Jib crane remote control system

Abstract

To provide a jib crane remote control system that enables remote operation by workers on the ground.SOLUTION: A jib crane remote control system for remotely operating a jib crane comprises a receiver 10 provided in a ground facility 1 for receiving an instruction signal from a transmitter 6 operated by a ground worker, a first converter 20 for converting the received instruction signal, a second converter 60 provided in an operation side facility 2 for converting an instruction signal transmitted from the ground facility 1, an operation control device 70 for controlling the operation of the jib crane based on the converted instruction signal, and a LAN line 30 provided in the ground facility 1 and the operation side facility 2 for connecting the first converter 20 and the second converter 60. The first converter 20 converts the instruction signal received by the receiver 10 into a signal that can be transmitted by the LAN line 30. The second converter 60 converts the instruction signal transmitted via the LAN line 30 into a signal that can be processed by the operation control device 70.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a jib crane remote control system. [Background technology]

[0002] Jib cranes have been used in shipyards, port wharves, etc. As shown in Fig. 3, a jib crane 100 is a crane with a jib 4 (elbow = arm) and is configured to suspend a load 200 by passing a hoisting wire rope 5 through a pulley at the end of the jib. The jib crane 100 also has a ground-side facility 1 consisting of a base 1a and a tower 1b installed on the ground, and an operator's side facility 2 consisting of a driver's cab 2a connected above the ground-side facility 1 via a rotating part 3.

[0003] The suspended cargo 200 is moved by a combination of movements such as rotating the driver's side equipment 2 relative to the ground side equipment 1, raising and lowering the jib 4, and winding up and down the wire rope 5. The ground equipment unit 1 may also run on rails that have been laid in advance. The driver's cab 2a is equipped with an operation control device for controlling these movements, and the operator of the driver's cab 2a operates the operation control device while confirming with the ground worker by telephone.

[0004] On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes an invention relating to a crane apparatus incorporating a remote wireless control device, in which an overhead traveling crane 3 is mounted with imaging cameras 4, 6, and 7, and the crane is operated while checking the images on a portable remote wireless controller 8, so that a worker on the ground can directly and remotely operate the crane.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes an invention relating to a wireless device for remotely controlling a hoist-type overhead crane, which is designed to prevent the same or adjacent operating channels from being selected when operating multiple hoist-type overhead cranes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-229782 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-11865 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The jib crane is operated by the operator in the cab 2a while confirming with the ground worker via telephone, so communication between the operator and the ground worker is important. However, it can sometimes be difficult for the ground worker to convey his or her intentions regarding the direction and amount of movement of the cargo (up, down, left, right).

[0008] In response to this, it is possible to have a ground worker directly remotely operate the crane by radio, as in the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. However, with a large crane such as a jib crane, there is a problem that the radio signal cannot reach the driver's cab where the operation control device is located. In addition, problems arise with remote operation by radio due to the characteristics of a jib crane, such as the traveling of the ground side device and the rotation of the driver's side device.

[0009] The present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional art, and provides a jib crane remote operation system that enables remote operation by a worker on the ground. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, the jib crane remote operation system of the present invention is a jib crane remote operation system that remotely operates a jib crane having a ground-side equipment erected on the ground and an operating-side equipment connected to the ground-side equipment via a rotating part, and is characterized in that it has a receiver provided in the ground-side equipment for receiving an instruction signal from a transmitter operated by a ground worker, a first converter for converting the received instruction signal, a second converter provided in the operating-side equipment for converting an instruction signal transmitted from the ground-side equipment, an operation control device for controlling the operation of the jib crane based on the converted instruction signal, and a LAN line provided in the ground-side equipment and the operating-side equipment for connecting the first converter and the second converter, wherein the first converter converts the instruction signal received by the receiver into a signal that can be transmitted via the LAN line, and the second converter converts the instruction signal transmitted via the LAN line into a signal that can be processed by the operation control device.

[0011] Also preferably, the LAN line is connected to a wireless LAN at the rotating portion.

[0012] In a further preferred embodiment, a plurality of antennas are provided on one of the ground-side facility and the driver's-side facility, and an antenna provided on the other facility is configured to revolve around the other antenna. Effect of the Invention

[0013] The jib crane remote operation system of the present invention remotely operates a jib crane having a ground-side facility erected on the ground and an operation-side facility connected to the ground-side facility via a rotating part. The ground-side facility is provided with a receiver that receives an instruction signal from a transmitter operated by a ground worker and a first converter that converts the received instruction signal, and the operation-side facility is provided with a second converter that converts the instruction signal transmitted from the ground-side facility and an operation control device that controls the operation of the jib crane based on the converted instruction signal. The ground-side facility and the operation-side facility are provided with a LAN line connecting the first converter and the second converter, and the first converter converts the instruction signal received by the receiver into a signal that can be transmitted via the LAN line, and the second converter converts the instruction signal transmitted via the LAN line into a signal that can be processed by the operation control device.

