Operation device for crane and crane

Abstract

To allow switches installed on operating members in an operation device for a crane to cope with more various functions.SOLUTION: An operation device for a crane comprises: a first operating member (213B) for operating a first winch (106); first setting switches (B31 to B34) provided on the first operating member and having a function related to operations for a crane; and a first function setting section (11) capable of setting a function of the first setting switch from a plurality of predetermined functions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an operating device for a crane and a crane.

Background Art

[0002] As background art in this technical field, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an operating device for a work machine that enables an operation button provided on the grip of a working operation lever to be used in both a lifting mode and a normal mode, so that operations in a lift mag mode and during a preliminary attachment can be performed on the same grip of the working operation lever without increasing the number of operation buttons.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, since the functions assigned to one operation lever are predetermined, there is a problem that it is impossible to cope with various operations without increasing the number of operation buttons.

[0005] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to make the switches provided on the operating member in the crane operating device compatible with more diverse functions.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a typical aspect of the present invention is a crane operating device, comprising: a first operating member for operating a first winch; a first setting switch provided on the first operating member and having a function related to the operation of the crane; and a first function setting unit capable of setting the function of the first setting switch from among a plurality of predetermined functions.

[0007] According to the present invention, the switch provided on the operating member can be made to correspond to a wider variety of functions. Incidentally, problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the crane according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a side view of a crane 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The crane 100 is a crawler crane and includes a traveling body 101, a slewing body 103 rotatably provided on the traveling body via a slewing ring 102, and a boom 104 pivotally supported on the slewing body 103. The traveling body 101 includes a truck frame 101a and crawlers 101b attached to the truck frame 101a.

[0011] On the slewing body 103, in addition to an engine 108 which is a prime mover, a front drum 105 (second winch) which is a winch device, a rear drum 107, and a hoisting drum 106 (first winch) are mounted. A hoisting rope 105a is wound around the front drum 105, and by driving the front drum 105, the hoisting rope 105a is wound up or paid out, and the hook 110 moves up and down.

[0012] A hoisting rope 106a is wound around the hoisting drum 106, and by driving the hoisting drum 106, the hoisting rope 106a is wound up or paid out, and the boom 104 moves up and down. In FIG. 1, the description of the rope wound up or paid out by driving the rear drum 107 and the hook lifted and lowered by this rope is omitted.

[0013] The revolving body 103 is driven to revolve by a revolving hydraulic motor (not shown) via a revolving ring 102, the front drum 105 is driven by a front hydraulic motor (not shown), the rear drum 107 is driven by a rear hydraulic motor (not shown), and the hoisting drum 106 is driven by a boom hydraulic motor (not shown).

[0014] In front of the revolving body 103, a driver's cab 109 is provided. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire driver's cab 109. As shown in FIG. 2, the driver's cab 109 is provided with a driver's seat 201 on which an operator sits, a right lever group 210 (operating device) that the operator sitting on the driver's seat 201 operates with the right hand, and a left lever (revolving lever) 221 that the operator sitting on the driver's seat 201 operates with the left hand. Further, a display device 10 is provided at the left front of the driver's seat 201. Various information such as the operating state, warnings, and setting information of the crane 100 is displayed on the display device 10 (details will be described later).

[0015] On the floor of the driver's cab 109, a front drum brake pedal 251 for braking the front drum 105, a rear drum brake pedal 252 for braking the rear drum 107, an accelerator pedal 261 for increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of the engine 108, and a revolving brake pedal 262 for braking the revolving body 103 are provided.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the right lever group 210. As shown in FIG. 3, the right lever group 210 includes a front winch operation lever 213F (hereinafter abbreviated as the front lever 213F), a rear winch operation lever 213R (hereinafter abbreviated as the rear lever 213R), and a boom hoisting winch operation lever 213B (hereinafter abbreviated as the hoisting lever 213B). The front lever 213F (second operating member) is an operating lever for driving the front drum 105 by swinging in the front-rear direction, and the rear lever 213R is an operating lever for driving the rear drum 107 by swinging in the front-rear direction. The hoisting lever 213B (first operating member) is an operating lever for driving the hoisting drum 106 by swinging in the front-rear direction.

[0017] Although not shown in FIG. 3, the right lever group 210 further includes a pair of travel levers, that is, a travel lever for driving the left crawler and a travel lever for driving the right crawler. The travel levers are operating levers for driving the right and left crawlers respectively by swinging in the front-rear direction.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a view showing the grip 225B of the undulation lever 213B, where (a) is a front view seen from the operator seated in the driver's seat 201, and (b) is a rear view seen from the operator seated in the driver's seat 201. Note that since the grips 225F of the front lever 213F and the grips 225R of the rear lever 213R also have the same configuration as the grip 225B of the undulation lever 213B shown in FIG. 4, the illustration and description here are omitted.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 4, the grip 225B of the undulation lever 213B is provided with a plurality of button switches B31 to B34 (first setting switches), a mode lamp 230 (notification unit), and a camera switching switch 231. The button switch B31 is red, the button switch B32 is blue, the button switch B33 is gray, and the button switch B34 is green. Hereinafter, they are respectively referred to as the red button B31, the blue button B12, the gray button B13, and the green button B14. Note that in this embodiment, a configuration with four buttons B31 to B34 is illustrated, but the number of buttons is arbitrary.

