Working machinery

Abstract

To provide a work machine that can output appropriate alarm information when operated remotely. [Solution] The controller 60 of the hydraulic excavator 1 includes (a) an operation state determination unit 107 that determines the operation state of the hydraulic excavator 1, (b) a blind spot area calculation unit 103 that calculates a blind spot area that is obstructed by the vehicle body 1a and cannot be seen from the operator's position based on the operator's position information detected by the operator position detection device 64 and the vehicle body dimensions information of the vehicle body 1a, (c) an alarm determination unit 108 that determines an alarm level representing the degree of possibility of contact between the obstacle and the hydraulic excavator 1 based on the posture information of the hydraulic excavator 1 detected by the posture information detection device 65, the operation state determined by the operation state determination unit 107 and the position of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device 63, and (d) an alarm determination unit 108 that corrects the alarm level depending on whether the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area, and outputs alarm information based on the corrected alarm level.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a working machine.

Background Art

[0002] As an example of a working machine, there is, for example, a hydraulic excavator. The hydraulic excavator has a lower traveling body, and an upper revolving body is provided on the upper part of the lower traveling body via a revolving device. A front working device for performing operations such as excavation of earth and sand is provided on the upper revolving body. The front working device includes a boom connected to the upper revolving body so as to be able to perform a pitching motion, and an arm connected to the tip of the boom so as to be able to rotate in the vertical direction. At the tip of the arm, a bucket is provided which is connected via a link mechanism and performs operations such as excavation as an attachment. Further, near the bucket pin which is the connection part between the bucket and the arm, a lifting tool such as a hook for lifting work is provided.

[0003] In such a working machine, in order to prevent contact accidents during work, there is a type equipped with a surrounding monitoring device that monitors the surroundings and issues an alarm. For example, the surrounding monitoring device detects obstacles such as people or objects existing around the working machine, and notifies the operator of the working machine of the presence of the obstacle by issuing an alarm, or suppresses the operation of the working machine.

[0004] By the way, at an actual work site, even when an operator is working near the working machine, there are cases where the working machine is operated while paying attention to the operator. In such an environment, even though the operator of the working machine recognizes that the operator is near the working machine, an alarm will be issued from the surrounding monitoring device.

[0005] Regarding such a situation, in the surrounding monitoring device described in Patent Document 1, in addition to the view from the cab, a range that becomes a blind spot for the operator is calculated based on the operation state and the direction of the head of the operator on board, and the alarm level is determined in consideration of whether or not an obstacle exists in the range that becomes a blind spot, thereby suppressing unnecessary alarms. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6877385 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] Incidentally, there are cases where the operator does not board the cab but remotely controls the work machine using a remote control transmitter or similar device from near the work machine. One such example is when lifting a load using a remote control. The operator attaches the load to a lifting device mounted near the bucket pin of the front work device, then remotely operates the work machine to move the load, and after moving the load, removes it. In this case, if the operator is positioned to the left of the front work device, the rear and right side of the work machine become blind spots, and conversely, if the operator is positioned to the right of the front work device, the rear and left side of the work machine become blind spots.

[0008] However, with the work machine described in Patent Document 1, when the operator remotely controls the work machine from near its periphery, it is not possible to calculate blind spots or the area of ​​focus, and therefore it is not possible to respond to changes in the operator's blind spots or area of ​​focus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A work machine according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a vehicle body, a work device attached to the vehicle body, an obstacle detection device for detecting the position of obstacles around the vehicle body, and a control device for outputting alarm information to an output device based on the position of obstacles detected by the obstacle detection device, wherein the control device comprises an operator position detection device for detecting the position information of an operator who remotely operates the work machine, and a posture information detection device for detecting the posture information of the work machine, the control device comprising an operation state determination unit for determining the operating state of the work machine, and the operator position information detected by the operator position detection device and the position of the vehicle body The system comprises: a blind spot area calculation unit that calculates a blind spot area that is obstructed by the vehicle body and cannot be seen from the operator's position based on legal information; an alarm determination unit that determines an alarm level representing the degree of possibility of contact between the obstacle and the work machine based on the posture information detected by the posture information detection device, the operating state determined by the operating state determination unit, and the position of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device; and a correction unit that corrects the alarm level depending on whether the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area, and outputs the alarm information to the output device based on the alarm level corrected by the correction unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, appropriate responses can be made by outputting alarm information in response to changes in the operator's blind spot or the range of focus during remote operation. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the work machine according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hydraulic excavator system configuration. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing specific examples of an obstacle detection device, an operator position acquisition device, and an attitude information acquisition device. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the arrangement of cameras installed on the rotating body. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of reception antennas and reception ranges in a rotating body. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram explaining the processing functions in a controller. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining the calculation of an operator position. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram explaining the processing of a blind spot area calculation unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing blind spot area information output from a blind spot area calculation unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining a visible area and an area outside visibility. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a visible level calculation procedure. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram explaining the visible level calculation procedure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an alarm determination process. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the processing after step S309 of the alarm determination process. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the working radius of a hydraulic excavator. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram explaining an example of a method for setting a boarding blind spot area and a boarding visible area during boarding operation driving. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a visible level calculation procedure in Modification 1. [[ID=3�]] [Figure 18] FIG. 1説明する図である。 [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram explaining Modification 2.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] It should be noted that there seems to be an error in the original text for ID=41 where the Japanese text is not fully translated. It should be something like "FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the processing after step S309 of the alarm determination process in Modification 1."Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following description and drawings are examples for explaining the present invention, and for the sake of clarity of explanation, appropriate omissions and simplifications have been made. Also, in the following description, the same or similar elements and processes are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations may be omitted. Note that the content described below is merely an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and can be implemented in various other forms.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a working machine according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the hydraulic excavator 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example of the working machine. The vehicle body 1a of the hydraulic excavator 1 includes a crawler-type traveling body 2 and a revolving body 3 that is rotatably attached to the upper part of the traveling body 2. A cab 20 is installed on the revolving body 3, and a multi-joint type front working device 4 capable of performing the formation work of a target construction surface is attached to the front side of the revolving body 3. The traveling body 2 is driven by left and right traveling hydraulic motors 22a and 22b. The revolving body 3 is driven by the torque generated by a slewing hydraulic motor 21 and revolves in the left and right directions.

[0014] A front working device 4 is provided on the front side of the revolving body 3. The front working device 4 includes a boom 5 rotatably provided on the revolving body 3, an arm 6 rotatably provided at the tip of the boom 5, a bucket 7 rotatably provided at the tip of the arm 6, a boom cylinder 8 for driving the boom 5, an arm cylinder 9 for driving the arm 6, and a bucket cylinder 10 for driving the bucket 7. The bucket cylinder 10 is coupled to the arm 6 by a link 11 and is also coupled to the bucket 7 by a link 12. The revolving body 3 and the boom 5 are connected by a boom pin 17. The boom 5 and the arm 6 are connected by an arm pin 18. The arm 6 and the bucket 7 are connected by a bucket pin 19. Also, a lifting tool (not shown) such as a hook for lifting work is installed on the bucket pin 19 of the front working device 4.

