Crane control apparatus and method
AssigneeGorbel, Inc.
InventorsBradford B. Laundry, Li-te Liu, Gustavo Montemayor, Dan O. Popa, Michael K. Taylor, John T. Wen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This crane control apparatus and method with swing control and variable impedance is intended for use with overhead cranes where a line suspended from a moveable hoist suspends a load. It is responsive to operator force applied to the load and uses a control strategy based on estimating the force applied by the operator to the load and, subject to a variable desired load impedance, reacting in response to this estimate. The human pushing force on the load is not measured directly, but is estimated from measurement of the angle of deflection of the line suspending the load and measurement of hoist position.
Claims34
A crane control apparatus for controlling lateral movement of a hoist for a line bearing a load where operator force applied to the load in a lateral direction causes angular deflection of the line, comprising:
- sensing apparatus providing hoist position and angle of deflection measurements;
- and
- a crane control that receives said measurements and can cause the hoist to move in a particular manner as a function of estimated operator force applied to the load without direct measurement of operator force applied to the load, which estimated operator force is derived from said measurements.
A crane control method for controlling lateral movement of a hoist for a line bearing a load where operator force applied to the load in a lateral direction causes angular deflection of the line, comprising:
- providing sensing apparatus and a crane control, which sensing apparatus provides hoist position and angle of deflection measurements to said crane control, and which crane control receives said measurements and can cause the hoist to move in a particular manner as a function of estimated operator force applied to the load without direct measurement of operator force applied to the load, which estimated operator force is derived from said measurements;
- and
- causing the hoist to move in a particular manner using said crane control.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.