[0020] The gray button B33 and the green button B34 are provided on the front side of the grip 225B as seen from the operator, and are operated mainly by the thumb of the operator's right hand. On the other hand, the red button B31 and the blue button B32 are provided on the back side of the grip 225B as seen from the operator, and are operated mainly by the middle finger or ring finger of the operator's right hand. And the functions of each button B31 to B34 can be arbitrarily set by the operator (details will be described later).

[0021] The mode lamp 230 is composed of, for example, an LED and lights up or blinks in different manners according to the set mode. Further, it lights up during the pairing described later. The camera changeover switch 231 is a switch for switching the monitoring camera 130 (see FIG. 5) of the suspended load provided on the hook 110. By turning on the camera changeover switch 231, the suspended load photographed by the camera is displayed on the display device 10, and when it is turned off, the image display of the suspended load stops. Note that a changeover switch 232 for switching the brake mode of the winch is provided on the grip 225B, but this switch is optional.

[0022] Next, an outline of the electrical configuration of the crane 100 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the crane 100. As shown in FIG. 5, the crane 100 includes a controller 20. The controller 20 includes, although not shown in detail, a CPU, a ROM and a RAM which are storage devices, and an arithmetic processing device having other peripheral circuits and the like. The controller 20 is connected to the front lever 213F, the rear lever 213R, and the boom lever 213B, and controls the rotation speeds of the winch drums 105, 106, and 107 according to the operations of these levers 213F, 213R, and 213B.

[0023] Further, the controller 20 is connected to the display device 10, and changes the functions of the buttons B11 to B34 provided on each of the levers 213F, 213R, and 213B based on the input information from the display device 10. Specifically, when the operator operates the operation panel 11 (the first function setting unit, the second function setting unit) that constitutes a part of the screen of the display device 10, the functions of the buttons B11 to B34 are selected, and based on the selected information, the function assignment unit 21 of the controller 20 assigns the functions to the buttons B11 to B34.

[0024] Furthermore, the controller 20 is connected to various sensors (not shown) and performs various calculations based on the input signals from the sensors, and displays the calculation results on the display device 10. In addition, the controller 20 receives the image data of the monitoring camera 130 provided on the hook 110 and outputs the image data of the suspended load captured by the monitoring camera 130 to the display device 10. As described above, the display / non-display of the suspended load image is switched by operating the camera switching switch 231.

[0025] The controller 20 includes a function assignment unit 21, an operation mode setting unit 22, a pairing setting unit 23, an independent operation control unit 24, a horizontal movement assist control unit 25, and a ground cutting assist control unit 26.

[0026] The function assignment unit 21 sets the respective functions of the buttons B11 to B34 provided on the levers 213F, 213R, and 213B based on the touch operation of the operation panel 11 by the operator. Although details will be described later, functions such as "+", "-", "horizontal", "ground cutting", "individual speed", "wiper", and "camera switching" are preset as functions (see Fig. 8(a)).

[0027] The operation mode setting unit 22 sets the operation mode based on the operation of the operator. Specifically, the operation mode setting unit 22 sets the operation mode selected by the operator from among the independent operation mode, the horizontal movement assist mode, and the ground cutting assist mode.

[0028] The independent operation mode is a normal mode in which the corresponding winch drums 105, 106, and 107 are driven according to the operations of the respective levers 213F, 213R, and 213B. That is, when the operator operates the front lever 213F, the front drum 105 rotates at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount, and the suspended load moves up and down. When the operator operates the rear lever 213R, the rear drum 107 rotates at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount, and the suspended load moves up and down. Further, when the operator operates the boom lever 213B, the boom drum 106 rotates at a rotational speed corresponding to the operation amount, and the boom 104 pitches. Thus, the independent operation mode (the first mode) is an operation mode in which the operator arbitrarily operates the respective levers 213F, 213R, and 213B to perform various operations of the crane 100 alone.

[0029] In contrast, the horizontal movement assist mode (the second mode) and the ground cutting assist mode (the third mode) are operation modes in which the controller 20 assists the operator's operation in order to hold the suspended load in a suitable posture with respect to the operator's operation.

[0030] The horizontal movement assist mode is an operation mode used when horizontally moving the suspended load at a constant height. In order to horizontally move the suspended load at a constant height, it is necessary to adjust the angle of the boom 104 and the hoisting amount / lowering amount of the suspended load. That is, the winding amount / feeding amount per unit time of the boom drum 106 and the winding amount / feeding amount per unit time of the front drum 105 must be adjusted so that the height of the suspended load becomes constant. The horizontal movement assist mode is an operation mode that automatically controls the operations of the front drum 105 and the boom drum 106 for horizontally moving the suspended load based on the operator's operation.

[0031] Note that, as will be described in detail later, in the horizontal movement assist mode, the operations of the front drum 105 and the undulating drum 106 can be controlled only by operating the undulating lever 213B through the pairing of the front lever 213F and the undulating lever 213B. That is, in the horizontal movement assist mode, by simply operating the undulating lever 213B, the controller 20 can tilt the boom 104 while keeping the height of the suspended load constant and move the suspended load horizontally.

