Cable laying machine control system, cable pulling robot, cable drum control device

Abstract

We provide a cable laying machine control system that enables labor savings in cable laying operations. [Solution] Relay boxes 9a to 9f relay wireless signals from the mobile terminal 6 and terminal devices 7 and 8, and have wireless communication slave units 26 that transmit video captured by the camera 24 as a wireless signal. The inverter device 4 has a receiver 19 that receives wireless signals from the switch 5, a wireless communication master unit 20 that receives wireless signals from the mobile terminal 6 and terminal devices 7 and 8, and a control unit 21 that controls the inverter 18 based on the wireless signals received by the receiver 19 and the wireless communication master unit 20. The wireless communication slave units 26 and the wireless communication master unit 20 form a mesh network, and the mobile terminal 6 and terminal devices 7 and 8 receive wireless signals transmitted from the wireless communication slave units 26 and display video captured by the camera 24.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wire drawing machine control system, a cable pulling robot, and a cable drum control device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, wire drawing machine control systems for use in wire drawing work of power cables and communication cables at construction sites and the like have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The wire drawing work using the conventional wire drawing machine control system as described above requires a plurality of workers, and thus has a problem that labor saving has not been sufficiently achieved.

[0005] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wire drawing machine control system capable of saving labor in wire drawing work.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides: a plurality of wire drawing machines that draw cables; at least one inverter device for driving the plurality of wire drawing machines; an operation switch for operating the plurality of wire drawing machines, a mobile terminal, and a terminal device for a remote person; a plurality of cameras that photograph the plurality of wire drawing machines; and a plurality of relay boxes that relay wireless signals from the mobile terminal and the terminal device to the inverter device, The relay box has a wireless communication slave unit that relays wireless signals from the mobile terminal and the terminal device and transmits the video captured by the camera as a wireless signal. The inverter device comprises an inverter for supplying power to the cable layer, a receiver for receiving wireless signals from the operation switch, a wireless communication base station for receiving wireless signals from the portable terminal and the terminal device, and a control unit for controlling the inverter based on the wireless signals received by the receiver and the wireless communication base station. Multiple relay boxes and the wireless communication slaves and the wireless communication master unit of the inverter device constitute a mesh network. The aforementioned mobile terminal and terminal device provide a cable layer control system characterized by receiving wireless signals transmitted from the wireless communication slave units of the multiple relay boxes and displaying images captured by the multiple cameras.

[0007] Furthermore, the present invention, A motorized arm having at least one joint and being able to rotate, A pair of tracks, Camera and, A wire, one end of which is guided to the tip of the electric arm and connected to the end of the cable or the guide rope of the cable, A sensor connected to the other end of the aforementioned wire, A transmitter that transmits a wireless signal to operate the cable layer when the sensor detects that a load is being placed on the wire by the cable, A wireless communication slave unit that transmits the video captured by the aforementioned camera as a wireless signal and receives the wireless signal from a mobile terminal, The present invention provides a cable-pulling robot that includes a control unit that controls the electric arm and a pair of tracks based on a wireless signal from a mobile terminal received by the wireless communication slave unit.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention, The system includes at least one cable feeder for rotating a cable drum, an inverter device for the cable feeder for driving the cable feeder, and a cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder for detecting slack in the cable fed out from the cable drum. The cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder is, A cable guide member having a sliding section that is slidable horizontally and has a vertical roller for guiding the cable, and a rotating arm section that extends to the opposite side of the direction of travel of the cable, has a horizontal roller at its tip for guiding the cable, and is rotatable vertically and is attached to the sliding section, A sensor for a rotating arm that detects the rotating arm that has rotated downward due to the cable slackening downward, A sensor for the sliding part that detects the sliding part that slides horizontally when it comes into contact with the cable which is loose or taut in the horizontal direction, The present invention provides a cable drum control device comprising: a transmitter that, based on the outputs of the rotating arm sensor and the sliding part sensor, transmits a wireless signal to the cable feeder inverter device to operate the cable feeder when no downward slack in the cable is detected, and transmits a wireless signal to the cable feeder inverter device to stop the operation of the cable feeder when downward slack, horizontal slack, or tension in the cable is detected. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wire laying machine control system that enables labor savings in wire laying work. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the configuration of a cable laying machine control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the configuration of the cable guide member in the cable slack detection unit of the cable slack detection unit / cable drum control device. [Figure 3]Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a cable drum control device. [Figure 4] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a cable pulling robot. [Figure 5] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing how a cable pulling robot pulls a cable. MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0011] A wire drawing machine control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The wire drawing machine control system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 1 performs wire drawing work for power cables, communication cables and the like at construction sites and the like, and comprises six wire drawing machines 3a to 3f that feed out and lay cables 2, two inverter devices 4a and 4b that supply power to and control the wire drawing machines 3a to 3f, an operation switch 5 and a mobile terminal (tablet terminal 6) for operating the wire drawing machine control system 1, terminal devices (a tablet terminal 7 and a personal computer (PC) 8) for operating the wire drawing machine control system 1 from a remote location, and six wireless relay boxes (hereinafter simply referred to as relay boxes) 9a to 9f that relay wireless signals from the operation switch 5 and the like.

