FR2504701A1 - DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING AUTOMATIC CORRECTION OF DEVERS FOR DEPLOYABLE ORIENTABLE SCALE OR ARM-LIKE ARMOR ON VEHICLE - Google Patents

Abstract

1. A control apparatus for automatic correction of sideways tilt for an orientable vehicle-mounted lifting arm (6, 7, 8, 9, 10), in particular for an extendible orientable ladder, including a turntable (4) which is orientable about an axis (4a) and which comprises a portion (5) which is pivoted about a substantially horizontal axis and displaced about said axis by an actuating means (19) for correcting sideways tilt, controlled by a member (25) providing electrical proportional control, the turntable being subjected to a pivoting actuator (18) with a control action proportional to an electrical signal representing the controlled speed of pivotal movement and comprising an electrical sensor for measuring the angle of pivotal movement (THETA) of the arm, characterised in that it comprises electrical sensors for measuring the slope of the vehicle in two directions which are transverse with respect to each other, associated with a microprocessor having inputs for acquisition of said slope measurements and further comprising stored in memory means a cyclic calculation sequence in respect of the theoretical speed of correction of sideways tilt as determined from the value of the signal representing the speed of pivotal movement and in dependence on the data from said electrical slope-measuring sensors, in order to supply at an output of the microprocessor which is connected to said member (25) for electrical proportional control of the tilt-correcting actuator (19), a signal which is representative of the speed of tilt correction linking said latter in respect of time to the speed of pivotal movement.

Description

Automatic tilt correction device for ladder

  expandable steerable or analog lift arm

on vehicle.

  The invention relates to a tilt correction control device for a deployable steerable ladder or a similar vehicle lift arm of the type comprising an orientable turret having, with the ladder or said arm, an articulated tilt compensation connection, a corrector actuator. superposition between the ladder and the turret, the turret being subjected to a proportionally-controlled pivoting actuator to an electrical signal representative of the controlled speed and comprising an electrical sensor of

  measuring the angle of orientation of the scale.

  Known tilt correction devices have the

  It is advisable to be of the all-or-nothing type and to act suddenly when pivoting or at the end of pivoting.

more embarrassing still.

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate such

  better by better harmonizing the slope correction with

the pivot control.

  Essentially, for this purpose, the automatic cant correction device according to the invention, for

  a deployable steerable ladder or

  logue on vehicle of the predefined kind, is characterized in that it comprises electrical sensors for measuring the slope of the vehicle in two transverse directions relative to each other associated with a microprocessor having measurement acquisition inputs aforementioned and further comprising in memory a cyclic calculation sequence of the theoretical tilt correction speed determined from the value of the signal representative of the pivoting speed and according to the data of the aforementioned electrical measuring sensors, with a view to providing on an output of the microprocessor connected to a proportional electric control member of the tilt correction actuator, a signal representative of

  the speed of correction of the slope linking this last

  really at the speed of rotation.

  2 t 04701 Within the scope of the invention, it is of course also possible to take into account the difference between the real superelevation

  measured using a sensor and a theoretical cant here cal-

  in the microprocessor, for the purpose of adjustment of the cant following servo-control techniques known to those skilled in the art, to finally lead to theoretical cant

at the end of the maneuver.

  More particularly, and in a preferred form, the control device according to the invention then comprises an electrical sensor for measuring the angle of inclination associated with

  an acquisition input of said measurement by the microproces-

  the latter further comprising in memory a cyclic calculation sequence of the theoretical tilt angle as a function of the acquired measurement data of the angle of orientation of the scale and of the aforementioned slopes, as well as a sequence of cyclic calculation for adding to the predefined tilt correction velocity a velocity correction value which is a function of the difference between the value of the aforementioned theoretical tilt angle and the value of the tilt angle acquired from the Corresponding above-mentioned sensor It will be noted that an advantage of the control device according to the invention therefore also lies in that, starting from the measurements of vehicle slopes constantly taken into account by the microprocessor, it takes into account variations of slope that may occur during of use by modifying the depression of

  stabilizers in the soil, which is not the case

  in which the cant is corrected from an initial or periodic setting of horizontal

the turret.

  An embodiment of a control according to the invention is furthermore described, by way of example, and with reference to the appended drawing, in which: FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a

  extendable ladder adjustable vehicle-mounted and la -

  what is the invention? FIG. 2 is a general general diagram of the inputs and

  microprocessor outputs used in the context of the invention.

  tion; 2 to 4701 Fig. 3 is a diagram of the constituent parts of the microprocessor and its cooperating elements relating to the

  control of the scale and the automatic correction

  the state of tide which is linked to it; FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram of the communication system.

  hydraulic movement of the ladder relative to the pivot movement

  tilt correction and correction; fig 5 is the flowchart of the order

  automatic tilt correction

  The vehicle scale shown in Fig. 1 is

  -tituée: a chassis 1 cabin not shown and four jacks such as 2, intended to ensure the stability of the frame during use of the ladder Each of the 1 jacks is mounted on a telescopic support beam 3 which allows to adjust the support polygon in the place available around the vehicle An orientation turret 4 that can rotate by

  relative to the frame around an axis 4a (angle O) This

  Moreover, there is a portion 5 hinged about a horizontal axis 5a in order to maintain the axis of the ladder elements in a vertical plane passing through this axis even when the vehicle is inclined, in order to cancel any superelevation by variation

from the angle Jr.

