Work machine

Abstract

To provide a work machine capable of efficiently determining a movement position to start excavation / loading work quickly upon the excavation / loading work because there are instances working machines loading automatically excavated objects cannot be moved efficiently.SOLUTION: A work machine is to determine a proper movement position of the work machine from candidates of a plurality of excavation positions, through calculation of an excavation amount per a position candidate and calculation of the candidates of a plurality of excavation positions capable of securing excavation amounts equal to a target loaded amount or more on the basis of the target loaded amount and landform, and machine body geometric information of the work machine.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a work machine that performs automatic digging and loading operations. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART It is known that a work machine such as a hydraulic excavator loads excavated earth and sand onto a transport vehicle such as a dump truck. Techniques for automating this work are also known.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a work machine that excavates an object, then rotates the rotating body, loads the object onto a transport vehicle, and then rotates the rotating body to start excavating again. The controller of the work machine determines the excavation start position of the work machine based on topographical data measured by a topographical sensor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7274831 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the prior art technique of Patent Document 1, the excavation start position of the work machine can be determined based on the measured current topography and target topography, and the work machine can be moved to the excavation start position.

[0006] However, with the conventional technology of Patent Document 1, there is a risk that it will take time to determine the excavation start position and start excavation work.

[0007] For example, in the prior art of Patent Document 1, the work machine is moved forward or backward a predetermined distance to adjust its position, and then topographical data is measured to determine whether the target excavation volume can be secured. Because this process is repeated until it is determined that the target excavation volume can be secured, if the predetermined distance is set too small, there is a risk that it will take a long time to determine the excavation start position and start excavation work.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its object is to provide a work machine that can efficiently determine a movement position when performing excavation and loading work and can quickly start excavation and loading work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, a work machine of the present invention has a work implement, and performs excavation work of an object and loading work onto a transport vehicle using the work implement, and includes a travel actuator that causes the work machine to travel, a terrain measuring device that measures the shape of the terrain around the work machine, a target load acquisition device that acquires a target load amount for the transport vehicle, and a controller that determines a movement position of the work machine when performing the excavation and loading work based on machine body geometric information including geometric information of the work implement, the shape of the terrain measured by the terrain measuring device, and the target load amount acquired by the target load acquisition device, and controls the travel actuator to move the work machine to the movement position. and a controller, the controller comprising: an excavation volume calculation unit that calculates the excavation volume of the object when the excavation work is performed at a plurality of position candidate based on the terrain shape and the machine body geometric information; an excavation position candidate calculation unit that calculates a plurality of excavation position candidate that can ensure the excavation volume equal to or greater than the target load capacity based on the relationship between the plurality of position candidate and the excavation volume calculated by the excavation volume calculation unit; a movement position determination unit that determines a movement position of the work machine from the plurality of excavation position candidate calculated by the excavation position candidate calculation unit; and an actuator control unit that calculates a control command for the traveling actuator so as to move the work machine to the movement position determined by the movement position determination unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a work machine that can efficiently determine a movement position when carrying out excavation and loading work and can quickly start excavation and loading work.

[0011] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a hydraulic excavator 1 equipped with a control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a control system mounted on a controller 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a system diagram of an actuator system (hydraulic circuit) 204 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a detailed functional block diagram of an excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a bird's-eye view showing an example of a mining site using a hydraulic excavator 1 equipped with a control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing an example of work performed by a hydraulic excavator 1 equipped with a control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention and a dump truck 101.

[0023] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a top view showing an example of a position candidate calculated by a constrained position calculation unit 302 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 3 is a flowchart of processing in an excavation amount calculation unit 306 and an excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 3 is a schematic diagram of a movable range of a front 1A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a top view showing an example of an excavation amount at a position candidate according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of an excavation amount at a position candidate according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12]FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a control system mounted on a controller 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a detailed functional block diagram of an excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart of processing in a loading position candidate calculation unit 303 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a top view showing an example of a position candidate where a front wheel 1A according to a second embodiment of the present invention can reach the entire luggage compartment. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart of processing in a movement position determination unit 305 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a top view showing an example of excavation position candidates, loading position candidates, and position candidates according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is a detailed functional block diagram of an excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a top view of the geometric center position of the excavation landform and the center position of the loading platform at a position candidate according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a detailed functional block diagram of an excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a top view of the geometric center position of the excavation landform, the center position of the loading platform, and the movement position at a position candidate according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a detailed functional block diagram of an excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 13 is a top view showing an example of a dump truck movement position candidate according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of work performed by a hydraulic excavator 1 and a dump truck 101 equipped with a control system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] 16 is a flowchart of processing in a loading position candidate calculation unit 1602 and a movement position determination unit 1603 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, parts having the same function are designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description may be omitted.

[0014] [Example 1] <Overall structure> FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hydraulic excavator 1 equipped with a control system according to this embodiment.

