Articulated Mast Speed Control for Faster Concrete Pump Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large manipulators, such as truck-mounted concrete pumps, often operate at suboptimal speeds due to safety standards limiting the maximum permissible speed of the articulated mast tip, leading to inefficient unfolding and folding processes and prolonged operation times.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a control system that dynamically adjusts the speed of the articulated mast's drives based on real-time sensor data, allowing for higher speeds within legal limits and includes an emergency mode with a fixed maximum speed to ensure compliance with safety standards, even in manual operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the control valves are designed to limit the travel speed of hydraulic cylinders to ensure safety in the worst-case scenario (all joints pivoted simultaneously at maximum speed), then safety is improved, but the mast movement speed becomes excessively slow in normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The control system dynamically adjusts the maximum travel speed of hydraulic cylinders based on the current configuration of the articulated mast. Instead of using a fixed conservative speed limit, the system calculates the actual mast tip speed based on the current positions of all joints and the lengths of mast segments, then adjusts individual cylinder speeds to maintain compliance with the maximum mast tip speed limit. This allows faster operation in configurations where the mast tip moves slower naturally, while still ensuring safety in all configurations.
2Reliability
If the travel speed of hydraulic cylinders is limited to comply with maximum permissible mast tip speed, then safety standards are met, but the legally permitted speed range is poorly utilized
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the speed parameters of individual hydraulic cylinders based on the real-time configuration of the articulated mast. By continuously monitoring the positions of all joints and calculating the resulting mast tip speed, the control system adjusts the travel speed parameters of each cylinder to maximize utilization of the permissible speed range while ensuring the mast tip speed never exceeds the legally permitted maximum.
3Speed
If all joints are moved at maximum speed with the articulated mast fully extended, then the mast tip speed limit is reached, but this worst-case scenario practically never occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The control system uses feedback from sensors monitoring the positions of all articulated joints to continuously calculate the actual mast tip speed. This feedback loop allows the system to adjust cylinder speeds in real-time, enabling faster operation in normal configurations where the mast tip speed is naturally lower, while automatically reducing speeds only when necessary to prevent exceeding the maximum permissible limit.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a large manipulator (1), in particular a truck-mounted concrete pump, comprising a turntable (3) that can be rotated about a vertical axis by means of a rotary drive and is arranged on a chassis (2), an articulated mast (4) which comprises two or more mast segments (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d), wherein the mast segments (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) are each pivotably movably connected via articulated joints to the respective adjacent turntable (3) or mast segment (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) by means of a drive (6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d), a control device (7) for mast movement, which actuates the drives (6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) in a normal operation, and a mast sensor system for detecting the position of at least one point of the articulated mast (4) or a pivoting angle (φ1, φ2, φ3, φ4) of at least one articulated joint. The problem addressed by the invention is to be able to bring the articulated mast in minimal time from the fully folded state to its desired working position. Furthermore, even in the event of a failure of the mast sensor system, it should be ensured that the displacement speed of the drives meets legal standards. To this end, the invention proposes that the control device (7) is designed to limit the speed of mast movement, in that the mast speed is limited to a maximum value as a function of the instantaneous output signals of the mast sensor system, wherein the drives (6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) are manually controllable in an emergency operating mode, wherein at least one limiting means (11, 12, 13, 14) is provided, which, in the emergency operating mode, limits the displacement speed of at least one of the drives (6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) to a fixedly predefined maximum value. The invention further relates to a method for controlling the movement of an articulated mast of a large manipulator.