[0015] The boom 5, arm 6, link 11, and slewing body 3 are each fitted with a boom IMU 14, arm IMU 15, bucket IMU 16, and vehicle body IMU 13, respectively. IMU stands for Inertial Measurement Unit, and it can detect the angle (or angular velocity) and acceleration of the three axes. It functions as an attitude information detection device 65 (see Figure 2, described later) that acquires attitude information of the boom 5, arm 6, bucket 7, and slewing body 3 that constitute the front work device 4.

[0016] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the hydraulic excavator 1. The hydraulic excavator 1 operates each hydraulic actuator (boom cylinder 8, arm cylinder 9, bucket cylinder 10, swing hydraulic motor 21, and travel hydraulic motors 22a, 22b) by distributing and controlling the pressurized oil discharged from the hydraulic pump 24 using the control valve unit 23, thereby performing excavation, swing, and travel operations. The control valve unit 23 consists of control valves provided for each hydraulic actuator to be controlled. Each control valve operates based on a control signal from the controller 60 mounted in the operator's cab 20.

[0017] In addition to the controller 60 mentioned above, the driver's cab 20 is equipped with an interior operating device 61, a switching device 62, an audio output device 66, and a display device 67. The controller 60 receives obstacle detection information, operator position information, and posture information from the obstacle detection device 63, operator position detection device 64, and posture information detection device 65 mounted on the hydraulic excavator 1. As mentioned above, the posture information detection device 65 is a device that acquires posture information of the front work device 4 and the slewing body 3, and is composed of a boom IMU 14, an arm IMU 15, a bucket IMU 16, and a vehicle body IMU 13. The specific configurations of the obstacle detection device 63 and the operator position detection device 64 will be described later.

[0018] The indoor control device 61 is a device that transmits control signals for each of the hydraulic actuators described above to the controller 60. The display device 67 and the audio output device 66 are devices that display or audibly notify the operator in the cab 20 of information regarding obstacles around the hydraulic excavator 1 detected by the obstacle detection device 63. The switching control device 62 is a device that switches between operation by the indoor control device 61 in the cab 20 and operation by the remote control device 70 provided on the remote control transmitter 69 when operating the hydraulic excavator 1. The operation signal from the switching control device 62 is input to the controller 60.

[0019] The remote control transmitter 69 is a device that allows an operator to remotely control the hydraulic excavator 1, and includes the remote control device 70 described above, a remote voice output device 71, and a remote display device 72. The remote control device 70 outputs control signals similar to those of the indoor control device 61 when operated by the operator. The control signals output from the remote control device 70 are transmitted to the controller 60 via the communication device 68. The remote voice output device 71 and the remote display device 72 are devices for displaying or audibly notifying the operator operating the remote control transmitter 69 of information regarding obstacles detected around the hydraulic excavator 1. The notification information is transmitted from the controller 60 to the remote control transmitter 69 via the communication device 68.

[0020] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the specific configuration of the obstacle detection device 63, operator position detection device 64, and attitude information detection device 65 shown in Figure 2. As mentioned above, the attitude information detection device 65 is composed of a boom IMU 14, an arm IMU 15, a bucket IMU 16, and a vehicle body IMU 13.

[0021] The obstacle detection device 63 consists of four cameras 30, 31, 32, and 33 installed on the slewing body 3, for example, as shown in Figure 4. In Figure 4, the XY coordinate system represents the vehicle body coordinate system fixed to the slewing body 3 of the hydraulic excavator 1. The vehicle body coordinate system XY has the pivot center 25 of the slewing body 3 as its origin, the X axis is a coordinate axis extending in the front-rear direction of the slewing body 3, and the Y axis is a coordinate axis extending in the left-right direction of the slewing body 3. The front camera 30 and rear camera 33, installed on the front and rear sides of the slewing body 3, capture video of the slewing body 3 in the front-rear direction and detect obstacles. On the other hand, the left camera 31 and right camera 32, installed on the left and right sides of the slewing body 3, capture video of the slewing body 3 in the left-right direction and detect obstacles. Cameras 30 to 33 function as sensors that detect obstacles around the hydraulic excavator 1 and detect the position coordinates of the obstacles in each camera coordinate system. The obstacle detection device 63 may also be a camera that detects infrared light, or a device that emits light waves, millimeter waves, ultrasonic waves, etc., and receives the reflected waves that are reflected by obstacles.

[0022] The operator position detection device 64 includes receiving antennas 40, 41, 42, and 43 attached to the front, left, right, and rear sides of the slewing body 3 of the hydraulic excavator 1. Receiving antennas 40 to 43 receive radio waves from an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag 50 worn by the operator remotely controlling the hydraulic excavator 1. The operator's position is detected from the strength of the radio waves received by the receiving antennas 40 to 43.

[0023] Figure 5 shows the arrangement of each receiving antenna 40-43 on the rotating body 3 and their respective receiving ranges A0-A3. The receiving range A0 of the receiving antenna 40 installed on the front side of the rotating body 3 is directed towards the front of the vehicle (positive X-axis direction). Conversely, the receiving range A2 of the receiving antenna 42 installed on the rear side of the rotating body 3 is directed towards the rear of the vehicle (negative X-axis direction). The receiving range A1 of the receiving antenna 41 installed on the left side of the rotating body 3 is directed towards the left side of the vehicle (negative Y-axis direction). Conversely, the receiving range A3 of the receiving antenna 43 installed on the right side of the rotating body 3 is directed towards the right side of the vehicle (positive Y-axis direction). In Figure 5, the marks labeled 48a-48h represent the operator's position (the standing position of the operator remotely controlling the vehicle from outside the vehicle).

[0024] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating the processing functions of the controller 60. The controller 60 includes a microcomputer consisting of a CPU (not shown), ROM, RAM, and rewritable non-volatile memory such as flash memory, as well as a computer program stored in ROM and peripheral circuits.

[0025] The controller 60 functions as an obstacle position calculation unit 100, an operator direction calculation unit 101, an operator position calculation unit 102, a blind spot area calculation unit 103, a gaze position calculation unit 104, a visibility area calculation unit 105, a visibility level calculation unit 106, an operation state determination unit 107, a warning determination unit 108, and a warning output unit 109 by running a computer program on the CPU and performing calculation processing. The memory 120 of the controller 60 stores vehicle shape information 121, visibility range information 122, driving characteristics information 123, warning threshold information 124, and front warning range information 125.

