of joysticks may be provided for controlling the actuators under a Cartesian coordinate system and a second pair of joysticks may be provided for controlling the actuators under a cylindrical coordinate system.

[0020] In an advantageous development of the invention, however, the same control elements can also be used to actuate the actuators under different coordinate systems. By switching between the different coordinate systems, the control device assigns different movement axes or control command axes to the respective actuating elements. In particular, by switching between different coordinate systems, a respective control element, for example in the form of a joystick, can be assigned different coordinate axes, along which an actuating movement is then initiated and controlled when the respective control element is actuated.

[0021] For example, a joystick can be configured to initiate and control positioning movements of the tool along the x-axis of a Cartesian coordinate system. When switching from a first Cartesian coordinate system to a second Cartesian coordinate system, whose x-axes are rotated relative to each other by a predetermined angle, the joystick—or a differently designed control element—can, depending on the selection of the first or second Cartesian coordinate system, control positioning movements that are inclined or spread apart from each other by the specified angle.

[0022] Alternatively or additionally, the joystick mentioned, which as mentioned can also be designed in the form of another control element, can, for example, operate and control the radial axis of a cylindrical coordinate system if it fails, so that the function of the joystick changes by switching between Cartesian and cylindrical coordinate systems in such a way that the joystick or the control element serves once for x-axis control and once for radius control.

[0023] Since the control element, in the case of a joystick, can initiate and control actuating movements in different directions depending on the selected coordinate system while maintaining the same direction of movement, the control signals generated by the control element are advantageously converted by the control device into actuating commands for the respective actuators depending on the respectively activated coordinate system. For example, when switching between two Cartesian coordinate systems whose x-axes are spread apart by a predetermined angle, scaled actuating commands can be generated using cosine and sine functions depending on the angle of rotation of the coordinate systems. This allows the required actuators to be controlled in a superimposed and coordinated manner, even if only one and the same control element, for example, in the form of a joystick, was operated.

[0024] Switching between the different coordinate systems can be done manually. For example, the input device of the control device can have a shift key or a shift element for switching between the coordinate systems. For example, various coordinate systems can be displayed on a screen and offered to a machine operator for selection, allowing the machine operator to select the most suitable coordinate system by tapping.

[0025] In an advantageous development of the invention, the various coordinate systems can be displayed on the aforementioned display together with a representation of the surroundings of the material handling and / or construction machine to facilitate selection. For example, two building sections to be processed can be displayed on the screen and assigned to these two building sections. Two coordinate systems can be displayed superimposed on the screen, so that the machine operator, when switching from processing one building section to the other, can select the latter by tapping the new building section to be processed or the coordinate system displayed superimposed there.

[0026] Alternatively or additionally, a semi-automatic or fully automatic switching device can be provided for switching between the coordinate systems, whereby for semi-automatic switching, a switching option considered appropriate by the switching device or the new coordinate system can be displayed to the machine operator and then selected by confirmation, whereas for fully automatic switching, such additional confirmation by the machine operator can be dispensed with.

[0027] For example, the switching device can be designed to switch between the coordinate systems depending on the current working area of ​​the tool, wherein the current working area can be detected automatically, for example, by a working area detection device. If, for example, a crane is intended to work on two different parts of a building or structure, it can be detected using a camera and a cooperating image evaluation device, for example, whether the crane's load hook is positioned in the working area of ​​one part of the structure or in the working area of ​​the other part of the structure. Alternatively or additionally, proximity sensors or similar position detection devices can be used here, wherein after the crane has been set up and its assignment or positioning to the parts of the structure orIn working areas, it can be determined by reading the positions of the actuators whether the load hook is in the area of ​​one part of the structure or in the area of ​​the other part of the structure.

[0028] For example, it is possible to automatically switch to a cylindrical coordinate system when the tool of the material handling and / or construction machine is located in the area of ​​a cylindrical structure such as a silo, and / or it is possible to switch to a Cartesian coordinate system when the tool is located in the area of ​​a cubic structural part.

[0029] Regardless of the switching method, the assistance system can advantageously have a display device on which, depending on the selected coordinate system, a representation of the active coordinate system is displayed and / or a representation is displayed that shows the axes of movement and their position and / or orientation that can be actuated and controlled with the respective control element of the input device. For example, a representation can be displayed that shows on a joystick which joystick movements cause or control which travel movements.

[0030] The switching device can be designed to switch from one coordinate system to another during operation or when the material handling and / or construction machine is ready for operation, particularly when the actuators are at a standstill. Such online switchability can avoid downtimes that would require shutting down and restarting the machine or control device for the purpose of switching.

