EP4010279A1

EP4010279A1 - Method and device for detecting the set-up state of a construction and/or material-handling machine

Info

Publication number: EP4010279A1
Application number: EP20753319.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Markus Hofmeister; Tobias Englert
Original assignee: Liebherr Werk Biberach GmbH
Current assignee: Liebherr Werk Biberach GmbH
Priority date: 2019-08-13
Filing date: 2020-08-04
Publication date: 2022-06-15
Also published as: WO2021028258A1; DE102019121746A1; CN114206767A; US20220162044A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for detecting the set-up state of a construction and/or material-handling machine (11), in particular a crane, and/or the location of individual set-up elements (12) of the construction and/or material-handling machine, with electronic identification elements (1) which are attached to the set-up elements of the construction and/or material-handling machine, and an electronic evaluation unit (23) for determining the set-up state and/or location of the set-up elements based on information received from the identification elements. The identification elements attached to the set-up elements are provided with energy-generating means (10) for generating electrical energy from environmental influences, as well as an energy accumulator (7) for storing the generated energy and supplying the identification elements.

Description

Method and device for detecting the set-up status of a building and / or

Material handling machine

The present invention relates to a method and a device for detecting the setup status of a construction and / or material handling machine, in particular a crane, and / or the location of individual setup elements of the construction and / or material handling machine, with electronic identification elements attached to the setup elements the construction and / or material handling machine are attached, as well as an electronic evaluation device for determining the setup status and / or location of the setup elements on the basis of information received from the identification elements. The invention also relates to such a construction and / or material handling machine, in particular in the form of a crane.

Construction and / or material handling machines such as cranes, for example tower cranes or telescopic jib mobile cranes, but also derrick cranes or maritime cranes such as ship loading cranes are often operated in different setup states in which individual setup elements such as jib parts, ballast elements, bracing or tower sections are installed or removed , additionally grown or mounted in different places. On the one hand, this influences the load and thus the service life of the components. To the On the other hand, the set-up status has a decisive influence on the permissible load capacity of the crane, which must be taken into account by selecting appropriate load-bearing curves in the load monitoring device or by different configurations of the crane control.

So far, it has been very common for the crane operator or fitter to manually enter relevant key data of the set-up status such as the total length of the assemblies such as the jib length, the tower height and the counter jib length, or the number of mounted ballast elements, into the control system when installing the crane, so that the control can select the relevant load curves semi-automatically.

More recently, however, it has also been proposed to automatically monitor the set-up status of such a construction and / or material handling machine by attaching appropriate monitoring devices or suitable sensors to the machine in order to detect the equipped machine elements and / or the assembly position of the installed machine elements.

For example, document EP 1724230 B1 shows a crawler crane or cable excavator in which the ballast elements that can be placed on the superstructure and the traction weights that can be attached to the undercarriage are each provided with an RFID tag. A reader reads in the information provided by the RFID tags and forwards it to the control device, which then adjusts the overload protection accordingly.

In a similar way, DE 10 2012 025 111 A1 provides RFID transponders on the counterweights on a telescopic boom mobile crane and on a fly jib that can be mounted if necessary, a control unit of the crane using the data transmitted by the RFID transponders to determine the setup status and load cut-off values calculated. The document DE 10 2014 018 063 A1 regards the determination of the setup status of a crane by means of such RFID tags as disadvantageous and wants to determine the setup status of a crawler or mobile crane by means of a camera, which should enable an optical detection of characteristic setup parameters. For example, the number of rope reevings on the load hook or the number of ballast plates used on the superstructure should be determined with the camera.

Document EP 2799386 B1 proposes determining the number of ballast weight plates provided on a crane by means of a weight sensor which detects the weight load on the steel structure of the superstructure.

