Crane load indicating arrangement
First Claim
1. A load indicating arrangement for use with a crane or other lifting apparatus of the type having plural modes of operation comprising, law generator means including means to produce for each mode of operation of the lifting apparatus a reference output signal which is representative of the maximum safe load for the lifting apparatus in its prevailing operation mode, means for producing a working output signal which is representative of the actual load on the lifting apparatus in the prevailing operation mode, and means responsive to said reference and working signal outputs to provide an indication of available lifting capacity of the lifting apparatus, said law generator means comprising a digital storage device having a storage location individual to each mode of operation of the lifting apparatus, each storage location being adapted to store a plurality of items of information pertaining to the operating characteristics of the lifting apparatus for a particular mode of operation, selection means for selecting a storage location corresponding to a desired mode of operation, read-out means for reading out and temporarily storing the plurality of items of information from the selected storage location, and means responsive to the temporarily stored items of information for determining the value of said reference output signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A crane safe load indicator uses a single low generator unit supplied with operating potentials from a digital storage device via a digital-to-analog converter and sample and hold circuits. The storage device stores information related to the operating characteristics of the crane for each mode of operation thereof thereby eliminating the need for a separate law generator unit for each mode of operation, each of which requires a plurality of potentiometers to provide the proper input-output characteristics.
11 Citations
6 Claims
- 1. A load indicating arrangement for use with a crane or other lifting apparatus of the type having plural modes of operation comprising, law generator means including means to produce for each mode of operation of the lifting apparatus a reference output signal which is representative of the maximum safe load for the lifting apparatus in its prevailing operation mode, means for producing a working output signal which is representative of the actual load on the lifting apparatus in the prevailing operation mode, and means responsive to said reference and working signal outputs to provide an indication of available lifting capacity of the lifting apparatus, said law generator means comprising a digital storage device having a storage location individual to each mode of operation of the lifting apparatus, each storage location being adapted to store a plurality of items of information pertaining to the operating characteristics of the lifting apparatus for a particular mode of operation, selection means for selecting a storage location corresponding to a desired mode of operation, read-out means for reading out and temporarily storing the plurality of items of information from the selected storage location, and means responsive to the temporarily stored items of information for determining the value of said reference output signal.
Specification