Applying Wireless Technology to Electro-Hydraulics: Architecture, Approval, and Safety Considerations

摘要

The means to provide electrical stimulation to a coil that controls the flow of hydraulic fluid through a valve is no longer simply analog in nature. Today, the prevailing trend is towards utilization of digital controls. Complicating matters further is the modern trend toward microcontroller based solutions for digital control. Microcontroller based systems provide flexibility for configuration, stability in the face of environmental variables such as temperature, and can provide risk mitigation within an economical solution as compared to the equivalent analog counterpart. Wireless control systems, while not exclusively microcontroller centric, benefit from the interaction of hardware and software that a microcontroller design provides. As a result, their use in mobile and industrial equipment has increased, due in part to the general reasons cited earlier, but also due to the inherent benefits that come with the use of remote control – namely, higher productivity and increased operator safety. As a result of the evolution from analog control to wireless control, the knowledge base for operators must evolve as well. Through this expansion of information, informed decisions can be made about how to implement wireless controls and achieve the benefits purported. This paper attempts to explore the aspects of wireless control used in mobile hydraulic systems today that are related to reducing risk and increasing productivity. A discussion of architecture, approval, and safety will be presented with conclusions drawn as to how each relates to the prescribed benefits.