TRUCK-MOUNTED CONCRETE PUMP

Description

The invention relates to a truck-mounted concrete pump with a chassis, two front and two rear outriggers which can be supported on the underground via extendable support legs, wherein the outriggers are each arranged at the chassis and can be extended from a travelling position into a support position with a maximum extension width and into intermediate positions, having a sensor system for detecting the support positions of the respective outriggers and an articulated boom which can be folded out and which has a turntable arranged rotatably about a vertical axis and a chain of boom segments connected to the turntable and articulable to one another, wherein the working area of the articulated boom depends on the outrigger configuration, i.e. on the outrigger positions detected by the sensor system, wherein a control device is configured to identify and release the working area of the articulated boom depending on the detected support configuration.

Truck-mounted concrete pumps are known from the state of the art for spreading concrete on construction sites. The unfolded articulated boom of a truck-mounted concrete pump exerts a considerable load moment on the substructure or the lorry chassis, so that truck-mounted concrete pumps are usually supported on the ground by four outriggers arranged on extendable support legs. When the outriggers are fully extended and supported, it is usually possible to rotate the fully extended articulated boom 360° around its vertical axis. This makes it possible to achieve a circular area around the truck-mounted concrete pump with the articulated boom without the risk of the truck-mounted concrete pump tipping over. In the event that the outriggers cannot be fully extended or folded out due to confined site conditions, the working area of the articulated boom must be restricted to prevent the truck-mounted concrete pump from tipping over.

A method for monitoring the stability of a truck-mounted concrete pump is known from EP1356910 A1, in which sensors detect the extension positions of the outriggers and, on the basis of the load moment of the articulated boom on the truck-mounted concrete pump, which is continuously determined by further sensors, the movement of the articulated boom is stopped if a maximum permissible load moment for the detected support positions is exceeded. The advantage of this method is that the operator can freely select the extension positions of the outriggers when setting up the truck-mounted concrete pump. However, after supporting the truck-mounted concrete pump, the operator does not yet know whether the area to be concreted can be completely covered by the articulated boom with the selected extension positions of the outriggers.

It is also known, for example, from EP 2 038 493 B1 that in a truck-mounted concrete pump the working area of the articulated boom, i.e. the swiveling angle of the turntable of the articulated boom about the vertical axis and/or the inclination of at least one boom segment, in particular the first boom segment of the articulated boom, is limited if not all outriggers are fully extended. For example, it is common practice on construction sites with limited space to fully extend only the two front outriggers and not to extend the two rear outriggers if the concreting area is located in front of the truck-mounted concrete pump cab. The control device detects the selected support configuration and then releases a working area for the articulated boom, which is limited to the area in front of the truck-mounted concrete pump's driver's cab. Alternatively, the operator can also select a suitable working area before supporting the truck-mounted concrete pump and extend the outriggers accordingly, adapted to the selected working area, and support the truck-mounted concrete pump. In contrast to the method described in EP 1 356 910 A1, the operator of the truck-mounted concrete pump knows the working area of the articulated boom before it is unfolded, i.e. the operator can estimate whether the area to be concreted can be fully reached by the articulated boom.

A working area within the meaning of this patent application is defined by two limit angles for the turntable about the vertical axis of the articulated boom and, if applicable, by the swiveling angle for the first boom segment. The working area is clearly assigned to a specific support configuration or, conversely, a specific support configuration is clearly assigned to a defined working area. Compliance with the limit angles ensures the stability of the machine during concreting and these limit angles are determined by calculations during the design of the machine. Adherence with the working area is automatically monitored by the control device that controls the movement of the articulated boom.

If the control device only releases a limited working area for a truck-mounted concrete pump due to the outriggers not being fully extended, the problem arises that after the truck-mounted concrete pump has been supported, the articulated boom is initially still folded in the boom support. In order to reach the intended working area in the above example, in which only the two front outriggers for concreting work in front of the cab are fully extended, the articulated boom must first be transferred to this area separately, as the working area cannot be reached directly from its position in the boom support. This means that the articulated boom must be guided through an area that is not released as a working area by the control device. In order to achieve this without jeopardizing the stability of the machine, the articulated boom must be unfolded and possibly rotated around the vertical axis, whereby a narrow movement corridor for the first boom segment must generally be maintained. The total permitted range of movement for the articulated boom, which is required for concreting with the articulated boom and its transfer to the working area, cannot be represented in a simple form, as described above, by a single working area with two limit angles each for the turntable and, if necessary, for the first boom segment. In the state of the art, this is usually realized by a separate operating mode in the form of a separate transfer travel, which requires a forced sequence in the control of the articulated boom that is often perceived as complex and non-intuitive by the operators.