[0012] The cable 2 is wound around a cable drum 11, and the cable drum 11 is rotatably supported by a pair of substantially T-shaped drum jacks 12, 12 (see Fig. 3). The cable drum 11 is provided with a cable drum control device 13 that controls the rotation of the cable drum 11.

[0013] The wire drawing machine 3a comprises a roller portion 14 formed of a pair of elastic rollers, and a motor 15 that drives the roller portion 14. In the wire drawing machine 3a, the roller portion 14 nipping the cable 2 rotates forward by the motor 15 to feed out the cable 2, and rotates reversely to pull back the cable 2. The rotation speed of the roller portion 14 can be changed, so that the feeding / pulling back speed of the cable 2 can be changed. It should be noted that the wire pulling machine 3a is also provided with an operation unit (not shown) for directly operating the wire pulling machine 3a, for example, a switch provided on the housing of the wire pulling machine 3a or a remote control wired-connected to the wire pulling machine 3a. The configurations of the wire pulling machines 3b to 3f are the same as that of the wire pulling machine 3a.

[0014] At the site of wire pulling work, a known ladder-shaped cable rack 16 is installed, and the wire pulling machines 3a to 3f are preferably fixed to the outer surface of the support columns 16a of the cable rack 16 at equal intervals. In the present embodiment, a ladder-shaped, substantially L-shaped cable rack 16 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, a tray-shaped cable rack of other shapes may be used.

[0015] The operation switch (wireless switch) 5 is a transmitter that transmits wireless signals to the relay boxes 9a to 9f, the inverter devices 4a and 4b, and the cable drum control device 13 for a user to operate the wire pulling machine control system 1 at the wire pulling work site. The operation switch 5 is provided with a feed button for forwardly rotating the roller portions 14 of the wire pulling machines 3a to 3f to feed the cable 2, a pullback button for reversely rotating the roller portion 14 to pull back the cable 2, and a speed changing dial for changing the rotation speed of the roller portion 14.

[0016] The tablet terminal 6 is a tablet terminal with a general configuration including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random-Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a communication interface, a touch panel display and the like (all not shown), and an operation application for operating the wire pulling machine control system 1 is installed thereon.

[0017] The tablet terminal 6 can display a send button, a retract button, and a speed change dial on its touch panel display, similar to those of the aforementioned operation switch 5, via an operating application. By touching these buttons, the user can transmit wireless signals from the tablet terminal 6 to the relay boxes 9a-9f, inverter devices 4a and 4b, and cable drum control device 13, just as with the operation switch 5. Note that the tablet terminal 6 is not the only option; other mobile devices such as smartphones may also be used.

[0018] The tablet terminal 7 and PC 8 are for remote operators (hereinafter referred to as "remote operators"), such as site supervisors, site representatives, executives of construction companies, and safety department personnel of general contractors, to operate the cable laying machine control system 1 via the internet 17. Both the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8 have a standard configuration and have the same operating applications installed as the tablet terminal 6.

[0019] The inverter device 4a is wired to three cable layers 3a to 3c and includes an inverter 18 that supplies power to drive the cable layers 3a to 3c, a receiver 19 that receives wireless signals from the operation switch 5, a wireless communication master unit 20 that receives wireless signals from tablet terminals 6 and 7 and a PC 8, and an inverter control unit 21 that controls the inverter 18 based on the wireless signals received by the receiver 19 and the wireless communication master unit 20, all housed in a casing 22. The inverter device 4a is connected to a 200V power outlet 23.

[0020] The receiver 19 receives wireless signals from the operation switch 5 and also has a relay function that relays the received wireless signals to the receivers 25 in the relay boxes 9a to 9f (described later) and the receiver 37 of the inverter device 34 in the cable drum control device 13 (described later).

[0021] The wireless communication access point (wireless LAN (Local Area Network) access point) 20 receives wireless signals from tablet terminals 6 and 7 and PC 8, and also has a relay function that relays the received wireless signals to the wireless communication slave units 26 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f (described later) and the wireless communication slave unit 38 of the inverter device 34 of the cable drum control device 13 (described later). The wireless communication access point 20 uses a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) router access point. The wireless communication access point 20 forms a mesh network with the wireless communication slave units 26 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f (described later), the wireless communication slave unit 38 of the inverter device 34 of the cable drum control device 13 (described later), and the wireless communication slave unit 73 of the cable pulling robot 60 (described later).

[0022] The inverter control unit 21 is a relay circuit that inputs instructions to the inverter 18 for forward rotation, reverse rotation, and change of rotation speed of the roller sections 14 of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, based on the wireless signals received by the receiver 19 and the wireless communication master unit 20. The inverter 18 is a power converter that converts power from the power outlet 23 and supplies it to the cable laying machines 3a to 3f based on instructions from the inverter control unit 21. In this embodiment, the inverter 18 is an inverter that can be used with power from a commercial power outlet, i.e., a 200V power supply.

[0023] The inverter device 4a is also equipped with an operating unit (not shown) for directly operating the inverter device 4a, such as a switch provided on the housing 22 of the inverter device 4a or a remote control connected to the inverter device 4a by wire. Inverter unit 4b has the same configuration as inverter unit 4a and is wired to the three cable laying machines 3d to 3f.

