Travelling crane and method for operating a travelling crane

Abstract

The invention relates to a travelling crane (1) having a runner arrangement (3) with a runner (5) on which a crane trolley (7) can be moved by means of a travelling gear device (9), and having at least two parallel track-carrier runners (13), wherein the runner (5) is fastened to travelling gears (19) guided in the track-carrier runners (13) and can be moved on the track-carrier runners (13) by means of the travelling gears (19), wherein each of the track carrier runners (13) is fastened to surroundings in a stationary manner by means of at least two suspension devices (15) spaced apart from one another, and wherein a measuring device (17) for directly or indirectly detecting a force directed in the gravitational direction is arranged on at least two of the suspension devices (15) of each of the track-carrier runners (13).

Description

[0001] Overhead crane and method for operating an overhead crane

[0002] The present invention relates to an overhead crane according to the preamble of claim 1 or an overhead crane according to the preamble of claim 4 and to a method for operating such an overhead crane.

[0003] Overhead cranes are known in various designs for lifting and moving loads. Overhead cranes exist, for example, as monorails, in which a track arrangement with a guide rail is fixed to a fixed location by means of suspension devices. A crane trolley moves along the guide rail, to which a load can be suspended, for example, using a hook and a rope. The crane trolley can move in one direction along the guide rail.

[0004] Overhead cranes can also be designed as so-called bridge cranes, in which a track arrangement comprises two parallel track girder tracks that are fixed to the surroundings by means of suspension devices. Carriages are guided in the track girder tracks, to which a track for a crane trolley is attached in the manner of a bridge. The crane trolley can be moved along the track and, together with the track, in a direction orthogonal to the track by means of the track girder tracks.

[0005] When operating an overhead crane, for example, it's important to know what load is attached to the crane trolley or where the crane trolley is located within the crane system. Determining its position isn't straightforward.

[0006] To determine the load on the crane trolley, the weight can be measured using appropriate sensors on the crane block or on the cable drum on which the crane trolley cable is mounted. However, determining the load using such sensors is relatively complex.

[0007] It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an overhead travelling crane of the type mentioned at the outset in which the position of the crane trolley and / or a load on the crane trolley can be determined in a simple manner.

[0008] A first embodiment of an overhead crane according to the invention is defined by the features of claim 1. A second embodiment of an overhead crane according to the invention is defined by the features of claim 4.

[0009] A method according to the invention for operating an overhead crane is defined by the features of claim 7.

[0010] The traveling crane according to the invention with a running rail arrangement with a running rail on which a crane trolley can be moved by means of a running gear device, wherein the running rail is fastened to an environment by means of at least two suspension devices spaced apart from one another, is characterized in that a measuring device for directly or indirectly detecting a force directed in the direction of gravity is arranged on at least two of the suspension devices.

[0011] The overhead crane according to the invention thus provides for the possibility of detecting a force exerted by the guide rail on the suspension devices on at least two suspension devices, preferably on all suspension devices. Together with the knowledge of the distance between the suspension devices, the load suspended from the crane trolley can thus be determined via appropriate calibration or calculation models. Furthermore, the position of the crane trolley can also be calculated via the resulting leverage ratios of the guide rail. Thus, the position of the crane trolley on the guide rail and / or of a load suspended from the crane trolley can be determined in a simple manner using the overhead crane according to the invention.In the context of the invention, a load suspended from the crane trolley is understood to mean a weight force exerted on the crane trolley by a part suspended from the crane trolley.

[0012] The overhead crane can be designed as a monorail, so that the at least two suspension devices are fixed to the surroundings, for example to a ceiling of the hall in which the overhead crane is used.

[0013] Alternatively, the overhead travelling crane can also be designed as a bridge crane, wherein the guide rail arrangement has at least two parallel track girder guide rails, and the guide rail is fastened by means of the suspension devices to carriages guided in the track girder guide rails. The guide rail and the suspension devices of the guide rail are thus movable in the track girder guide rails and are not stationary. In this embodiment of the overhead travelling crane according to the invention, the position of the crane trolley in relation to the guide rail and / or a load suspended from the crane trolley can be determined using the detected force values ​​in the suspension devices.