[0026] <Obstacle position calculation unit 100> The obstacle position calculation unit 100 receives the position coordinates of obstacles in each camera coordinate system detected by each camera 30, 31, 32, 33 (see Figure 3) of the obstacle detection device 63. The obstacle position calculation unit 100 then converts the position coordinates in each camera coordinate system to position coordinates in the vehicle body coordinate system XY (see Figure 4) and calculates the obstacle position (Xobj, Yobj).

[0027] <Operator direction calculation unit 101> The operator direction calculation unit 101 calculates the operator direction in the vehicle coordinate system XY based on the radio wave intensity from the receiving antennas 40-43 (see Figure 5) provided on the operator position detection device 64. In Figure 5, for example, if an operator with an RFID tag 50 attached is located at position 48a in the receiving range A0 of the receiving antenna 40, only the radio wave reception intensity of the receiving antenna 40 will increase. Therefore, the operator direction calculation unit 101 can calculate the operator direction from the radio wave reception intensity, that is, that the operator is in the direction in front of the rotating body 3.

[0028] Furthermore, if an operator wearing an RFID tag 50 is located at position 48b, which is included in both the receiving range A0 of receiving antenna 40 and the receiving range A1 of receiving antenna 41, the antenna strength of both receiving antenna 40 and receiving antenna 41 will increase. Therefore, the operator direction calculation unit 101 can calculate that the operator is in the left-front direction of the rotating body 3.

[0029] In other words, when the operator is located within one of the receiving ranges of receiving antennas 40 to 43, such as at positions 48a, 48c, 48e, and 48g, the reception strength of only the receiving antenna corresponding to the receiving range where the operator is located will be stronger. Also, when the operator is located within two of the receiving ranges of receiving antennas 40 to 43, such as at positions 48b, 48d, 48f, and 48h, the reception strength of those two receiving antennas will be stronger. As a result, the operator direction calculation unit 101 can calculate, based on the reception strength of receiving antennas 40 to 43, which of the eight directions (forward, left forward, left rear, rear, right rear, right forward, right forward) the operator is located in relative to the rotating body 3, corresponding to positions 48a to 48h.

[0030] <Operator position calculation unit 102> The operator position calculation unit 102 calculates the operator position (Xop, Yop) based on the operator direction output from the operator direction calculation unit 101 and the obstacle position (Xobj, Yobj) output from the obstacle position calculation unit 100.

[0031] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the calculation of the operator position (Xop, Yop) by the operator position calculation unit 102. In Figure 7, the rectangular area enclosed by boundary L0 indicates the range in which obstacles can be detected by the obstacle detection device 63. Hereafter, the rectangular area will be referred to as the detection range, and boundary L0 will be referred to as the detection range boundary L0. Furthermore, the sub-regions indicated by symbols B1 to B8 of the detection range area are regions corresponding to the eight directions calculated by the operator direction calculation unit 101 described above, and will be referred to hereafter as direction regions. That is, corresponding to the eight directions (forward, left-forward, left, left-rear, rear, right-rear, right, and right-forward), the forward direction region B1, left-forward direction region B2, left direction region B3, left-rear direction region B4, rear direction region B5, right-rear direction region B6, right direction region B7, and right-forward direction region B8 are set.

[0032] For example, suppose the operator direction calculation unit 101 calculates the forward direction as the operator direction. In that case, if the obstacle position (Xobj, Yobj) output from the obstacle position calculation unit 100 is located within the forward direction region B1, the operator position calculation unit 102 outputs that obstacle position (Xobj, Yobj) as the operator position (Xop, Yop) = (Xobj, Yobj). If multiple obstacle positions (Xobj, Yobj) are detected within the forward direction region B1, all of them may be used as the operator position (Xop, Yop). Also, generally, the closer the operator position (Xop, Yop) is to the rotating body 3, the larger the operator's blind spot becomes, so the obstacle position closest to the rotating body 3 may be used as the operator position (Xop, Yop).

[0033] In the example above, when an obstacle was detected within the forward direction region B1, the obstacle's position (Xobj, Yobj) was output as the operator's position (Xop, Yop). On the other hand, if the obstacle's position (Xobj, Yobj) output from the obstacle position calculation unit 100 is not within the forward direction region B1, the operator position calculation unit 102 determines that the operator is outside the detection range of the obstacle detection device 63. The operator position calculation unit 102 then outputs the detection range boundary position C1, where the positive side of the X-axis intersects with the detection range boundary L0, as the operator's position (Xop, Yop). Similarly, if the operator direction calculation unit 101 calculates regions B2 to B8 as the operator direction, but no obstacles are detected in those regions B2 to B8, the operator position calculation unit 102 outputs each detection range boundary position C2 to C8 as the operator's position (Xop, Yop).

[0034] Furthermore, if the operator moves far away from the hydraulic excavator 1 and the operator direction calculation unit 101 does not output the operator direction, the operator position calculation unit 102 may be configured not to output the operator position (Xop, Yop), or it may calculate the operator position (Xop, Yop) using the most recently detected operator direction.

[0035] <Blind spot area calculation unit 103> Figure 8 illustrates the processing of the blind spot area calculation unit 103. The blind spot area calculation unit 103 calculates the operator's blind spot area based on the operator position (Xop,Yop) calculated by the operator position calculation unit 102 and the vehicle body shape information 121 stored in the memory 120. The vehicle body shape information 121 stored in the memory 120 consists of the four vertex positions of a rectangle D set as the planar shape of the rotating body 3 (rotating body front right position (Xf,Yr), rotating body front left position (Xf,Yl), rotating body rear right position (Xr,Yr), rotating body rear left position (Xr,Yl)). Here, the planar shape of the rotating body 3 is simplified to a rectangle D, but it is not limited to a rectangle.

[0036] The hatched blind spot area DA occurs in the blind spot of the excavator body 1a, particularly the slewing body 3, when viewed from the operator's position (Xop, Yop). In the example shown in Figure 8, for simplicity of explanation, we consider the blind spot area in a plane parallel to the XY plane. In Figure 8, the line indicated by the symbol LL is a half-line passing through the operator's position (Xop, Yop) and the front right position of the slewing body (Xf, Yr). On the other hand, the line indicated by the symbol LR is a half-line passing through the rear left position of the slewing body (Xr, Yl) and the operator's position (Xop, Yop). The blind spot area DA is formed in the region sandwiched between these half-lines LL and LR. Hereafter, the half-line LL on the left side as viewed from the operator will be referred to as the left blind spot area line LL, and the half-line LR on the right side will be referred to as the right blind spot area line LR.