[0031] In an advantageous development of the invention, the control device has a setup or teach-in module to enable the coordinate systems required for various work tasks to be individually configured. In particular, said setup module can be configured to enable the coordinate system axes of a desired coordinate system and their position relative to the material handling and / or construction machine to be individually configured and thus adapted to the machine environment or the work task. The setup module can enable previously stored coordinate systems to be modified through a teach-in process, in particular to be shifted and / or tilted with respect to their arrangement relative to the machine and / or to set up new or additional coordinate systems.

[0032] Advantageously, said setup or teach-in module can generate one or more teach-in displays on a display device in order to guide a machine operator step by step through the teach-in process, wherein in particular a touchscreen can be provided on which various displays can be displayed for teaching and / or changing a coordinate system, which displays contain input prompts and / or can be confirmed by tapping and / or changed by moving on the screen.

[0033] In particular, the teaching module can be designed to use spatial points approached by the machine tool to determine the coordinate system.

[0034] For example, for a Cartesian coordinate system, the load hook of a crane can be used to move to several points along a building contour, for example a facade section, whereby the crane operator can confirm various points by entering data via the input device, for example by tapping on a touchscreen, which the learning module can then use to define a coordinate system axis.

[0035] For example, the crane hook can be moved to a building corner. Upon reaching the desired position, the corresponding load hook point can be determined as the origin of the coordinate system by confirming it via the input device. If the load hook is then moved to two additional building corners in a similar manner and its position is confirmed, the x- and y-axes of a Cartesian coordinate system can be defined, for example.

[0036] However, in an advantageous development of the invention, other procedures can also be used for teaching a coordinate system, for example as follows:

[0037] To teach a 2-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, which is aligned, for example, with a rectangular surrounding contour such as a house or building, the angle by which the surrounding contour is aligned with a main axis of the machine, e.g. the zero axis or longitudinal center axis of the machine base, which usually forms the zero axis of the internal machine coordinate system of the control device, can be manually measured and entered into the system. In particular, the angle in question can be the angle between the zero axis of the crane base and a longitudinal contour of the structure to be worked on. The zero axis in question can be the internal zero-angle axis of the crane control system, which is usually the longitudinal center axis of the crane undercarriage or a symmetry axis of the crane support base on which the crane is positioned at the construction site.

[0038] Based on the manually entered angle, the control device can then use sine and cosine functions to convert the control commands entered into the manipulated coordinate system via joystick, master switch, or control element. A second, alternative, or additional option is to move to corner points of the house contour. For example, the longest exterior wall of a building to be constructed can be moved to its endpoints and entered into the system via a teach-in command. For this purpose, the trolley of the tower crane can be moved precisely over the corners of the house, which can be monitored, for example, by a camera mounted on the trolley. Alternatively, the load hook can also be moved precisely to the two contour edges or their endpoints in order to teach the system the contour points by clicking on them.

[0039] Such a teach-in by moving the load hook to the contour points is particularly useful when a coordinate system needs to be defined for processing an inclined plane, such as a sloping roof surface of a building, along which the crane must perform lifting tasks, for example, when a concrete bucket is to be moved along the slope of the roof. Here, the load hook can be moved to the four corner points of the sloping roof surface and entered into the system by clicking, allowing the crane control system to assume the plane of the sloping roof surface as the base surface and the edge contours of the roof surface as the axes.

[0040] An even more convenient solution is to move a camera mounted on the trolley of the tower crane over the structure to be erected or its construction site. The camera images can then be used to automatically determine the alignment of the contours relative to the crane, for example by image processing or image analysis, such as suitable contour recognition algorithms, and to define a coordinate system.

[0041] Alternatively or additionally, the teaching device can be designed to individually set up a cylindrical coordinate system, for example for processing a silo, and to teach it to the control device, wherein the teaching can be carried out, for example, by three or more contour points of the outer circumferential wall being approached by the working tool or, for example, the trolley and the teaching device then laying a circular contour through the taught contour points.

[0042] Preferably, the cylinder center of the silo or round structure can be approached using a downward-looking camera mounted on the trolley, whereby a circular contour is displayed on a display device in the camera image, the size of which can be changed, for example, by a potentiometer circuit, so that the machine operator can easily place the displayed circle exactly centered in the outer circumferential contour of the silo or structure to be processed.