Furthermore, the document WO 2017/162336 A1 describes a tower crane, on whose lattice pieces so-called RuBee tags are attached, which send in the low-frequency range and transfer identification data to a control device that determines the set-up status based on the information received. As an alternative to such LWID elements communicating in the low frequency range, the corresponding data can also be transmitted to the control device via optical fibers, which, however, requires appropriate optical fiber cabling with coupling pieces between the crane elements. The data transfer should take place via multihop transmission.

The energy supply of the identification elements required for the data transmission is, however, not very easy, especially with construction and / or material handling devices such as cranes. On the one hand, large boom lengths and tower heights or corresponding machine dimensions result in considerable distances between the information elements attached to remote set-up elements and the machine control, so that wireless energy transmission is not easily possible. In the case of RFID tags, it is known that the high-frequency radio waves from the RFID reader not only transmit data, but also supply the transponder with energy. However, this is only possible to a limited extent with regard to the range and is also often due to the metallic components and the resulting produced coverage impaired. Active RFID transponders with their own energy supply from a battery or a rechargeable battery can alleviate the problem of range, but on the other hand suffer from the fact that the energy cannot be stored for a long enough time.

A number of set-up elements such as the tower and jib sections of a crane or other mechanical, often metallic structural components are very durable components that are often used for many years. In addition, construction machinery elements are often stored in a storage area for a long time, for example over the winter, which further affects the batteries of such transponder chips.

Apart from the energy supply problem mentioned, problems can also arise in the transmission of information, for example if, due to a large number of RFID chips, there are mutual interference in the radio signals or interference from the environment. In the case of RFID tags attached to steel components, it is often not easy to keep communication stable.

The present invention is based on the object of creating an improved method and an improved device for detecting the set-up status and / or the location of a set-up element, as well as an improved construction and / or material handling machine of the type mentioned, which avoid the disadvantages of the prior art and Train the latter in an advantageous manner. In particular, stable communication with the information elements is to be achieved even with larger distances due to large boom or tower lengths and thus a reliable determination of the set-up status or the location of the set-up elements is made possible and a reliable functionality is ensured even over a very long service life of the machine. According to the invention, the stated object is achieved by a method according to claim 1, a device according to claim 4, and a construction and / or material handling machine according to claim 31. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

In order to maintain a sufficient energy supply for the identification elements attached to the set-up elements, which enables data transmission or communication even over larger distances, over a longer service life, it is proposed that the energy stores of the identification elements be recharged again and again by energy harvesting. According to the invention, the identification elements that are attached to the set-up elements are provided with energy generation means for generating electrical energy from environmental influences and an energy store for storing the energy obtained and for supplying the identification elements. The set-up elements to which the identification elements are attached, as well as the identification elements themselves, are exposed to various environmental influences such as mechanical stresses, sunlight and daylight irradiation, temperature exposure or heat differences over their service life, which allow the energy storage of the identification elements to be refilled again and again.

In order to use every opportunity to generate energy as far as possible, in a further development of the invention, said energy generation means can comprise several differently operating energy generation modules. By means of such multiple, differently working energy generation modules, various environmental influences can be exploited or energy in the form of electrical voltage or electrical current can be obtained from various environmental influences. The various energy generation means can store the energy obtained simultaneously or one after the other in a common energy store.

In particular, at least one of the identification elements that are attached to the set-up elements of the machine can with at least one be provided thermoelectric energy generation module, which can convert thermal loads and / or thermal gradients on the equipment element and / or the identification element into electrical energy. In particular, the identification element can be provided with a Peltier element which is attached to component sections with different, in particular opposite surfaces, which regularly or at least occasionally have different temperatures. By applying a temperature difference to the two sides of the Peltier element, electrical current can be generated, which is sometimes also referred to as the Seebeck effect. In particular, the Peltier element can be connected via a thermally highly conductive material, for example a thermally conductive paste, on the one hand to a usually warm and on the other hand to a usually cold ambient element. These warm or cold environmental elements can form the immediate surroundings of the identification element or a part thereof. For example, this can be a section of a steel structure on the one hand and an electronic assembly of the identification element on the other.

