Crane Load Sensor Wireless Data Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing weighing arrangements in cranes face challenges in securely routing electric or hydraulic cables along articulated booms, leading to exposure to physical impacts and potential damage, and wireless solutions require large batteries for energy, increasing the size of the sensor unit.
Innovation Solution
An electronic or hydraulic sensor with integrated signal processing and wireless data transfer capabilities, where the electronics unit is located at the boom, reducing physical impact risk and allowing for a larger energy source, such as a battery or solar cell, to power signal processing and data transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wireless data transfer means are integrated with the sensor, then cable damage risk is reduced, but battery size and housing volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the battery and wireless communication electronics from the sensor housing and relocates them to the crane's main control unit. This leaves only the strain gauge sensor in the loading neck, dramatically reducing housing volume while maintaining wireless functionality. The battery is now part of the stationary control system rather than a portable component.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is divided into separate functional components: the strain gauge sensor in the loading neck, the wireless communication antenna on the boom, and the processing electronics with battery in the control unit. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function and location.
2Use of energy by moving object
If sensor housing is made larger to accommodate battery, then energy capacity increases, but exposure to physical impacts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is extracted from the sensor housing and relocated to the protected control unit environment. This eliminates the need for a large protective housing at the rotator position, as the energy source is now housed in the shielded cabin where it is protected from impacts while maintaining full energy capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary power transmission system where electrical cables connect the sensor to the control unit, eliminating the need for a large local battery housing. The power and data are transmitted through the boom structure, allowing the control unit to be positioned in a protected environment.
3Ease of operation
If electric cable or hydraulic hose is led along articulated boom, then sensor functionality is maintained, but cable security from physical strain and impacts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vulnerable hydraulic hose and replaces it with an electrical strain gauge system that uses shielded cables routed through protected pathways in the boom structure. The signal cable is extracted from the rotator area and connected to the control unit through fixed mounting points that prevent strain and damage during articulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible, strain-relief covered electrical cables that can accommodate the articulation movements of the boom while protecting the conductors from physical damage. These cables are routed through flexible conduits that allow movement without exposing the wires to strain or impact.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution results in a compact, reliable sensor system with reduced risk of physical damage and increased energy capacity, enabling efficient wireless data transmission and accurate weight measurement during material lifting operations.
Implementation Method 1
If a strain gauge is used as a sensor, the signal from the sensor is lead through a signal cable 2 to amplifier 3
Data Source
Figure 1~2b
Figure 2c
AI summary
Arrangement for detecting a property of load manipulated by lifting means, which can be applied e.g. in a weighing arrangement, used for weighing material being lifted with a crane of a material transfer vehicle. The object is met by a solution, wherein there is an electronic or hydraulic sensor at the material handling means, and a signal from the sensor is lead by an electric cable or hydraulic hose to an electronics unit which is located at the boom of the lifting means. The electronics unit has means for wireless data transfer and an energy source for signal processing means and data transfer means.