[0032] The ground cutting assist mode is an operation mode used when separating the suspended load from the ground. Due to the shock generated at the moment when the heavy suspended load is separated from the ground, the boom 104 may be slightly lowered and the suspended load may swing. Therefore, in the ground cutting assist mode, when the suspended load is separated from the ground, the controller 20 calculates how much the boom 104 will be lowered when the suspended load is separated from the ground, and controls the operation of the undulating drum 106 to raise the boom 104 by the calculated lowering angle, thereby preventing the swing of the suspended load.

[0033] Even in the ground cutting assist mode, the rotation speeds of the front drum 105 and the undulating drum 106 are automatically controlled only by operating the undulating lever 213B through the pairing of the front lever 213F and the undulating lever 213B. That is, in the ground cutting assist mode, by simply operating the undulating lever 213B, the controller 20 can adjust the angle of the boom 104 and stabilize the swing of the suspended load when the suspended load is separated from the ground.

[0034] The pairing setting unit 23 pairs the levers (first specific state, second specific state) so that the operation of one lever can be performed simultaneously with the operation of the other lever. For example, when the pairing setting unit 23 pairs the front lever 213F and the tilting lever 213B, by operating only the tilting lever 213B, the winding up / winding down operation of the front drum 105 by the front lever 213F can be performed simultaneously. That is, when the pairing setting unit 23 executes the pairing, the crane operation in the horizontal movement assist mode and the ground cutting assist mode becomes possible. In the present embodiment, as an example, a configuration is disclosed in which pairing is performed by long-pressing the buttons of the levers to be paired, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

[0035] The horizontal movement assist control unit 25 is for automatically performing control to horizontally move the suspended load. The horizontal movement assist control unit 25 calculates the winding amount / unwinding amount per unit time of the tilting drum 106 based on the operation amount of the tilting lever 213B, and calculates the vertical amount of the center of the point sheave provided at the tip of the boom 104. Then, the horizontal movement assist unit operates the front drum 105 with the unwinding amount / winding amount of the front drum 105 that cancels out an amount corresponding to the vertical amount.

[0036] For example, when lifting the suspended load, the horizontal movement assist control unit 25 automatically controls to tilt the boom 104 by the upward movement amount of the suspended load. Also, when lowering the suspended load, the horizontal movement assist control unit 25 automatically controls to raise the boom 104 by the downward movement amount of the suspended load. In this way, the horizontal movement assist control unit 25 assists the operator's operation and controls so that the suspended load can be moved while being kept horizontal.

[0037] Note that the calculation method is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-115880 (Patent Document 2), and the control method described in this document is also applied in the present embodiment.

[0038] The ground cut assist control unit 26 is for automatically performing control to wind up the suspended load so that it does not sway when the suspended load is separated from the ground. When the suspended load is separated from the ground, the ground cut assist control unit 26 obtains in advance how much the tip of the boom 104 moves downward, and winds up the hoisting rope 106a by an amount corresponding to that movement amount to operate the boom 104 in the upright direction. That is, the ground cut assist control unit 26 controls the operations of the front drum 105 and the hoisting drum 106 so that the boom 104 is erected by the same amount as the suspended load descends downward to cancel the vertical movement of the suspended load.

[0039] Next, the operation procedure for assigning functions to each of the buttons B11 to B34 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the button function assignment operation. As shown in FIG. 6, in order to assign button functions, first, the operator operates the operation panel 11 to select button function setting from among various menus (S1). Next, the operator selects a target lever (for example, the hoisting lever 213B) (S2) and selects a target button (S3). Then, the operator arbitrarily selects a function from the menu for the selected button (for example, the red button B31) (S4). The operator performs the operations of S3 and S4 for one target lever until the functions of all the buttons are selected.

[0040] When functions are assigned to all the buttons (S5 / Yes), the operator performs the series of operations from S2 to S5 for all the levers 213F, 213R, 213B. When functions of the buttons B11 to B34 are assigned to all the levers 213F, 213R, 213B (S6 / Yes), the button function assignment operation is completed. In this way, the functions of the buttons according to the operator's preference are set. Note that the function information of the buttons selected by the operator is input from the operation panel 11 to the controller 20, and the functions of each of the buttons B11 to B34 are enabled by the function assignment unit 21.

[0041] Next, a specific example of the button function setting screen displayed on the operation panel 11 of the display device 10 will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the button function setting screen. As shown in FIG. 7, the button function setting screen displayed on the operation panel 11 has a "3 same" menu that can be set collectively when setting each of the front lever 213F, rear lever 213R, and undulation lever 213B separately, and when wanting to set all the buttons of the three levers 213F, 213R, and 213B to the same setting. When "3 same" is selected, the red buttons B11, B21, B31 of all the levers will have the same setting, and the blue buttons B12, B22, B32 will also have the same setting. Similarly, the gray buttons B13, B23, B33 and the green buttons B14, B24, B34 will have the same setting for the three levers.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example when collectively performed by a single operation of a user (operator) for setting the button function. As shown in FIG. 8(a), when touching the cell of the red button of "3 same", a pull-down menu of the button function is displayed. The pull-down menu has functions such as "+", "-", "horizontal", "ground cut", "individual speed", "wiper", "camera switching", etc. preset. And, for example, when "+" is selected, the function of "+" is simultaneously assigned to all the red buttons of the front, rear, and undulation (see FIG. 8(b)). Note that "+" is a function for increasing the rotation speed of the winch. For example, when "+" is assigned to the red button of the front, when the operator presses the red button B11 of the front lever 213F, the rotation speed of the front drum 105 increases.