Truck-mounted concrete pumps are also offered by manufacturers in different reach categories. The S36X truck-mounted concrete pump from Schwing GmbH, for example, has a reach height of the articulated boom of approx. 36 meters, an articulated boom length of approx. 31 meters and the support width of the two front outriggers is approx. 6.20 meters. The S47SX truck-mounted concrete pump, on the other hand, has a reach height of the articulated boom of approx. 47 meters, an articulated boom length of approx. 41 meters and the support width of the two front outriggers is approx. 8.95 meters. The support width of a truck-mounted concrete pump is the sum of the width of the truck chassis, which is usually 2.50 meters, and the extension widths of the front and rear outriggers. These different types of truck-mounted concrete pumps are referred to below as truck-mounted concrete pumps of different reach categories.

It is often desirable to operate a truck-mounted concrete pump of a reach category with a large outrigger width, i.e. large extension widths of the individual outriggers, on a smaller construction site with a smaller available floor space because a truck-mounted concrete pump with a suitable reach category with a small outrigger width is not available. This is generally not possible with state-of-the-art truck-mounted concrete pumps because certain minimum support widths or minimum extension widths of the outriggers are required for the truck-mounted concrete pumps so that the truck-mounted concrete pump does not tip over during operation with the articulated boom unfolded.

In light of this, it is the task of the invention to specify a truck-mounted concrete pump that can be used more flexibly on construction sites.

This task is solved by a truck-mounted concrete pump with the features of claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments and further features of the invention are shown in the dependent claims. It should be pointed out that the features listed individually in the claims can also be combined with one another in any desired and technologically expedient manner and thus demonstrate further embodiments of the invention.

The truck-mounted concrete pump according to the invention is characterized in particular by the control device being configured identify and simultaneously release at least one further working area of the articulated boom depending on the detected support configuration.

This has the particular advantage that the articulated boom can thus be moved intuitively back and forth between two working areas. The above-mentioned example of the working area in front of the cab and the separate transfer required for this can thus be solved more easily, for example, by mapping the movement area required for the transition travel by one or more separate working areas, which are also released if, as described above, only the two front outriggers are fully extended and the two rear outriggers are not extended. The operator can thus move the articulated boom from its folded-in position through a first released working area and possibly further working areas relatively freely and intuitively to the working area required for the concreting operation. A separate operating mode for the transition travel, including the forced sequence, which is perceived as complex and unintuitive, is therefore no longer necessary.

Each of the working areas is defined by two limit angles for the slewing gear around the vertical axis of the articulated boom and by an associated swivel angle range for the first boom segment. Each working area is defined by such a parameter set. The limit angles and swivel angle ranges of the different working areas differ from each other.

The invention takes account of the fact that the permissible range of movement of the articulated boom for a particular support configuration, i.e. uncritical with regard to tilting, is inadequately determined by only two limit angles for the slewing gear and one swivel angle range for the first boom segment. This is due to the fact that the permissible angular range of the slewing gear about the vertical axis and the permissible swivel angle range for the first boom segment about the associated horizontal swivel axis are interrelated. According to the invention, this is taken into account by enabling two or more working areas in which the boom can move without the risk of tipping over.

Advantageously, the working areas identified and released by the control device partially overlap. The partial overlap of the working areas also ensures that the truck-mounted concrete pump cannot tip over while the articulated boom is being transferred from one released working area to another. The articulated boom does not have to make any special, possibly monitored movements in order to move from one working area to another.

Preferably, the truck-mounted concrete pump has a concrete pump with an active and an inactive state, wherein at least one working area for the articulated boom detected and released by the control device is a swivel area in which the concrete pump is inactive.

A working area, which in this sense is defined as a swivel area or also a pass-through area, through which the boom only passes on the way to the actually required working area during the unfolding or folding process, without the concrete pump being active, can thus be defined slightly larger by the control device, for example, because the concrete pump, which can trigger vibrations of the articulated boom while conveying concrete, is not active and the stability of the truck-mounted concrete pump is thus increased.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the control device only allows the concrete pump to be activated if the articulated boom is moved within defined safety limit angles for at least one enabled working area.