[0015] The hydraulic excavator (hereinafter simply referred to as "excavator") 1 includes a lower traveling body 1C, an upper rotating body 1B rotatably attached to the lower traveling body 1C via a rotating device 4, and a front 1A serving as a working device attached to the upper rotating body 1B. The front 1A includes a boom 8 rotatably attached to the upper rotating body 1B, an arm 9 rotatably attached to the boom 8, a bucket 10 rotatably attached to the arm 9, a boom cylinder 5 connected to the boom 8 and the upper rotating body 1B and rotating the boom 8 relative to the upper rotating body 1B, an arm cylinder 6 connected to the boom 8 and the arm 9 and rotating the arm 9 relative to the boom 8, and a bucket cylinder 7 connected to the arm 9 and a bucket link 13 and rotating the bucket 10 relative to the arm 9 via the bucket link 13. The lower traveling body 1C is driven by a pair of left and right traveling motors 3 (the right one is not shown), enabling the body of the excavator 1, including the upper rotating body 1B and the front 1A, to move. The turning device 4 is composed of a turning motor 11 that turns the upper rotating body 1B relative to the lower traveling body 1C. A controller 20 that performs control is provided on the upper rotating body 1B.

[0016] An operating device 2 is provided on the upper rotating body 1B, which inputs the target speeds and operating directions of the boom cylinder 5, arm cylinder 6, bucket cylinder 7, swing motor 11, and travel motor 3 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as actuators) into a controller 20.

[0017] An example of a hydraulic circuit, which is an actuator system that realizes the target speeds and operation directions of the boom cylinder 5, arm cylinder 6, bucket cylinder 7, swing motor 11, and travel motor 3 (i.e., operates the actuators), is shown in Fig. 3. The configuration of the actuator system (hydraulic circuit) shown in Fig. 3 will be described later. The relationship between the operation device 2, controller 20, and actuators is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment, as long as the controller 20 can intervene in the target speeds and operation directions of the actuators based on the operation of the operation device 2.

[0018] The shovel 1 also has a terrain measurement device 23 attached to the upper rotating body 1B that measures the shape of the surrounding terrain, and a target load acquisition device 24 (not shown in Figure 1, but shown in Figure 2, etc.) that acquires the target load for a dump truck (hereinafter simply referred to as a dump), which is a transport vehicle.

[0019] In this embodiment, the topography measuring device 23 is a camera or Lidar, but a combination of the above or other three-dimensional measuring devices may be used as long as they can acquire the three-dimensional shape of the surrounding topography. The target load amount acquiring device 24 may receive target load amount data from a dump truck or a server via wireless communication to acquire necessary information (e.g., target volume and weight), or may measure the shape of the dump truck bed using a three-dimensional measuring device such as Lidar to estimate the target load amount. In the latter case, the target load amount acquiring device 24 may also serve as the topography measuring device 23.

[0020] In this embodiment, the controller 20 is disposed on the upper rotating body 1B, but may be disposed anywhere as long as it is possible to issue operational instructions to the actuators. For example, the controller 20 does not need to be disposed on the upper rotating body 1B, and operational instructions to the actuators may be transmitted from outside via wireless communication or the like. For example, the work machine (excavator 1) may be provided with a communication terminal, and the controller 20 may be located on an external server or the like.

[0021] In addition, in this embodiment, the working device is configured to have the boom 8, arm 9, and bucket 10, but the number of members and their shapes are not limited as long as the working device has a mechanical configuration that allows the members to rotate relative to the upper rotating body 1B. Specifically, a loading shovel, a two-piece shovel, an offset shovel, etc. may also be used.

[0022] <Control system configuration> FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a control system installed in the controller 20 of this embodiment.

[0023] The control system is implemented in the controller 20 and includes a machine body geometric information recording unit 201, an excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202, and an actuator control unit 203. The machine body geometric information recording unit 201 records geometric information (hereinafter referred to as machine body geometric information) such as the three-dimensional shapes of the upper rotating body 1B, the boom 8, the arm 9, and the bucket 10, joint positions, and relative angle constraints between each member. The excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 calculates the movement position of the machine body of the excavator 1 based on the machine body geometric information stored in the machine body geometric information recording unit 201, the terrain shape acquired by the terrain measurement device 23, and the target load capacity of the dump truck acquired by the target load capacity acquisition device 24, using a method described below.

[0024] The actuator control unit 203 calculates control commands (for example, displacement commands and speed commands) for each actuator including the travel motor 3 which is a travel actuator, and issues commands to the actuator system 204 so that the body of the shovel 1 moves to the movement position calculated by the excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202. The control method of the actuator control unit 203 may be, for example, a control method of controlling the actuator based only on the movement position (so-called feedforward control), or a control method of controlling the actuator while incorporating a system that measures the self-position such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and sequentially making corrections based on the self-position (so-called feedback control), or a combination of these.

[0025] The actuator system 204 is a system that operates the actuators. Fig. 3 shows an example of the actuator system 204 (a hydraulic circuit in this embodiment).

[0026] In the actuator system 204, pressure oil discharged from a pump 51 driven by a prime mover (not shown) is distributed to each of the actuators, namely the travel motor 3, the swing motor 11, the boom cylinder 5, the arm cylinder 6, and the bucket cylinder 7, by switching valves 54 to 58. As the actuators operate, pressure oil discharged from each actuator passes through the valves 54 to 58 and flows back to the tank 52. The pump 51 is also appropriately controlled by a regulator 59 to maintain horsepower constraints (so-called horsepower control). The pressure oil discharged from the pump 51 is also controlled by a relief valve 53 to be kept below a predetermined pressure (relief pressure). The controller 20 electrically controls valves 62 to 66 to which pressure oil discharged from the pilot pump 61 is supplied, thereby controlling the pilot pressure acting on the valves 54 to 58 and switching the valves 54 to 58.