[0043] In addition, "-" is a function to decrease the rotation speed of the winch drum, "Horizontal" is a function to set the horizontal movement assist mode, "Ground cutting" is a function to set the ground cutting assist mode, "Individual speed" is a function to individually set the rotation speed of the winch drum, "Wiper" is a function to operate the wiper in the cab 109, and "Camera switching" is a function to switch the monitoring camera 130 provided on the hook 110. Note that these functions are just examples, and the types of functions are arbitrary. For example, by collectively assigning the functions of the gray buttons B13, B23, B33, and B43 to "Horizontal" at the same time, the operation mode can be set to the horizontal movement assist mode just by pressing the same gray button, and the pairing of the levers (details will be described later) is completed. Therefore, it is highly convenient in that the pairing setting can be easily performed. The same applies to buttons of other colors.

[0044] On the other hand, when it is desired to set different functions for the buttons for each lever, by selecting the lever and the button to be set, the function of only the button of the selected lever can be set. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specific example of individually performing the setting operation of the button function. As shown in FIG. 9, for example, when touching the cell of the green button B24 of "Rear", the function of the button is displayed by a pull-down menu, and if the operator selects an arbitrary function, that function is assigned only to the said button.

[0045] Note that in this embodiment, those functions of the buttons that cannot be selected are not displayed. For example, in FIG. 9, since the functions of "+", "-", and "Horizontal" have already been assigned to the red button, blue button, and gray button of "Rear" respectively, even if the green button of "Rear" is touched, these functions are not displayed. By such display of the pull-down menu, the setting operation of the operator is made easy.

[0046] Next, a method for setting the horizontal movement assist mode will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the setting operation of the horizontal movement assist mode. In the following description, it is assumed that the function of the gray button B33 of the undulating lever 213B is set to "Horizontal" (see FIG. 9).

[0047] As shown in FIG. 10, in order to set the horizontal movement assist mode, first, the operator long-presses the gray button B33 of the pitching lever 213B (S10). When the operator long-presses for 1 second, the mode shifts to the horizontal movement assist mode (S12), and the mode lamp 230 (see FIG. 4(a)) of the pitching lever 213B lights up in gray, for example (S13). At this time, if pairing has been completed (S14 / Yes), the mode lamp of the paired object, that is, in this embodiment, the mode lamp 230 of the front lever 213F lights up in gray, which is an example of the first specific aspect (S18).

[0048] On the other hand, when pairing has not been completed, the operator simultaneously long-presses the gray button B33 of the pitching lever 213B and the gray button B13 of the front lever 213F (S15). Then, when 2 seconds have elapsed (S16 / Yes), the pairing between the pitching lever 213B and the front lever 213F is completed (S17), and the mode lamp 230 of the front lever 213F, which is the pairing object, lights up in gray, for example (S18). The operator can recognize that the horizontal movement assist mode is enabled and that the pairing between the pitching lever 213B and the front lever 213F is established by the mode lamp 230 lighting up in gray.

[0049] When the pairing is completed, the controller 20 automatically changes the functions of the red button B31 “+” and the blue button B32 “-” of the heave lever 213B (see FIG. 9) to speed ratio increase and decrease (S19). To explain in more detail, before pairing, when the operator presses the red button B31 of the heave lever 213B, the rotation speed of the heave drum 106 increases, and when the blue button B32 is pressed, the rotation speed of the heave drum 106 decreases. However, when shifting to the horizontal movement assist mode and the pairing is completed, when the operator presses the red button B31 of the heave lever 213, the speed ratio of the rotation speeds of the heave drum 106 and the front drum 105 increases, and when the blue button B32 is pressed, the speed ratio decreases. That is, before and after pairing, the functions of the red button B31 and the blue button B32 of the heave lever 213B are automatically changed from the preset functions to different functions.

[0050] And until the horizontal movement assist mode is released, the paired state is maintained (S20 / No). When the horizontal movement assist mode is released (S20 / Yes), the process ends. In this embodiment, if the gray button B33 of the heave lever 213B is pressed and held again for 1 second, the mode is released. That is, if the gray button B33 of the heave lever 213F is pressed and held for 1 second, it switches from the single operation mode to the horizontal movement assist mode, and if it is pressed and held for 1 second again after the mode switch, it switches from the horizontal movement assist mode to the single operation mode. Of course, if the key switch of the engine 108 is turned off, the operation mode is reset and switched to the single operation mode.

[0051] Also, during the horizontal movement assist mode, the suspended load can be moved horizontally by operating only the heave lever 213B. However, if the front lever 213F is operated during this mode, the front drum 105 can be wound up or down independently.