[0043] Alternatively or additionally, it can be very helpful to display a type of crosshair or another suitable orientation and / or positioning pattern, e.g., with virtual marking or grid lines, in the camera image, for example, in the style of augmented reality. The alignment can be set to, for example, cross center = camera center = image center = trolley center. The crosshair or the orientation and / or positioning pattern can be rotated around the cross center depending on the angle of the rotating mechanism, plus any offset that may need to be considered.

[0044] For example, if the boom rotates over an object using its rotating mechanism, the cross or the orientation and / or positioning pattern can advantageously rotate at the same angle. This offset, which can be adjusted using a type of potentiometer, such as a touchscreen element or another suitable adjustment element, allows the cross or pattern to be manually rotated toward or aligned with an object. If the cross or pattern is rotated away from the object using the rotating mechanism, the lines nevertheless remain parallel to the object, at least as long as the object is still within the camera's field of view.

[0045] Instead of a crosshair, displaying a grid or grid line pattern can be advantageous, as the latter makes adjustments easier and can also cover more of the image content. Another option is a coordinate system aligned to the work tool or load hook, or a picked-up workpiece. This can be advantageous for lifting tasks with a long beam hanging from the load hook, which, for example, needs to be moved exactly in the longitudinal direction of the beam. Such tasks arise again and again, particularly in conjunction with a load hook that has a rotary drive about a vertical axis so that the beam can be brought into the desired orientation. Once this has been achieved, for example perpendicular to a window opening, the crane operator often wants to move the beam exactly in the longitudinal direction of the beam. A Cartesian coordinate system, which has an axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the beam, is very helpful for this.

[0046] The invention is explained in more detail below using a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0047] Fig. 1 : a perspective view of a material handling and / or construction machine in the form of a tower crane in its working environment on a construction site, which the tower crane can advantageously process with different coordinate systems,

[0048] Fig. 2: a plan view of the tower crane from Fig. 1 , showing the orientation of the crane relative to a building part to be worked on and the Cartesian coordinate system to be set up for the building,

[0049] Fig. 3: a plan view of the tower crane from the previous figures, showing its relative position to a cylindrical building part in the form of a silo and the corresponding cylindrical coordinate system in addition to the Cartesian coordinate system previously shown in Fig. 2, and

[0050] Fig. 4: a perspective view of the crane from the preceding figures and a Cartesian coordinate system laid down by the crane's load hook. As the figures show, the crane 1 can be designed as a tower crane, comprising an upright tower 3 on which a boom 2 is mounted. Said boom 2 can be rotated relative to the tower 3 or, if necessary, together with the tower 3, about an upright axis of rotation 5. A trolley 4 can be moved along the boom 2, from which a hoist rope 6 extends as a lifting means, to which a load hook 7 is articulated, forming the crane's tool.

[0051] To generate travel movements of the load hook 7, the said crane 1 has as actuators a slewing drive for rotating the boom 2 about the said upright axis 5, a trolley or trolley travel drive for moving the trolley 4 along the boom 2 and a hoist drive for retrieving and lowering the hoist rope 6 and accordingly adjusting the height of the load hook 7.

[0052] When designed as a telescopic boom crane or as a tower crane with a luffing boom, the said boom 2 can be luffed up and down by a luffing drive and telescoped in and out by a telescopic drive.

[0053] The actuators mentioned are controlled by a control device 8 which, in a manner known per se, can be an electronic processor control which, in addition to a microprocessor, can have a memory for storing software and operating data.

[0054] Furthermore, the crane 1 has a driver's cab 9, which can be suspended, for example, in the form of a driver's cabin on the tower 3 or on the boom 2, see Figure 1 .

[0055] An input device 10 is provided on the operator's cab 9, which includes a display device, for example in the form of one or more screens, in particular in the form of touchscreens 11, as well as several control elements 12 in the form of master switches or joysticks (see Figures 2 and 3), via which the machine operator can enter control commands for controlling the actuators mentioned. Several different coordinate systems 100, 200, 300, and 400 are stored in the control device 8 (see Figures 2 to 4), based on which the actuators can be controlled in different ways by the control elements 12 of the input device 10.

[0056] Firstly, the crane 1 has, in a manner known per se, its "own" internal coordinate system 100, which can be a Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate system. For example, the internal coordinate system 100 can be a Cartesian system, whose Xi axis can be, for example, the longitudinal axis of the undercarriage and whose Yi axis can pass perpendicularly through the axis of the tower 3, whereby the Zi axis of the internal coordinate system 100 can be the aforementioned tower axis itself or the rotation axis 5 of the tower 3 or the boom 2, see Figs. 1 and 2.

