Patent ID: 11970376
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. A system for controlling an operation of a winch assembly, comprising:
a winch drum configured to rotate;
a winch cable attached to said winch drum;
a winch motor operatively connected to said winch drum and configured to rotate said winch drum;
a sensor operatively associated with said winch drum, said sensor configured to generate signals indicative of a number of layers of said winch cable on said winch drum; and
a winch controller configured to:
receive a control input requesting a selected rotation of said winch drum;
receive said signals from said sensor;
determine the number of layers of said winch cable that are disposed on said winch drum based on said signals from said sensor; and
generate at least one control command to control said winch motor and thereby rotate said winch drum based on at least said control input and said determination of said number of layers of said winch cable,
wherein said at least one control command causes said winch drum to rotate so as to produce a substantially constant line speed based on said received control input and independent of the number of layers determined to be disposed on said winch drum.