[0037] The vertex positions of rectangle D, through which the left blind spot line LL and the right blind spot line LR pass, differ depending on the operator position (Xop, Yop). When the planar shape of the rotating body 3 is represented by rectangle D as shown in Figure 8, the vertex positions through which they pass differ depending on which of the eight position regions E1 to E8 the operator position (Xop, Yop) is located. For example, if the operator position (Xop, Yop) is in position region E2 as shown in Figure 8, that is, if Xop ≥ Xf and Yop ≤ Yl, then the left blind spot line LL passes through the front right position of the rotating body (Xf, Yr) on rectangle D, and the right blind spot line LR passes through the rear left position of the rotating body (Xr, Yl). The inclination of the left blind spot line LL with respect to the Y coordinate axis is "(Yr-Yop) / (Xf-Xop)". Also, the inclination of the right blind spot line LR with respect to the Y coordinate axis is "(Yl-Yop) / (Xr-Xop)". The blind spot area calculation unit 103 then outputs, for example, the slope of the left line LL of the blind spot area and the slope of the right line LR of the blind spot area as data related to the blind spot area (hereinafter referred to as blind spot area information).

[0038] Figure 9 is a table showing the blind spot area information (slope of the left line LL and the right line LR of the blind spot area) output from the blind spot area calculation unit 103 when the operator position (Xop, Yop) is located in each position area E1 to E8. The second column from the left in the table shows the determination conditions for determining whether the operator position (Xop, Yop) is located in each position area E1 to E8.

[0039] Furthermore, if the operator position calculation unit 102 outputs multiple operator positions (Xop,Yop), for example, the one that results in the largest blind spot area may be adopted as the operator position (Xop,Yop). That is, the blind spot area calculation unit 103 adopts the position where the angle between the left line LL of the blind spot area and the right line LR of the blind spot area is the largest as the operator position (Xop,Yop), and outputs their inclination as blind spot area information.

[0040] If the operator position calculation unit 102 does not output the operator position (Xop, Yop), or if the operator position (Xop, Yop) is not located in positions E1 to E8, the blind spot area calculated in advance by the driver's cab view simulation may be used. The blind spot area calculated by the driver's cab view simulation will be described later.

[0041] <Gaze position calculation unit 104> The gaze position calculation unit 104 calculates the position that the operator gazes at during work (gaze position) based on the posture information acquired by the posture information detection device 65 and the work mode information 110. The work mode information 110 is information related to the work mode, and for example, the work mode is set when the operator operates the indoor operation device 61 or the remote control device 70 of the remote control transmitter 69. The work modes of the hydraulic excavator 1 include "lifting work mode" and "excavation work mode".

[0042] If the input-configured work mode information 110 is the lifting work mode, the gaze position calculation unit 104 calculates the position of the lifting device installed on the bucket pin 19 of the front work device 4 in the vehicle coordinate system XY, and outputs the calculated position as the gaze position. The position of the bucket pin 19 in the vehicle coordinate system XY is calculated using forward kinematics, which is generally used in industrial robots, etc., based on the rotation angles of the boom 5 and arm 6 of the front work device 4 acquired by the attitude information detection device 65, the position of the boom pin 17 in the vehicle coordinate system XY, the length from the boom pin 17 to the arm pin 18, and the length from the arm pin 18 to the bucket pin 19. The position of the boom pin 17 in the vehicle coordinate system XY is stored in memory 120 in advance as part of the vehicle shape information 121.

[0043] On the other hand, if the work mode information 110 is for excavation work mode rather than lifting work mode, the operator will focus on the bucket tip rather than the position of the bucket pin 19. In that case, the focus position calculation unit 104 calculates the bucket tip position from the rotation angle of the bucket 7 and the length from the bucket pin 19 to the bucket tip, and outputs the calculation result as the focus position.

[0044] <Visibility Area Calculation Unit 105> During operation of the hydraulic excavator 1, the operator focuses on the bucket pin 19 and the tip of the bucket, which are the points of focus. Therefore, obstacles within a certain range, including the points of focus, are highly likely to be visible to the operator. Hereinafter, this range with a high probability of visibility will be referred to as the visible area, and the other range will be referred to as the unvisible area. The visible area calculation unit 105 calculates the visible area and the unvisible area based on the operator position (Xop, Yop) output from the operator position calculation unit 102, the point of focus output from the focus position calculation unit 104, and the visible area information 122 stored in the memory 120.

[0045] Figure 10 illustrates the visible and non-visible regions. In Figure 10, the half-line L10 is a gaze line ending at the operator position (Xop, Yop) and passing through the gaze position P. The half-line LL2 is the left line of the visible region, ending at the operator position (Xop, Yop) and having a slope obtained by adding angle α to the slope of gaze line L10. On the other hand, the half-line LR2 is the right line of the visible region, ending at the operator position (Xop, Yop) and having a slope obtained by subtracting angle α from the slope of gaze line L10. Angle α is stored in memory 120 as visible range information 122. For example, a value of approximately 60 to 110 degrees is set as a fixed value for the visible range information 122. The region with an angle of 2α between the left line LL2 and the right line LR2 is defined as the visible region F0, and the remaining region is defined as the non-visible region F1.

[0046] The visibility area calculation unit 105 outputs the inclination of the left line LL2 and the right line LR2 of the visibility area as visibility area information. If multiple operator positions are output from the operator position calculation unit 102, the operator position that results in the largest non-visibility area F1 may be adopted, and the inclination of the left line LL2 and the right line LR2 of the visibility area calculated based on that position may be output from the visibility area calculation unit 105 as visibility area information.

[0047] If the operator position calculation unit 102 does not output the operator position (Xop, Yop), the direction of the operator's gaze may be detected, and the visible area and non-visible area may be set based on that (see the calculation method for the boarding visible area and boarding non-visible area described later).

[0048] <Visibility level calculation unit 106> The visibility level calculation unit 106 calculates the visibility level based on the operator position (Xop, Yop) output from the operator position calculation unit 102, the blind spot area information (slope of the left line LL of the blind spot area and the slope of the right line LR of the blind spot area) output from the blind spot area calculation unit 103, and the visibility area information (slope of the left line LL2 of the visibility area and the right line LR2 of the visibility area) output from the visibility area calculation unit 105.

[0049] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the visibility level calculation procedure performed by the visibility level calculation unit 106. The visibility level calculation process shown in Figure 11 is performed for each of the multiple obstacle locations (Xobj, Yobj) output from the obstacle location calculation unit 100.

[0050] In step S200, the visibility level calculation unit 106 calculates the obstacle position line L20 shown in Figure 12. In Figure 12, the obstacle position line L20 is a half-straight line that has the operator position (Xop, Yop) as its endpoint and passes through the j-th obstacle position (Xobj, Yobj).