  A ladder support 6 called cradle, articulated around a horizontal axis 6a, and which allows to vary

  the dressing angle Z 4 of the ladder.

  Four telescopic scale plans 7, 8, 9, 10 to

simultaneous development.

  Of a removable rescue platform 11 hinged at the end of the scale plane 10 along an axis 12 in order to be able to

  maintain the horizontality of its floor during movement

  raising or lowering devices (angle f 3).

  The commands of the various movements of the scale are here ensured by means of an MPU microprocessor as shown in the diagram of FIG. 2, and can be in particular according to particular arrangements which have been the subject of

4701

  In short, the position information of the scale delivered by the various sensors are read periodically by the microprocessor and stored in memory. The microprocessor processes this data and compares the data. the state of the scale at utilization limits stored in permanent memory The command orders of the movements given by the operator in the form of representative electrical signals

  sense and control speed enter the micro-

  processor; they are validated or modified according to the result of

  comparing the state of the scale with the limits of use

  mentioned above and then transmitted to the control

  including decelerating

  gressive movements before total stop.

  Figure 3 illustrates the general constitution of the system

  microprocessor electronics for its only parts relating to

  to the pivot control and the correction control

  This system includes a

  microprocessor MPU, here the 6802 MOTOROLA, which coordinates all the functions of the system and has a memory of

internal RAM job of 128 bytes.

  Two programmable memories REPROM 1 and 2, here 2716 MOTOROLA The entire program is recorded in these

memories (4K bytes).

  An external RAM working memory here the 6810's

  MOTOROLA It is in this memory that the para-

  meters and the results of the calculations (128 bytes in

more than 128 bytes of the MPU).

  Interfaces for adapting inputs and outputs to

  address coding (PIA 1 and PIA 2) here the 6821 MOTOROLA.

  All these elements are connected together by BUS BUS BUS DATA = set of son conveying the

  input, output or memory information.

  ADDRESS BUS = set of threads encoding the locations or destinations of the information

  conveyed by the BUS DATA.

  CONTROL BUS = set of wires through which

  the auxiliary control signals validating the addresses

and data transfers.

  The control commands of the three scale movements are of analog type and applied in the form of electrical voltage to the input terminals E1 to E3 of a multiplexer 13, here the IH 6116 of TEKELEC, as is applied at the input E 4 the voltage coming from an angle encoder or potentiometric sensor for measuring the orientation angle 8 of the scale; at the input E 5 the voltage coming from an inclinometer of

  measuring the vehicle chassis slope in the longitudinal direction

  tudinal; at the input E 6 the voltage coming from an inclinometer of

  measuring the slope of the vehicle chassis in the trans-

  versal; at the input E 7, the voltage originating from an angular encoder or potentiometric sensor for measuring the cant angle α existing between the turret 4 and its steerable part 5, and therefore between the chassis and the scale. The multiplexer 13 is followed by an analog / digital converter 14 connected to

  the PI Al input adaptation interface.

  The adaptation interface PIA 2 cooperates with a circuit of

  control of the inputs and with constant output circuits

  notably by digital / analog converters such as 16, with analog output Sl proportional to the slew rate value of the scale to the right or to the left determined by the microprocessor (and whose polarity defines the direction) and 17, to analog output 52 proportional to the value of the tilt correction speed determined by the microprocessor and the polarity of which also determines the direction of correction A decoder (in this case the MOTOROLA 74 LS 138) serves as a demultiplexer for the control circuit of the inputs 15 and digital-to-analog converter output circuits

such as 16 and 17.

  FIG. 4 illustrates the hydraulic control of the pivoting and tilt correction movements considered here, which are respectively ensured by a hydraulic motor 18 with two opposite feed directions in the desired direction of rotation of the turret 4, and by two jacks 19 and interposed between the turret 4 and its annex part 5 on either side of the tilt axis 5a of the latter,

  two opposite directions of feeding according to the direction of

tilt rection to apply.

  A variable-rate pump 21 supplies the turret of the installation, via a rotating joint 22, from a tank 23. A three-position solenoid valve 24 supplies the hydraulic motor 18 in one direction or in the other according to the pivoting controlled to the right or left of the scale A three-position solenoid valve 25 feeds in one direction or the other the cylinders 19, 20 according to

  the direction of the slope correction to be applied.

  distributors 24, 25 are of the proportional type, that is to say

  that they deliver a flow proportional to the tension of com-

  In addition, there is provided a solenoid valve 26 which is energized as soon as one of the solenoid valves 24, 25 is also turned on.

  energized, and which serves to apply to the pump 21 the information

  maximum pressure required in the supply circuit (s) involved, in order to adapt its displacement to the required operating pressure and to the required flow rate

  In the absence of control voltage of the electri-

  trodistributeur 26, the displacement of the pump 21 is

  then be set or reduced to zero.