As an alternative or in addition to such a thermoelectric energy generation module, the identification element can also be supplied with electrical energy by means of an electromechanical energy generation module. Such an electromechanical energy generation module can for example include at least one piezo element which can convert elastic deformations into electrical energy. Such a piezo element can advantageously be attached to or connected to a section of the respective setup element to which the identification element is attached, which section is regularly subject to higher mechanical loads or stresses and thus exhibits elastic deformations. For example, this can be a longitudinal or transverse belt of a framework girder or another section of a set-up element that is subject to high stresses. For example, it can be useful to attach such a piezo element to a boom and / or tower section of a crane to which a corresponding identification element is attached. As an alternative or in addition to such a piezo element, which already responds to smaller deformations, an electromechanical transducer can, however, also pick up adjusting movements of the set-up element that occur during machine operation and convert them into electrical energy. For example, this can be a dynamo or generator that is attached to a pivot bearing or a pulley.

As an alternative or in addition to such an electromechanical energy generation module, a photoelectric energy generation module can also be provided, which can convert incoming light such as solar radiation into electrical energy. Such a photoelectric energy generation module can be attached directly to the identification element, but possibly also attached to the setup element at a distance therefrom, in order to feed the energy store of the identification element.

As an alternative or in addition, the identification element can also comprise an energy generation module which generates electrical energy from the application of near field communication to the identification element. In particular, an inductive energy generation module can be provided.

The electrical energy obtained by the energy generation means can be stored in a common energy store or in several separate energy stores. In this case, an energy control and / or management device can be provided which controls and / or manages the storage and / or withdrawal of energy into or from the at least one energy store. Such an electrical power management can on the one hand be connected to the at least one energy store and on the other hand to the possibly different, several energy generation means in order to control the storage of the gained energy in the energy store. On the other hand, the power management can also be used for electrical consumers such as, for example, a transmission device for sending information to be connected in order to give energy provided from the energy store to the consumer and / or to control the consumer supply.

In order to save energy or use as little energy as possible, the energy control and / or management device can, for example, only supply the loads such as the transmitting device with energy within predetermined time windows and / or predetermined functional requirements, the mentioned time and / or function windows can be determined for example using a function assigned to the identification element or can be determined using a stored logic which can be stored, for example, in the identification element itself, for example in the form of software. Alternatively or additionally, the energy tax and / or

Management device also activate the power supply as a function of an external signal that is received at the identification element, for example as a function of an information retrieval signal that comes from another identification element or another control device or counterpart.

Various storage modules, such as a capacitor or an accumulator, can be provided as the energy store, wherein a mixture comprising at least one capacitor and at least one accumulator can also be provided. The aforementioned energy control and / or management device can decide in which energy storage device an energy provided by the energy generation means is currently being stored, for example based on the amount and / or duration of the energy generation. For example, low voltages and / or voltages provided over a longer period of time, for example from a Peltier element, can be fed into the battery, while short-term and / or higher voltages such as from a piezo element can be fed to a capacitor. As an alternative or in addition, a balance between several energy stores can also be provided, for example to the effect that a portion of the energy stored briefly in the capacitor is stored by the latter in the battery.

In order to be able to transmit information efficiently, the identification elements can each have a communication device, preferably in the form of a transmitting / receiving device with at least one antenna device, in order to be able to wirelessly transmit or receive information or signals via the antenna device.

In order to be able to communicate with a respective counterpart with little expenditure of energy, different antenna devices can advantageously be provided on a respective identification element.

In order to be able to transmit a respective piece of information or a respective signal in an energy-efficient manner, a transmission control device can select the antenna device via which the respective signal is transmitted as a function of the information to be transmitted.

In a further development of the invention, said antenna device can comprise a multifrequency antenna on at least one of the identification elements, preferably on all identification elements, which can send and / or receive signals in different frequencies or frequency ranges. Said multifrequency antenna can, for example, be designed to transmit and / or receive signals in different frequency ranges simultaneously, wherein such a multifrequency antenna can be designed, for example, in the form of a Lakhovsky antenna. As an alternative or in addition, the multi-frequency antenna can also only be designed to transmit in one or the other frequency band. Advantageously, the antenna device can be assigned a frequency control device which takes over the setting or selection of the frequency for data communication in order to then transmit and / or receive in the desired frequency band via the multi-frequency antenna.

