Crane position grasping system and crane position grasping method

Abstract

To grasp a position of a crane regardless of an arrangement state of the crane.SOLUTION: A crane position grasping system 100 comprises: a boom position measuring unit 10 capable of measuring a position of a predetermined spot of a boom 3 of a crane 1; and a position calculation unit 20 that calculates a position of the center of rotation of the boom 3 based on a boom position measured by the boom position measuring unit 10 when the boom 3 is rotated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a crane position grasping system and a crane position grasping method.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a crane that uses a satellite positioning system to identify the current position of the crane.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Generally, in order to identify the current position using a satellite positioning system, it is necessary to receive signals transmitted from three or more positioning satellites. However, for example, when a crane as described in Patent Document 1 is placed at a work site surrounded by relatively high buildings, signals transmitted from three or more positioning satellites cannot be received, and as a result, there is a possibility that the current position of the crane cannot be grasped.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to grasp the position of a crane regardless of the arrangement situation of the crane.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention is a crane position grasping system for grasping the position of a crane including a main body portion and a boom extending from the main body portion, and includes a boom position measuring unit capable of measuring the position of a predetermined portion of the boom, and a position calculation unit that calculates the turning center position of the boom based on the boom position measured by the boom position measuring unit when the boom is turned.

[0007] Moreover, the present invention is a crane position grasping method for grasping the position of a crane including a main body portion and a boom extending from the main body portion, and includes a boom position acquisition step of acquiring the boom position measured by a boom position measurement unit capable of measuring the position of a predetermined portion of the boom when the boom is swung, and a turning center calculation step of calculating the turning center position of the boom based on the acquired boom position.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the position of the crane can be grasped regardless of the arrangement situation of the crane.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a construction method of a crane position grasping system and a crane position grasping method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0011] First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a crane position grasping system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a crane 1 to which the crane position grasping system 100 is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the crane position grasping system 100.

[0012] The crane 1 to which the crane position detection system 100 is applied is a mobile crawler crane including a main body 2 provided with a cab 2a and crawlers 2b, and a boom 3 extending from the main body 2 and having a hook 3a provided at its tip. The boom 3 is structured to be rotatable about the main body 2. Note that the crane 1 is not limited to the crawler crane shown in FIG. 1, and may be any type of mobile crane, such as a wheel crane, a truck crane, or a floating crane used on water.

[0013] The crane position detection system 100 is a system for detecting the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1, that is, the position that is the center of rotation of the boom 3, and includes a boom position measurement unit 10 attached to the boom 3, a position calculation unit 20 that calculates the center position of rotation of the boom 3 based on the position of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measurement unit 10, and a display unit 30 that displays the result calculated by the position calculation unit 20.

[0014] The boom position measurement unit 10 is a positioning sensor that can receive signals transmitted from positioning satellites such as GPS satellites constituting a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and obtain the coordinate position of the observation point where the signal is received, and is attached to the tip side of the boom 3, preferably, the most tip part of the boom 3.

[0015] Further, the boom position measurement unit 10 has wireless communication means such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark), and transmits the positioning result to the position calculation unit 20 at any time.

[0016] The position calculation unit 20 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an I / O interface (Input / Output interface). The RAM stores data in the processing of the CPU, the ROM stores in advance the control program of the CPU, etc., and the I / O interface is used for input / output of information with devices connected to the position calculation unit 20.

[0017] As will be described later, the position calculation unit 20 calculates the position of the rotation center of the boom 3 based on the position of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measurement unit 10, and calculates in real time the position of the actually rotating boom 3 around the calculated rotation center of the boom 3 based on the position of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measurement unit 10.

[0018] The position calculation unit 20 may be installed in the cab 2a, or may be installed in a control room (not shown) that monitors the operating status of the crane 1. When the position calculation unit 20 is installed at a position away from the boom position measurement unit 10, a relay unit for transmitting data transmitted from the boom position measurement unit 10 may be appropriately provided.