[0014] Therefore, the transmitter operated by the worker and the receiver on the ground equipment are connected by low-power radio, and the received command signals are sent at high speed to the operation equipment via a LAN line, allowing the jib crane to be remotely operated. Also, by constructing a LAN line, it can serve as a system infrastructure for connecting a network camera attached to the operation equipment and terminals placed on the ground.

[0015] In addition, because the LAN line is wirelessly connected at the rotating section, there is no problem with the cable becoming twisted in a wired connection, even when the driver's side equipment rotates relative to the ground side equipment.

[0016] In addition, since multiple antennas are provided on one of the ground-side equipment and the driver's-side equipment, and antennas provided on the other equipment are configured to revolve relatively around the other antennas, wireless transmission is less likely to be interrupted even if the driver's-side equipment rotates relative to the ground-side equipment.

[0017] In this way, according to the present invention, a jib crane remote operation system can be provided that enables remote operation by a worker on the ground. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a jib crane remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of wireless connection in a rotating section. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a jib crane. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Next, a jib crane remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The jib crane remote control system according to this embodiment is for remotely controlling the jib crane 100 shown in Figure 3 from the ground, and can be installed additionally to an existing jib crane.

[0020] The jib crane 100 is a crane with a jib 4 (elbow = arm) and is configured to suspend cargo 200 by passing a hoisting wire rope 5 through a pulley at the end of the jib. The jib crane 100 also has a ground-side facility 1 consisting of a base 1a and a tower 1b installed on the ground, and an operator's side facility 2 consisting of a driver's cab 2a connected above the ground-side facility 1 via a rotating part 3.

[0021] The suspended cargo 200 is moved by a combination of movements such as rotating the driver's side equipment 2 relative to the ground side equipment 1, raising and lowering the jib 4, and winding up and down the wire rope 5. The ground equipment unit 1 runs on rails that have been laid in advance.

[0022] 1 is a configuration diagram of a jib crane remote control system. The devices constituting the jib crane remote control system are arranged from a ground facility 1 to an operator facility 2.

[0023] The ground equipment 1 is provided with a receiver 10 and a converter 20. The receiver 10 receives command signals from a transmitter 6 operated by a worker on the ground. The command signals from the transmitter 6 are signals that instruct operation, stop, operating speed, etc., for the running of the ground equipment 1, the rotation of the driver's equipment 2, the raising and lowering of the jib 4, the winding up and down of the wire rope 5, etc.

[0024] A low-power wireless connection between the transmitter 6 operated by the operator and the receiver 10 of the ground equipment 1 can be configured to prevent interference with other devices without requiring a license. In addition, by using the 429 MHz or 1.2 GHz frequency band, it is possible to configure the system to easily go around obstacles in short distances. This allows stable communication even if a blind spot from the transmitter 6 occurs due to the running of the ground equipment 1 or the turning of the driver's equipment 2.

[0025] The first converter 20 converts the instruction signal received by the receiver 10 into a signal that can be transmitted over a LAN line. The converted instruction signal is transmitted to the driver's side equipment 2. The first converter 20 can also be configured to convert the signal into an instruction signal that cannot be transmitted as is due to restrictions on the transmitter 6 (e.g., the number of notches in the control lever), and to control whether to transmit or delay the signal for safety reasons.

[0026] The operation side facility 2 is provided with a second converter 60 and an operation control device 70. The operation control device 70 is installed on the existing jib crane 100. The second converter 60 converts an instruction signal transmitted from the ground side facility 1 via a LAN line into a signal that can be processed by the operation control device 70. The operation control device 70 controls the operation of the jib crane 100 based on the converted instruction signal.

[0027] The ground-side facility 1 and the driving-side facility 2 are provided with a LAN line 30 that connects the first converter 20 of the ground-side facility 1 and the second converter 60 of the driving-side facility 2. The LAN line 30 can be configured with a LAN cable, but in the swivel section 3, it is preferable to connect wirelessly using wireless communication devices 40, 50 that use, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark). This prevents the problem of the LAN cable being twisted even when the driving-side facility 2 rotates relative to the ground-side facility 1.

[0028] The communication standard of the LAN line 30 may be Ethernet, technical specification IEEE802.3. Furthermore, by adopting the 802.11k / v / r / ai standard as the wireless communication standard between the wireless communication devices 40 and 50, wireless communication that is unlikely to be interrupted can be realized. The LAN line 30 is also a prerequisite for adopting the 802.11k / v / r / ai standard as the wireless communication standard between the wireless communication devices 40 and 50.

[0029] 2 is an explanatory diagram of wireless connections in the swivel section 3. A plurality of (four in this embodiment) antennas 41, 42, 43, 44 are provided on the ground side equipment 1 of the swivel section 3. An antenna 51 provided on the driver's side equipment 2 of the swivel section 3 revolves around the antennas 41, 42, 43, 44 in accordance with the rotation of the driver's side equipment 2. This makes it possible to realize roaming, which switches communication partners one after another, and makes it possible to prevent interruptions in transmission via wireless connections.

