Intelligent crane control host and intelligent crane management and control system

Abstract

According to the crane intelligent control host and the crane intelligent management and control system, the host is arranged on a crane and connected with a crane controller on the crane. The host comprises a mainboard, and a calculation and communication unit, a positioning unit, a video management unit and a serial port management unit which are electrically connected with the mainboard, the positioning unit, the video management unit and the serial port management unit are electrically connected with the calculation and communication unit through the mainboard, the positioning unit is electrically connected with a satellite antenna, and the serial port management unit is electrically connected with the satellite antenna. The video management unit is connected with a camera, the serial port management unit is connected with a crane controller, and the calculation and communication unit is configured to establish two-way communication connection in various modes with a cloud end. An edge intelligent platform integrating information acquisition and perception, information calculation, business logic processing and control instruction issuing is formed by taking a host as a hub, and meanwhile, as an open crane intelligent hardware base, various professional systems of a crane are integrated, and two-way communication between the various professional systems and a cloud end is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of intelligent warehousing and logistics, and in particular to an intelligent crane control host and an intelligent crane management and control system. Background Art

[0002] In traditional crane operations, the control host usually adopts a simple electrical control system, which mainly relies on the operator's manual operation and experience judgment. Although this method can meet the basic needs of hoisting operations to a certain extent, it has some limitations, including low operating efficiency, insufficient safety, high error rate and high maintenance cost. With the development of science and technology, especially the progress of information technology and automation technology, the demand for improving the intelligence, automation and safety of crane operations is growing.

[0003] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present invention, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a crane intelligent control host, which is arranged on a crane, and a crane controller is arranged on the crane. The host includes a main board, and a computing and communication unit, a positioning unit, a video management unit, and a serial port management unit electrically connected to the main board, wherein the positioning unit, the video management unit, and the serial port management unit are electrically connected to the computing and communication unit through the main board, the positioning unit is electrically connected to a satellite antenna, the video management unit is connected to a camera, the serial port management unit is connected to the crane controller, and the computing and communication unit is configured to establish a two-way communication connection with the cloud.

[0005] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the computing and communication unit includes a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, and a communication module, wherein the central processing unit, the graphics processing unit, and the communication module are electrically connected to a mainboard, respectively.

[0006] Another embodiment of the present invention provides that the computing and communication unit includes a system-level chip, a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, and a communication module are packaged in the system-level chip, and the system-level chip is electrically connected to the mainboard.

[0007] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the host further includes a display unit electrically connected to the mainboard, and the display unit includes a display screen and / or an indicator light.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the host further includes at least one network interface, one end of the at least one network interface is connected to the video management unit, and the other end of the at least one network interface is connected to the external camera.

[0009] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the host further includes a storage unit for storing video data and / or business data collected by the camera.

[0010] Another embodiment of the present invention provides that the host further includes a plurality of serial ports, wherein at least one serial port is connected to the serial port management unit at one end and connected to the crane controller at the other end.

[0011] Furthermore, at least one serial port among the multiple serial ports is connected to the serial port management unit at one end and connected to the satellite antenna at the other end.

[0012] Furthermore, at least one of the multiple serial ports has one end connected to the serial port management unit and the other end connected to a professional system disposed on the crane.

[0013] Another embodiment of the present invention provides that the host further includes a USB management unit and a plurality of USB ports, wherein at least one USB port is connected to the USB management unit at one end and to a computer or a tablet computer at the other end.

[0014] Another embodiment of the present invention proposes that the host also includes a network port management unit and multiple network ports, at least one of the multiple network ports is connected to the network port management unit at one end, and connected to a professional system installed on the crane at the other end.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a crane intelligent management and control system, comprising a crane intelligent control host disposed on the crane, a camera and a cloud.

[0016] The beneficial technical effects of the present invention include at least the following aspects:

[0017] After installing the intelligent control host on the crane, with the host as the hub, it can form an edge intelligent platform that integrates information collection and perception, information calculation, business logic processing, and control command issuance. The various operation and working states of the crane can be output to the cloud. After receiving instructions from the cloud, various professional systems on the crane can be remotely controlled.