[0014] In an alternative embodiment of the overhead travelling crane according to the invention, in which the overhead travelling crane is designed as a bridge crane, the overhead travelling crane has a running rail arrangement with at least one running rail, on which at least one crane trolley can be moved by means of a running gear device, and at least two parallel track support rails. The running rail is fastened to running gears guided in the track support rails and can be moved on the track support rails by means of the running gears. Each of the track support rails has at least two spaced-apart suspension devices by means of which the track support rails are fixedly fastened to an environment. This embodiment of the invention is characterized in that a measuring device for directly or indirectly detecting a force directed in the direction of gravity is arranged on at least two of the suspension devices of each of the track support rails.

[0015] In this embodiment of the overhead crane according to the invention, it is thus provided that the force exerted by the track girder rails on the corresponding suspension devices is determined by means of the respective measuring device. In the simplest case, in which two parallel track girder rails are provided, each with two suspension devices spaced apart from each other, four force values ​​are thus determined, which – via appropriate calibration and calculation – can be used to determine the position of the crane trolley in the crane system and / or the load suspended from the crane trolley.

[0016] In this embodiment, it can also be provided that a measuring device for directly or indirectly detecting a force directed in the direction of gravity is additionally arranged in each of the carriages. This also allows for a combination with the previously described variant of an overhead crane.

[0017] In this way, advantageous measurement data for the operation of an overhead crane can be determined in a particularly simple manner and with little design effort.

[0018] In the overhead crane according to the invention, the measuring device of a suspension device can be provided with at least one strain sensor, preferably a strain gauge, which determines the strain of the suspension device in the direction of gravity. The strain of the suspension device can be used to easily determine the force generated in the suspension device by the track guide rail or the track support rails. Designing the measuring device as a strain sensor also has the advantage that the measuring devices can be easily retrofitted to existing, conventional overhead cranes by subsequently attaching the strain sensors to the corresponding suspension devices.

[0019] Alternatively or additionally, the measuring device of a suspension device can be provided with at least one optical distance sensor that determines the elongation of the suspension device in the direction of gravity. The force directed in the direction of gravity causes minimal elongation of the material of the suspension device, whereby this elongation can be determined by the optical distance sensor through a change in distance. From this, the force directed in the direction of gravity, which is absorbed by the corresponding suspension device, can then be determined.

[0020] The measuring device can also incorporate other types of sensors, such as force sensors that measure the force directly in the suspension device, or so-called load cells. These could also be integrated structurally into the suspension devices of existing crane systems and thus be retrofitted.

[0021] In the method according to the invention for operating an overhead crane according to the invention, a load suspended from the crane trolley and / or a position of the crane trolley within the crane system can be determined using the force detected by the measuring devices on the suspension devices. The values ​​determined by the method according to the invention can thus provide important or at least interesting information for the operation of the overhead crane.

[0022] For example, it can be provided that the position of the crane trolley in the crane system is determined continuously or at predetermined time intervals, with an acceleration and / or a speed of the crane trolley being calculated from the positions. Thus, with an appropriate temporal resolution of the position values, the speed of the crane trolley or its acceleration can be determined in a simple manner during operation. This makes it possible, for example, to control the overhead crane according to the invention in a simple manner. For example, it can be provided that limit values ​​for accelerations and / or speeds of the crane trolley are specified, so that compliance with these limits can be monitored by means of the method according to the invention.

[0023] It is also possible to monitor travel performance using the method according to the invention. For example, limit values ​​for the acceleration and / or speed of the crane trolley can be defined depending on the load suspended on the crane trolley. Using the positions of the crane trolley determined using the method according to the invention, movement patterns of the crane trolley can also be determined. From this, for example, frequent movements can be derived, allowing the crane trolley's paths to be optimized based on these.

[0024] Positioning tasks can also be monitored using the method according to the invention. Furthermore, overloads can be detected in real time. For example, usage in terms of the distance traveled or the level of utilization relative to the weight moved of the overhead crane according to the invention can be documented, allowing, for example, maintenance intervals to be adjusted.

[0025] The inventive design of an overhead crane and the inventive method for operating an overhead crane make it possible to easily determine values ​​that can determine the load suspended on the crane trolley and the position of the crane trolley within the crane system. These values ​​can be recorded without great effort during operation, continuously, or with high temporal resolution. The invention thus enables a wide variety of documentation, monitoring, or control functions of an overhead crane according to the invention to be carried out using these values.

[0026] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the following figure.

[0027] The single figure shows schematically an overhead crane according to the invention, which is designed as a bridge crane.

