Patent Publication Number: US-2023150800-A1

Title: Telehandler with improved winch

Description:
This invention relates to telehandlers equipped with an improved winch. There are prior art telehandlers consisting of a vehicle having a frame or “carriage” movable on wheels, equipped with a drivers cab and an operating arm which can be extended telescopically, which can be positioned directly on the carriage or on a rotatable platform mounted on the carriage. 
     At the distal end of the arm there is an attachment device to which an apparatus for lifting or moving loads can be removably coupled; one of these apparatuses is the winch. 
     It is often the case in building sites that the operators must move the load hooked to the winch within precise spatial limits or to prevent interference with elements of the surrounding environment or for reasons of practicality, or it may be the case that they must perform repetitive operations with the winch. 
     It is therefore a long-term and keenly-felt need in the market to improve efficiency and make it easier for the operator of a telehandler to use the winch in activities which are subject to limitations due to the context in which they are carried out. 
     The technical purpose forming the basis of the present invention is to provide a telehandler equipped with a control system of the movements which satisfies the above-described need. 
     The specified aim is attained by the invention made according to claim  1 . 
    
    
     
       Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the non-limiting description of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment of the proposed telehandler, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    is an axonometric view of a telehandler according to the invention; 
         FIG.  2    and  FIG.  3    are side views of the telehandler of  FIG.  1   , shown in different operating configurations; and 
         FIG.  4    is a diagram representing the processing unit according to the invention. 
     
    
    