[0027] The actuator system 204 is not limited to hydraulic actuators as in this embodiment, but may be electric or the like, as long as it can control the rotational movement of the front body 1A, the rotational movement of the upper rotating body 1B, the traveling movement of the lower traveling body 1C, and the like.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a detailed functional block diagram of the excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 in FIG.

[0029] The excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 is made up of a movable range calculation unit 301 , a constraint position calculation unit 302 , an excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 , a movement position determination unit 305 , and an excavation volume calculation unit 306 .

[0030] The movable range calculation unit 301 calculates the movable range of the front 1A based on the machine body geometric information of the upper rotating body 1B, the boom 8, the arm 9, and the bucket 10 recorded in the machine body geometric information recording unit 201.

[0031] The constrained position calculation unit 302 calculates position candidates for the shovel 1 under predetermined constraint conditions based on the topographical shape acquired by the topographical measurement device 23.

[0032] The excavation volume calculation unit 306 calculates the excavation volume for each (multiple) position candidate (in other words, the relationship between multiple position candidates and the excavation volume) based on the movable range calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301, the terrain shape measured by the terrain measurement device 23, and the position candidates calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302.

[0033] The excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 calculates (multiple) excavation position candidates that can secure an excavation volume equal to or greater than the target load volume from the multiple position candidates based on the excavation volume for each position candidate calculated by the excavation volume calculation unit 306 (the relationship between multiple position candidates and excavation volumes) and the target load volume acquired by the target load volume acquisition device 24.

[0034] The movement position determination unit 305 determines the movement position of the body of the shovel 1 based on the excavation position candidate calculated by the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304.

[0035] <Operation> FIG. 5 shows an example of a mining site where a shovel (working machine) 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention performs work.

[0036] The excavator 1 is placed on a trapezoidal terrain called a bench, which is higher than the running point of the dump truck 101.

[0037] There are a plurality of dump trucks (transport vehicles) 101, which travel in an area excluding the benches.

[0038] There is also a server 102 that can communicate with the dump truck 101 and the excavator 1, and the server 102 stores geometric information of the dump truck 101 and position information of the dump truck 101 acquired from the dump truck 101. Note that in this embodiment, the server 102 may be omitted depending on the configuration of the target load weight acquisition device 24.

[0039] An example of a sequence diagram of loading work by the shovel 1 and the dump truck 101 using this embodiment is shown in Fig. 6. This sequence diagram starts from the middle of loading work by the shovel 1 into the dump truck 101a.

[0040] When the loading operation by the excavator 1 is completed, the dump truck 101a (FIG. 5) loaded with the excavation object starts transporting (traveling) to the unloading location.

[0041] The server 102 transmits to the shovel 1 the target load amount of the dump truck 101b (FIG. 5) that is scheduled to perform loading work after the dump truck 101a. The shovel 1 acquires information about the target load amount (e.g., the target volume or weight) transmitted by the server 102 via the target load amount acquisition device 24. Upon acquiring the information about the target load amount, the shovel 1 calculates a movement position for the machine body in the excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202, calculates control commands for the actuators including the travel motor 3 in the actuator control unit 203, and moves to the movement position. Meanwhile, the dump truck 101b moves to a stop position for performing the loading work. When the movement of the dump truck 101b to the stop position is completed, the server 102 transmits a movement completion flag to the shovel 1. When the movements of both the dump truck 101b and the shovel 1 are completed, the shovel 1 performs the loading work on the dump truck 101b. When the loading operation is completed, the excavator 1 transmits a work completion flag to the server 102, and the dump truck 101b performs the transporting operation (travel) to the unloading location.

[0042] Although the description has been given in which the movement of the dump truck 101b and the movement of the shovel 1 are carried out simultaneously, the movement of the shovel 1 may be carried out after the movement of the dump truck 101b to the stop position is completed.

[0043] Fig. 7 shows an example of position candidates calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the constraint in the work of Fig. 5 is that the shovel moves on the bench of Fig. 5.

[0044] In this embodiment, the shovel 1 is placed on a bench, so the range for calculating position candidates as a constraint on the movement position is limited to the area above the bench. However, for example, in a flat mining site without a bench, the range for calculating position candidates may be limited to an area equidistant from the current position of the shovel 1. Alternatively, if the shovel 1 is placed below the bench (the area excluding the bench), the range for calculating position candidates may be limited to the area below the bench. This range may be automatically set based on the work content and terrain information, or it may be manually entered and determined by inputting the range for calculating position candidates. Position candidates that satisfy the constraint conditions are found by dividing the range that satisfies the constraint conditions into an equally spaced grid and extracting the intersections of the vertical and horizontal lines. The smaller the spacing between position candidates where the shovel 1 can be placed (grid spacing), the more accurate the position can be calculated, but the spacing should be determined taking into account factors such as the overall computational load.

[0045] 8 is a flowchart of the processing in the excavation amount calculation unit 306 and the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304. The excavation amount calculation unit 306 executes S802 to S804, and the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 executes S801 and S805 to S807.