[0019] The display unit 30 is a monitor device on which the result calculated by the position calculation unit 20 is displayed, and is installed in the cab 2a. Further, the display unit 30 has a touch screen and also functions as an operation panel. The display unit 30 may be wirelessly connected to the position calculation unit 20 in the same manner as the boom position measurement unit 10, or may be wired-connected when the position calculation unit 20 is installed in the cab 2a.

[0020] Here, in order to grasp the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1, it is conceivable to attach a positioning sensor such as the boom position measuring unit 10 to the main body 2 as well. However, generally, in order to specify the current position using a satellite positioning system, it is necessary to receive signals transmitted from three or more positioning satellites. For example, when the crane 1 is arranged at a work site surrounded by relatively high buildings, there is a possibility that the positioning sensor attached to the main body 2 cannot receive signals transmitted from three or more positioning satellites. For this reason, the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1 cannot be grasped, and as a result, there is a possibility that the movement of the boom 3 centered on the main body 2 cannot be grasped either.

[0021] Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the position of the boom 3 measured by the above-described boom position measuring unit 10, the position of the turning center of the boom 3 is calculated, so that the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1 can be grasped regardless of the arrangement situation of the crane 1.

[0022] Next, the crane position grasping method performed by the crane position grasping system 100 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the schematic diagram of the crane 1 shown in FIG. 4. Note that FIG. 4 shows a top view of the crane 1 as viewed from above.

[0023] The control flow for grasping the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1, that is, the position of the turning center of the boom 3, is started when the control start button displayed on the display unit 30 is touched by the operator.

[0024] When the control flow is started, first, in step S11, a turning operation of the boom 3 is performed.

[0025] Specifically, while the elevation angle of the boom 3 is maintained at a constant angle (for example, 45 to 60°), the boom 3 is rotated once in the direction indicated by the arrow R in FIG. 4. Note that the turning operation of the boom 3 may be performed by the operator or automatically.

[0026] When the turning of the boom 3 is started, in the subsequent step S12, the measurement of the position of the boom 3 is started.

[0027] Specifically, the coordinate position measured by the boom position measuring unit 10 attached to the tip side of the boom 3 is acquired by the position calculation unit 20 (boom position acquisition step). Note that the data acquired by the position calculation unit 20 from the boom position measuring unit 10 may be data for calculating the coordinate position instead of the coordinate position data.

[0028] In the subsequent step S13, it is determined whether the positions P of the boom 3 have been measured at three or more points. If the measured positions P of the boom 3 are less than three points, the process returns to step S12 and the measurement of the position P of the boom 3 is continued. If the measured positions P of the boom 3 are three or more points, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0029] Note that the timing at which the position P of the boom 3 is measured may be any timing. However, the measurement timing may be set so that the positions P of the boom 3 to be measured are at substantially equal intervals, based on the time required for the boom 3 to make one full rotation (for example, if it rotates in 60 seconds, it is measured every 20 seconds).

[0030] In step S14, based on the three positions P1, P2, and P3 of the boom 3 measured as shown in FIG. 4, the position of the turning center RC is calculated by a known calculation method (turning center calculation step).

[0031] Regarding whether the position of the turning center RC calculated in step S14 is a proper position, for example, the radius r of a circle C passing through the positions P1, P2, and P3 of the three booms 3 is compared with the distance L in the horizontal plane from the turning center RC to the location where the boom position measuring unit 10 is attached, which is the actual distance L (see FIG. 1) when the positions P1, P2, and P3 of the three booms 3 are measured, and it may be determined based on whether the difference between these is within a preset allowable range. Note that the actual distance L can be calculated based on the angle detected by an angle detection unit 12 (not shown) capable of detecting the elevation angle of the boom 3, the length of the boom 3 up to the location where the boom position measuring unit 10 is attached, and the offset distance of the fulcrum of the boom 3 with respect to the turning center RC.

[0032] When the position of the turning center RC is calculated in step S14, the control flow ends and the position of the turning center RC of the crane 1 is set.

[0033] Subsequently, the state display of the crane 1 performed using the position of the turning center RC of the crane 1 thus set will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the state of the crane 1 displayed on the display unit 30.