[0051] In step S201, it is determined whether the obstacle position line L20 is within the blind spot area DA between the left blind spot area line LL and the right blind spot area line LR. This determination is made, for example, by comparing the inclination of the obstacle position line L20 with the inclinations of the left blind spot area line LL and the right blind spot area line LR. If it is determined in step S201 that the obstacle position line L20 is within the blind spot area DA (YES), the process proceeds from step S201 to step S205, setting the visibility level to 0. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that the obstacle position line L20 is not within the blind spot area DA (NO), the process proceeds to step S202.

[0052] In step S202, it is determined whether the obstacle position line L20 is within the out-of-visibility area F1 in Figure 12. If it is determined in step S202 that the obstacle position line L20 is within the out-of-visibility area F1 (YES), the process proceeds from step S202 to step S204 and the visibility level is set to 1. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S202 that the obstacle position line L20 is not within the out-of-visibility area F1 (NO), the process proceeds to step S203 and the visibility level is set to 2. In other words, if the obstacle position line L20 is not in either the blind spot area DA or the out-of-visibility area F1, but is in the area between the left line LL of the blind spot area and the left line LL2 of the visibility area in Figure 12, the visibility level is set to 2.

[0053] <Operation status determination unit 107> Returning to Figure 6, the operation state determination unit 107 outputs either a control signal from the indoor operation device 61 or a control signal from the remote operation device 70, based on the operation signal from the switching operation device 62 that switches between operation by the indoor operation device 61 and operation by the remote operation device 70. The control signals include control signals for driving the left and right travel hydraulic motors 22a and 22b, a control signal for driving the slewing hydraulic motor 21, and control signals for the boom cylinder 8, arm cylinder 9, and bucket cylinder 10 provided on the front work device 4.

[0054] Furthermore, the operation status determination unit 107 outputs signals regarding the presence or absence of each operation (operation of the indoor operation device 61 and operation of the remote operation device 70), along with the output of each control signal as described above. For example, when the operating mode is set to the indoor operation device 61 of the driver's cab 20 by the switching operation device 62, the unit outputs the respective control signals of the indoor operation device 61 and whether or not an operation has been performed. On the other hand, when the operating mode is set to the remote operation device 70 of the remote control transmitter 69, the unit outputs the respective control signals of the remote operation device 70 and whether or not an operation has been performed.

[0055] <Alarm determination unit 108> The alarm determination unit 108 determines the alarm level based on the control signals output from the operation status determination unit 107, the presence or absence of each operation, the obstacle positions (Xobj, Yobj) output from the obstacle position calculation unit 100, the gaze position output from the gaze position calculation unit 104, the attitude information acquired by the attitude information detection device 65, and the visibility level output from the visibility level calculation unit 106. Figures 13 and 14 are flowcharts showing the processing of the alarm determination unit 108. If there are multiple obstacle positions (Xobj, Yobj) output from the obstacle position calculation unit 100, the processing shown in Figures 13 and 14 is performed for each obstacle position.

[0056] In step S300, the alarm determination unit 108 determines whether the obstacle location (Xobj, Yobj) is within the working radius 27 of the hydraulic excavator 1. If it is determined in step S300 that the obstacle is not present (NO), the process proceeds to step S306 and the alarm level is set to 0. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S300 that the obstacle is present (YES), the process proceeds to step S301.

[0057] The working radius 27 refers to a circular area with a radius equal to the distance from the pivot center 25 of the rotating body 3, as shown in Figure 15, to the front tip 26. The front tip 26 is often the position of the bucket with the lifting device during lifting operations, and the position of the bucket's toe during excavation operations. Therefore, the gaze position P output from the gaze position calculation unit 104 may be treated as the position of the front tip 26. In Figure 15, the range indicated by reference numeral 28 is the front alarm range, which will be described later.

[0058] In step S301, the alarm determination unit 108 calculates the time (contact time TC) until the hydraulic excavator 1 makes contact with the obstacle. For example, if the operation state determination unit 107 determines that a slewing operation is taking place, the alarm determination unit 108 calculates the time required for the slewing body 3 or front work device 4 to make contact with the obstacle based on the obstacle position (Xobj, Yobj) and the current vehicle attitude information (slewing angle and slewing speed) acquired by the attitude information detection device 65.

[0059] Furthermore, if the operation state determination unit 107 determines that a travel operation is taking place, the time until the hydraulic excavator 1 makes contact with the obstacle (contact time TC) is calculated as follows. First, the alarm determination unit 108 calculates the direction and speed of the vehicle's movement in the vehicle coordinate system XY based on the control signals that drive the left and right travel hydraulic motors 22a and 22b output from the operation state determination unit 107, the travel characteristic information 123 stored in the memory 120, and the current attitude information (swing angle) acquired by the attitude information detection device 65. Then, the alarm determination unit 108 calculates the time until the hydraulic excavator 1 makes contact with the obstacle based on the calculated direction and speed of the vehicle's movement and the position of the obstacle (Xobj, Yobj).

[0060] Furthermore, if the operation status determination unit 107 determines that front operation has occurred, the time until the obstacle and the hydraulic excavator 1 come into contact (contact time TC) is calculated as follows. In this case, for example, as shown in Figure 15, a front alarm range 28 is set, and if there is an obstacle in the front alarm range 28, the time until the obstacle and the hydraulic excavator 1 come into contact is calculated as the contact time TC.

[0061] The front alarm range 28 is defined as a rectangular area with a fixed distance to the left, right, front, and rear from the front tip 26, as shown in Figure 15. Specifically, the width of the bucket 7 is used for the length in the left-right direction, and the length in the front-rear direction is determined from the maximum and average values ​​of the distance that can be operated at the alarm threshold time TCth, described later, based on the dynamic characteristics of the front work device 4. Such a rectangular area is set as the front alarm range 28 and stored in the memory 120 as front alarm range information 125. In the case of the front alarm range 28, the gaze position P (see Figure 12) output from the gaze position calculation unit 104 may also be treated as the position of the front tip 26.

[0062] In step S302, the alarm determination unit 108 determines whether the contact time TC calculated in step S301 is "contact time TC ≥ alarm threshold time TCth". The alarm threshold time TCth is stored in the memory 120 as alarm threshold information 124, and is set to a time that allows for a margin of error from the time the controller 60 stops the control signal to the control valve unit 23 until the vehicle body 1a stops. If the operation state determination unit 107 determines that multiple operations among driving operation, turning operation, and front operation are performed simultaneously, the determination in step S302 is performed on the operation with the shortest calculated contact time TC. That is, the operation with the shortest contact time TC has the highest probability of contact, so a comparison determination is performed with the alarm threshold time TCth for the shortest contact time TC.