[0030] The number of antennas in the ground side facility 1 (four in this embodiment) is not limited, but it is preferable to determine the number and arrangement of antennas so that one of the antennas is always visible no matter where the antenna 51 is located. Note that the numbers of antennas in the ground side facility 1 and the driver's side facility 2 may be reversed so that the antennas provided in the ground side facility 1 relatively orbit around the multiple antennas provided in the driver's side facility 2.

[0031] In this way, by constructing a LAN line 30 from the ground equipment 1 to the driver's side equipment 2, instruction signals received at the ground equipment 1 via a low-power wireless connection can be transmitted at high speed to the driver's side equipment 2 via the LAN line 30.

[0032] Furthermore, the LAN line 30 can serve as the system infrastructure of the jib crane remote operation system. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a network camera 7 attached to the jib of the driver's equipment 2 can be connected to the LAN line 30. Furthermore, a terminal 9 (such as a worker's tablet or a computer in a management office) placed on the ground can be connected to the LAN line 30 via an access point 8. Then, the jib crane can be operated and the work can be managed while checking the video from above captured by the network camera 7 on the terminal 9. Furthermore, the LAN line is highly versatile and can easily accommodate the emergence of new system infrastructure.

[0033] The jib crane remote operation system according to this embodiment remotely operates a jib crane having a ground-side facility 1 erected on the ground and an operation-side facility 2 connected to the ground-side facility 1 via a swivel unit 3. The ground-side facility 1 is provided with a receiver 10 for receiving an instruction signal from a transmitter 6 operated by a ground worker and a first converter 20 for converting the received instruction signal, and the operation-side facility 2 is provided with a second converter 60 for converting an instruction signal transmitted from the ground-side facility 1 and an operation control device 70 for controlling the operation of the jib crane based on the converted instruction signal. The ground-side facility 1 and the operation-side facility 2 are provided with a LAN line 30 connecting the first converter 20 and the second converter 60, and the first converter 20 converts the instruction signal received by the receiver 10 into a signal that can be transmitted via the LAN line 30, and the second converter 60 converts the instruction signal transmitted via the LAN line 30 into a signal that can be processed by the operation control device 70.

[0034] Therefore, the transmitter 6 operated by the worker and the receiver 10 of the ground-side facility 1 are connected by low-power wireless, and the received command signal can be sent at high speed to the operation-side facility 2 via the LAN line 30, allowing the jib crane to be remotely operated. Furthermore, by constructing the LAN line 30, it can serve as a system infrastructure for connecting the network camera 7 attached to the operation-side facility 2 and the terminal 9 placed on the ground.

[0035] Furthermore, because the LAN line 30 is wirelessly connected at the swivel section 3, even if the driver's side equipment 2 rotates relative to the ground side equipment 1, there is no problem with the cable being twisted in a wired connection.

[0036] In addition, since the antenna 51 provided on the driver's side equipment 2 is configured to revolve around the multiple antennas 41, 42, 43, and 44 provided on the ground side equipment 1, wireless transmission is less likely to be interrupted even if the driver's side equipment 2 rotates relative to the ground side equipment 1.

[0037] In this way, the jib crane remote operation system of this embodiment enables remote operation by a worker on the ground.

[0038] The jib crane remote control system according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various other modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 Ground side facilities 2. Driver's side equipment 3 Swivel section 4 Jib (Arm) 5 Wire Rope 6 Transmitter 7 Network Camera 8. Access Points 9 Terminal 10 Receiver 20 First Converter 30 LAN lines 40 Wireless communication device 41 Antenna 42 Antenna 43 Antenna 44 Antenna 50 Wireless communication device 51 Antenna 60 Second Converter 70 Operation control device 100 Jib crane remote control system 200 Baggage

Claims

1. A jib crane remote operation system for remotely operating a jib crane having a ground-side facility erected on the ground and an operation-side facility connected to the ground-side facility via a rotating section, a receiver provided in the ground facility for receiving an instruction signal from a transmitter operated by a ground operator; and a first converter for converting the received instruction signal; A second converter provided in the operation side facility for converting an instruction signal transmitted from the ground side facility; and an operation control device for controlling the operation of a jib crane based on the converted instruction signal. a LAN line that connects the first converter and the second converter provided in the ground-side facility and the driving-side facility; A jib crane remote control system characterized in that the first converter converts the instruction signal received by the receiver into a signal that can be transmitted via the LAN line, and the second converter converts the instruction signal transmitted via the LAN line into a signal that can be processed by the operation control device.

2. 2. The jib crane remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the LAN line is wirelessly connected to the rotating section.

3. The jib crane remote control system according to claim 2, characterized in that an antenna provided on one of the ground side equipment and the operator's side equipment is configured to revolve relatively around the antenna provided on the other equipment.

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