[0046] The excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 determines whether the target load weight has been acquired from the target load weight acquisition device 24 (S801). If the target load weight has been acquired, the excavation amount calculation unit 306 acquires the topographical shape of the surrounding topography from the topography measurement device 23 (S802). Next, the excavation amount calculation unit 306 acquires the movable range of the front 1A calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301 from the machine body geometric information of the upper rotating body 1B, boom 8, arm 9, and bucket 10 (S803). An example of the movable range of the front 1A will be explained using FIG. 9. The movable range shown in FIG. 9 is the movable range of the front 1A within the motion plane of the boom 8, arm 9, and bucket 10. The movable range of the front 1A, including the rotational movement of the upper rotating body 1B, is a solid formed by rotating the movable range of the front 1A within this motion plane 360 ​​degrees around the rotation center axis.

[0047] Next, the excavation volume calculation unit 306 calculates the excavation volume for each (multiple) position candidate (i.e., the relationship between the multiple position candidates and the excavation volume) based on the position candidate calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302, the movable range calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301, and the terrain shape measured by the terrain measurement device 23 (S804). An example of the excavation volume for a certain position candidate is shown in FIG. 10 (top view) and FIG. 11 (side view). In this embodiment, the excavation volume is defined as the volume of the overlapping portion of the three-dimensional terrain shape (for each position candidate) and the three-dimensional movable range at a certain position candidate. A known algorithm for calculating the overlap volume between two solids can be used to calculate the volume. Note that, as in this embodiment, a portion of the overlap volume may be excluded to ensure the scaffolding required for the excavator 1 to perform its work and the passageway required for the excavator 1 to exit the bench after work is completed.

[0048] Next, the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 determines whether or not the maximum value of the excavation amount among the plurality of position candidates is less than the target load amount (S805).

[0049] In S805, if the maximum excavation amount is less than the target load capacity, there are no excavation position candidates, so an error is transmitted indicating that there is no excavation position (S806). The transmitted error is received by the server 102, and a predetermined error processing such as interrupting the work is performed.

[0050] In S805, if the maximum excavation volume is equal to or greater than the target load volume, based on the relationship between the position candidates calculated by the excavation volume calculation unit 306 and the excavation volume, all position candidates that are equal to or greater than the target load volume (position candidates that can ensure an excavation volume equal to or greater than the target load volume) are set as excavation position candidates (S807).

[0051] The movement position determination unit 305 determines the position closest to the current position among the positions that satisfy the excavation position candidates calculated by the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 as the movement position of the body of the shovel 1.

[0052] In this embodiment, the movement position is set to the position closest to the current position, but the movement position is not limited to this as long as the position satisfies the excavation position candidate in order to obtain the effect of this embodiment. For example, it is also possible to set the movement position to the position with the largest excavation amount.

[0053] <Effects specific to the form> According to this embodiment, when performing excavation and loading work with the shovel 1, candidate excavation positions where the excavation volume satisfies the target load volume are calculated, and the movement position of the shovel 1 is determined from among the candidate excavation positions, so that the movement position can be determined efficiently and the excavation and loading work can be started quickly. In other words, one excavation and loading work requires only one movement, so that efficient excavation and loading work can be realized. In addition, by setting the position of the candidate excavation positions closest to the current position as the movement position of the shovel 1 machine body, after the shovel 1 has finished excavation and loading work, the movement distance when it moves to the movement position for the next excavation and loading work can be short, so that even more efficient excavation and loading work can be realized.

[0054] [Example 2] <Control system configuration> FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram of a control system installed in the controller 20 of this embodiment.

[0055] In Example 2, in addition to the configuration of Example 1, the excavator 1 has a dump geometric information acquisition device 25 that is attached to the upper rotating body 1B and acquires geometric information including the position and shape of the dump 101 (hereinafter referred to as dump geometric information).

[0056] The dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25 may receive data from the dump truck 101, the server 102, or the like via wireless communication to obtain the dump truck geometric information, or may measure the dump truck geometric information using a three-dimensional measurement device such as Lidar. In the latter case, the dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25 may also function as the topography measurement device 23. The dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25 may also function as the target load weight acquisition device 24.

[0057] FIG. 13 is a detailed functional block diagram of the excavation amount ensuring position calculation unit 202 in FIG.

[0058] The excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 is made up of a movable range calculation unit 301 , a constraint position calculation unit 302 , an excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 , a loading position candidate calculation unit 303 , a movement position determination unit 305 , and an excavation volume calculation unit 306 .

[0059] The movable range calculation unit 301, the restricted position calculation unit 302, the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304, and the excavation amount calculation unit 306 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0060] The loading position candidate calculation unit 303 calculates a loading position candidate based on the movable range calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301, the position candidate calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302, and the position of the dump truck 101 and the shape of the loading platform in the dump truck geometric information acquired from the dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25, so that the entire loading platform is included in the movable range of the front 1A.

[0061] The movement position determination unit 305 calculates the movement position of the excavator 1 body based on the excavation position candidate calculated by the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 and the loading position candidate calculated by the loading position candidate calculation unit 303.

[0062] <Operation> The operations of the excavation amount calculation unit 306 and the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 are the same as those in FIG. 8 of the first embodiment, and therefore the explanation thereof will be omitted.

[0063] FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the process in the loading position candidate calculation unit 303.