Advantageously, the truck-mounted concrete pump has a plurality of predetermined reach categories, with reduced extension widths of the outriggers compared to the maximum extension widths being assigned to at least one reach category, whereby the control device is designed to limit the swivel angle α of the first boom segment, i.e. the boom segment of the articulated boom directly connected to the turntable, in accordance with the reach category.

Compared to the prior art, this has the advantage that the reach categories with reduced extension widths of the outriggers and the limitation of the swivel angle of the first boom segment according to the invention mean that a large truck-mounted concrete pump, which is actually too large for a construction site with a small floor space, can still be used on this small construction site. The reduced reach of the articulated boom due to the limitation of the swivel angle of the first boom segment is often still sufficient to cover the desired concrete spreading area with the articulated boom. In principle, the truck-mounted concrete pump of a larger reach category according to the invention emulates a truck-mounted concrete pump of a smaller reach category. For example, a truck-mounted concrete pump of the type S47SX from Schwing GmbH can be used on a construction site where only a floor space for a truck-mounted concrete pump of the type S36X is available.

Advantageously, the control device is designed to assign a reach category to the outrigger support positions detected by the sensor system.

Thus, the control device can assign a corresponding reach category based on the identified support positions of the outriggers, i.e. the identified support configuration, whereby a truck-mounted concrete pump that is too large for a construction site can still be safely used on the construction site with reduced support widths. The identification and simultaneous release of at least two working areas of the articulated boom according to the invention results in a particular advantage here, as the assignment of the support positions of the outriggers detected by the sensor system to a reach category may not be unambiguous. Depending on the reach category, different working areas with different limit angles for the slewing gear or the first boom segment may be possible, which will overlap, but one working area may not be completely covered by the other working area. By identifying several working areas simultaneously in accordance with the invention, it is possible to avoid a possibly non-advantageous unambiguous assignment according to a prioritization of any kind.

Further features, details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the drawings, which show embodiments of the invention. Corresponding objects or elements are labelled with the same reference signs in all figures. It shows:

FIG. 1: truck-mounted concrete pump according to the invention;

FIG. 2a, b: side view of truck-mounted concrete pumps with different boom folding types;

FIG. 3a, b: top view of truck-mounted concrete pumps with state of the art working areas;

FIG. 4a, b: top view of truck-mounted concrete pumps with working areas according to the invention;

FIG. 5a, 5b: top view of truck-mounted concrete pumps with reach categories according to the invention;

FIG. 6a,6b: rear view of truck-mounted concrete pumps with reach categories according to the invention;

FIG. 7: further top view of a truck-mounted concrete pump with working areas according to the invention; and

FIG. 8: schematic representation of the control system of a truck-mounted concrete pump according to the invention.

In FIG. 1 a truck-mounted concrete pump according to the invention is shown. The truck-mounted concrete pump has a chassis 12, two front and two rear outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 which can be supported on the ground via extendable support legs 18, 19, 20, 21, wherein the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 are each arranged at the chassis 12 and can be moved from a travelling position into a support position with a maximum extension width and in intermediate positions. In Addition, the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 has an articulated boom 13 which can be folded out with a turntable 24 arranged to rotate about a vertical axis H and a chain of boom segments 13a-e hinged to the turntable 24. The first boom segment 13a is pivotably connected to the turntable 24 via an articulated hinge 25. The other boom segments 13b-e are each connected to the preceding boom segment via articulated hinges 26-29. The boom segments 13a-d can be pivoted relative to the turntable 24 and to each other by means of hydraulic cylinders or other suitable pivot drives about the horizontal articulated hinges 25-29. The turntable 24 is driven and mounted with the articulated boom 13 so that it can rotate about the vertical axis H. A rotation angle sensor 43 detects the angle of rotation ω around the vertical axis H of the articulated boom 13. In the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 shown in FIG. 1, the articulated boom 13 is designed as a so-called normal folder, i.e. the articulated boom 13 is arranged completely behind the driver's cab 11 in the folded state and is placed on the boom support 31 via the second boom segment 13b (see FIG. 2a), as shown here as an example. The truck-mounted concrete pump shown as an example in FIG. 1 has five boom segments 13a-e. In the following, the invention is explained with reference to truck-mounted concrete pumps 10 with four boom segments 13a-d. Truck-mounted concrete pumps with a larger number of boom segments are also known.