[0063] If it is determined in step S302 that TC ≥ TCth is not true (NO), that is, if the contact time TC is less than the alarm threshold time TCth and there is a high probability of contact, the process proceeds to step S308 and the alarm level is set to 2. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S302 that TC ≥ TCth (YES), the process proceeds to step S303.

[0064] In step S303, the alarm determination unit 108 determines whether or not a signal indicating no rotation operation has been output from the operation status determination unit 107, that is, whether or not a rotation operation is in progress. If it is determined in step S303 that a rotation operation is in progress and rotation operation is present (NO), the system proceeds to step S307 and sets the alarm level to 1. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S303 that there is no rotation operation and rotation operation is not in progress (YES), the system proceeds to step S304.

[0065] In step S304, the alarm determination unit 108 determines whether or not a signal indicating no driving operation has been output from the operation status determination unit 107, that is, whether or not driving operation is in progress. If it is determined in step S304 that there is no driving operation (YES), the process proceeds to step S306 and the alarm level is set to 0. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S304 that driving operation is in progress and driving operation is present (NO), the process proceeds to step S305.

[0066] In step S305, the alarm determination unit 108 determines whether or not there is an obstacle in the direction of travel of the hydraulic excavator 1. As described above, the direction and speed of vehicle travel in the vehicle coordinate system XY with respect to the slewing body 3 are calculated based on the control signals for driving the left and right travel hydraulic motors 22a and 22b output from the operation state determination unit 107, the travel characteristic information 123 stored in the memory 120, and the current attitude information (slewing angle) acquired by the attitude information detection device 65. Based on the calculated travel direction and the obstacle position calculated by the obstacle position calculation unit 100, the alarm determination unit 108 performs the determination process in step S305.

[0067] If it is determined in step S305 that there is no obstacle in the direction of travel (YES), the process proceeds to step S306 and the alarm level is set to 0. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S305 that there is an obstacle in the direction of travel (NO), the process proceeds to step S307 and the alarm level is set to 1. Once the alarm level has been set in each of steps S306 to S308, the process proceeds to step S309 in Figure 14.

[0068] In step S309, the alarm determination unit 108 determines whether the visibility level input from the visibility level calculation unit 106 is 0, 1, or 2. If the visibility level is determined to be 0 in step S309, the system proceeds to step S310, where 1 is added to the already set alarm level, and the resulting value is reset as the alarm level. If the visibility level is determined to be 1 in step S309, the system proceeds to step S311, where the already set alarm level value is maintained. If the visibility level is determined to be 2 in step S309, the system proceeds to step S312, where 1 is subtracted from the already set alarm level, and the resulting value is reset as the alarm level. However, in this embodiment, the maximum value of the alarm level is 2 and the minimum value is 0, so the value after addition in step S310 is limited to the maximum value (=2), and the value after subtraction in step S312 is limited to the minimum value (=0).

[0069] <Alarm output unit 109> Returning to Figure 6, the alarm output unit 109 controls the voice output device 66, display device 67, and control valve unit (CVU) 23 in the driver's cab 20 according to the alarm level output by the alarm determination unit 108, and also controls the remote voice output device 71 and remote display device 72 (see Figure 2) of the remote control transmitter 69 via the communication device 68.

[0070] First, if the alarm level output from the alarm determination unit 108 is 0, the relative positions of the hydraulic excavator 1 and the obstacle are displayed, for example, on the display device 67 in the operator's cab 20 or on the remote display device 72 of the remote control transmitter 69.

[0071] If the alarm level is 1, in addition to the alarm action performed when the alarm level is 0, a warning message is displayed on the display device 67 in the driver's cab 20 and the remote display device 72 of the remote control transmitter 69. Furthermore, a warning sound may be generated on the audio output device 66 in the driver's cab 20 and the remote audio output device 71 of the remote control transmitter 69.

[0072] When the alarm level is 2, in addition to the alarm actions for alarm levels 1 and 0, the control valve unit 23 stops the hydraulic excavator 1. Furthermore, when the alarm level is 2, it is preferable to increase the volume of the warning sound generated by the voice output device 66 in the operator's cab 20 and the remote voice output device 71 of the remote control transmitter 69 compared to when the alarm level is 1.

[0073] Here, regarding the display of warning messages and the generation of warning sounds when the alarm level is 1 or 2, for example, the following alarm operations are performed: When the operating mode is set to the in-cab operating device 61 in the driver's cab 20 by the switching operation device 62, only the display device 67 in the driver's cab 20 and the sound output device 66 will be used for display and sound playback. When the operating mode is set to the remote operation device 70 of the remote control transmitter 69, only the remote display device 72 of the remote control transmitter 69 will be used for display and sound playback by the remote sound output device 71. In addition, display operations and warning sound operations may be performed on both the driver's cab 20 and the remote control transmitter 69 regardless of the determination of the switching operation device 62. Furthermore, if multiple obstacle locations are output from the obstacle location calculation unit 100 and multiple alarm levels are output from the alarm determination unit 108, the highest alarm level will be selected and processed.

[0074] If the alarm level is anything other than 2, the control signals output by the operation status determination unit 107 for driving the left and right travel hydraulic motors 22a and 22b, the control signal for driving the slewing hydraulic motor 21, and the control signals for the boom cylinder 8, arm cylinder 9, and bucket cylinder 10 provided on the front work device 4 are transmitted to the control valve unit 23. In addition, if the alarm level is determined to be 1 or 2, the alarm information may be notified to the management office 73 where the site manager or other person is working via the communication device 68.

[0075] In addition, in hydraulic excavator 1, the operator can switch between operation by the indoor control device 61 and operation by the remote control device 70 provided on the remote control transmitter 69 by operating the switching control device 62, that is, switch between onboard operation and remote operation. The above explanation describes the operation in remote operation, but in onboard operation, instead of the blind spot area and visibility area explained in Figures 8 and 10, the onboard blind spot area and visibility area calculated by the view simulation from the operator's cab 20 can be used.

[0076] Figure 16 illustrates an example of how to set the blind spot area and visible area for the operator during onboard operation. The operator's position (Xop, Yop) during onboard operation is located inside the driver's cab 20. For the operator performing the operation in the driver's cab 20, the blind spot area DA1 for the operator is formed in the area between the right line LR of the blind spot area passing through the operator's position (Xop, Yop) and the left rear position of the rotating body of rectangle D (Xr, Yl), and the left line LL of the blind spot area passing through the operator's position (Xop, Yop) and the right front position of the rotating body (Xf, Yr).