Alternatively or additionally, the antenna device mentioned can be a directional antenna, for example in the form of a directional radio antenna and / or a phased array antenna, i.e. a phase-controlled group antenna with directional effect, which bundles the radiant energy through the arrangement and interconnection of individual radiators.

Alternatively or in addition, the antenna device can also have a near-field antenna for near-field communication, for example in the form of a near-field radio antenna. By means of such a near-field antenna, the information element can communicate in particular with other information elements that are attached to the respective machine and / or other counterparts on the machine or in the immediate vicinity of the machine, for example transmit information or receive signals.

Alternatively or additionally, however, the antenna device can also have a position-finding antenna in order to receive signals from a position-finding system, for example from a navigation satellite.

As an alternative or in addition to a GPS locating device, a respective information element can, however, also have a locating device that operates differently for determining position. For example, the locating device can comprise a mobile radio device with position determination, for example to determine in which mobile radio cell the information element is located and / or when receiving multiple mobile radio signals to determine at which point or in which area between several mobile radio masts the respective information element is located. Such mobile radio positioning methods, for example including a triangulation determination, are known per se and can serve to determine from the known locations of several radio cell masts or antennas and the strength and / or direction of the respective signals exactly where the mobile radio device, which is provided on the information element, is located.

Alternatively or additionally, the locating device can also have a position determining device for determining the position relative to the other information elements, wherein such a position determination can be carried out, for example, by means of a transit time measuring device that can measure the transit time of the signals between the information elements.

In order to save energy in data communication and not have unnecessarily long transmission paths and thus require transmission capacities, an advantageous development of the invention can provide that at least some of the information elements communicate with one another in series or can be connected to provide information in the manner of an information chain to transmit from information element to information element. In particular, the information elements can form a daisy chain system which transmits information serially from information element to information element and transmits it from an information element to the evaluation device mentioned above or to another external data processing device, such an external data processing device on the construction and / or material handling machine or can also be provided separately from this.

The information elements can advantageously be configured in such a way that information and / or signals to be transmitted can be strung together and / or data packets to be transmitted can be adapted dynamically. For example, it can be provided that an information element, which has to transmit its own information and additionally also "foreign" information from an adjacent information element, only transmits a data packet in which both its own and the external information is contained. Should, for example, the time of receipt of a signal at a first Identification element and are reported back to a second identification element, the second identification element can transmit its reception time and its identification information to the first information element, which then transmits a data packet that contains the identification code and the reception time of the second element and also the reception time and the Identification code of the first element.

A dynamic telegram adaptation and a string of information to be transmitted in a daisy chain structure make it possible to determine the sequence of the individual assemblies and identification elements.

Advantageously, all information or data of the identification elements or a subgroup of identification elements can be brought together in a higher-level system, for example a machine control or a cloud.

In particular, the already mentioned evaluation device, which can be implemented in the above-mentioned higher-level system, for example the machine control or a cloud, but can also be configured separately therefrom and / or assigned to one of the identification elements, can determine the setup status of the construction and / or material handling machine or determine the position of the identification elements and the set-up elements marked with them. This allows the complete life cycle of a setup element to be traced.

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of a preferred exemplary embodiment and associated drawings. In the drawings show:

Fig. 1: an illustration of two construction and material handling machines in the form of tower cranes, the set-up elements including tower and boom pieces and ballast elements are each provided with an identification element, the communication paths between the identification elements and the communication paths to a location system, a mobile radio system and a cloud are shown,

FIG. 2: a representation of one of the identification elements from FIG. 1 in a detailed representation, which shows energy generation modules, an energy store and an energy management device of the identification element,

FIG. 3: a representation of the identification elements attached to the jib sections of one of the tower cranes from FIG. 1 and their communication with one another, which illustrates the daisy chain system formed by the identification elements.