Position sensors 34, 35, 36, 37 at the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 are used to detect the extension widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17. In the case of telescopic straight or curved outriggers 14, 15, which are often used as front outriggers 14, 15, for example, cable displacement transducers or a plurality of discrete sensors, for example inductive or capacitive sensors, can be used. In the case of the rear outriggers 16, 17, which are often designed as so-called folding outriggers, position sensors 36, 37 designed as angle of rotation sensors, for example, can detect the unfolding angles at the joints of the folding outriggers 16, 17.

A concrete pump 23, usually a two-cylinder piston pump with two hydraulically driven differential cylinders and two delivery cylinders, which is arranged below the articulated boom 13, sucks the fresh concrete to be delivered to a construction site from the feed hopper 22 and pumps the concrete through a conveying pipe, (not shown), which runs along the unfolded articulated boom 13 to the top of the articulated boom 13 to the end hose 30 for concrete delivery. The concrete pump 23 has an active and an inactive state, i.e. it is active during the conveying of the concrete and inactive before the concrete is pumped and during the pumping breaks.

For a better understanding of the problem solved by the invention, the two mainly used folding types of an articulated boom 13 and their unfolding process are first explained with reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b. FIGS. 3a and 3b show two different working areas 72 according to the prior art, which are to be assigned to different support configurations. As already explained in connection with FIG. 1, FIG. 2a shows a so-called normal folder. At the start of the unfolding process, the A-hinge 25 of a normal folder is first opened, thereby lifting the entire boom assembly out of the boom support 31. As soon as the first boom segment 13a is vertical or almost vertical, the other hinges 26, 27, 28 can be opened and the articulated boom 13 can be stretched. If only one working area 72 in front of the driver's cab 11 is released for the articulated boom 13 (see FIG. 3a) because the two rear outriggers have not been extended or only partially extended or folded out, the articulated boom 13 must be guided to the working area 72 by a so-called folding and unfolding assistant according to the state of the art under strict movement instructions. Because the boom segments 13a-d of the articulated boom 13 shown in FIG. 2a are folded into each other in a sort of roller shape, the term roll-folder is also used for this. A Z-shaped arrangement of the articulated boom segments 13a-d would result in a so-called Z-fold. Mixed forms of roll and Z-fold are also known.

In the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 shown in FIG. 2b with an articulated boom 13 in so-called overhead folding, the folded-in boom package of the articulated boom 13 must first be opened via the B-hinge 26 until the second boom segment 13b is vertical or almost vertical. If the A-hinge 25 were to be opened with the articulated boom 13 folded in, the second boom segment 13b would be pressed onto the driver's cab 11 with the C-hinge 27. Once the second boom segment 13b has been erected, the other hinges 27, 28 can be opened and the opened articulated boom 13 is finally guided beyond the driver's cab 11 to the working area by pivoting the A-hinge by 160 to 180 degrees. Overhead folders are particularly interesting for long articulated boom lengths, because the vehicle length behind the driver's cab is not sufficient to stow the individual, very long boom segments 13a-13d there.

FIGS. 3a and 3b show state-of-the-art truck-mounted concrete pumps in which a working area is released for each support configuration. If, as shown in FIG. 3b, the released working area 72 is located to the left of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 because the two right-hand outriggers 15, 17 are not extended or folded out, the articulated boom 13 of the overhead folder must be guided through areas, for example in front of the driver's cab 11, which are not permitted in a truck-mounted concrete pump 10 with a working area 72 according to the state of the art. In other words, even to reach the working area 72 to the left of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10, the unfolding process is strictly specified and monitored by a folding and unfolding assistant according to the state of the art so that the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 does not tip over during unfolding.