[0077] Furthermore, the operator performing the driving operations from the cab 20 generally looks almost directly ahead, towards the front working device 4, in both excavation and lifting operations. In the example shown in Figure 16, it is assumed that the gaze line L10 is represented by a half-line extending parallel to the X-axis from the operator's position (Xop, Yop). Then, a left line of the viewing area LL2 is formed, tilted counterclockwise by an angle α with respect to the gaze line L10, and a right line of the viewing area LR2 is formed, tilted clockwise by an angle α. The area at an angle of 2α between the left line of the viewing area LL2 and the right line of the viewing area LR2 is the boarding viewing area F01, and the remaining area is the boarding non-viewing area F11.

[0078] Data relating to the boarding blind spot area DA1, the boarding visibility area F01, and the boarding non-visibility area F11 is pre-stored in memory 120 as visibility range information 122. In steps S201 and S202 of Figure 11, processing is performed using the boarding blind spot area DA1, the boarding visibility area F01, and the boarding non-visibility area F11.

[0079] Alternatively, instead of using the fixed values ​​for the blind spot area DA1, the visible area F01, and the non-visible area F11 described above, a device for detecting the head position and line of sight of the operator seated in the driver's seat may be provided to calculate the position coordinates and direction of the head in the vehicle body coordinate system XY, and the line of sight vector (direction of gaze) in the operator's head coordinate system.

[0080] For example, a camera installed in the driver's cab 20 for photographing the operator's head is used as the head position detection device, and an eye camera attached to the operator's head is used as the gaze detection device. The data of these head position coordinates and gaze vectors are stored in memory 120 and overwritten sequentially, and used as data for the boarding blind spot area DA1, the boarding visibility area F01, and the boarding non-visibility area F11. When using such boarding blind spot area DA1, boarding visibility area F01, and boarding non-visibility area F11, the flowcharts in Figures 11, 13, and 14 can be applied as is.

[0081] (Variation 1) In the embodiment described above, the visibility level was set based on the blind spot area DA, the visible area F0, and the non-visible area F1, as shown in the visibility level calculation process in Figure 11. However, in Modification 1, the visibility level is set based only on the blind spot area DA. In Modification 1, the flowcharts shown in Figures 11 and 14 are replaced by the flowcharts shown in Figures 17 and 18, respectively.

[0082] In the flowchart of Figure 17, steps S202 and S204 in Figure 11 are omitted. That is, in the case of Modification 1, if it is determined in step S201 that the obstacle position line L20 is within the blind spot area DA (YES), the process proceeds to step S205 to set the visibility level to 0. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that the obstacle position line L20 is not within the blind spot area DA (NO), the process proceeds from step S201 to step S203 to set the visibility level to 2.

[0083] In the flowchart of Figure 18, step S311 in Figure 14 is omitted, and in step S309, it is determined whether the visibility level is 0 or 2. That is, if it is determined in step S309 that the visibility level is 0, the process proceeds to step S310, where 1 is added to the already set alarm level, and the resulting value is reset as the alarm level. If it is determined in step S309 that the visibility level is 2, the process proceeds to step S312, where 1 is subtracted from the already set alarm level, and the resulting value is reset as the alarm level.

[0084] (Modification 2) Figure 19 illustrates a modified example 2 of the above-described embodiment. Figure 19 corresponds to Figure 6 of the above-described embodiment, and in modified example 2, the configuration of Figure 19 is adopted instead of Figure 6. In the configuration of Figure 19, a vehicle position acquisition device 74 equipped with a vehicle body GNSS is further provided, and the operator GNSS is used as the operator position detection device 64. GNSS stands for Global Navigation Satellite Systems, and the operator's position in the world coordinate system can be measured from the operator GNSS, and the position of the hydraulic excavator 1 in the world coordinate system can be measured from the vehicle body GNSS.

[0085] The operator position calculation unit 102 calculates the operator position (Xop, Yop) in the vehicle coordinate system XY based on the operator position in the world coordinate system and the position of the hydraulic excavator 1 in the world coordinate system. The processing of the controller 60 other than the operator position calculation unit 102 is the same as in the embodiment described above. In the embodiment described above, if the operator moved outside the obstacle detection range of the obstacle detection device 63 (outside the detection range boundary L0), the position where the operator was located was approximated by the detection range boundary position C1, etc. However, in the case of a configuration using vehicle GNSS and operator GNSS as in Modification 2, even if the operator moves outside the obstacle detection range, the operator's position can be accurately determined, and the accurate blind spot area AD, visible area F0, and out-of-view area F1 can be calculated.

[0086] The embodiments and modifications of the present invention described above provide the following effects.

[0087] (1) As shown in Figures 6, 8, 13, 17, 18, etc., the hydraulic excavator (working machine) 1 comprises a body 1a, a front working device (working device) 4 attached to the body 1a, an obstacle detection device 63 that detects the position of obstacles around the body 1a, and a controller (control device) 60 that outputs alarm information to an output device (display device 67 and audio output device 66) based on the position of obstacles detected by the obstacle detection device 63, and further comprises an operator position detection device 64 that detects the position information of an operator who remotely operates the hydraulic excavator 1, and a posture information detection device 65 that detects the posture information of the hydraulic excavator 1. The controller 60 includes an operation state determination unit 107 that determines the operating state (whether or not it is being operated) of the hydraulic excavator 1, a blind spot area calculation unit 103 that calculates a blind spot area DA that is obstructed by the vehicle body 1a and cannot be seen from the operator's position based on the operator's position information detected by the operator position detection device 64 and the dimensional information of the vehicle body 1a, an alarm determination unit 108 that determines an alarm level representing the degree of possibility of contact between an obstacle and the hydraulic excavator 1 based on the posture information detected by the posture information detection device 65, the operating state determined by the operation state determination unit 107, and the position of an obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device 63, and a correction unit (alarm determination unit 108) that corrects the alarm level depending on whether or not the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area DA, and outputs alarm information to an output device based on the alarm level corrected by the correction unit.

[0088] As described above, the system calculates a blind spot area DA that is not visible from the operator's position, which is obstructed by the vehicle body 1a. The alarm level, which represents the degree of possibility of contact between the obstacle and the hydraulic excavator 1, is corrected according to whether or not the location of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area DA. Alarm information based on the corrected alarm level is then output to the output device (display device 67 and audio output device 66). Therefore, appropriate alarm information can be output regarding obstacles present around the work machine in response to changes in the operator's blind spot or the range of focus during remote operation, thereby improving safety during work.

[0089] (2) In (1) above, as shown in Figures 11 to 14, the controller 60 includes a gaze position calculation unit 104 that calculates the gaze position P of the remote operator based on attitude information, and a visibility area calculation unit 105 that calculates the visibility area F0 that the operator can see based on the position information of the remote operator and the gaze position P, and the alarm determination unit (correction unit) 108 corrects the alarm level according to whether the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area DA and whether the position of the obstacle is included in the visibility area F0. In this way, by correcting the alarm level by taking into account the visibility area F0 that the operator can see in addition to the blind spot area DA, more accurate alarm information can be output.