[0064] The loading position candidate calculation unit 303 determines whether or not the position of the dump truck 101 and the shape of the loading bed have been acquired from the dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25 (S1001). When the position of the dump truck 101 and the shape of the loading bed have been acquired, the loading position candidate calculation unit 303 acquires the movable range of the front 1A calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301 from the machine body geometric information of the upper rotating body 1B, boom 8, arm 9, and bucket 10 (S1002). S1002 is calculated using the same method as S803.

[0065] Next, based on the position candidates calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302, the movable range calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301, and the position of the dump truck 101 and the shape of the loading bed acquired by the dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25, the loading position candidate calculation unit 303 calculates, for each position candidate, a position candidate where the entire shape of the loading bed is included within the movable range of the front 1A (determines whether loading is possible), and determines that loading is possible if the entire shape of the loading bed is included within the movable range of the front 1A, and determines that loading is not possible if (part of) the shape of the loading bed is not included within the movable range of the front 1A (S1003). The determination of whether the entire shape of the loading bed is included within the movable range of the front 1A can be made by, for example, determining whether all four corners of the loading bed are inside a solid shape within the movable range of the front 1A, or whether the three-dimensional shape of the loading bed overlaps with a solid shape within the movable range of the front 1A, but is not limited to this as long as it is possible to determine whether the entire loading bed is included within the movable range of the front 1A (whether the front 1A can reach the entire loading bed). FIG. 15 shows examples of position candidates (position candidate A, position candidate B) where the entire cargo bed is included in the movable range of the front 1A.

[0066] Next, the loading position candidate calculation unit 303 determines whether or not there is a position candidate where loading is possible among the position candidates (S1004).

[0067] If there are no position candidates in S1004, an error is transmitted indicating that there is no loading position (S1005). The transmitted error is received by the server 102, and a predetermined error process such as a process of interrupting the work is carried out.

[0068] If there are position candidates in S1004, all position candidates determined to be loading-enabled in S1003 (position candidates whose entire cargo bed is included within the movable range of the front 1A) are set as loading position candidates (S1006).

[0069] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing of the movement position determination unit 305.

[0070] The movement position determination unit 305 determines whether or not there is a position that satisfies both the excavation position candidate and the loading position candidate (S1201).

[0071] If no position candidate exists in S1201, an error is transmitted indicating that there is no position candidate, and the excavator 1 stops at the current position without moving (S1203). The transmitted error is received by the server 102, and predetermined error processing such as interruption of work is performed.

[0072] In S1201, if there is a candidate excavation position and a candidate loading position, the position closest to the current position is determined as the movement position of the excavator 1 (S1202). An example of the candidate excavation position, the candidate loading position, and the candidate position is shown in FIG.

[0073] In this embodiment, the movement position is set to the position closest to the current position, but this is not limited to this as long as the position satisfies both the excavation position candidate and the loading position candidate in order to obtain the effects of this embodiment. For example, the movement position may be set to the position with the largest excavation volume.

[0074] <Effects specific to the form> According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of embodiment 1, the movement position of the shovel 1 is determined so that the entire bed of the dump truck 101 is included in the movable range of the front 1A (the front 1A reaches the entire bed of the dump truck 101), so that the excavation object can be loaded onto the entire bed of the dump truck 101, thereby realizing more efficient excavation and loading operations.

[0075] [Example 3] <Control system configuration> FIG. 18 is a detailed functional block diagram of the excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 of this embodiment.

[0076] In addition to the configuration of Example 2, the excavation volume securing position calculation unit 202 is equipped with an excavation terrain geometric center position calculation unit 1401 that calculates the geometric center position (geometric center position) of the excavable terrain (excavation terrain) for each position candidate calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302 based on the movable range calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301, the position candidate calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302, and the terrain shape measured by the terrain measurement device 23, and in addition to the configuration of Example 2, the movement position determination unit 1402 determines the movement position of the excavator 1 body based on the geometric center position of the excavation terrain and the position of the dump 101.

[0077] <Operation> The excavation terrain geometric center position calculation unit 1401 calculates a three-dimensional shape by superimposing the three-dimensional shape of the movable range and the three-dimensional shape of the terrain shape for each (plural) position candidate based on the movable range calculated by the movable range calculation unit 301, the position candidate calculated by the constraint position calculation unit 302, and the terrain shape measured by the terrain measurement device 23. The calculation method for the superimposed part is the same as S804 in Fig. 8. Next, the excavation terrain geometric center position calculation unit 1401 calculates the geometric center position of the superimposed three-dimensional shape, and sets it as the geometric center position of the excavation terrain.

[0078] Instead of S1202 in Figure 16, the movement position determination unit 1402 determines the movement position of the excavator 1 body to be the position that satisfies both the excavation position candidate and the loading position candidate, and that has the smallest distance between the dump center position (center position of the loading platform) and the geometric center position of the excavation terrain.

[0079] FIG. 19 shows a top view of the geometric center position of the excavation terrain and the center position of the loading platform. In FIG. 19, position candidate A and position candidate B both satisfy both the excavation position candidate and the loading position candidate, but in this embodiment, the distance (L gA , L gB ) is the position candidate A where the excavator 1's body moves to.

[0080] <Effects specific to the form> According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of embodiment 2, the excavator 1 rotates the rotating body after excavation work and the excavated material is loaded into the dump truck 101, and the rotation angle can be minimized. This reduces the time required for the rotation operation, thereby enabling more efficient excavation and loading work.