[0018] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present invention, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present invention. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a crane intelligent control host provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an intelligent crane management and control system provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments described herein are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that various modifications and changes can be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance; the term "plurality" refers to two or more; the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more associated listed items. In particular, reference to "the / the" object or "an" object is also intended to indicate one of a possible plurality of such objects.

[0024] Unless otherwise specified or explained, the terms "connection", "fixation", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, an integral connection, an electrical connection, or a signal connection; "connection" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0025] Further, in the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the directional words such as "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer" and the like described in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described at the angles shown in the accompanying drawings and should not be understood as limiting the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It should also be understood that, in the context, when it is mentioned that an element or feature is connected to another element (one or more) "upper", "lower", or "inner", "outer", it can not only be directly connected to the other (one or more) elements "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", but also can be indirectly connected to the other (one or more) elements "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer" through an intermediate element.

[0026] One embodiment of the present invention first provides a crane intelligent control host, such as Figure 1 , 2As shown, the main machine is arranged on a crane, and it can be an independent package arranged on the crane, or it can be a combination of dispersed functional components arranged on the crane. The crane in the present invention can be either a gantry crane or a front crane.

[0027] Cranes used in cargo yards, docks, and large factories are often equipped with crane controllers, which are generally implemented as programmable logic controllers (PLCs). They are one of the core control systems of the crane and are responsible for automatic control and monitoring of the crane's operations. Crane controllers (PLCs) are generally connected to data output interfaces, and the crane data that can be opened include but are not limited to the following aspects:

[0028] Position and movement data: such as the height of the hook, the position and speed of the trolley and cart, etc.

[0029] Status data: such as crane operating status, fault information, limit switch status, etc.

[0030] Load data: such as load weight and torque on the hook, etc.

[0031] Control signals: such as starting and stopping the motor, releasing the brake, turning on and off the lights, etc.

[0032] Analog data: continuously changing physical quantities such as hydraulic system pressure and temperature.

[0033] Communication data: such as information exchanged and communicated with other devices.

[0034] Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, the host of the present invention at least includes a mainboard, and a computing and communication unit, a positioning unit, a video management unit, and a serial port management unit electrically connected to the mainboard, wherein the positioning unit, the video management unit, and the serial port management unit are electrically connected to the computing and communication unit through the mainboard, the positioning unit can be electrically connected to an external satellite antenna, the video management unit is connected to an external camera, the serial port management unit is connected to a crane controller, and the computing and communication unit is configured to establish a two-way communication connection with the cloud.

[0035] The positioning unit in the intelligent host of the present invention is specifically a Beidou RTK electronic module, the working principle of which is to use the signals of at least four satellites to determine the precise position of the receiver on the earth. By communicating with a reference station at a known position, the RTK module can receive differential data in real time, thereby correcting errors in satellite signals and achieving centimeter-level high-precision positioning. In the technical solution of the present invention, the positioning module can be used to grasp the self-position information of the crane during movement, as well as the movement trajectory of the container handled by the crane. Through the container position matching algorithm, the cargo yard position corresponding to the starting position and the end position of the container can be accurately determined.

[0036] The video management unit is connected to an external camera to obtain the video signal collected by the external camera and perform some preprocessing. The external camera can be, for example, a network camera IPC or an analog high-definition AHD camera. The video management unit performs preprocessing on the collected signal containing image information, including decoding, analog-to-digital conversion, encoding and other operations, and sends the preprocessed video data to the calculation and communication unit through the mainboard for further processing. The camera is installed in the crane body, accessories and other locations, and is configured to capture images containing container codes and vehicle license plates.

[0037] The above-mentioned crane controller PLC is connected to the serial port management unit of the intelligent control host of the present invention. The serial port management unit receives various data from the crane controller PLC and forwards them to the calculation and communication unit through the mainboard, and can receive instructions from the calculation and communication unit and forward them to the crane controller PLC.

