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EP-4741624-A1 - SOIL WORKING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A SOIL WORKING MACHINE

EP4741624A1EP 4741624 A1EP4741624 A1EP 4741624A1EP-4741624-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an earthmoving machine with a carrier unit comprising a mobile undercarriage, in particular a tracked undercarriage, a working device designed for working soil or rock, in particular for removing soil or rock, or for installing structures in the ground, and at least one steel cable which is subjected to tension at least temporarily and is adjustable in a longitudinal direction by means of a cable drive. According to the invention, the earthmoving machine has at least one holding device designed for receiving and releasably holding a cable measuring device unit, which has a cable passage channel and is designed for detecting the condition of the cable, and wherein the holding device is arranged in the area of the steel cable such that when the cable measuring device unit is received and held, the steel cable is guided through the cable passage channel.

Inventors

  • Dipl. Ing. Krollmann, Karl

Assignees

  • BAUER Maschinen GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241111

Claims (15)

  1. Earthmoving machine with - a carrier device (12) which has a mobile undercarriage (14), in particular with a crawler undercarriage, - a processing device (30) designed for processing soil or rock, in particular for removing soil or rock, or for installing structures in the ground, and - at least one steel cable (40) which is subjected to tension at least temporarily and is adjustable in a longitudinal direction by means of a cable drive (46), characterized by - that the earthmoving machine (10) has at least one holding device (70) which is designed to receive and releasably hold a rope measuring unit (80) which has a rope passage channel (90) and is designed to detect a rope condition in the area of the rope passage channel (90), and - that the holding device (70) in the area of the steel cable (40) is arranged such that when a cable measuring unit (80) is picked up, it is held in a defined position in which the steel cable (40) is guided appropriately through the cable passage channel (90).
  2. Earthmoving machine according to claim 1, characterized by that the rope drive (46) includes a rope winch (47) and/or a linear drive.
  3. Earthmoving machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that two or more holding devices (70) are arranged at different locations on the earthmoving machine (10), wherein the condition of a single steel cable at different locations and/or the cable condition of two or more steel cables can be detected by one or more cable measuring units (80).
  4. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the holding device (70) includes a fastening device (72) for detachably fastening the rope measuring unit (80).
  5. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the holding device (70) has a receptacle with at least one stop for positioning the rope measuring unit (80) precisely in the holding device (70).
  6. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by that the holding device (70) includes an adjustment device, in particular with at least one adjustment screw, for adjusting a receiving position of the rope measuring unit (80).
  7. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that the holding device (70) is located close to the rope drive (46) or a deflection pulley (26) for the steel rope.
  8. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that the earthmoving machine (10) has at least two steel cables arranged next to each other, in particular parallel to each other, and that the holding device (70) is adjustable, in particular displaceable, between a first measuring position for a first steel cable and at least one further measuring position for the at least one further steel cable.
  9. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by that the earthmoving machine (10) has a mast (20) or boom arm along which at least one steel cable (40) is guided, and that at least one holding device (70) is arranged on a head area of the mast (20) or of the boom arm.
  10. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by that the earthmoving machine (10) has a control unit (60) and that the rope measuring unit (80) is connected to the control unit (60) via wired or wireless connection for evaluating and/or outputting measurement data or measurement results.
  11. Earthmoving machine according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by that it is designed as an earth drilling rig, a diaphragm wall rig, a vibratory rig or a pile driver.
  12. Method for operating an earthmoving machine, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 11, with - a carrier device (12) which has a mobile undercarriage (14), in particular with a crawler track, - a processing device (30) with which soil or rock is processed, in particular soil or rock is removed, or a structure is placed in the ground and - at least one steel cable (40) which is subjected to tension at least temporarily and is adjusted in a longitudinal direction by means of a cable drive (46), characterized by - that the earthmoving machine (10) has at least one holding device (70) with which a rope measuring unit (80) is received and detachably held, which has a rope passage channel (90), and - that by means of the holding device (70) the rope measuring unit (80) is arranged in the area of the steel rope (40) such that the steel rope (40) is guided appropriately through the rope passage channel (90) of the rope measuring unit (80) and the rope measuring unit (80) detects the condition of the steel rope (40) in the area of the rope passage channel (90).
  13. Method according to claim 12, characterized by that the steel cable (40) is adjusted in its longitudinal direction by means of the cable drive (46), whereby the steel cable (40) is moved through the cable passage channel (90) of the cable measuring unit (80) and the condition of the steel cable (40) is recorded over a length range.
  14. Method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized by that at least one rope measuring unit (80) is only temporarily attached to a holding device (70) and is subsequently released and removed.
  15. Method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized by that measured values recorded by the rope measuring unit are stored with a storage device and evaluated remotely from the earthmoving machine, preferably with a computing unit.