[0028] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the following figure.

[0029] The single figure shows schematically an overhead crane according to the invention, which is designed as a bridge crane.

[0030] The single figure shows a schematic, perspective view of an overhead travelling crane 1 according to the invention. The overhead travelling crane 1 according to the invention has a guide rail arrangement 3 with a guide rail 5. A crane trolley 7 is movably attached to the guide rail 5 via a running gear device 9. The crane trolley 7 has a supporting cable (not shown) and a hook 11.

[0031] The guide rail arrangement 3 further comprises two track support rails 13 arranged in parallel. The track support rails 13 are each fixedly attached to the surroundings via two suspension devices 15. A measuring device 17 is arranged on each of the suspension devices 15, via which a force exerted by the track support rails 13 on the suspension devices 15 can be determined. The force determined by the measuring device 17 is a force directed in the direction of gravity.

[0032] The measuring device 17 can, for example, be designed as strain gauges applied to the suspension device 15. The force determined by the measuring devices 17 can be used to determine the position of the crane trolley 7 in the crane system of the overhead crane 1. Furthermore, a load suspended from the hook 11 of the crane trolley 7 can be determined.

[0033] The guide rail 5 is attached to the track support rails 13 by means of carriages 19 and can be moved along the track support rails 13. Thus, the crane trolley 7 is arranged to be movable in two directions, since the crane trolley 7 can be moved along the guide rail 5 on the one hand and, together with the guide rail 5, in a direction orthogonal to the guide rail 5 along the track support rails 13 on the other.

[0034] The values ​​of the force applied to the suspension devices 15 recorded by the measuring devices 17 allow the inventive overhead crane 1 to be operated advantageously, since in addition to the position of the crane trolley 7 in the crane system and the suspended load, further information can also be obtained from these values. For example, the speed of a crane trolley 7 can be calculated based on the temporal resolution of the positions.

[0035] The overhead travelling crane 1 according to the invention can thus be controlled particularly advantageously and a wide variety of functions can be implemented. List of reference symbols Overhead travelling crane Rail arrangement Rail Crane trolley Running device Hook Track girder running rail Suspension device Measuring device Running device

Claims

Patent claims 1. Overhead crane (1) with a guide rail arrangement (3) with a guide rail (5) on which a crane trolley (7) can be moved by means of a running device (9), wherein the guide rail (5) is fastened to an environment by means of at least two suspension devices (15) spaced apart from one another, characterized in that a measuring device (17) for the direct or indirect detection of a force directed in the direction of gravity is arranged on at least two of the suspension devices (15).

2. Overhead crane (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two suspension devices (15) are fixedly attached to the surroundings.

3. Overhead crane (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide rail arrangement (3) has at least two parallel track support rails (13), wherein the guide rail is fastened by means of the suspension devices (15) to carriages (19) guided in the track support rails (13).

4. Overhead travelling crane (1) with a guide rail arrangement (3) with a guide rail (5) on which a crane trolley (7) can be moved by means of a running gear device (9), and with at least two parallel track support rails (13), wherein the guide rail (5) is fastened to running gears (19) guided in the track support rails (13) and can be moved on the track support rails (13) by means of the running gears (19), wherein each of the track support rails (13) is fixedly fastened to an environment by means of at least two spaced-apart suspension devices (15), characterized in that on at least two of the suspension devices (15) of each of the track support rails (13) a measuring device (17) is arranged for the direct or indirect detection of a force directed in the direction of gravity.

5. Overhead crane (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3 or claim 4, characterized in that the measuring device (17) of a suspension device (15) has at least one strain sensor, preferably a strain gauge, which determines a strain of the suspension device (15) in the direction of gravity.

6. Overhead crane (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the measuring device of a suspension device (15) has at least one optical distance sensor which determines an extension of the suspension device (15) in the direction of gravity.

7. A method for operating an overhead crane (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a load suspended on the crane trolley (7) is determined and / or a position of the crane trolley (7) in the crane system is determined via the force detected by means of the measuring devices (17) on the suspension devices (15).

8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that the position of the crane trolley (7) in the crane system is determined continuously or at predetermined time intervals, wherein an acceleration and / or a speed of the crane trolley (7) is / are calculated from the positions.

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the driving performance is monitored by means of certain positions and certain values ​​of the attached load.

10. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that movement patterns of the crane trolley (7) are determined by means of certain positions.

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