FIGS. 4a and 4b show a truck-mounted concrete pump 10 according to the invention, in which the working area 72 of the articulated boom 13 is dependent on the support configuration, i.e. on the support positions of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 as detected by the sensors 34, 35, 36, 37, and a control device 60 (see FIG. 7) which is configured to identify and release the working area 72 of the articulated boom 13 as a function of the detected support configuration, the control device 60 being designed to simultaneously release at least two working areas 72a, 72b 72c of the articulated boom 13. The control unit 60 controls the movement of the articulated boom 13 according to travel commands given by an operator (e.g. by remote control), and thus automatically monitors adherence with the working areas 72, 72a, 72b, 72c. The control device 60 ensures that the articulated boom 13 always remains safely within the permissible working areas 72, 72a, 72b, 72c even in the event of an operating error. The control device 60 converts the travel commands into control signals for the boom drives (e.g. hydraulic cylinder, slewing drive). When exceeding the working areas 72, 72a, 72b, 72c, i.e. the associated angles, it may, for example be provided that the boom movement is stopped automatically.

In the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 shown in FIG. 4a, the two front, curved outriggers 14, 15 are fully extended, while the two rear folding outriggers 16, 17 are not or only slightly folded out. The control device 60 recognizes this support configuration on the basis of the position sensors 34, 35, 36, 37 and further recognizes which working areas 72a, 72b and 72c are possible for the articulated boom 13 and releases at least two partially overlapping working areas 72a, b, c for the movement of the articulated boom 13. For the operator, this means that the articulated boom 13 can first be lifted out of the boom support 31 in the working area 72c and can also be swiveled a few degrees to the right or left. In addition, the operator could also partially or completely unfold the articulated boom 13 to the rear, i.e. beyond the feed hopper 22, because although the working area 72c includes a lateral angle limitation for rotating the articulated boom 13 about the vertical axis H, it does not reduce the range of the unfolded articulated boom 13. After the articulated boom 13 has been lifted out of the boom support 31 using the working area 72c, the first boom segment 13a can be brought into a vertical position (angle α>=88 degrees), whereby the articulated boom 13 reaches the working area 72b. In the working area 72b, the boom assembly, i.e. in particular the boom segments 13b, 13c and 13d, could already be unfolded with the first boom segment 13a in a vertical position. In addition, the articulated boom 13 can be rotated about the vertical axis H over the right or left side of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 in the direction of the working area 72a. This means that, in contrast to the prior art, the operator has relatively much freedom for the articulated boom 13 on the way to the working area 72a, for example to avoid obstacles. The unfolding process described with reference to FIG. 4a is particularly relevant for a standard folder as described above.

The illustration in FIG. 4b relates primarily to an overhead folder, for which the unfolding process according to the invention is simplified compared to the prior art. The control device 60 uses the signals from the position sensors 34, 35, 36, 37 to recognize that the two right-hand outriggers 15, 17 are not or only slightly extended and the two left-hand outriggers 14, 16 are fully extended. The control device 60 releases the partially overlapping working areas 72a and 72b for this support configuration. The working area 72a initially allows the folding boom package 13 to be lifted and at least partially unfolded in the direction of the rear feed hopper 22. As soon as the first boom segment 13a is vertical, the articulated boom 13 can be rotated freely in the working area 72b about the vertical axis H, if necessary also via the driver's cab 11, until the articulated boom 13 is aligned via the vertical axis H in the direction of the working area 72a and can then be unfolded completely without limiting the pivot angle α of the A-hinge 25.

The working area 72c lying in the direction of the boom support 31 also has the advantage that the folded boom package can still be aligned around the vertical axis H during the folding process before it is deposited in the boom support 31. In order to enable fine adjustment of the rotation angle position during the depositing process, a further working area, not shown, could be defined which can be used with an inclination angle of the A-hinge of less than 30 degrees, for example, and which allows a slightly larger angle of rotation around the vertical axis H than the working area 72c. This additional working area could be used, for example, to swivel the boom assembly slightly to the side during cleaning work on the feed hopper 22.

The working areas 72a, 72b and 72c shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, which are identified and released by the control device 60, partially overlap. This is particularly advantageous because the articulated boom 13 can only be transferred from one working area to another working area if the working areas overlap.