[0052] Next, the control of the controller 20 in the horizontal movement assist mode will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the control process of the controller 20 in the horizontal movement assist mode.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 11, the controller 20 (horizontal movement assist control unit 25) monitors whether the undulation lever 213B has been operated. When the undulation lever 213B has been operated (S21 / Yes), the controller 20 acquires the operation amount of the undulation lever 213B (S22). Next, the controller 20 calculates an appropriate rotational speed of the front drum 105 for horizontally moving the suspended load (S23), and controls the rotational speeds of the front drum 105 and the undulation drum 106 based on the calculation result (S24). At this time, the controller 20 blinks the respective mode lamps 230 of the undulation lever 213B and the front lever 213F in gray to notify the operator that the horizontal movement assist mode is in progress.

[0054] Next, the controller 20 monitors whether the red button B31 and the blue button B32 of the undulation lever 213B have been operated. When they have been operated (S26 / Yes), the controller 20 displays the speed ratio on the display device (S27). Next, the controller 20 controls to increase or decrease the speed ratio between the undulation drum 106 and the front drum 105 based on the pressing operation of the red button B31 or the blue button B32. By this series of controls, the operator can operate only the undulation lever 213B, and the rotational speeds of the undulation drum 106 and the front drum 105 are suitably controlled, and the suspended load can be moved in a horizontal state.

[0055] Here, a specific example of the screen displayed on the display device 10 in S27 will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a specific example of the display screen in the horizontal movement assist mode. As shown in FIG. 12, when the operation mode is switched to the horizontal movement assist mode, the speed ratio between the undulation drum 106 and the front drum 105 is displayed for each boom angle range on the screen of the display device 10, and a scale 12 of the speed ratio is displayed at the lower part of the screen. That is, only the information necessary for the operation in the horizontal movement assist mode is displayed on the display device 10.

[0056] Figure 12 shows that the current speed ratio is suppressed to 90% of the rated value. That is, it shows that the operator presses the blue button B32 of the heave lever 213B to reduce the speed ratio from 100% to 10% and operates at 90%. In other words, Figure 12 shows a state where the suspended load is horizontally moved at a speed slightly slower than normal.

[0057] When the operator presses the red button B31, the speed ratio increases, and when the operator presses the blue button B32, the speed ratio decreases. At the same time, the scale 12 also changes. Here, in the present embodiment, when the area 13 of the operation panel 11 is touched, the speed ratio increases, and when the area 14 is touched, the speed ratio decreases. Therefore, the operator can adjust the increase and decrease of the speed ratio between the heave drum 106 and the front drum 105 only by touching the operation panel 11 without pressing the red button B31 or the blue button B32. Further, when the operator touches the area 15, the horizontal movement assist mode can be set / canceled. That is, the area 15 has the same function as pressing and holding the gray button B33 of the heave lever 213F for 1 second. Therefore, during the horizontal movement assist mode, the operator can also touch the screen to switch the mode. Note that instead of the scale 12, % display or meter display may be performed.

[0058] Next, a method for setting the ground cutting assist mode will be described. Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the setting operation of the ground cutting assist mode. In the following description, it is assumed that the function of the green button B34 of the heave lever 213B is set to "ground cutting" (see Figure 9).

[0059] As shown in FIG. 13, in order to set the land cutting assist mode, first, the operator long-presses the green button B34 of the lift lever 213B (S30). When the operator long-presses it for 1 second (S31), the mode shifts to the land cutting assist mode (S32), and the mode lamp 230 of the lift lever 213B (see FIG. 4(s)) lights up, for example, in green (S33). At this time, if the pairing has been completed (S34 / Yes), the mode lamp of the paired object, that is, in this embodiment, the mode lamp 230 of the front lever 213F lights up in green, which is an example of the second specific mode (S38). The operator can recognize that it is in the land cutting assist mode and that the pairing between the lift lever 213B and the front lever 213F is established by the mode lamp 230 lighting up in green. Note that the display mode (specifically, color, etc.) of the mode lamp 230 is configured to be different between the land cutting assist mode and the horizontal movement assist mode. Therefore, the operator can confirm the current operation mode and the lever paired with the mode lamp 230 by the emission color of the mode lamp 230.

[0060] On the other hand, when the pairing has not been completed, the operator simultaneously long-presses the green button B34 of the lift lever 213B and the green button B33 of the front lever 213F (S35). Then, when 2 seconds have elapsed (S36 / Yes), the pairing between the lift lever 213B and the front lever 213F is completed (S37), and the mode lamp 230 of the front lever 213F, which is the pairing object, lights up, for example, in green (S38).

[0061] When the pairing is completed, the controller 20 automatically changes the functions “+” of the red button B31 and “-” of the blue button B32 of the lift lever 213B (see FIG. 9) to speed ratio increase and decrease (S39). Note that since the process of S39 is the same as S19 in the horizontal movement assist mode, the detailed description is omitted.

[0062] And until the ground cutting assist mode is canceled, the paired state is maintained (S40 / No). When the ground cutting assist mode is canceled (S40 / Yes), the process ends. In this embodiment, if the green button B34 of the undulation lever 213F is pressed and held again for 1 second, the mode is canceled. That is, if the green button B34 of the undulation lever 213F is pressed and held for 1 second, it switches from the single operation mode to the ground cutting assist mode. If it is pressed and held for 1 second again after the mode switch, it switches from the ground cutting assist mode to the single operation mode.