[0057] If the control device 8 operates with the aforementioned internal crane coordinate system 100, a control element 12a, for example in the form of a joystick, can move the trolley 4 along the boom 2 by tilting it forward or backward, and can rotate the boom 2 about the rotation axis 5 by tilting it to the right or left. A further control element 12b, for example in the form of a second joystick, can raise or lower the load hook 7 by tilting it forward or backward.

[0058] If, for example, a rectangular building 20 (see Figure 2) is to be worked on, the load hook 7 must be moved regularly along one of the facades of the building 20 along straight travel paths parallel to the facades, often in a horizontal direction. Since the building 20 is offset from the undercarriage 13 or the base of the crane and is rotated with its main axes by an angle α relative to the undercarriage 13 (see Fig. 2), the trolley drive and the slewing gear drive of the crane 1 must be superimposed and coordinated with one another in order to be able to execute such horizontal travel paths parallel to the facade. To simplify the control of such movements, the control device 8 can advantageously have a second Cartesian coordinate system 200 with two axes aligned parallel to the building 20.In particular, the x-axis of the system 200 can be parallel to a building facade, and the y-axis of the system can be parallel to an adjacent facade, see Fig. 2. The z-axis of the Cartesian coordinate system 200 can be vertically aligned, as in the crane-internal system 100, and can, for example, be the aforementioned rotation axis 5 of the boom 2, or be coaxial or parallel thereto. As Fig. 2 shows, the second Cartesian coordinate system 200 is rotated by the angle α relative to the crane-internal Cartesian coordinate system 100.

[0059] In order to set up the said second coordinate system 200 on the crane 1, the control device 8 can have a teach-in module 14, by means of which relevant information such as the said angle α can be input into the control device 8. For example, in a simple embodiment, the said angle α can be measured manually and fed into the teach-in module 14 via the input device 10. The said angle α is the angle between the zero axis of the crane base and a longitudinal contour of the building 20, see Fig. 2. The said zero axis is the internal zero-angle axis of the control device 8, in particular the previously described x-axis of the crane-internal coordinate system 100, which usually corresponds to the longitudinal center axis of the crane undercarriage 13 or an axis of symmetry of the support base of the crane 1, on which the crane 1 is positioned at the construction site.

[0060] Based on the input angle a, the control device 8 can convert the control commands input to the control elements 12a and 12b using sine and cosine functions when the said control elements 12a and 12b are operated with the second coordinate system 200 activated.

[0061] However, the aforementioned teach-in module 14 can also teach the coordinate system in a partially or fully automated version. As shown in Fig. 2, when using the second coordinate system 200, the motion control is modified by the control elements 12a and 12b or adapted to the building 20. In particular, movements along the x- and y-axes of the coordinate system 200 can be controlled simply by actuating a single control element 12a, for example, by moving a single-axis joystick. For example, if the crane hook 7 is to be moved along the y-axis parallel to the building facade, only the joystick 12a needs to be tilted forward.The control device 8 converts the control commands into the crane-internal system on the basis of the aforementioned sine and cosine functions, whereby the slewing gear drive and the trolley drive are actuated in a suitable manner in order to achieve a straight travel movement of the load hook 7 parallel to the building facade and parallel to the y-axis of the second coordinate system 200.

[0062] As Fig. 3 shows, for processing a tower-like cylindrical building, for example in the form of a silo 30, the use of a third coordinate system 300, which can be designed as a cylindrical coordinate system, can be useful. This cylindrical coordinate system 300 has an upright axis z, which can be coaxial with the cylindrical axis of the silo, in particular vertical. Another axis r of the cylindrical coordinate system 300 corresponds to the radial direction relative to the said axis z or to the silo 30. The third axis u of the third coordinate system 300 corresponds to the circumferential direction of the silo 30, see Fig. 3.

[0063] If the control device 8 switches to the aforementioned third coordinate system 300, the travel movements controlled by the control elements 12a and 12b of the input device 10 correspond to the aforementioned axes of the cylindrical coordinate system 300. In particular, load hook movements along the radial direction r can be controlled by tilting the joystick 12a forwards or backwards. Alternatively or additionally, a movement of the load hook 7 in the circumferential direction according to the axis u can be controlled by tilting the joystick 12a to the right and left. The further joystick 12b can, for example, actuate the lifting gear by tilting forwards and backwards and move the load hook parallel to the axis z of the coordinate system 300.