[0081] [Example 4] <Control system configuration> FIG. 20 is a detailed functional block diagram of the excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 of this embodiment.

[0082] The controller 20 includes a loading distance recording unit 1501 that records a predetermined loading distance in addition to the configuration of the third embodiment. The loading distance is set to a distance shorter than the movable range of the front 1A of the excavator 1 with respect to the center of rotation of the excavator 1.

[0083] <Operation> The moving position determination unit 1502 does not move to the closest position from the current position in S1202 of Figure 16, but rather determines the moving position to be the candidate position closest to the dump center position (center position of the loading platform) and the position (position equidistant) that is both the loading distance from the geometric center position of the excavation terrain.

[0084] Figure 21 shows a top view of the geometric center position of the excavation terrain, the center position of the loading platform, and the movement position.

[0085] <Effects specific to the form> According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the third embodiment, the extension and retraction amount of the front 1A during loading work can be reduced, so that the time required for the extension and retraction operation is shortened, and more efficient excavation and loading work can be realized.

[0086] [Example 5] <Control system configuration> FIG. 22 is a detailed functional block diagram of the excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202 of this embodiment.

[0087] In addition to the configuration of the second embodiment, the controller 20 includes a dump truck movement position candidate acquisition device 1601 that acquires a plurality of dump truck movement position candidates, which are candidates for the stopping position of the dump truck 101 when performing loading work. The dump truck movement position candidate acquisition device 1601 may acquire the dump truck movement position candidates from the dump truck 101, the server 102, or the like via wireless communication.

[0088] FIG. 23 shows an example of dump truck movement position candidates. The dump truck movement position candidates are determined by dividing a predetermined range into an equally spaced grid and extracting the intersections of vertical and horizontal straight lines. The smaller the interval between dump truck movement position candidates (grid interval), the more accurate the position can be calculated, which is desirable, but the interval should be determined taking into consideration the overall calculation load, etc. In this embodiment, since the excavator 1 is placed on a bench, the range that is the dump truck movement position candidate is determined to be below the bench (the range excluding the bench), but is not limited to this as long as it does not overlap with the movement position candidate of the excavator 1. The range that is the dump truck movement position candidate may be set automatically based on the work content and terrain information, or may be set by manually inputting the range of the dump truck movement position candidate.

[0089] <Operation> An example of a sequence diagram of loading work by the shovel 1 and the dump truck 101 using this embodiment is shown in Fig. 24. This sequence diagram starts from the middle of loading work by the shovel 1 into the dump truck 101a.

[0090] When the loading operation by the shovel 1 is completed, the dump truck 101a (FIG. 5) loaded with the excavation object starts transporting (traveling) to the unloading location and moves away from the stopping position near the shovel 1.

[0091] The server 102 transmits to the excavator 1 the target load capacity and bed shape of the dump truck 101b (FIG. 5) that is scheduled to perform loading work after the dump truck 101a. The excavator 1 acquires the information on the target load capacity and bed shape transmitted by the server 102 via the target load capacity acquisition device 24 and the dump truck geometric information acquisition device 25. Upon acquiring the information on the target load capacity and bed shape, the excavator 1 calculates the movement position of the excavator 1 and the movement position of the dump truck 101b (dump truck movement position) in the excavation volume ensuring position calculation unit 202. The excavator 1 moves to its own movement position and simultaneously transmits the calculated dump truck movement position to the dump truck 101b. Upon receiving the dump truck movement position, the dump truck 101b moves to the dump truck movement position. When the movement of the dump truck 101b to the dump truck movement position is completed, the server 102 transmits a movement completion flag to the excavator 1. The shovel 1 performs loading work onto the dump truck 101b when the movement of both the dump truck 101b and the shovel 1 is completed. When the loading work is completed, the shovel 1 transmits a work completion flag to the server 102, and the dump truck 101b starts transporting work (traveling) to the unloading location.

[0092] FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the processing of the loading position candidate calculation unit 1602 and the movement position determination unit 1603.

[0093] The movement position determining unit 1603 first tentatively determines a dump truck movement position from among dump truck movement position candidates (S1801).

[0094] A candidate excavation position and a candidate loading position at the provisionally determined dump truck movement position are calculated (corresponding to 303 and 304) (S1802).

[0095] The movement position determination unit 1603 determines whether or not there is a movement position of the excavator 1 that satisfies both the excavation position candidate and the loading position candidate (S1803).

[0096] If no dump truck moving position candidate exists in S1803, it is determined whether or not the search has been completed for all dump truck moving position candidates acquired by the dump truck moving position candidate acquisition device 1601 (S1804).

[0097] In S1804, if all search positions have been completed, an error is transmitted indicating that there is no movement position for the shovel 1 (movement position cannot be determined) (S1805).

[0098] If it is determined in S1804 that the dump truck movement position has not yet been searched, the dump truck movement position tentatively determined in S1801 is changed to another position among the dump truck movement position candidates (S1806), and the process is repeated until all searches are completed.