The circular working area marked 72b in FIGS. 4a and 4b, in which the first boom segment 13a must be vertical, can also be referred to as the swiveling or drive-through area, because due to the dynamic load caused by the pulsating concrete pump 23, the concrete pump 23 must be inactive in this working area 72b in order to prevent the outriggers 14, 14, 16, 17 from being overloaded or the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 from tipping over. However, during working operation, in which the articulated boom 13 can be moved freely in the working area 72a when the concrete pump 23 is active, this also has the advantage that the articulated boom 13 can be temporarily transferred to the working/swiveling area 72b when the concrete pump 23 is inactive, for example when avoiding obstacles or for other reasons, in order to then return to the working area 72a for concrete delivery.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b, the two rear outriggers 16, 17 (FIG. 4a) or the outrigger 17 (FIG. 4b) are fully folded in or not extended. In the event that these rear outriggers 16, 17 are slightly extended, for example 20% of the total extension path, the restriction to the inactive state of the concrete pump 23 could possibly also be cancelled, so that concrete could thus also be pumped in the working area 72b.

This approach eliminates the need for a separate implementation of the transitional movements known from the prior art with corresponding folding and unfolding assistants, which considerably simplifies the complexity of the control software and the operation of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10.

The logic for checking adherence to the working areas 72a, 72b, 72c is solved here in that the control device 60 always monitors the conditions for switching off or limiting the boom movement and, if necessary, for initiating an emergency stop for all enabled working areas (and safety areas). If there is no restriction for at least one enabled working area 72a, 72b, 72c, any restrictions determined from other working areas 72a, 72b, 72c can be ignored; if there are competing restrictions, only the restriction with the least effect needs to be implemented.

The released working areas 72a, 72b, 72c can be displayed to the operator, for example, on a display of an input/output device 50 arranged on the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 and/or the remote control 57 in a bird's eye view. On the corresponding display 50, for example, there may also be an animation with which, in the vicinity of boundary areas between two partially overlapping working areas 72a, 72b 72c, it can be indicated by which measures (e.g. by raising the A-hinge 25) a further pivoting of the turntable about the vertical axis H is made possible. If the available display does not support this form of graphic display, a corresponding text message or audio instruction can also be output.

In the examples shown and described so far embodiment examples shown and described so far, it has always been assumed that at least two support outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 arranged next to each other are fully extended or folded down. In FIG. 4a, for example, these are the two front outriggers 14 and 15 and in FIG. 4b the two left-hand outriggers 14 and 16.

In the event that the full extension or folding out of at least two adjacent outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 is not possible on a construction site, the control device 60 identifies the reduced support positions via the position sensors 34, 35, 36, 37 and, in addition to limiting the angle of rotation of the articulated boom 13 about the vertical axis, as in the working areas 72a and 72c, can provide for an additional reduction in the reach of the articulated boom 13, for example by limiting the swivel angle α of the A-hinge 25 in the working areas 72a and 72c. For the working or slewing area 72b, 20 in which the position of the first boom segment 13a is already limited to a swivel angle α of 88-90 degrees, a further limitation of this swivel angle is not necessary and for support outreaches in the order of 50-100% of the maximum support outreach, it can be assumed that no reduction in the outreach of the articulated boom 13 is necessary in conjunction with the inactive concrete pump 23. However, if the actual support widths are even smaller (e.g. <50% of the maximum support width), a range reduction or limitation of the swivel angle can also be realized in the working/swivel range 72b or a reduction in reach or a limitation of the swiveling angle of the B-hinge 26 and/or the C-hinge 27 and/or possibly further hinges. The limitation of the swivel angle of the B-hinge 26 and/or other hinges 27, 28 can also be limited, for example, in other working areas 72a, b, c, for example, in order to prevent a backward movement that could jeopardize the stability of the joint load moment of the articulated boom 13. These considerations also apply to the embodiments described in connection with FIGS. 4a and 4b.