[0064] A fourth coordinate system 400 is shown in Fig. 4 and is related to the crane hook 7 or a workpiece attached thereto. An axis z can be laid vertically through the load hook 7 and correspond to the hoist positioning movement. Two further axes x and y of the Cartesian coordinate system 400, which are perpendicular thereto, can be aligned perpendicular to each other in the horizontal direction and pass through the aforementioned Z-axis, wherein the orientation of the axes X and Y with respect to the angle <p beispielsweise durch das offene Maul des Lasthakens definiert sein kann, oder - je nach Lastaufnahmemittel bzw. Werkzeug - durch die Ausrichtung eines daran befestigten Werkstücks, beispielsweise eines Balkens.

[0065] When the coordinate system 400 is activated, the control elements 12a, 12b and 12c can control the movements along the x, y and z axes as well as the rotation of the load hook 7 by the angle

Claims

Claims 1. Material handling and / or construction machine, in particular in the form of a crane (1) such as a tower crane or telescopic boom crane, with a boom (2), a lifting means (6) suspended from the boom (2) and a working tool (7), in particular a load hook, fastened to the lifting means (6), as well as a plurality of actuators for multi-axis movement of the working tool (7), wherein said actuators have at least one slewing gear drive for rotating the boom (2) about an upright axis of rotation (5), a trolley and / or boom drive for adjusting the outreach of the lifting means (6) from the axis of rotation (5) and a hoist drive for adjusting the height of the lifting means (6), as well as a control device (8) for controlling said actuators, which has an input device (10) for entering movement commands with respect to various axes of a coordinate system (100; 200; 300;400) of the control device (8), characterized in that the control device (8) has different coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400) with differently aligned coordinate system axes (X, Y, Z; R, U, Z) and a switching device (16) for switching between the; said coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400), wherein the input device (10) is designed to control adjusting movements parallel to or about a respective coordinate system axis (X, Y, Z; U, R, Z) of the various coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400) by actuating only one control element (12) of the input device (10).

2. Material handling and / or construction machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400) provided in the control device (8) comprise different coordinate system types.

3. Material handling and / or construction machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the different coordinate system types comprise at least one Cartesian coordinate system (200; 400) whose axes are rotated and / or shifted relative to a crane-internal coordinate system (100), and at least one cylindrical or polar coordinate system (300) which has a radial axis (R) and a circumferential axis (U) and a coordinate system origin which is shifted relative to the coordinate system origin of the crane-internal coordinate system (100).

4. Material handling and / or construction machine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the input device (10) has a display (11) for displaying different movement direction representations for the different coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400), wherein the control device (8) is designed to display the appropriate representation of the movement axes and / or coordinate system axes on the display device (11) depending on the respectively selected, active coordinate system.

5. Material handling and / or construction machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the control device (8) is designed to display the said representations of the directions of movement and / or coordinate system axes on the display device (11) in an environmental representation of the machine environment, wherein the environmental representation of at least a camera (15) and / or an imaging sensor and / or from an environment simulation module.

6. Material handling and / or construction machine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the switching device comprises a switch operable by the machine operator.

7. Material handling and / or construction machine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the switching device is designed to provide a selection display on a display (11) for selecting the various coordinate systems (100; 200; 300; 400) held ready.

8. Material handling and / or construction machine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the switching device has a semi-automatic or fully automatic switching module for switching between the coordinate systems depending on working area information provided by a detection device regarding the working area of ​​the working tool (7).

9. Material handling and / or construction machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the detection device has position detection means for detecting the working tool position and / or contour detection means for detecting the contour of a work area to be processed.

10. Material handling and / or construction machine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control device (8) has a learning module (14) for learning individually configurable coordinate systems.

11. Material handling and / or construction machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the learning module (14) has storage means for storing work tool positions that have been approached by the work tool, as well as coordinate axis determination means for determining the coordinate axes of a coordinate system as a function of the stored work tool positions.

12. Material handling and / or construction machine according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the learning module (14) comprises a display (11) for displaying a camera image of a working area of ​​the work tool and a display module for displaying an orientation and / or positioning pattern, in particular in the form of a crosshair or grid line pattern, in the camera image.

13. Material handling and / or construction machine according to the preceding claim, wherein the teaching module (14) is designed to rotate the displayed orientation and / or positioning pattern in the camera image at the same angle as a function of a rotation of the boom (2), and comprises an adjustment element for variably setting an offset of the orientation and / or positioning pattern with respect to an initial orientation and / or for adjusting the orientation of the orientation and / or positioning pattern relative, in particular parallel, to an object displayed in the camera image.

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