Proactively reducing vibrations in an industrial truck

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10597271-B2
Application number	US-201715791726-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2017
Priority date	Oct 24, 2016
Publication date	Mar 24, 2020
Grant date	Mar 24, 2020

Abstract

An industrial truck is described, such as a tri-lateral sideloader, comprising a truck body, wheels connected to the truck body by wheel suspensions, a mast, a plurality of operating components designed to carry out operating functions of the industrial truck, a control unit designed to actuate the operating components, and a detection apparatus designed to detect an operating parameter and/or a parameter of the environment. Here, the industrial truck further comprises a prediction unit designed to predict the occurrence of vibrations on the industrial truck based on data provided by the detection apparatus and to provide prediction data to the control unit. Based on the prediction data, the control unit is further designed to adapt the actuation of at least one of the operating components and/or to actuate an apparatus for reducing vibrations such that the vibrations predicted by the prediction unit are reduced.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An industrial truck, in particular a tri-lateral sideloader, comprising:
a truck body;
wheels connected to the truck body by wheel suspensions;
a mast, which extends substantially vertically from the truck body and with which a plurality of attachment parts are associated;
a plurality of operating components, which are designed to carry out operating functions of the industrial truck;
a control unit, which is designed to actuate the plurality of operating components of the industrial truck; and
a detection apparatus, which is designed to detect at least one of an operating parameter of the industrial truck or a parameter of an environment around the industrial truck;
wherein the industrial truck further comprises a prediction unit, which is operationally coupled both to the detection apparatus and the control unit and is designed to predict an occurrence of vibrations on the industrial truck based on data provided by the detection apparatus which represent the at least one of the operating parameter of the industrial truck or the parameter of the environment around the industrial truck;
wherein the industrial truck is designed to provide prediction data to the control unit; and wherein the control unit is further designed, based on the prediction data, to actuate at least one of the plurality of operating components to reduce vibrations associated with the truck body or the mast such that the vibrations predicted by the prediction unit are reduced.

2. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , wherein the detection apparatus comprises at least one camera arranged and designed to detect a surface over which the wheels of the industrial truck will travel,
wherein the prediction unit is further designed to predict the occurrence of vibrations at an area of the detected surface, based on pattern recognition of the detected surface.

3. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , wherein the detection apparatus comprises at least one position-determination element.

4. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , wherein the detection apparatus is designed to detect at least one of a weight or a current position of a load supported by the industrial truck.

5. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , further comprising an apparatus for detecting vibrations which is operationally coupled to at least one of the control unit or the prediction unit,
wherein the control unit is further designed to adapt an actuation of the at least one of the plurality of operating components based on a comparison of a predicted vibration to a detected vibration detected by the apparatus for detecting vibrations.

6. The industrial truck according to claim 5 , wherein at least one memory unit is associated with at least one of the prediction unit, the control unit or the apparatus for detecting vibrations.

7. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one operating component of the plurality of operating components, wherein the control unit actuates the at least one operating component to reduce predicted vibrations, and wherein the at least one operating component is formed by a component of the industrial truck which is associated with at least one of a driver's platform of the industrial truck or with a load-receiving apparatus of the industrial truck.

8. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , wherein the prediction unit and the control unit are formed by a single component.

9. The industrial truck according to claim 1 , further comprising a communication unit, wherein the communication unit is designed to receive the parameter of the environment around the industrial truck from a central control device and to provide data to the central control device, wherein the central control device is configured to communicate with at least one additional industrial truck.

10. A method for reducing vibrations on an industrial truck, in particular a tri-lateral sideloader, wherein the industrial truck comprises:
a truck body;
wheels connected to the truck body by wheel suspensions;
a mast, which extends substantially vertically from the truck body and with which a plurality of attachment parts are associated;
a plurality of operating components, which are designed to carry out operating functions of the industrial truck;
a control unit, which is designed to actuate the plurality of operating components of the industrial truck;
a detection apparatus; and
a prediction unit, which is operationally coupled both to the detection apparatus and to the control unit; and
wherein the method comprises:
detecting at least one of an operating parameter of the industrial truck or a parameter of an environment around the industrial truck by means of the detection apparatus;
predicting an occurrence of vibrations on the industrial truck based on data provided by the detection apparatus which represent the at least one of the operating parameter of the industrial truck or the parameter of the environment around the industrial truck, by means of the prediction unit;
providing prediction data generated by the prediction unit to the control unit; and
actuating at least one of the plurality of operating components to reduce vibrations associated with at least one of the truck body or the mast based on the prediction data such that the vibrations predicted by the prediction unit are reduced.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein predicting the occurrence of vibrations includes predicting an event with reference to at least one of a detected current position or a detected current movement state of the industrial truck.

12. The method according to claim 10 , further comprising exploring the environment around the industrial truck by detecting the occurrence of vibrations based on at least one of a position of the industrial truck, a movement state of the industrial truck, or other operating parameters.

Assignees

• Jungheinrich Ag

Inventors

• Magens Ernst-Peter
• Schmalzl Jürgen
• Bibernell Hubert
• Schöttke Carsten

Classifications

• B66F9/075 Primary

  Constructional features or details · CPC title

• B66F17/003

  for fork-lift trucks · CPC title

• B66F9/0759

  Details of operating station, e.g. seats, levers, operator platforms, cabin suspension · CPC title

• B66F9/10

  movable in a horizontal direction relative to truck · CPC title

• B66F9/07

  Floor-to-roof stacking devices, e.g. "stacker cranes", "retrievers" · CPC title