Fig. 4: a representation of one of the set-up elements of the building and

Material handling machine from FIG. 1 during storage or retrieval at a storage location, the information transmission between the identification element attached to the setup element and a registration station at the storage location being shown, and

5: an illustration of the set-up elements stored at the storage location with the identification elements attached thereto, the reading in of the information from the identification elements by means of a hand-held transmitter or receiver being shown.

As FIG. 1 shows, the construction and / or material handling machine 11 can be designed as a crane, for example in the form of a tower crane, and comprise a plurality of set-up elements 12 from which the construction and / or material handling machine 11 can be constructed. Typically, the set-up elements 12 can be provided variably and / or installed at different locations, so that the machine can be operated in different configurations depending on the presence, number and installation position of the set-up elements 12. Such set-up elements 12 can in particular be mechanical structural components such as steel components, bracing, ballast weights and the like. In the case of a crane, the set-up elements 12 can, for example, comprise jib pieces and / or tower pieces from which the jib 13 or tower 14 of the crane can be assembled. Depending on the crane type, these can be, for example, lattice girders, telescopic aprons or tower or boom segments.

Other set-up elements 12 can have ballast weights, upper and / or undercarriage elements, bracing elements or other assemblies of the respective construction and / or material handling machine 11.

As FIG. 1 shows, electronic identification elements 1 can be attached to said set-up elements 12, in particular rigidly attached, which can be done, for example, by gluing or in some other way. At least one identification element 1 is advantageously permanently assigned to each set-up element 12.

The named identification elements 1 can be designed as ID labels or smart labels which are glued onto the respective setup element 12.

As FIG. 2 shows, the identification elements 1 can comprise an electronic data processing and / or communication device in order to process and / or store and / or send and / or receive information. The identification element 1 can advantageously include data processing logic, for example in the form of fixed wiring or in the form of a program stored in a program memory, which can be processed by a microprocessor.

In order to be energy self-sufficient over a longer period of time even under unfavorable conditions, the identification element 1 comprises energy generation means 10 which can generate energy from the surroundings of the identification element 1. The aforementioned energy generation means 10 can advantageously have several, in include energy generation modules that work in different ways in order to be able to convert various environmental influences into electrical energy.

As FIG. 2 shows, the energy generation means 10 can advantageously comprise at least one thermoelectric energy generation module 8 or, for example, be designed in the form of a Peltier element.

Such a thermoelectric energy generation module 8 can advantageously be connected via a thermally highly conductive material, for example a heat-conducting paste 9, on the one hand to a usually warm environmental module and on the other hand to a usually cold environmental module. For example, one side of the Peltier element or of the thermoelectric energy generation module 8 can form part of the fastening surface of the identification element 1, which fastening surface is connected to the respective setup element 12, for example, it is flat onto the surface of the metallic setup element 12, for example glued. If the set-up element 12 is a metal component, it is subject to greater temperature fluctuations, for example a large speed in the sun or very cold at night or cold outside temperatures.

Another surface of the thermoelectric energy generation module 8, in particular an opposite surface of the Peltier element, can be connected to the inside of the electronic element 1, in particular to its data processing and / or transmission devices, for example via the aforementioned conductive material 9.

The temperature gradient applied to the two surfaces of the module 8 is converted by the module 8 into electrical energy.

As an alternative or in addition to such a thermoelectric energy module 8, the energy generation means 10 can advantageously also have at least one mechanical-electrical energy generation module 4, for example in the form of a piezo element. Such a mechanical-electrical energy generation module 4 can be integrated into the identification element 1 and / or connected to surrounding components in order to take part in deformations of the identification element 1 and / or a respective surrounding module or to be deformed by such deformations. As FIG. 2 shows, for example, a mechanical-electrical energy generation module 4 can be attached to the connection surface of the identification element 1, which is connected flatly to the respective set-up element 12. Alternatively or additionally, another mechanical-electrical energy generation module 4 can be integrated in the housing and / or in the interior of the identification module 1 in order to experience a corresponding deformation when the element 1 is deformed and / or expanded. The aforementioned mechanical deformation is converted into electrical energy.