[0038] The computing and communication unit is configured to establish a two-way communication connection with the cloud, which includes a wired and / or wireless connection, so that the computing and communication unit can at least send the received position data from the positioning unit, the crane operation related data from the crane controller PLC, the image data captured by the camera from the video management unit, and the container number and license plate number data recognized by the GPU to the cloud for centralized processing by the cloud, and can also receive information including control commands from the cloud, and further send these received cloud information to the crane controller PLC through the serial port management unit to realize remote control of various professional systems of the crane. Exemplarily, the cloud can be specifically implemented as a centralized or distributed server, etc.

[0039] It can be seen that this embodiment of the present invention realizes precise positioning, real-time video monitoring, intelligent image recognition, two-way data communication, remote control and monitoring of crane operations through a highly integrated and intelligent design, thereby improving the automation level and operating efficiency of crane operations and enhancing the safety of operations.

[0040] Further integration Figure 1The computing and communication unit specifically includes a central processing unit CPU, a graphics processing unit GPU and a communication module, which are electrically connected to the mainboard respectively, wherein the central processing unit CPU can be used to process the business logic related to the crane locally, for example, to parse and analyze the various data received from the crane controller PLC, and execute different processing procedures according to the analysis results, and then send control instructions to the crane controller PLC through the serial port management unit, so as to control the crane to complete specific actions; and utilize the specialized image processing capabilities of the graphics processing unit GPU to run the artificial intelligence algorithm to process the image signal collected by the camera transmitted from the video management unit, so as to realize the functions of container number recognition, license plate recognition and the like; the communication module includes a 4G wireless communication module, which can establish a wireless communication connection with the base station and further enable the intelligent control host of the present invention to be bidirectionally connected to the cloud.

[0041] By implementing the computing and communication units as three independent modules, namely the central processing unit CPU, the graphics processing unit GPU and the communication module and connecting them to the main board, the scalability and maintenance convenience of the intelligent control host of the present invention can be improved, and the host can be customized and upgraded for different cranes or different tasks.

[0042] Further by Figure 1 As shown, the computing and communication unit may also include a system on a chip (SoC), in which a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a communication module are encapsulated, and the system on a chip is electrically connected to the mainboard as an integral chip component. Using a system on a chip integrating a CPU, a GPU, and a communication module can bring a series of technical, economic, and operational advantages, and is particularly in line with the requirements of the present invention for realizing a high-performance, low-power, and miniaturized control host.

[0043] Furthermore, the smart host also includes a display unit electrically connected to the mainboard. The display unit can be a display component such as an LCD display screen, an ink screen, and / or the display unit can also be equipped with an indicator light. The display unit is used to display information related to the operation of the host to meet the needs of staff reference and equipment debugging.

[0044] In addition, the host also includes at least one network interface, one end of which is connected to the video management unit and the other end is connected to the external camera. The use of the network camera IPC can better realize high-definition image acquisition, and the digital signal transmission is more stable and has strong anti-interference ability.

[0045] In order to improve the docking capability of the intelligent host with more professional systems of the crane, multiple serial ports are set on the host to connect with the serial port management unit, at least one serial port is connected to the serial port management unit at one end, and connected to the crane controller PLC at the other end, for receiving the crane operation data from the crane controller PLC, and sending control instructions to the crane controller PLC, so as to conveniently and quickly realize real-time acquisition of crane operation data and intelligent control of the crane.

[0046] In addition, at least one of the multiple serial ports is connected to the serial port management unit at one end and to the satellite antenna at the other end. Multiple satellite signals can be obtained through the satellite antenna for precise positioning. The satellite antenna can be set on the equipment that needs to be positioned, such as the crane body, the hook, etc., so as to achieve precise positioning of the crane itself and the container to be processed.

[0047] In order to further enhance the expansion capability of the intelligent host, multiple reserved interfaces may be provided in the multiple serial ports, wherein at least one serial port may be connected to the serial port management unit at one end and connected to other professional systems related to the crane at the other end.