The control device 60 can also assign the identified support widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 to reach categories. FIG. 5a shows a truck-mounted concrete pump 10 according to the invention with the maximum outreach of the articulated boom 13 and with a lower reach category with reduced outreach widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 compared to the maximum outreach widths, 15 15, 16, 17 are shown, in which the swivel angle α of the first boom segment 13a was limited in accordance with the determined reach category. In this exemplary illustration, the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 is of type S47SX III from Schwing GmbH. With a reach height of the articulated boom of approx. 47 meters, the articulated boom 13 has a reach of approx. 41 meters from the center of the turntable 24. In order to achieve this reach without endangering the stability of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10, the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 must be extended to the maximum extension width. The exemplary support width of 8.95 meters of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 shown in FIG. 5a results from the width of the truck chassis of regularly 2.50 meters and the extension widths of the front outriggers 14, 15 of approx. 3.2 meters each. The rear outriggers 16, 17 must be extended accordingly up to the maximum support width of 9.30 meters, which corresponds to an extension width of the outriggers 16, 17 of approx. 3.4 meters. This truck-mounted concrete pump 10 is therefore too large to be set up on a small construction site with a limited footprint of, for example, eight meters in width. Based on the outreach of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17, the control unit 60 determined a reach category that corresponds to a truck-mounted concrete pump of the type S36X, as shown in FIG. 5b. This truck-mounted concrete pump 10 has a reach of the articulated boom 13 of approximately 31 meters from the center of the turntable with a maximum support width of the two front outriggers 14, 15 of 6.20 meters. If the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 of type S47SX III is supported with this support width, the swiveling angle α of the first boom segment 13a is limited in accordance with the determined reach category, resulting in a reduced reach of the articulated boom 13. The possible reach of the articulated boom 13 is primarily based on the required stability of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 for the extension widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 determined using the reach category. The reduced reach of 31 meters specified in FIG. 5a corresponds here with the maximum reach of the smaller truck-mounted concrete pump 10 corresponding to the determined reach category (or equivalent outrigger width). In reality, these values may differ, as in this example the reach category is defined on the basis of the maximum support width of the smaller truck-mounted concrete pump type. The actual achievable reach of the articulated boom 13 for the larger truck-mounted concrete pump type can therefore deviate upwards or downwards from the maximum reach of the smaller truck-mounted concrete pump type due to the design. Conversely, the reach category could also be defined on the basis of the maximum reach of the articulated boom of the smaller truck-mounted concrete pump type. Then again, the maximum support width for this reach category would generally not correspond exactly to the maximum support width of the smaller truck-mounted concrete pump type.

FIG. 6a shows the rear view of a truck-mounted concrete pump 10 according to the invention with an original horizontal reach of the articulated boom 13 of 41 meters at the maximum extension width of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17. In this truck-mounted concrete pump 10, the control device 60 has determined a reach category with the extension widths of the two right-hand outriggers 15, 17 reduced by approximately 50% on the basis of the determined extension widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17. The swivel angle α of the first boom segment 13a is limited to approximately 80 degrees in accordance with the selected reach category, i.e. the first boom segment 13a can be swiveled from 80 to 90 degrees, resulting in a horizontal reach of the articulated boom 13 of approximately 31 meters, as shown in FIG. 6a. The floor space 70 is still sufficient for the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 to be set up, but in this example it is so narrow that despite the reduced extension width of the two right-hand outriggers 15, 17, the two left-hand outriggers 14, 16 cannot or can hardly be extended, i.e. an additional support configuration, which is explained in more detail below, is used, which results in a limitation of the angle of rotation of the deployable articulated boom 13 about the vertical axis H by the control device 60. Without this limitation of the angle of rotation, the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 would tip over when the articulated boom 13 is moved to the left side of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10.

In FIG. 6b, a reach category was determined for the same truck-mounted concrete pump 10 according to the invention as in FIG. 6a, with the extension widths of the two right-hand outriggers 15, 17 reduced by approximately 25%. The swivel angle α of the first boom segment 13a is now limited to approx. 45 degrees in accordance with the determined reach category, i.e. the first boom segment 13a can still be extended by approx. 25%. This means that the first boom segment 13a can still be swiveled from 45 to 90 degrees, resulting in a reach of the articulated boom 13 of approx. 38 meters, as shown in FIG. 6b. This example also limits the angle of rotation of the articulated boom 13 about the vertical axis H

According to the invention, the operator first positions the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 on the floor space 70 provided on the construction site and extends the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 as far as the floor space 70 and the construction site operations allow, so that, for example, sufficient free space remains for other activities on the construction site. As soon as the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 are extended accordingly, the operator can properly support the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 with the support legs 18, 19, 20, 21. This means that the control device 60 first checks whether the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 have reached the minimum extension widths required to reach certain reach categories by querying the extension status or the extension width of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17.

The limitation of the swivel angle α of the first boom segment 13a, i.e. the boom segment 13a of the articulated boom 13 directly connected to the turntable 24, can be arranged in different ways. For example, the first boom segment 13a may be fixed at an angle α of 90 degrees. If the support widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 allow higher load moments of the articulated boom 13, movement of the first boom segment 13a can also be released at an angle range of 70 to 90 degrees, for example. In addition, the movement of other boom segments, in particular the second boom segment 13b, could also be limited. This would be the case in particular if the extension widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17 are so small that only low load moments of the articulated boom 13a are possible.