Alternatively or additionally, at least one photoelectric energy generation module 5 can also be provided, which can be attached to an outside or an outside housing of the identification element 1 in order to capture ambient light falling on the identification element 1, in particular solar radiation or light. The captured light is converted into electrical energy by the module 5.

Alternatively or additionally, the identification element 1 can also comprise an inductive energy generation module 3, for example in the form of a coil, in order to convert communication signals or waves that act on the identification element 1 from the environment, such as near-field communication signals or radio signals, into energy.

The various energy generation modules of the energy generation means 10 are advantageously connected via an energy control and / or management device 6 to at least one energy store 7 in which the electrical energy obtained from the mentioned modules can be stored. The mentioned energy control and / or management device 6 can, for example, the Limit the storage of energy, for example if several energy generation modules provide more energy than can be stored in the energy store 7. Alternatively or additionally, the mentioned energy control and / or management device can split the electrical energy provided by the energy generation means 10 into different energy stores 7, which can be controlled in the manner explained above, for example depending on the level and / or the expected duration of the energy generation.

The aforementioned energy control and / or management device 6 can also be connected in the opposite way to consumers of the identification element 1 in order to control their energy supply and / or the removal of energy from the energy store 7.

Such a consumer can be, for example, a communication device 15, which can comprise a data transmission and / or reception device in order to send and / or receive information.

In order to be able to communicate with different remote stations, said communication device 15 can advantageously have different

Have antenna devices 16. For example, the antenna device 16 can be a multi-frequency antenna and / or a directional antenna, for example in the form of a phased array antenna or a directional radio antenna, and / or a near-field communication antenna and / or a mobile radio antenna and / or a GPS and / or location antenna for communication with a navigation satellite or other positioning device.

As FIG. 1 shows, the identification elements 1 can advantageously communicate with one another or with one another, which can take place, for example, via the near-field communication antenna of the communication device 15. Alternatively or in addition, the named identification elements 1 or at least one of the identification elements 1 can be connected to a mobile radio device 17 and / or communicate with a navigation satellite 17 or another location device, for example in the form of a radio tower.

Alternatively or additionally, the communication device 15 of at least one identification element 1 can be designed to communicate with a cloud 18 in which the information or data of all identification elements 1 can be stored.

In a further development of the invention, it is also possible that it is not the identification elements 1 themselves, but an interconnected communication device, for example a communication module of a machine control, for example the crane control device, to communicate with the aforementioned navigation satellite 17 and / or the mobile radio device 16 and / or the cloud 18, in order to forward or transmit data received from the identification elements 1 or, conversely, to receive information from the named devices and to send them on to the identification elements 1 or to transmit them in processed form.

In order to save energy for the communication, the communication device 15 can comprise at least one identification element 1 a radio power control device 19 which increases or decreases or turns off the radio power, depending on how high the required radio power is. This can be controlled, for example, as a function of the distance to an adjacent identification element 1 or to another counterpart, and / or as a function of a transmission function to be carried out and / or as a function of a received information signal.

Said radio power control device 19 is advantageously designed to send radio signals only in the environment necessary for the respective task. In particular, crossings between groups of elements can be avoided. In addition, transmission can advantageously be carried out with the lowest possible power and thus energy can be saved. As an alternative or in addition, the communication device 15 can be designed to adapt the transmission frequencies to the environment in order to establish radio connections to various remote stations and to keep the communication stable.

In a further development of the invention, a position determination device 20 is provided, which can be integrated into one or each of the identification elements 1 and / or provided on an external data processing module of the construction and / or material handling machine 1, such as a crane control device.

