US 10,662,033 B2Granted

Remote-controlled crane

AssigneeLiebherr-Components Biberach GmbH

InventorsOliver Fenker, Roman Hofmann

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A crane system includes crane with a load hook that can be raised or lowered via movable crane elements, and moved within a crane working area by operating drive units associated with the crane elements. The crane system further includes a control unit and a mobile transponder that can be variably positioned in the crane working area, and one or more transmitting/receiving units communicatively coupled to the control unit and configured to receive signals transmitted by the mobile transponder. The control unit is configured to automatically determining the current position of the mobile transponder relative to the load hook and/or a crane element based on the signals received from the mobile transponder, and automatically control the drive units in such that the load hook is automatically moved to the mobile transponder.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A crane system, comprising:

a crane;
a trolley movably mounted on a jib, the trolley including a load hook;
drive units configured to raise or lower the crane via movable crane elements and to move the crane within a crane working area;
a control unit coupled to the crane;
a mobile transponder;
and
one or more transmitting/receiving units communicatively coupled with the control unit and configured to receive signals transmitted by the mobile transponder;
wherein the control unit includes computer-readable instructions stored on non-transitory memory for:
automatically determining a position of the mobile transponder relative to one or more of the load hook and one of the movable crane elements based on signals from the mobile transponder received at the one or more transmitting/receiving units;
and
automatically controlling one or more of the drive units based on the position of the mobile transponder, such that the load hook is automatically moved to the position of the mobile transponder,
wherein the instructions for automatically determining the position of the mobile transponder relative to one or more of the load hook and one of the movable crane elements comprise instructions to evaluate signal characteristics of the signals from the mobile transponder received at the one or more transmitting/receiving units and determine the position of the mobile transponder from the signal characteristics, and
wherein the signal characteristics comprise one or more of a signal propagation delay and a signal strength.

10 more elements

A method for a crane system, comprising:

transmitting signals from a mobile transponder incorporated in a portable control panel for operating a crane to one or more transmitting/receiving units communicatively coupled with a control unit of the crane, the crane comprising drive units configured to raise or lower the crane via movable crane elements and to move the crane within a crane working area;
with the control unit, automatically determining a position of the mobile transponder relative to one or more of a load hook and one of the movable crane elements based on the signals from the mobile transponder received at the one or more transmitting/receiving units, and automatically controlling the drive units based on the position of the mobile transponder, such that the load hook is automatically moved to the position of the mobile transponder,
wherein automatically determining the position of the mobile transponder relative to one or more of the load hook and one of the movable crane elements based on the signals from the mobile transponder received at the one or more transmitting/receiving units comprises, with the control unit, determining propagation delays of the signals from the mobile transponder received at the one or more transmitting/receiving units, and determining the position of the mobile transponder relative to the crane based on the propagation delays.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/952,663Filed 13 Apr 2018 · continuation
Priority: DE 10 2013 006 25811 Apr 2013
Published: US 2018/0229978 A116 Aug 2018
Granted: 26 May 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B66C 13/40
Control systems or devices: applications of devices for transmitting control pulses; Applications of remote control devices
B66C 13/46
Control systems or devices: position indicators for suspended loads or for crane elements
B66C 23/16
Cranes comprising essentially a beam, boom, or triangular structure acting as a cantilever and mounted for translatory of swinging movements in…:…
B66C 13/44
Applications of devices for transmitting control pulses; Applications of remote control devices: electrical transmitters

Family

PCT/EP2014/000732Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 18 Mar 2014
Application14/880,636Parent of this continuation · filed 12 Oct 2015
US 2018/0229978 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Aug 2018
US 9,969,600 B2Parent of this continuation
Application14/880,636Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2016/0031683 A1Published application
US 10,662,033 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.