[0048] In order to more completely and reliably realize the various functions of the smart host and enhance the potential capabilities of the smart host, the host also includes a power management unit, a storage unit and a USB management unit electrically connected to the mainboard, wherein the power management unit supplies power to all units of the entire host, the storage unit can be a non-volatile memory for storing various data, such as for storing video data collected by a camera and / or other business data, and the USB unit is connected to a USB interface and can be connected to an external computer or tablet computer for system updates and data exchange, etc.

[0049] Furthermore, in order to further improve the information exchange requirements of the smart host, the smart host also includes a network port management unit and multiple network ports, at least one of the multiple network ports is connected to the network port management unit at one end, and is connected to other professional systems that also have a network port and are installed on the crane at the other end.

[0050] According to another embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention also provides a crane intelligent management and control system, including a crane mounted on the crane. Figure 1 The crane intelligent control host shown also includes a camera connected to the host and a cloud connected to the host.

[0051] Through an external camera combined with an intelligent recognition algorithm, the specific work of the crane can be understood, such as the container number and license plate number it handles; through the satellite positioning unit, the crane's own position and the exact position of the container handled by the crane can be grasped; it can also access other professional systems installed on the crane through the reserved interface; in short, downward, it can access the crane's own signal and various professional systems surrounding the crane, and upward, it can connect to the cloud (for example, through 4G or wired methods), support remote firmware upgrades, have dynamic expansion capabilities, and support remote fault diagnosis, thereby forming a crane intelligent control platform.

[0052] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present invention after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present invention, which follow the general principles of the present invention and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed by the present invention. The specification and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present invention are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A crane intelligent control host, characterized in that the host is arranged on the crane and connected to the crane controller on the crane, the host comprises a main board, and a computing and communication unit, a positioning unit, a video management unit, and a serial port management unit electrically connected to the main board, wherein: The positioning unit, video management unit, and serial port management unit are electrically connected to the computing and communication unit through the mainboard. The positioning unit is electrically connected to the satellite antenna, the video management unit is connected to the camera, the serial port management unit is connected to the crane controller, and the computing and communication unit is configured to establish a two-way communication connection with the cloud.

2. The crane intelligent control host according to claim 1, characterized in that the computing and communication unit includes a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, and a communication module, wherein: The central processing unit, the graphics processing unit and the communication module are electrically connected to the mainboard respectively.

3. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 2 is characterized in that the communication module includes a wireless communication module configured to establish a communication connection using 4G.

4. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 1 is characterized in that the host also includes a display unit electrically connected to the main board, and the display unit includes a display screen and / or an indicator light.

5. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 1 is characterized in that the host also includes at least one network interface, one end of the at least one network interface is connected to the video management unit, and the other end is connected to the external camera.

6. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 1 is characterized in that the host also includes a storage unit for storing video data and / or business data collected by the camera.

7. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 1 is characterized in that the host also includes multiple serial ports, at least one serial port is connected to the serial port management unit at one end and connected to the crane controller at the other end.

8. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 7 is characterized in that one end of at least one of the multiple serial ports is connected to the serial port management unit and the other end is connected to the satellite antenna.

9. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 7 is characterized in that one end of at least one serial port among the multiple serial ports is connected to the serial port management unit, and the other end is connected to a professional system installed on the crane.

10. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 1 is characterized in that the host also includes a USB management unit and multiple USB ports, wherein at least one USB port is connected to the USB management unit at one end and connected to a computer or a tablet computer at the other end.

11. The crane intelligent control host as described in claim 1 is characterized in that the host also includes a network port management unit and multiple network ports, at least one of the multiple network ports is connected to the network port management unit at one end and connected to a professional system installed on the crane at the other end.

12. The crane intelligent control host according to claim 1, characterized in that the host also includes a power management unit electrically connected to the main board.

13. An intelligent management and control system for a crane, comprising a crane intelligent control host as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 arranged on a crane, and also comprising a camera and a cloud.

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