By means of such a position determination device 20, the exact position of a respective identification element 1 and thus of the set-up element 12 identified by it can be determined. Said position determination device 20 can be designed to operate in various ways. For example, the position determination device 20 can carry out GPS positioning, for example by evaluating a navigation satellite signal received in the respective identification element 1. Alternatively or additionally, the position determining device 20 can determine the position of the identification element 1 receiving the signal from the mobile radio signal received by the mobile radio device 16, for example with the aid of triangulation methods and / or with the aid of directional technology.

Alternatively or additionally, the position determination device 20 can also determine the position of the identification elements 1 by measuring the transit time of the radio signals between the elements 1.

In order to save energy, the identification elements 1 are advantageously designed to send only the most necessary data for a predetermined period of time, such as a day, in order to obtain the shortest possible transmission cycles and to save energy. A dynamic telegram adaptation is advantageously carried out and / or information is strung together, for example in the manner of a daisy chain structure. Such a juxtaposition of information also advantageously makes it possible to determine the sequence of the individual assemblies and elements, as FIG. 3 shows.

Advantageously, a query initiated by a first identification element can be passed on from a second identification element to a third identification element up to an n-th identification element, with the time of receipt and / or transit time of the query signals and / or the receipt confirmation signals being determined and sent back, cf. 3. The sequence and / or the spacing of the elements 1 can be determined on the basis of the signal transit times and / or reception times and / or on the basis of the dynamically composed data packets, which can for example comprise the sum of the identification codes of the individual elements in a predetermined order.

All information of the elements 1 can advantageously be brought together in a higher-level system, for example a machine control, which can be a crane control, or a data cloud, as FIG. 1 shows.

Furthermore, the identification elements can also be used to determine a storage location of the respective set-up element 12 if the set-up element 12 is not installed on a machine but is stored in a storage location. As FIG. 4 shows, the position of a respective identification element 1 and thus of an associated set-up element 12 can be determined, for example, in the aforementioned manner via mobile radio location and / or GPS satellite navigation location. As an alternative or in addition, the position determination device 20 can also evaluate a central radio station 21 of the warehouse, if necessary evaluate it in a more refined manner via radio relay. As an alternative or in addition, communication can also take place with a hand-held transmitter 22, with the aid of which the set-up elements 12 or the identification elements 1 attached to them can be scanned or located at their storage location, see FIG. 5.

Claims

Method and device for detecting the set-up status of a construction and / or material handling machine

1. A method for detecting the setup status of a construction and / or material handling machine (11), in particular a crane, and / or the location of individual setup elements (12) of the construction and / or material handling machine (1), with information from electronic identification elements (1 ), which are attached to the setup elements (12), are transmitted to an electronic evaluation device (23) and the setup status and / or the location of the setup elements (12) is determined by the electronic evaluation device using the information received from the identification elements (1) , characterized in that the identification elements (1) of energy generation means (10), which are provided on a respective identification element (1), are supplied with electrical energy, the said energy generation means (10) acting on the respective identification element (1) environmental influences in convert electrical energy.

2. The method according to the preceding claim, wherein at least one identification element (1) is supplied with electrical energy from a plurality of differently operating energy generation modules (3, 4, 5, 8), said several energy generation modules (3, 4, 5, 8) convert different environmental influences into electrical energy.

3. The method according to the preceding claim, wherein the electrical energy generated by the various energy generation modules (3, 4, 5, 8) is stored in a common energy store (7) and provided by the energy store (7) to consumers of the identification element (1) becomes.

4. Device for detecting the set-up status of a building and / or

Material handling machine (11), in particular a crane, and / or the location of individual set-up elements (12) of the construction and / or material handling machine (11), with electronic identification elements (1) attached to the set-up elements (12) of the construction and / or

Material handling machine (11) are attached, as well as an electrical evaluation device (23) for determining the set-up status and / or location of the set-up elements (12) on the basis of the

Identification elements (1) received information, characterized in that the identification elements (1) each with

Energy generation means (10) for generating electrical energy from environmental influences acting on the respective identification element (1) and an energy store (7) for storing the energy obtained and for supplying consumers of the identification elements (1) are provided.

5. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the energy generation means (10) comprise a plurality of differently operating energy generation modules (3, 4, 5, 8).

6. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the various energy generation modules are connected to a common energy store (7), from which consumers of the identification element (1) can be supplied.

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Energy generation means (10) have at least one thermoelectric energy generation module (8) for converting a temperature difference into electrical energy, in particular a Peltier element.

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Energy generation means (10) have at least one electromechanical energy generation module (4) for converting mechanical deformations and / or movements into electrical energy, in particular a piezo element.

9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Energy generation means (10) have at least one photoelectric energy generation module (5) for converting ambient light into electrical energy, in particular at least one photosensitive cell.

10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Energy generation means (10) have at least one inductive energy generator (3).

11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Energy generation means (10) integrated into the identification element (1), in particular arranged within an element housing or on the element housing.

12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one energy generation module (3, 4, 5, 8) forms part of a fastening surface of the identification element (1) with which said identification element is fastened to the respective equipment element (12).

13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an energy control and / or management device (6) is connected to the energy generation means (10) and the energy store (7) and is designed to facilitate the storage and / or removal of energy in the / from the energy store (7) depending on at least one operating function and / or an operating parameter of the identification element (1).

14. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the energy control and / or management device (6) is designed to store energy from the energy generation means (10) in the energy store (7) as a function of an expected duration and / or amount to control the energy generation and / or to distribute it to various energy stores (7).

15. Device according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the energy control and / or management device (6) is designed to supply at least one consumer of at least one identification element (1) with energy from the energy store (7) depending on an operating function of the To control the identification element (1) and / or as a function of an information signal received from the identification element (1).

16. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the energy control and / or management device (6) is designed to supply the said consumer, in particular a transmitting device of the identification element (1), with energy only when a Functional logic of the identification element (1) requires information transmission or an information request signal has been received from the identification element (1).

17. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the identification elements (1) each have a communication device (15) comprising at least one antenna device (16).

18. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the

Communication device (15) is connected to a radio power control device (19) which is designed to supply the radio power to the communication device (15) as a function of the information to be transmitted and / or as a function of the remote station to which information is to be transmitted raise or lower.

19. Device according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the antenna device (16) has a plurality of antennas for communicating with different counterparts, which antennas are designed differently.

20. Device according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the antenna device (16) has at least one multi-frequency antenna for transmitting and / or receiving in different frequency bands.

21. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Antenna device (16) has at least one directional antenna, in particular in the form of a directional radio antenna or a phase-controlled group antenna.

22. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Antenna device (16) has a near-field antenna.

23. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the antenna device (16) has a satellite antenna for receiving signals from a navigation satellite.

24. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a position determination device (20) is provided for determining the positions of the identification elements (1).

25. Device according to the preceding claim, wherein the

Position determination device (20) has a satellite navigation device for evaluating satellite signals which have been received at the identification elements (1).

26. Device according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the

Position determining device (20) a mobile radio locating device for evaluating mobile radio signals received at the identification elements (1) and determining the position of the

Has identification elements (1) from the received mobile radio signals.

27. Device according to one of the three preceding claims, wherein the position determining device (20) has a transit time determining device for determining the positions of the identification elements (1) from the transit times of signals between the identification elements (1).

28. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Identification elements (1) form a serial transmission structure and are designed to transmit information received from an adjacent identification element (1) to a further, adjacent identification element (1) and to dynamically adapt the information block to be transmitted to the information received.

29. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one permanently installed transmitting and / or receiving device (21) for receiving information from identification elements (1) located at the storage location is provided at a storage location.

30. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one mobile, manually movable transmitting and / or receiving device (22) for receiving information from identification elements (1) located at the storage location is provided at one / the storage location.

31. Construction and / or material handling machine, which is equipped with a device according to any one of claims 4-30.