[0099] In S1803, if there is a candidate excavation position and a candidate loading position, the position closest to the current position is set as the position to which the body of the shovel 1 is to be moved (S1807). In addition, the dump truck movement position tentatively determined in S1801 (used to determine the position to which the body of the shovel 1 is to be moved) is transmitted to the dump truck 101 via wireless communication or the like directly or via the server 102 (S1807). When the dump truck 101 receives the dump truck movement position, it automatically moves to the dump truck movement position using an automatic travel control device (not shown).

[0100] <Effects specific to the form> According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of embodiment 2, the movement position of the dump truck 101 is determined simultaneously with the movement position of the shovel 1, so there is no need to adjust the stopping position of the dump truck 101 when the front 1A does not reach the entire bed of the dump truck 101, thereby enabling more efficient excavation and loading operations.

[0101] [summary] As described above, the working implement (shovel 1) of this embodiment is a working machine that has a working implement (front 1A) and uses the working implement to perform excavation work on an object and loading work onto a transport vehicle (dump truck 101), and is equipped with a traveling actuator that causes the working machine to travel, a terrain measuring device 23 that measures the shape of the terrain around the working machine, a target load amount acquisition device 24 that acquires a target load amount for the transport vehicle, and a controller 20 that determines a movement position of the working machine when performing the excavation and loading work based on machine body geometric information including geometric information of the working implement (for calculating the movable range of the working implement), the shape of the terrain measured by the terrain measuring device 23, and the target load amount acquired by the target load amount acquisition device 24, and controls the traveling actuator to move the work machine to the movement position. The controller 20 comprises an excavation volume calculation unit 306 that calculates the excavation volume of the object when performing the excavation work (for each position candidate) at a plurality of position candidates (where the work machine can be positioned under specified constraints) based on the terrain shape and the machine body geometric information; an excavation position candidate calculation unit 304 that calculates a plurality of excavation position candidates (from the plurality of position candidates) that can ensure an excavation volume greater than or equal to the target load capacity based on the relationship between the plurality of position candidates and the excavation volume (excavation volume for each position candidate) calculated by the excavation volume calculation unit 306; a movement position determination unit 305 that determines a movement position of the work machine from the plurality of excavation position candidates calculated by the excavation position candidate calculation unit 304; and an actuator control unit 203 that calculates a control command for the traveling actuator so as to move the work machine to the movement position determined by the movement position determination unit 305.

[0102] According to this embodiment, a single excavation and loading operation of the work machine onto the transport vehicle requires only one movement, so that efficient excavation and loading operations can be realized (embodiment 1).

[0103] Furthermore, in the work implement (shovel 1) of this embodiment, the movement position determination unit 305 determines the movement position of the work machine to be the position among the plurality of excavation position candidates that is closest to the current position of the work machine, or the position that will maximize the excavation amount.

[0104] According to this embodiment, after the work machine has completed excavation and loading work on the transport vehicle, it only needs to travel a short distance to move to a transfer position for the next excavation and loading work, thereby achieving efficient excavation and loading work (embodiment 1).

[0105] In addition, the work device (shovel 1) of this embodiment is further equipped with a transport vehicle geometric information acquisition device (dump geometric information acquisition device 25) that acquires geometric information including the shape of the bed of the transport vehicle, and the movement position determination unit 305 determines the movement position of the work machine to a position (loading position candidate) among the multiple excavation position candidates where the bed is all included within the movable range (loading range) of the work device (the movement position is determined from a position (loading position candidate) where the bed is all included within the movable range (loading range) of the work device).

[0106] According to this embodiment, when loading a work machine onto a transport vehicle, the excavation target can be loaded onto the entire loading platform of the transport vehicle, thereby realizing more efficient excavation and loading operations (embodiment 2).

[0107] In addition, in the work device (shovel 1) of this embodiment, the controller 20 further includes an excavation terrain geometric center position calculation unit 1401 that calculates the geometric center position of the excavable terrain (for each position candidate) at the multiple position candidates based on the terrain shape and the machine geometric information, and the movement position determination unit 305 determines the movement position of the work machine to a position among the multiple excavation position candidates that minimizes the distance between the geometric center position of the excavable terrain and the center position of the loading platform.

[0108] According to this embodiment, when loading a work machine onto a transport vehicle, the rotation angle of the upper rotating body 1B can be minimized, thereby reducing the time required for the rotation operation and enabling more efficient excavation and loading operations (embodiment 3).

[0109] Furthermore, in the work implement (shovel 1) of this embodiment, the controller 20 further includes a loading distance recording unit 1501 that records a predetermined loading distance of the work machine, and the movement position determination unit 305 determines the movement position of the work machine to be the position among the plurality of excavation position candidates that is closest to the geometric center position of the excavable terrain and a position that is away from the center position of the loading platform by the loading distance.

[0110] According to this embodiment, the time required for the extension and contraction of the front 1A during the loading operation of the work machine onto the transport vehicle is shortened, and more efficient excavation and loading operations can be realized (Embodiment 4).

[0111] Furthermore, in the work device (shovel 1) of this embodiment, the controller 20 acquires a plurality of candidate transport vehicle movement positions, which are candidates for the stopping position of the transport vehicle when performing the loading work (dump truck movement position candidate acquisition device 1601), and the movement position determination unit 305 determines the movement position of the work machine based on the plurality of candidate transport vehicle movement positions.