[0063] Note that the control of the controller 20 in the ground cutting assist mode differs in the content of the calculation in terms of preventing the swing of the suspended load, but since the basic control procedure is the same as that in the horizontal movement assist mode, the description here is omitted.

[0064] According to the first embodiment configured as described above, the following operational effects can be achieved.

[0065] That is, the crane operating device according to the above-described first embodiment includes a hoisting lever 213B (first operating member) for operating a hoisting drum 106 (first winch), a red button B31, a blue button B32, a gray button B33, and a green button B34 (first setting switch) provided on a grip 225B of the hoisting lever 213B, and an operation panel 11 (first function setting unit, second function setting unit) for setting functions of these buttons B31 to B34. Then, when the operator operates the operation panel 11, such as by touching it, and selects an arbitrary function from a plurality of predetermined functions, based on the selection information, a function allocation unit 21 of the controller 20 allocates the selected function to each of the buttons B31 to B34. As a result, the buttons B31 to B34 provided on the hoisting lever 213B are set to functions according to the operator's preference. Therefore, the hoisting lever 213F becomes convenient for the operator. Since the buttons B31 to B34 are provided on the hoisting lever 213B, the operator can easily perform various operations without releasing the hand from the hoisting lever 213B. The same operational effects are achieved for the other levers 213F and 213R.

[0066] Moreover, on the operation panel 11 of the display device 10, the functions assigned to all the buttons B11 to B34 are displayed as a pull-down menu, and the operator can arbitrarily select a function from the pull-down menu. Therefore, the work of assigning functions to the buttons B11 to B34 is easy. Moreover, since the already assigned functions are hidden from the pull-down menu, incorrect operations such as assigning the same function to different buttons can be prevented.

[0067] Also, when the operation mode is switched, a screen corresponding to the operation mode is displayed on the display device 10. For example, when switching to the horizontal movement assist mode, information regarding the speed ratio between the hoisting drum 106 and the front drum 105 as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. Then, if the operator touches the operation panel 11, the speed ratio can be adjusted without pressing the red button B31 or the blue button B32. Also, on the same screen, the operation mode can be switched. Therefore, the operability is improved.

[0068] Also, the operation mode is notified by the mode lamp 230. For example, during the horizontal movement assist mode, since the mode lamp 230 blinks in gray (FIG. 11 / S25), the operator can easily recognize that the current operation mode is the horizontal movement assist mode. The same applies to the land cutting assist mode. In addition, it is preferable that the light emission mode or the blinking mode of the mode lamp 230 is configured differently between the horizontal movement assist mode and the land cutting assist mode, so that the operator can more easily recognize the operation mode from the mode.

[0069] In addition, the crane operation device according to the present embodiment further includes a front lever 213F (second operation member) for operating the front drum 105 (second winch), and a single operation mode (first mode) in which the hoisting drum 106 (first winch) and the front drum 105 (second winch) can be operated independently, and a horizontal movement assist mode and a land cutting assist mode (second mode) in which the front drum 105 (second winch) can be operated in conjunction with the hoisting drum 106 (first winch). The operation mode is switched by long-pressing a button (mode changeover switch). When the operation mode is switched from the single operation mode (first mode) to the horizontal movement assist mode or the land cutting assist mode (second mode), the functions of the buttons B31 to B34 (first setting switches) of the hoisting lever 213B are changed.

[0070] Specifically, when the red button B31 and the blue button B32 were set as "+" and "-" for adjusting the speed ratio of the hoisting drum 106 in the single operation mode, when switching to the horizontal movement assist mode or the land cutting assist mode, the red button B31 and the blue button B32 of the hoisting lever 213B are changed to increase or decrease the speed ratio. That is, it switches to the function according to the mode. Therefore, just by switching to the horizontal movement assist mode or the land cutting assist mode, a suitable button function can be automatically set, further improving the usability.

[0071] In addition, buttons B11 to B14 (second setting switches) are provided on the grip 225F of the front lever 213F (second operating member). The buttons B11 to B14 (second setting switches) are configured such that an operator can arbitrarily set a function from a plurality of predetermined functions by touching the operation panel 11. When at least one of the buttons B31 to B34 (first setting switches) and the buttons B11 to B14 (second setting switches) is long-pressed for 2 seconds (specific operation), the pairing of the tilting lever 213B and the front lever 213F is completed.

[0072] When the pairing is completed, a specific state is reached in which the front drum 105 (second winch) can be operated in conjunction with the tilting drum 106 (first winch) only by operating the tilting lever 213B (first operating member). That is, when the pairing is completed, control in the horizontal movement assist mode or the ground cutting assist mode can be performed only by operating the tilting lever 213B. In this way, since the operation mode can be switched only by long-pressing the button, the operation is simple and there is no need to provide an extra switching button, which also contributes to reducing the number of parts.

[0073] Moreover, if the buttons B31 to B34 are long-pressed for 1 second (predetermined operation), the mode is switched. Since the buttons B31 to B34 also serve as mode switching switches, there is no need to provide a separate switch for switching the operation mode. Therefore, it can contribute to reducing the number of parts.

[0074] In addition, by pairing the tilting lever 213B and the front lever 213F, the front drum 105 is also operated only by operating the tilting lever 213B in the horizontal movement assist mode or the ground cutting assist mode. Therefore, the operator can move the suspended load horizontally or perform ground cutting only by operating the tilting lever 213B, improving work efficiency.

