Electrified rubber tired gantry crane lane assistance

Electrified gantry cranes must be kept a certain distance away from the bus bar in order to maintain the correct electrical contact or to prevent damages. Optical distance sensors are used to perform non-contact measurements near the bus bar. The DT35 distance sensor measures the distance between the bus bar and a point on the gantry crane. When the rail surface is uneven, a laser scanner is an excellent alternative. A laser scanner scans the bus bar and the area surrounding it in real time without any mechanical adjustments and provides many more measurement data points between the bus bar and the crane. The crane controller can then correct the distance immediately if it is not correct. Laser scanners also provide collision avoidance in the crane's direction of travel.