[0112] According to this embodiment, when loading a work machine onto a transport vehicle, if the front 1A does not reach the entire bed of the transport vehicle, there is no need to adjust the stopping position of the transport vehicle, and more efficient excavation and loading operations can be achieved (Example 5).

[0113] Furthermore, in the work device (shovel 1) of this embodiment, the controller 20 transmits to the transport vehicle the transport vehicle movement position candidate that was used to determine the movement position of the work machine from among the plurality of transport vehicle movement position candidates as the movement position of the transport vehicle.

[0114] According to this embodiment, in one loading operation of a work machine onto a transport vehicle, the position of the transport vehicle to be loaded can be appropriately specified (Embodiment 5).

[0115] As described above, according to this embodiment, a work machine can be realized that can efficiently determine a movement position when carrying out excavation and loading work, and can quickly start excavation and loading work.

[0116] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

[0117] Furthermore, the functions of the controllers of the above-described embodiments may be implemented in hardware, for example, by designing some or all of them as integrated circuits. Alternatively, the functions may be implemented in software, with a processor interpreting and executing a program that implements each function. Information such as the programs, tables, and files that implement each function can be stored in a storage device within the controller, a hard disk, a solid-state drive (SSD), or other storage media, such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 1. Hydraulic excavator (work machine) 1A Front (Work Equipment) 1B Upper rotating body 1C Undercarriage 2 Control device 3 Travel motor (travel actuator) 4 Swivel device 5 Boom cylinder 6 Arm Cylinder 7 Bucket cylinder 8. Boom 9 Arm 10 buckets 11 Swing motor 13 Bucket Link 20 Controller 23 Topographical measurement equipment 24 Target load acquisition device 25 Dump Geometry Information Acquisition Device 51 Pump 52 Tank 53 Relief valve 54~58 valves 59 Regulator 61 Pilot pump 62~66 Valves 101 Dump truck (transport vehicle) 201 Aircraft Geometry Information Recording Unit 202 Excavation volume securing position calculation unit 203 Actuator control section 204 Actuator System (Hydraulic Circuit) 301 Movable range calculation unit 302 Constraint position calculation section 303 Loading position candidate calculation unit 304 Excavation position candidate calculation unit 305 Movement position determination unit 306 Excavation volume calculation unit 1401 Excavation topography geometric center position calculation unit 1501 Loading distance recorder 1601 Dump truck movement position candidate acquisition device

Claims

1. A work machine having a work device, which performs an excavation work of an object and a loading work of an object onto a transport vehicle by using the work device, a travel actuator that causes the work machine to travel; a topography measuring device that measures the shape of the topography around the work machine; a target load amount acquisition device for acquiring a target load amount for the transport vehicle; a controller that determines a movement position of the work machine when performing the excavation and loading work based on machine body geometric information including geometric information of the work device, the terrain shape measured by the terrain measuring device, and the target load amount acquired by the target load amount acquisition device, and controls the travel actuator to move the work machine to the movement position, The controller an excavation volume calculation unit that calculates an excavation volume of the object when the excavation work is performed at a plurality of position candidates based on the topographical shape and the machine body geometric information; an excavation position candidate calculation unit that calculates a plurality of excavation position candidates that can ensure the excavation amount equal to or greater than the target load capacity based on the relationship between the plurality of position candidates calculated by the excavation amount calculation unit and the excavation amount; a movement position determination unit that determines a movement position of the work machine from the plurality of excavation position candidates calculated by the excavation position candidate calculation unit; an actuator control unit that calculates a control command for the traveling actuator so as to move the work machine to the movement position determined by the movement position determination unit.

2. 2. The work machine according to claim 1, The work machine is characterized in that the movement position determination unit determines the movement position of the work machine to be the position closest to the current position of the work machine, or the position where the excavation amount is greatest, among the plurality of excavation position candidates.

3. 2. The work machine according to claim 1, the work machine further includes a transport vehicle geometric information acquisition device that acquires geometric information including the shape of a bed of the transport vehicle, The work machine is characterized in that the movement position determination unit determines a movement position of the work machine to a position from among the plurality of excavation position candidates where the entire loading platform is included within a movable range of the work implement.

4. 4. The work machine according to claim 3, The controller further includes an excavation terrain geometric center position calculation unit that calculates a geometric center position of an excavable terrain at the plurality of position candidates based on the terrain shape and the machine body geometric information, The movement position determination unit determines the movement position of the work machine to be a position from among the plurality of excavation position candidates that minimizes the distance between the geometric center position of the excavable terrain and the center position of the loading platform.

5. 5. The work machine according to claim 4, The controller further includes a loading distance recording unit that records a predetermined loading distance of the work machine, The movement position determination unit determines the movement position of the work machine to be the closest position among the plurality of excavation position candidates to a position that is the geometric center of the excavable terrain and a position that is the loading distance away from the center position of the loading platform.

6. 4. The work machine according to claim 3, the controller acquires a plurality of candidate transport vehicle movement positions which are candidates for stopping positions of the transport vehicle when performing the loading operation; The work machine, wherein the movement position determination unit determines a movement position of the work machine based on the plurality of transport vehicle movement position candidates.

7. 7. The work machine according to claim 6, The controller transmits to the transport vehicle the transport vehicle movement position candidate used to determine the movement position of the work machine from among the plurality of transport vehicle movement position candidates as the movement position of the transport vehicle.

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