[0075] Also, for an inexperienced and unskilled operator, it is not easy to horizontally move the suspended load or separate the suspended load from the ground in a stable posture. However, as in this embodiment, if the hoisting lever 213B is operated, the controller 20 will automatically control the hoisting of the suspended load and the angle of the boom 104, which is particularly user-friendly for an unskilled operator.

[0076] In addition, since the operator is notified of the pairing state (the first specific state and the second specific state) by the lighting mode of the mode lamp 230 (i.e., gray and green), the operator can visually recognize the current lever state. Also, it contributes to the reduction of the number of parts compared to the case of providing a separate pairing lamp. Note that it is not always necessary to use the same lamp for the pairing lamp and the mode lamp, and they may be provided separately.

[0077] In addition, when the front lever 213F is operated during the horizontal movement assist mode or the ground separation assist mode, even during pairing, the front drum 105 can be operated independently. Therefore, the suspended load can be arbitrarily hoisted or lowered according to the situation. Thus, it is user-friendly.

[0078] (Reference to Other Embodiments) Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. All technical matters included in the technical idea described in the claims are the subject of the present invention. The above embodiments are merely preferred examples, and those skilled in the art can realize various alternative examples, modification examples, variation examples, or improvement examples from the content disclosed in this specification, and these are included in the technical scope described in the appended claims.

[0079] For example, the functions assigned to buttons B11 to B34 are divided into a first function related to the hoisting and winching operations of the crane 100 (for example, increasing (+) / decreasing (-) the rotation speed of the winch drum, adjusting the speed ratio of the winch used in the second mode or the third mode, or adjusting the braking performance of the winch drum, etc.) and a second function not related to them (for example, mode switching such as horizontal and land cutting, wiper, camera switching, etc.). When the operation mode switches from the single operation mode (first mode) to the horizontal movement assist mode (second mode) or the land cutting assist mode (third mode), it may be configured not to permit changes to the second function among the functions set for buttons B31 to B34 (first setting switches).

[0080] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, when the gray button B33 of the hoisting lever 213B is set with the function of switching to the horizontal movement assist mode and the green button B34 is set with the function of switching to the land cutting assist mode, the functions of the gray button B33 and the green button B34 of the hoisting lever 213B are not permitted to be changed before and after the switching of the operation mode. If the function that was originally the operation mode switching function switches to the function of increasing or decreasing the rotation speed of the winch drum after the operation mode is switched, the operator may be confused and make a wrong operation. In this regard, as described above, since the function change of the button to which a function not related to the crane operation is assigned is prohibited before and after the operation mode switching, such a wrong operation can be prevented.

[0081] Also, in the above embodiment, the case where there are three levers is exemplified, but the number of levers can be arbitrary. For example, the present invention can be applied to an operating device of a crane including a lever for jib operation in addition to a lever for boom operation such as a tower crane. Also, instead of buttons B11 to B34, a configuration such as a toggle switch or a dial switch can be adopted. That is, the form of the first setting switch and the second setting switch of the present invention does not matter.

[0082] Also, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, an example was given of a configuration (i.e., "three the same") in which all functions of the buttons B11 to B34 provided on the three levers, namely the front lever 213F, the rear lever 213R, and the undulation lever 213B, can be collectively set by a single operation of the user. However, as in the case of the buttons B11 to B24 provided on the front lever 213F and the rear lever 213R, the buttons B11 to 14, B31 to B34 provided on the front lever 213F and the undulation lever 213B, and the buttons B21 to B34 provided on the rear lever 213B and the undulation lever 213B, a configuration in which the functions of the buttons provided on two levers can be collectively set may also be used.

[0083] Also, as the second mode and the third mode of the present invention, a horizontal movement assist mode and a ground cutting assist mode were respectively exemplified. However, the second mode and the third mode of the present invention are not limited to these modes. For example, a continuous same work mode (such as a heavy-duty work mode) in which an operation of raising and lowering a bucket by interlocking the front winch 105 and the rear winch 106 is continuously performed can be applied to the second mode or the third mode of the present invention.

[0084] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the functions of the first setting switch (buttons B31 to B34) and the second setting switch (buttons B11 to B14) include a pairing switch for performing a mode switching switch, and a configuration in which the first setting switch, the second setting switch, and the mode switching switch are combined was exemplified. However, instead of this configuration, the mode switching switch and the first setting switch or the second setting switch may be provided separately.

[0085] In addition, in the horizontal movement assist mode (second mode) and the ground cutting assist mode (third mode), although an example of a configuration in which the front lever 213F can be operated only by operating the undulation lever 213B has been illustrated, instead of this configuration, an operation lever (operating member) dedicated to the horizontal movement assist mode or the ground cutting assist mode may be provided, and by operating this dedicated operation lever, for example, the front winch 105 and the undulation winch 107 may be configured to be driven simultaneously. There is an advantage that an operator's erroneous operation can be prevented by providing a dedicated operation lever.

[0086] In addition, although an example of a configuration in which the operator touches the operation panel 11 to set the functions of the buttons B11 to B34 has been illustrated, instead of this configuration, one or more setting buttons may be provided on the display device 10, and the operator may be able to set the functions of the buttons B11 to B34 by operating the setting buttons.