     With reference to the accompanying drawings, the numeral  1  denotes in its entirety a telehandler according to the invention. 
     The drawings show a rotary telehandler  1 , equipped with a telescopic lifting arm  10  mounted on the rotatable platform  11 , which also has the driver&#39;s cab  12 , the arm  10  being equipped, at its distal end, with a winch  2  equipped with a motor-driven drum  21 , on which is wound a cable  22  to which is fixed a hook  23 , to which a load to be moved can be attached. 
     However, it should be noted that the invention can be used with a different type of telehandler  1 , for example of the fixed type. 
     Still more in detail, the arm  10  may have, at its end, an attachment device  13 , also of the type normally in use in the telehandlers  1  manufactured by the Applicant, which allows the replacement of the winch  2  with another apparatus and its connection to the hydraulic and electronic apparatuses of the telehandler  1 . 
     The arm  10  is hinged to the rotary platform  11 , so as to be able to oscillate vertically, on the actuation of a hydraulic cylinder  101  (schematically illustrated in  FIG.  4   ), or a similar actuator, between a lower position, substantially horizontal, and an upper position wherein the arm  10  is close to the vertical. 
     The arm  10  is extensible and retractable and, more precisely, comprises a plurality of segments inserted one in the other, coaxial with one another and designed to translate along the axial direction. 
     The elongation and retraction of the arm  10  are also produced by one or more hydraulic cylinders  102 , or other actuators (see  FIG.  4   ). 
     The rotation of the platform  11  is also produced by a preferably hydraulic actuator, associated for example with a rack, and the motor  24  which drives the drum  21  of the winch  2  is also preferably hydraulic. 
     The telehandler  1  also mounts an electro-hydraulic distributor  103  to which the above-mentioned actuators  101 ,  102 ,  24  are connected, including the motor  24  of the winch  2 , according to known methods. 
     In practice, the telehandler  1  includes processing unit  3 , that is, a control unit  3 , which transmits control signals to the distributor  103  which consequently controls the actuators  101 ,  102 ,  24 , in such a way that they actuate the arm  10 , the tower  11  and the winch  2  according to the commands given by the operator who sits in the cabin. 
     In practice, the telehandler  1  according to the invention includes a known control system equipped with commands in the cab, such as joystick  41 , pedals, pushbuttons, etc., actuated by the operator; by acting on the commands  41 , the control unit  3  generates signals received from the distributor  103 , which then adjusts the operation of the actuators  101 ,  102 ,  24  of the arm  10 , the winch  2  and the platform  11 . 
     The control unit  3  also includes a known safety system which limits or prevent movements of the arm  10  or activities of the winch  2  which can lead to a risk of overturning, taking into account the weight of the suspended load, the position and degree of elongation of the operating arm  10  and the configuration of the telehandler  1 . 
     According to an important aspect of the invention, the telehandler  1  comprises first means  51  for detecting a quantity of cable  22  of the winch  2  unwound by its drum  21 . 
     In practice, upon driving the motor, the drum  21  unwinds or winds the cable  22  which suspends the load and the first detection means  51  are designed to detect how much cable  22  is unwound and therefore determine, instant by instant, the relative position of the hook  23 , and consequently of the load, relative to the winch  2 . 
     Since the load is positioned immediately below the hook  23 , it is possible to approximate its position to that of the hook  23 ; this does not mean that it is not possible for the control unit  3  to take into account a correction factor which compensates for the distance between the hook  23  and the load. 
     Preferably, the telehandler  1  includes electronic processing means  3 , which consist of or comprise the above-mentioned processing unit  3 , to which is connected a sensor  51  included in said first detection means, designed to produce a first signal as a function of the quantity of cable  22  unwound. The first sensor  51  may be applied to the drum  21  of the winch  2  and be, for example, designed to count the number of revolutions and their direction; the first sensor  51  may be an encoder, a potentiometer or other sensor suitable for the purpose. 
     The telehandler  1  also comprises second detection means  52 ,  53  to determine a relative position of the arm  10  and a quantity of elongation of the arm; in practice, the relative position may be the angular position of the arm  10  relative to the carriage  11  of the telehandler  1  or its equivalent. 
     The second detection means may comprise a second and a third sensor  52 ,  53  designed to produce, respectively, a second signal, as a function of the angular position of the arm  10  and a third signal, as a function of the quantity of elongation of the arm; the sensors  52 ,  53  are also connected to the electronic processing means  3 . 
     For example, the second sensor  52  may be a potentiometer or an encoder, or other equivalent means; the third sensor  53  may also be a potentiometer or an encoder connected to a reel on which is wound a cable one end of which is fixed to a distal portion of the operating arm  10 . 
     The processing means  3  can comprise a position module  31  configured to determine, instant by instant, the position of the hook  23  of the winch  2 , on the basis of the values of said first, second and third signals. 
     Moreover, the processing means  3  can include a memory module  32  which is connected to the position module  31  and in which characteristic parameters of the telehandler  1  are recorded, for example of a geometrical type; in detail, these characteristic parameters represent preferably the dimensional and geometrical characteristics of the telehandler  1 , such as the height of the carriage  11  above the ground, the position of the hinge of the arm  10  and its dimensions, etc. 
     In this case, the position module  31  is configured to determine, instant by instant, the distance of the hook  23  (and therefore of the load) from the ground, on the basis of the characteristic parameters of the telehandler  1 , the angle of the arm  10 , its length and the relative position of the hook  23  (that is, based on the above-mentioned signals). 
     For this reason, advantageously, the invention makes it possible to determine where the load is located during the working operations performed by the telehandler  1 , which makes it possible to make available to the operator new functions described below. 
     It should be noted that what is stated above with regard to the processing means  3  applies to what has been stated for the above-mentioned processing unit  3 , or “control unit”, and vice versa, as the second is a particular type or a component of the first. 
     Generally speaking, it should be noted that, in this description, the processing unit  3  (and therefore the above-mentioned processing means) is presented as divided into separate functional modules solely for the purpose of describing the functions clearly and completely. 
     In practice, the processing unit  3  may be constituted by a single electronic device, also of the type commonly present on this type of telehandler, suitably programmed to perform the functions described; the various modules can correspond to hardware units and/or software routines forming part of the programmed device. 