[0034] The position calculation unit 20 calculates the current state of the crane 1 based on the set coordinate position of the turning center RC of the crane 1 and the current position P of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measuring unit 10.

[0035] Specifically, a virtual range of the boom 3 is set along the straight line connecting the set turning center RC of the crane 1 and the current position P of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measuring unit 10, and a virtual range of the main body 2 is set with the set turning center RC of the crane 1 as the center.

[0036] The virtual ranges of the boom 3 and the main body 2 set by the position calculation unit 20 are displayed on the display unit 30 as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the position P of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measurement unit 10 indicating the tip position (boom top) of the boom 3 is shown at the center of the screen of the display unit 30. However, the swing center RC of the crane 1 may be shown at the center of the screen of the display unit 30.

[0037] In addition, on the display unit 30, drawing data (not shown) extracted from BIM (Building Information Modeling) or CIM (Construction Information Modeling), which is three-dimensional data of buildings and structures captured via the position calculation unit 20, is displayed.

[0038] In this way, since the current state of the crane 1 with respect to the building or structure is visually displayed on the display unit 30 in real time, the operator operating the crane 1 can easily grasp the positional relationship of the boom 3 with respect to the building or structure even in a situation where the tip of the boom 3 cannot be visually confirmed.

[0039] Also, when other cranes 101, 102 are arranged around the crane 1, the virtual ranges of the other cranes 101, 102 set in the same way by the position calculation unit 20 are shown on the display unit 30. Note that the position calculation unit 20 may be provided in each of the cranes 1, 101, 102. In this case, the virtual ranges of the cranes 1, 101, 102 set by each position calculation unit 20 are shared among the position calculation units 20.

[0040] Also, when other cranes 101, 102 are arranged around the crane 1, the position calculation unit 20 calculates the shortest distances L1, L2 to the other cranes 101, 102 arranged adjacent to the crane 1 based on the virtual ranges of the set cranes 1, 101, 102.

[0041] The calculated shortest distances L1 and L2 are displayed on the display unit 30 and updated in real time, as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

[0042] As a result, even in a situation where the operator operating the crane 1 cannot visually confirm the tip of the boom 3, the operator can easily grasp the distance from the surrounding cranes 101 and 102, particularly the distance between the booms 3.

[0043] In addition, when the calculated shortest distances L1 and L2 are smaller than a preset allowable distance, the position calculation unit 20 warns the operator by, for example, changing the display color of the shortest distances L1 and L2 displayed on the display unit 30 or flashing them, assuming that there is a risk that the booms 3 may come into contact with each other or that the boom 3 may come into contact with the suspended load of another crane. Note that the warning may be issued via a speaker or a warning lamp provided on the display unit 30.

[0044] According to the above embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

[0045] According to the above-described crane position grasping system 100, based on the position P of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measuring unit 10 capable of measuring the position at a predetermined location of the boom 3 when the boom 3 is swung at a predetermined hoisting angle, the position of the swing center RC of the boom 3, that is, the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1 is calculated.

[0046] In this way, by simply measuring the position at a predetermined location of the boom 3 that is positioned at a relatively high position compared to the main body 2 when the boom 3 is hoisted at a predetermined hoisting angle, even in a situation where signals transmitted from the positioning satellite cannot be received in the vicinity of the main body 2 due to the presence of relatively high buildings or the like in the surroundings, the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1 can be easily grasped. As a result, the position of the crane 1 can be easily grasped regardless of the arrangement situation of the crane 1.

[0047] In addition, since the position of the main body 2 of the crane 1 can be grasped by the boom position measuring unit 10 attached to the boom 3, it is not necessary to install a position measuring device such as a positioning sensor on the main body 2, so that the installation cost and operation cost of the system for grasping the position of the crane 1 can be reduced.

[0048] Also, even when a plurality of cranes 101, 102 are arranged around the crane 1, regardless of the arrangement status of these other cranes 101, 102, the positions of these other cranes 101, 102 can be easily grasped in the same manner. As a result, it becomes possible to easily grasp the distance between the crane 1 and the surrounding cranes 101, 102, particularly the distance between the booms 3. As a result, the lifting operation by the cranes 1, 101, 102 can be efficiently advanced.

