Crane Component Monitoring for Automated Usage and Load Logging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for monitoring and managing the operating times and loads of interchangeable components in construction machines like cranes are manual, prone to errors, and lack precise documentation, leading to unpredictable wear and tear, safety risks, and inefficient fleet management.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for automated monitoring of construction machine components using a monitoring device that identifies and records the operating time and load of individual elements, transmitting this data to a storage medium for centralized analysis, allowing for predictive maintenance and compliance checks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If manual monitoring and documentation of component operating times and loads is used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability of component lifespan assessment deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring device automatically identifies individual elements using unique identifiers (e.g., RFID tags, data matrices) and self-documented their operating times and load collectives without human intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously recording, storing, and transmitting component usage data, eliminating manual documentation while achieving precise measurement of operating parameters.
2Reliability
If automated monitoring with unique element identification is implemented, then measurement precision and reliability improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into independent functional modules: identification units (readers/scanners) that detect unique element identifiers, monitoring devices that record operating parameters, storage media that archive data, and transmission units that communicate information. This modular segmentation allows the system to achieve high reliability through comprehensive automated tracking while managing complexity through functional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring device performs multiple functions: it identifies individual elements using unique identifiers, records operating times, monitors load collectives, stores data locally and remotely, and transmits information to central management. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into a single integrated device, improving reliability without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Device complexity
If manual determination of load curves and machine configuration is performed, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity and time efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring device continuously detects the actual machine configuration and component usage, feeding this information back to the control system. This feedback enables automatic determination of load curves based on real-time configuration data, eliminating manual calculation time and significantly improving setup productivity while maintaining manageable control system complexity through automated decision-making algorithms.
4Reliability
If comprehensive documentation of all component operating histories is maintained, then reliability and predictive maintenance capability improve, but loss of storage capacity and data management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
A central management unit acts as an intermediary between multiple monitoring devices and the data storage system. This intermediary consolidates data from various sources, manages storage efficiently, and provides centralized access for predictive maintenance analysis. The intermediary layer optimizes data management and reduces the burden on individual monitoring devices, enabling comprehensive documentation without proportionally increasing storage requirements or management complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for monitoring a working machine, in particular a crane, which is equipped with one or more individual elements for use when in operation, wherein a working machine monitoring means unambiguously identifies one or more elements equipping the machine and determines their times of operation, and the determined times of operation of at least one of the element is transmitted together with identification information to storage means for establishing an operation log of the element.