Crawler track, shoe, track link, undercarriage assembly and vehicle provided with a power supply unit for powering sensors
AssigneesBerco S.p.A., thyssenkrupp AG
InventorsFrancesco Grenzi, Enrico Maggiolini, Raffaele De Scisciolo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heavy-duty vehicle may include a crawler track on which a rest of the vehicle can roll so as to move. A sensor may be configured to detect a physical quantity of the crawler track, of the heavy-duty vehicle, or of the environment contained by or surrounding the crawler track or the heavy-duty vehicle. A power supply unit may be configured to supply the sensor with electric power. The power supply unit comprises a rectenna configured to receive electromagnetic power from an external electromagnetic source and to supply the sensor with at least part of the electromagnetic power.
Claims19
A heavy-duty vehicle comprising:
- a crawler track on which a remainder of the heavy-duty vehicle is configured to roll so as to move;
- a sensor;
- a power supply unit configured to supply the sensor with electric power, wherein the power supply unit includes a rectenna configured to receive electromagnetic power from an external electromagnetic source and supply the sensor with at least part of the electromagnetic power;
- and
- a shoe of the crawler track that is configured to be laid on a floor or a ground on which the crawler track can be moved forward, wherein the shoe comprises:
- a main plate, and
- an advancement rib protruding from the main plate,
- wherein the sensor is a wear sensor and includes a resistive element configured to detect wear of the advancement rib;
- wherein the wear sensor extends over a whole height of the advancement rib from a tip of the advancement rib to a base of the advancement rib;
- wherein the crawler track is equipped with a second sensor that is a wear sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a load cell, an accelerometer, a noise sensor, a vibration sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a receiver of a global positioning system, or a chemical sensor.
An undercarriage assembly for a heavy-duty track-type vehicle, the undercarriage assembly comprising:
- a crawler track on which a remainder of the heavy-duty vehicle is configured to roll so as to move;
- a sensor;
- an external electromagnetic source;
- a power supply unit configured to supply the sensor with electric power, wherein the power supply unit includes a rectenna configured to receive electromagnetic power from the external electromagnetic source and supply the sensor with at least part of the electromagnetic power;
- and
- a shoe of the crawler track that is configured to be laid on a floor or a ground on which the crawler track can be moved forward, wherein the shoe includes a main plate and an advancement rib protruding from the main plate, wherein the sensor is a wear sensor and includes a resistive element configured to detect wear of the advancement rib, wherein the wear sensor extends over a whole height of the advancement rib from a tip of the advancement rib to a base of the advancement rib;
- wherein the external electromagnetic source is configured to emit microwaves suitable for powering the rectenna;
- wherein the crawler track is equipped with a second sensor that is a wear sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a load cell, an accelerometer, a noise sensor, a vibration sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a receiver of a global positioning system, or a chemical sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.