FIG. 7 shows the working areas 72a, 72b and 72d of a truck-mounted concrete pump 10 according to the invention, whereby the advantages of the simultaneous release of at least two working areas in conjunction with a reduced reach category of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 are particularly evident here. The working area 72a on the left of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 results from the fact that the two left-hand outriggers 14 and 16 are fully extended. This means that the articulated boom 13 can be moved in the working area 72a over an angle of approx. 185° to the left of the truck-mounted concrete pump 10 without limiting the swiveling angle α of the first boom segment 13a. The working area 72d, with a limitation of the swiveling angle α of the first boom segment 13a, also allows the articulated boom 13 to be moved to an area to the right in front of the cab 11. The working area 72b is assigned to a reduced reach category 18, in which the two left outriggers 14, 16 and the outrigger 15 at the front right would only have to be partially extended. Because the two left-hand outriggers 14, 16 are fully extended in this example, i.e. the minimum support width for the reduced reach category has been exceeded, the working areas 72a and 72d can be released simultaneously. In addition, a third working area 72b is release, which enables 360° rotation of the articulated boom 13 about its vertical axis H when the boom segment 13a is vertical. This working area 72b can be defined, for example, as a slewing area 72b with inactive concrete pump 23 inactive concrete pump 23.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of the control system of a truck-mounted concrete pump 10 according to the invention with a five-part articulated boom 13 with an input/output device 50 and a control device 60.

The control device 60 is connected to sensors 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, which provide information about the swivel angles α, β, γ, δ, ε of the individual boom segments 13a-e and the angle of rotation ω. These can be rotation angle sensors arranged on the articulated hinges 25-29, inclination sensors on the boom segments 13a-e, displacement sensors in the hydraulic cylinders of the articulated hinges 25-28 or other suitable sensors. The sensor 38 detects the swivel angle α of the first boom segment 13a, i.e. the boom segment 13a of the articulated boom 13 that is directly connected to the turntable. The articulated hinges 25-29 or the hydraulic cylinders or hinge drives that drive the articulated hinges also receive control signals. The control device 60 can therefore detect and limit the swivel angle α in particular. Limiting the swiveling angles, β, γ, δ, ε is optionally possible.

The control device 60 is also connected to a sensor system for detecting the outrigger positions of the respective outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17, which is formed by the position sensors 34, 35, 36, 37, which detect the extension widths of the outriggers 14, 15, 16, 17. The extension lengths of the front outriggers 14, 15 detected by these sensors are converted into extension widths of the outriggers 14, 15 by the control device 60.

REFERENCE SIGNS

• • 10 Truck-mounted concrete pump
  • 11 Driver's cab
  • 12 Chassis
  • 13 Articulated boom
  • 13a-e boom segments
  • 14 Outrigger front left
  • 15 Outrigger front right
  • 16 Outrigger rear left
  • 17 Outrigger rear right
  • 18 Support leg front left
  • 19 Support leg front right
  • 20 Support leg rear left
  • 21 Support leg rear right
  • 22 Hopper
  • 23 Concrete pump
  • 24 Turntable
  • 25 A-hinge
  • 26 B-hinge
  • 27 C-hinge
  • 28 D-hinge
  • 29 E-hinge
  • 30 End hose
  • 31 boom support
  • 34 Position sensor outrigger front left
  • 35 Position sensor outrigger front right
  • 36 Position sensor outrigger rear left
  • 37 Position sensor outrigger rear right
  • 38 Rotation angle sensor A-hinge (α)
  • 39 Rotation angle sensor b-hinge (β)
  • 40 Rotation angle sensor C-hinge (γ)
  • 41 Rotation angle sensor D-hinge (δ)
  • 42 Rotation angle sensor E-hinge (ε)
  • 43 Rotation angle sensor slewing gear (ω)
  • 50 Input device
  • 51a, b Menu fields
  • 52 Selection field support configuration
  • 53 Selection field reach category
  • 54 Keys
  • 55 Display
  • 57 Remote control
  • 60 Control device
  • 70 Floor space
  • 71 Concreting area
  • 72a-d Working areas
  • H Vertical axis