Description

The invention relates to an earthmoving machine with a carrier unit comprising a mobile undercarriage, in particular with a crawler chassis, a processing device designed for processing soil or rock, in particular for removing soil or rock or for installing structures in the ground, and at least one steel cable which is at least temporarily subjected to tension and is adjustable in a longitudinal direction by means of a cable drive, according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention relates to a method for operating an earthmoving machine, comprising a carrier unit which has a mobile undercarriage, in particular with a crawler track, a processing device with which soil or rock is processed, in particular soil or rock is removed or a structure is placed in the ground, and at least one steel cable which is subjected to tension at least temporarily and is adjusted in a longitudinal direction by means of a cable drive, according to the preamble of claim 12. Earthmoving machines of this type have long been in use, particularly as construction machinery, for example as earth drilling rigs or diaphragm wall excavators. These machines typically employ several steel cables to operate various machine components. For instance, an earth drilling rig has a main cable with a main winch, which is used to raise and lower a drilling tool, especially a Kelly bar, along a mast. Furthermore, feed cables can be used for this purpose. These include components that allow, for example, a drill drive carriage to be adjusted along the mast using feed winches. This allows, for instance, additional feed force to be applied to a drilling tool. Furthermore, additional steel cables can be arranged on such an earthmoving machine, such as auxiliary cables, which can perform additional lifting or pulling functions using an auxiliary winch. Steel cables on such earthmoving machines offer the advantage that high tensile forces can be applied to machine components, such as machining tools, by a drive unit, such as a winch, which is positioned at a distance from the machine component. The path of the steel cable can be defined by one or more pulleys. Furthermore, steel cables can be wound very compactly on winch drums, allowing for efficient provision of different working lengths for power transmission. A steel cable of this type is constructed from a multitude of wires, particularly those wound axially. Several wires can be bundled together to form a strand, and the steel cable itself can be made up of several such strands. This allows for the creation of high-strength and flexible cables. In earthmoving machinery, especially construction equipment, the steel cables are subject to considerable wear. This wear is primarily caused by the operating time, the forces exerted on the cable, the type and number of winding cycles, and environmental and weather conditions, which can be particularly extreme on outdoor construction sites. Wear and tear leads, in particular, to the breaking of individual wires in the steel cable. Beyond a certain degree and number of wire breaks in a steel cable, it can lose its necessary strength. At a certain level of wear, failure, i.e., breaking of the steel cable, can occur during operation. The breaking of a steel cable in the operation of an earthmoving machine can have serious consequences, not only severe damage to the earthmoving machine itself or nearby equipment, but also a risk to life and limb for persons on or near the machine. in the area of earthmoving machinery. Therefore, the breaking of a steel cable on an earthmoving machine must be avoided at all costs. It is common practice to regularly visually inspect the steel cables used on earthmoving equipment for broken wires on the surface and to replace them after a predetermined number of operating hours. However, this procedure has its drawbacks. If the number of operating hours before replacing the steel cables is set too low, fully functional and unworn steel cables are often replaced and discarded. This is not economically efficient, as such cables could have been used for a longer period. Secondly, heavy use of the earthmoving machine, and especially extreme weather conditions, can lead to premature cable wear, meaning that a predetermined replacement time may be too late. In these rare but occurrences, there remains a risk of personal injury and machine damage. Testing methods and equipment for inspecting steel cables, for example using electromagnetic waves, are known. Using such methods, breaks in individual wires, even within a steel cable, can be detected non-destructively. Thus, during an electromagnetic examination of a steel cable, wire breaks can be identified as anomalies in a measurement report. Such testing procedures and the measuring instruments used are complex. A measuring device must be positioned precisely in relation to a steel cable, and the test must be carried out by trained personnel. These tests are used, for example, on parti