[0090] (3) In (2) above, as shown in Figures 11 to 14, the controller 60 is characterized in that, in the alarm determination unit (correction unit) 108, if the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area DA, the alarm level is increased, and if the position of the obstacle is not included in the blind spot area DA but is included in the visibility area F0, the alarm level is decreased. In this way, by increasing the alarm level when the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area DA, the presence of an obstacle in the blind spot area DA can be recognized more accurately by the operator and surrounding workers.

[0091] (4) In (1) above, as shown in Figures 12, 16, etc., the controller 60 is equipped with a switching device 62 that switches between remote operation, in which the operator remotely operates the hydraulic excavator (working machine) 1, and onboard operation, in which the operator operates the hydraulic excavator 1 while on board. The controller 60 is equipped with a memory (storage unit) 120 that stores the blind spot area for onboard operation, which is applicable in the case of onboard operation. The alarm determination unit (correction unit) 108 corrects the alarm level based on the blind spot area calculated by the blind spot area calculation unit 103 when the switching device 62 switches to remote operation, and corrects the alarm level based on the blind spot area for onboard operation when the switching device 62 switches to onboard operation. As a result, appropriate alarm information can be output in both remote operation and onboard operation.

[0092] (5) In (4) above, as shown in Figures 12, 16, etc., the controller 60 stores the passenger visibility area applicable in the case of passenger operation in the memory (storage unit) 120, and the alarm determination unit (correction unit) 108 corrects the alarm level when the system is switched to remote operation by the switching operation device 62, according to whether the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area and whether the position of the obstacle is included in the visibility area, and corrects the alarm level when the system is switched to passenger operation by the switching operation device 62, according to whether the position of the obstacle is included in the passenger blind spot area and whether the position of the obstacle is included in the passenger visibility area.

[0093] (6) In (2) above, as shown in Figures 2, 6, etc., the hydraulic excavator (working machine) 1 is equipped with a setting unit (indoor operating device 61 or remote operating device 70) for setting one of several work modes (work forms), including lifting work and excavation work, and the controller 60 is characterized in that the gaze position calculation unit 104 changes the gaze position according to the work form set by the setting unit. As a result, the gaze position is changed according to the set work mode, and optimal alarm information is output regardless of the work mode.

[0094] The embodiments and modifications described above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these, as long as the features of the invention are not impaired. Other embodiments conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 1...Hydraulic excavator (working machine), 1a...Body, 2...Traction unit, 3...Slewing unit, 4...Front working device (working device), 5...Boom, 6...Arm, 7...Bucket, 20...Operator's cab, 23...Control valve unit, 60...Controller (control device), 61...Indoor operating device (setting unit), 62...Switching operation device, 63...Obstacle detection device, 64...Operator position detection device, 65...Attitude information detection device, 66...Voice output device (output device), 67...Display device (output device), 68...Communication device, 69...Remote control transmitter, 70...Remote operation device (setting unit), 71...Remote voice output device, 72...Remote display device, 100...Obstacle Position calculation unit, 101... Operator direction calculation unit, 102... Operator position calculation unit, 103... Blind spot area calculation unit, 104... Gaze position calculation unit, 105... Visibility area calculation unit, 106... Visibility level calculation unit, 107... Operation state determination unit, 108... Alarm determination unit (correction unit), 109... Alarm output unit, 120... Memory (storage unit), DA... Blind spot area, DA1... Blind spot area for boarding, F0... Visibility area, F01... Visibility area for boarding, F1... Area outside of visibility, F11... Area outside of visibility for boarding, L20... Obstacle position line, LL... Blind spot area left line, LR... Blind spot area right line, LL2... Visibility area left line, LR2... Visibility area right line, P... Gaze position

Claims

1. The car body and, A work device attached to the vehicle body, An obstacle detection device for detecting the location of obstacles around the vehicle body, A work machine comprising a control device that outputs alarm information to an output device based on the location of an obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device, An operator position detection device for detecting the location information of an operator remotely operating the aforementioned work machine, The machine comprises a posture information detection device for detecting posture information of the aforementioned work machine, The control device is An operation state determination unit for determining the operating state of the aforementioned work machine, A blind spot area calculation unit calculates a blind spot area that is obstructed by the vehicle body and cannot be seen from the operator's position, based on the operator's position information detected by the operator position detection device and the vehicle body dimensions information. An alarm determination unit determines an alarm level representing the degree of possibility of contact between the obstacle and the work machine, based on the posture information detected by the posture information detection device, the operating state determined by the operating state determination unit, and the position of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device. The system includes a correction unit that corrects the alarm level depending on whether the location of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area, The alarm information is output to the output device based on the alarm level corrected by the correction unit. A work machine characterized by the following features.

2. In the work machine described in claim 1, The control device is A gaze position calculation unit calculates the gaze position of the remote operator based on the aforementioned posture information, The system includes a viewing area calculation unit that calculates a viewing area visible to the operator based on the position information and gaze position of the remote operator, The correction unit corrects the alarm level according to whether the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area and whether the position of the obstacle is included in the visibility area. A work machine characterized by the following features.

3. In the work machine described in claim 2, The control device is In the correction unit, If the location of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area, the alarm level is corrected to be increased. If the location of the obstacle is not included in the blind spot area but is included in the visibility area, the alarm level is adjusted to be lowered. A work machine characterized by the following features.

4. In the work machine described in claim 1, The machine is equipped with a switching device that allows switching between remote operation, in which an operator remotely controls the machine, and onboard operation, in which an operator rides on the machine and controls it. The control device is It includes a memory unit that stores the blind spot area for boarding that is applied in the case of the aforementioned boarding operation, The correction unit, When the remote operation is switched on by the switching device, the alarm level is corrected based on the blind spot area calculated by the blind spot area calculation unit. When the boarding operation is switched on by the aforementioned switching device, the alarm level is corrected based on the boarding blind spot area. A work machine characterized by the following features.

5. In the work machine described in claim 4, The control device is The boarding visibility area applied in the case of the aforementioned boarding operation is stored in the storage unit, In the correction unit, When the remote operation is switched on by the switching device, the alarm level is corrected according to whether the position of the obstacle is included in the blind spot area and whether the position of the obstacle is included in the visibility area. When the switching operation device switches to the boarding operation mode, the alarm level is corrected according to whether the position of the obstacle is included in the boarding blind spot area and whether the position of the obstacle is included in the boarding visibility area. A work machine characterized by the following features.

6. In the work machine described in claim 2, The aforementioned work machine includes a setting unit for selecting one of several work modes, including lifting operations and excavation operations. The control device is In the gaze position calculation unit, the gaze position is changed according to the work mode set by the setting unit. A work machine characterized by the following features.

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