[0087] In addition, although an example of a configuration in which the operator operates the operation panel 11 (first function setting unit, second function setting unit) to set the functions of the buttons B11 to B34 (first setting switch, second setting switch) has been illustrated, in addition to or instead of this configuration, for example, the controller 20 may set the functions of the buttons B11 to B34 based on an operation command from an external device such as a smartphone. In this case, the first function setting unit and the second function setting unit of the present invention will be borne by the controller 20.

[0088] In addition, as an example of a crane, a crawler crane has been illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to other mobile cranes such as wheel cranes, truck cranes, rough terrain cranes, all terrain cranes, etc., it is applicable to all cranes such as tower cranes, overhead cranes, jib cranes, pulling-in cranes, stacker cranes, gantry cranes, unloaders, and earth drills.

Explanation of Signs

[0089] 10 Display device (display unit) 11 Operation Panel (First Function Setting Unit, Second Function Setting Unit) 20 Controller 21 Function Allocation Unit 22 Operation Mode Setting Unit 23 Pairing Setting Unit 24 Independent Operation Control Unit 25 Horizontal Movement Assist Control Unit 26 Ground Cutting Assist Control Unit 100 Crane 101 Traveling Body 103 Slewing Body 104 Boom 105 Front Drum (Second Winch / Lifting Winch) 106 Hoisting Drum (First Winch / Hoisting Winch) 107 Rear Drum 108 Engine 109 Driver's Cab 110 Hook 130 Surveillance Camera 210 Right Lever Group (Operating Device) 213F Front Lever (Second Operating Member) 213R Rear Lever 213B Hoisting Lever (First Operating Member) 225F,R,B Grip 230 Mode Lamp (Notification Unit) 231 Camera Switching Switch B11 Red Button (Second Setting Switch) B12 Blue Button (Second Setting Switch) B13 Gray Button (Second Setting Switch) B14 Green Button (Second Setting Switch) B31 Red Button (First Setting Switch) B32 Blue Button (First Setting Switch) B33 Gray Button (First Setting Switch / Mode Switching Switch) B34 Green Button (First Setting Switch / Mode Switching Switch)

Claims

1. An operating device for a crane, comprising: a first operating member for operating a first winch; a first setting switch provided on the first operating member and having a function related to the operation of the crane; a first function setting unit capable of setting the function of the first setting switch from among a plurality of predetermined functions; An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

2. In the operating device for a crane according to Claim 1, a second operating member for operating a second winch; a second setting switch provided on the second operating member; The first function setting unit is characterized in that the functions of the first setting switch and the second setting switch can be set to the same function corresponding to the operation of each winch by a single operation of the user. An operating device for a crane.

3. In the operating device for a crane according to Claim 1, a second operating member for operating a second winch; a mode changeover switch for switching the operation mode between a first mode in which the first winch and the second winch can be operated independently and a second mode in which the second winch can be operated in conjunction with the first winch; An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

4. In the operating device for a crane according to Claim 3, when the operation mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode, the function of the first setting switch is changed; An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

5. In the operating device for a crane according to Claim 3, a second setting switch provided on the second operating member and having a function related to the operation of the crane; a second function setting unit capable of setting the function of the second setting switch from among a plurality of predetermined functions; when both the first setting switch and the second setting switch are specifically operated, in the second mode, a first specific state is achieved in which the second winch can be operated in conjunction with the first winch by operating only the first operating member; An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

6. In the operating device for a crane according to Claim 3 or 5, the mode changeover switch is also used as the first setting switch; when the first setting switch is subjected to a predetermined operation, the mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode; An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

7. In the operating device for a crane according to Claim 4, When a speed adjustment function for adjusting the rotational speed of the first winch is set as a function of the first setting switch, when the operation mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode, the function of the first setting switch is changed from the speed adjustment function of the first winch to a speed ratio adjustment function for adjusting the speed ratio between the first winch and the second winch, An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

8. In the operating device for a crane according to claim 7, further comprising a display unit for displaying the function set in the first setting switch, based on the operation mode being switched from the first mode to the second mode, information regarding the speed ratio between the first winch and the second winch is displayed on the display unit, the speed ratio can be adjusted by operating the display unit, An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

9. In the operating device for a crane according to claim 4, the plurality of predetermined functions include a first function related to the hoisting and lowering and the speed of the winding operation of the crane, and a second function not related thereto, when the operation mode is switched from the first mode to the second mode, the change of the second function among the functions set in the first setting switch is not permitted, An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

10. In the operating device for a crane according to claim 5, having a notification unit for notifying that it is in the second mode and the first specific state, An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

11. In the operating device for a crane according to claim 10, further comprising a third mode in which the second winch can be operated in conjunction with the first winch, when both the first setting switch and the second setting switch are subjected to a second specific operation, in the third mode, a second specific state is achieved in which the second winch can be operated in conjunction with the first winch by operating only the first operating member, the notification unit notifies that it is in the third mode and the second specific state, An operating device for a crane, characterized in that.

12. A crane comprising a boom, a hoisting winch for pitching the boom, a winding winch for hoisting and lowering a suspended load, and the operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 7 to 11 for operating the hoisting winch and the winding winch.

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