  The flowchart of the automatic cant correction control device is shown in Fig. 5, with calculations made on the basis of the following conventions: the pan angle O of the scale is measured in the counterclockwise direction from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the origin being taken forward; the longitudinal slope P1 of the vehicle is considered from the rear towards the front of the vehicle, positive if it is rising and negative if descending; the transverse slope Pt of the vehicle is considered from the right to the left of the vehicle, positive if it is rising and negative if descending; the angle of tilt J is considered from the rear of the vehicle, positive to the right and negative to the left

  with respect to the vertical plane passing through the axis 5 a.

  7- First, the vehicle being supposed wedged by the stabilizing jacks 2, the microprocessor program makes it

  acquire in memory the measure of longitudinal slope of the frame

  sis Pl carried out using the corresponding inclinometer connected to the input E 5 of the multiplexer 13, and the transverse slope measurement Pt performed using the corresponding inclinometer connected to the input E 6 of the multiplexer 13 Then the microprocessor also stores the measurement of the pivot angle O of the scale made with the sensor or encoder connected to the input E 4 of the multiplexer 13 followed by the storage of the measurement of the tilt angle J effected using the sensor or encoder connected to the input E 7 of the multiplexer 13 Then the pivot control test is carried out, that is to say that is examined the value of the output voltage If the digital-to-analog converter 16 controlling the pivoting of the scale If therefore the voltage 51 is different from zero, it is first calculated the pivoting speed expressed as O = f (Sl), for example from a speed law in memory according to the v value of the pivot control signal If it generates, then calculation derived from the base velocity c J Oc to give the slope correction, according to the formula

J Oc = O W (Pl cos + Pt sin 9).

  If the voltage Si is zero, signifying the absence of pivot control, the base slope correction speed is then set to zero. These measurements already make it possible to continuously harmonize the desired automatic cant correction with the pivot control of the scale

  given the high frequency with which microproces-

  Oeur can repeat such a sequence.

  However, it is also planned to seek to elimi-

  to minimize any drift that the control chain of the cant correction movement may

  for example, due to variations in temperature

  erature and therefore volume of the hydraulic circuit oil.

  For this purpose, two additional calculation sequences are provided, the first having as its object the calculation of the theoretical angle of tilt J> c corresponding to the instantaneous pivot angle O of the scale according to the formula J c = Pl sinm Pt cos a

  the second, the purpose of which is to calculate the speed of correction

  corrected uptake to apply c Por answering the formula: J Or = Coc + t c J a to

  where t t O is a given time allowed to cancel the

  cart between the calculated theoretical tilt angle Jnc and the angle

of cant measured wave scale.

  A comparison test is then planned in the micropro-

  between this gold cant correction rate, absolute value, and a minimum speed value allowed for there to be a correction signal transmitted on the output 52 of the digital-to-analog converter 17 This test is followed by a sign test of the speed C & r, that is to say that if it is positive, the output 52 will be affected by the positive sign and vice versa if the speed fosr is negative Then the control signal of effective tilt correction is then emitted on the output 52 as a function of the correction speed corrected Jfor previously calculated and by reference to a law binding speed and output signal put

  in memory in the microprocessor 52 = f <Jor).

  Of course other variants can be imagined while remaining within the scope of the invention, being particularly to see that the device according to the invention is not

  limited application with a general micropro-

  end of the ladder or lift arm operating functions, but that it still applies with advantage to any proportional-controlled pivot actuator installation responding to a representative electrical signal

  controlled speed, whatever the type.

Claims (2)

  i Automatic tilt correction control device for deployable steerable ladder or vehicle analogous lift arm, comprising a swivel turret having with the ladder an articulated tilt compensation link, a tilt correction actuator interposed between the ladder and the turret , the latter being subjected to a pivoting actuator with proportional control to an electrical signal representative of the controlled pivoting speed, and comprising an electric sensor for measuring the angle of orientation of the scale, characterized in that comprises electrical sensors for measuring the slope of the vehicle in two mutually transverse directions, associated with a microprocessor having acquisition inputs of the aforesaid measurements and comprising in   additionally in memory, a sequence of cyclic calculation of the   theoretical tilt correction rate determined from the value of the signal representative of the slewing speed and according to the data of the above-mentioned electrical measuring sensors, with a view to providing on an output of the microprocessor connected to a proportionally electric control member of the canting actuator, a signal representative of   the speed of correction of the slope linking this last   really at the speed of rotation.   2 automatic tilt correction control device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an electrical sensor for measuring the tilt angle associated with an input acquisition of said measurement by the microprocessor, the latter comprising in additionally in memory a sequence of cyclic calculation of the theoretical angle of   function of the acquired data for measuring the angle of orientation   the scale and slopes mentioned above, as well as a   cyclic calculation step for adding, at the predefined tilt correction speed, a speed correction value which is a function of the difference between the value of the aforementioned theoretical tilt angle and the value of the angle   of tilt acquired from the corresponding aforementioned sensor.