     Alternatively or in addition, the functions can be performed by a plurality of electronic devices on which the above-mentioned functional modules can be distributed. 
     Generally speaking, the processing unit  3  may have one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers for execution of the instructions contained in the memory modules and the above-mentioned functional modules may also be distributed on a plurality of local or remote calculators based on the architecture of the network in which they reside. 
     The processing unit  3  may comprise or be connected to acquisition means designed to acquire one or more constraining parameters, corresponding to respective spatial limitations and configured for producing one or more limiting signals, as a function of the constraining parameters; the limiting signals are designed to determine constraints to the operation of the winch  2  and of the actuator means. 
     The limiting signals are received from a control module  33  of the processing unit  3  which consequently constrains the actuation of the actuators  101 ,  102 ,  24  of the telehandler  1 . 
     The constraining parameters are in particular geometrical-spatial parameters which define spatial constraints for actuating the arm  10  and the winch  2  relative to predetermined references, such as, for example, the ground level and/or a system of coordinates centred at a fixed point of the telehandler  1 . 
     Examples of these parameters are (or correspond to, are associated with): the height above the ground of the load (that is, of the hook  23 ), the length of the cable  22 , the angle formed by the arm  10  with the carriage  11 , the length or elongation of the arm  10 , or also the distance of the load (or hook  23 ) from the carriage  11  (or other reference), which is determined trigonometrically by the angle and the length of the arm. 
     More specifically, the acquisition means may include a user interface  42  which allows the operator to enter or select limiting parameters. 
     In detail, the interface may be accessible from inside the driver&#39;s cab  12 , for example by means of a touchscreen display  42 , acting on graphic indexes or by means of more traditional commands such as knobs, pushbuttons or levers. 
     The user interface  42  may be configured to select the desired spatial constraint between a plurality of preset spatial constraints and recorded in the memory module  32 , using a menu of choice or the like and/or to allow the operator to set the desired constraints, on the basis of the specific context in which the telehandler  1  is to operate at the moment. 
     The user interface  42  is therefore able to transmit limiting signals to the processing unit  3 , in particular to the control module  33 , as a function of the choices made by the operator. 
     Optionally, the processing unit  3  can include a setting module  34  configured for recording in the memory module  32  a certain position of the load (that is, of the hook  23 , in the direction already explained) which has been set by the operator, using the interface means  42 , thereby defining it as the predetermined arrangement. 
     Preferably, the processing unit  3  comprises a calculation module  35 , to which the control module  33  is connected, configured to determine, as a function of the above-mentioned position associated with the load and the above-mentioned limiting signals, the mode of adjusting the operation of the actuating means and the winch  2 . 
     In other words, by means of the above-mentioned interface  42 , the operator can select or set “rules” or constraints relative to the position of the load and the processing unit  3  ensures that the actuators (cylinders of the arms  101 ,  102  and motor  24  of the winch  2 ) are activated in such a way that, whatever the commands issued by the operator, the established rules are always complied with. 
     In detail, the calculation module  35  is configured to determine, instant by instant, how the control module  33  must adjust the operation of the actuation means  101 ,  102 ,  24 , so that the distance of the load relative to the ground is always kept constant, regardless of how the operator actuates the control means  41 . 
     A constraining parameter is therefore constituted or is a function of the distance from the ground of the load; this distance may be a distance selected by the operator through the interface  42 , amongst some pre-recorded in the memory module  32  or recorded by the setting module  34 , or it may be a distance set at the moment by the operator or it may be the current height of the load, at a certain time. 
     An example of operation of the invention is illustrated below, with the aid of  FIGS.  2  and  3   . 
     Let us assume that the operator has to keep constant the height H of the load, reached during the operating operations of the telehandler  1 . 
     As explained above, the position module  31  calculates instant by instant the value of the height of the load above ground, which is therefore a known data and which can also be made known to the operator using the interface  42 . 
     For this reason, he/she decides to “fix” that height using the user interface  42  and this will be recorded in the memory module  32  and then used by the control module  33 . 
     It is also assumed that, in more detail, the operator wishes not only to keep constant the height of the load H above ground but also to keep constant the distance X of the load from the carriage (see  FIG.  2   ); as no load is shown in this drawing, it is easily possible to consider the height at which the hook  23  is located, for the reasons already explained. 
     In particular, in the example shown in  FIG.  2   , the operator decides to move the arm  10  down from the position A to the position B, with the aim that the height H of the load above the ground and the relative distance X from the carriage  11  do not change. 
     Following operation of the joystick  41  or other control means, the control module  33  of the processing unit  3  will produce suitable control signals which will be received from the hydraulic distributor  103  for controlling the actuator cylinders  101 ,  102  of the arm  10 , for the purpose of the lowering. 
     Whilst the vertical oscillation cylinder  101  of the arm  10  allows the lowering of the arm  10  and the sensor  52  associated with the angular position of the arm  10  transmits to the processing unit  3  the above-mentioned second signal, the calculation module  35  determines how much the operating arm  10  must be shortened and how far the cable  22  of the winch  2  must be re-wound to compensate for the descent of the arm  10 . 
     Therefore, the control module  33 , on the basis of the determinations of the calculation module  35  to which it is connected, will produce control signals which will control the distributor  103  in such a way that it actuates both the cylinders  102  of the telescopic segments of the arm  10  in such a way as to withdraw it by the suitable length and the motor of the winch  2  to wind the cable  22 . 
     If, on the other hand, the operator wishes to move the load towards or away from the carriage  11 , keeping constant the height above ground H, the telehandler  1  may, for example, be controlled so that the arm  10  and the apparatus pass through the positions C, D and E of  FIG.  3    according to the following mode. 
     Starting from the position C, the operator can command a shortening of the arm  10  with the constraint of the constant height of the load, with the processing unit  3  designed to compensate with a winding of the cable  22 ; the operator can then control a lowering with simultaneous approach of the load and the processing unit  3  will compensate by rewinding the cable  22  even more and shortening further the arm  10 .