[0049] Note that the following modification examples are also within the scope of the present invention, and it is also possible to combine the configurations shown in the modification examples with the configurations described in the above-described embodiment, or to combine the configurations described in the following different modification examples with each other.

[0050] In the above embodiment, a positioning sensor that obtains a coordinate position based on a signal transmitted from a positioning satellite is used as the boom position measuring unit 10. Instead of this, as the boom position measuring unit 10, a distance and angle measuring device such as a total station or a laser tracker may be used. In this case, a target prism (omnidirectional prism) is attached to the boom 3, and a distance and angle measuring device that tracks the target prism is installed on relatively high buildings or structures around the crane 1. The coordinate position of the target prism acquired by the distance and angle measuring device, that is, the position at a predetermined location of the boom 3 is transmitted to the position calculation unit 20, and in the position calculation unit 20, the position of the turning center RC of the boom 3 is calculated in the same manner as the above-described method, and the state of the crane 1 is calculated.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the boom position measurement unit 10 is attached to the tip of the boom 3. The attachment position of the boom position measurement unit 10 with respect to the boom 3 is not limited to the tip of the boom 3, and may be, for example, the middle part of the boom 3. When the position at the middle part of the boom 3 is measured by the boom position measurement unit 10 in this way, the position calculation unit 20 sets a virtual range of the boom 3 with the end point of the line segment obtained by extending the straight line connecting the set turning center RC of the crane 1 and the current position P of the boom 3 measured by the boom position measurement unit 10 by an equal multiple on the side opposite to the turning center RC as the tip of the boom 3. In order to surely receive signals transmitted from a plurality of positioning satellites, the boom position measurement unit 10 is preferably attached to the tip most part of the boom 3 that will be located at the highest position.

[0052] In the above embodiment, when measuring the position of the boom 3 in step S12, the boom 3 is rotated and swung once in the direction indicated by the arrow R in FIG. 4. However, if the position of the turning center RC is calculated based on the three positions P1, P2, and P3 of the boom 3 measured when the boom 3 is swung, it is not necessary to rotate and swing the boom 3 once. When the boom 3 cannot be rotated and swung once due to the presence of buildings or the like in the surroundings, for example, the boom 3 may be swung at an angle of about 90° or less. Further, the position P of the boom 3 measured for calculating the position of the turning center RC may be any number as long as it is three or more points as described above. For example, ten points may be measured, and the position of the turning center RC may be calculated based on three or four of them.

[0053] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the above embodiments merely show a part of the application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

Explanation of Signs

[0054] 100 ··· Crane position grasping system 1, 101, 102 ··· Crane 2 ··· Main body 3 ··· boom 10 ··· boom position measurement unit 20 ··· position calculation unit 30 ··· display unit

Claims

1. A crane position grasping system for grasping the position of a crane including a main body portion and a boom extending from the main body portion, comprising: a boom position measuring unit capable of measuring the position of a predetermined portion of the boom; a position calculating unit that calculates the turning center position of the boom based on the boom position measured by the boom position measuring unit when the boom is turned; The crane position grasping system.

2. further comprising a display unit for displaying the state of the crane; The position calculating unit calculates the current state of the crane based on the calculated turning center position and the boom position measured by the boom position measuring unit, and displays the calculated current state of the crane on the display unit. The crane position grasping system according to claim 1.

3. The position calculating unit calculates the shortest distance between adjacent cranes based on the current state of the crane, and displays the calculated shortest distance on the display unit. The crane position grasping system according to claim 2.

4. The boom position measuring unit is a positioning sensor that receives a signal transmitted from a positioning satellite and is attached to the tip side of the boom. The crane position grasping system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A crane position grasping method for grasping the position of a crane including a main body portion and a boom extending from the main body portion, comprising: a boom position acquisition step of acquiring the boom position measured by a boom position measuring unit capable of measuring the position of a predetermined portion of the boom when the boom is turned; a turning center calculation step of calculating the turning center position of the boom based on the acquired boom position. The crane position grasping method.

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