[0024] The relay box 9a comprises a camera 24, a repeater 25, a wireless communication slave unit 26, and a rechargeable battery 27 that supplies power to these devices, all housed within a casing 28. Camera 24 is used to film the cable laying machine 3a as it feeds out and pulls back cable 2. Battery 27 may also be configured by connecting a separate mobile battery to the relay box 9a.

[0025] The repeater 25 receives wireless signals from the operation switch 5 and wireless signals relayed from the repeaters 25 of the other repeater boxes 9b to 9f, and relays them to the receiver 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b, the repeaters 25 of the other repeater boxes 9b to 9f, and the receiver 37 of the inverter device 34 of the cable drum control device 13.

[0026] The wireless communication slave unit (wireless LAN slave unit) 26 receives wireless signals from tablet terminals 6 and 7 and PC 8, as well as wireless signals relayed from wireless communication slave units 26 in other relay boxes 9b to 9f, and relays them to the wireless communication master unit 20 of inverter devices 4a and 4b, the wireless communication slave units 26 in other relay boxes 9b to 9f, and the wireless communication slave unit 38 of inverter device 34 of cable drum control device 13. The wireless communication slave unit 26 also has the function of transmitting video captured by camera 24 as a wireless signal to the wireless communication slave units 26 in other relay boxes 9b to 9f, the wireless communication master unit 20 of inverter devices 4a and 4b, the wireless communication slave unit 38 of inverter device 34 of cable drum control device 13, and tablet terminal 6. A Wi-Fi router slave unit is used for the wireless communication slave unit 26.

[0027] The configuration of relay boxes 9b to 9f is the same as that of relay box 9a. It is preferable that the junction boxes 9a to 9f are fixed at equal intervals to the outer surface of the support columns 16a of the cable rack 16. More specifically, the junction boxes 9a to 9f are positioned near the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, respectively, so that the camera 24 can film the cable laying machines 3a to 3f as they feed out / pull back the cable 2.

[0028] In the cable laying machine control system 1, the wireless communication standard for the operation switch 5, the repeaters 25 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f, the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b, and the receiver 37 of the inverter device 34 in the cable drum control device 13 is ZIGBEE (registered trademark). Specifically, in the cable laying machine control system 1, the relay boxes 9a to 9f and the inverter devices 34 of the cable drum control device 13 are arranged far apart from each other along the cable laying path. Therefore, it is preferable to extend the wireless communication between the relay boxes 9a to 9f and the inverter devices 34 of the cable drum control device 13 in a chain-like manner along the cable laying path rather than expanding the wireless communication area in all directions, and ZIGBEE wireless communication is adopted to achieve this.

[0029] In the cable laying machine control system 1, when the user presses the cable 2 feed button on the operation switch 5, the wireless signal output from the operation switch 5 is received by the receiver 19 of the inverter device 4a, and is also relayed and received in a daisy-chain manner, from the repeater 25 of the relay box 9f to the repeater 25 of the relay box 9a, and then to the receiver 19 of the inverter device 4a.

[0030] As a result, in inverter device 4a, the inverter control unit 21 controls the inverter 18 based on the signal received by the receiver 19, and power is supplied from the inverter 18 to each cable laying machine 3a to 3c. This causes the motors 15 of cable laying machines 3a to 3c to rotate, the roller section 14 to rotate in the forward direction, and the cable 2 to be fed out. Similarly, inverter device 4b operates cable laying machines 3d to 3f to feed out the cable 2.

[0031] As described above, in the same way as when the user presses the feed button on the operation switch 5, the user can operate the pull-back button and the speed change dial on the operation switch 5 to pull back the cable 2 and change the rotation speed of the roller section 14 of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f (changing the feed / pull-back speed of the cable 2).

[0032] In the cable laying machine control system 1, when the user operates the feed button, pull-back button, or speed change dial on the operation application of the tablet terminal 6, the wireless signal output from the tablet terminal 6 is received by the wireless communication master unit 20 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b, via the wireless communication slave unit 26 of the relay box 9f and the wireless communication slave unit 26 of the relay box 9a. This allows the cable laying machines 3a to 3f to be operated to feed out, pull back, and change the feed / pull-back speed of the cable 2, similar to when the user presses the feed button, pull-back button, or speed change dial of the operation switch 5 as described above.

[0033] Therefore, by operating the operation switch 5 and the tablet terminal 6, the user can operate the cable laying machines 3a to 3f and perform the cable laying work on the cable 2 by themselves.

[0034] In the cable laying machine control system 1, when the cable feed button, pull-back button, and speed change dial of the cable 2 are operated by a remote operator using the operation application on the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8, the wireless signals output from the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8 are received by the wireless communication master unit 20 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b via the internet 17. This allows the cable laying machines 3a to 3f to be operated to feed, pull back, and change the feed / pull-back speed of the cable 2, similar to when the feed button, pull-back button, and speed change dial of the operation switch 5 are pressed by the user as described above.

[0035] Therefore, remote operators can operate the cable laying machines 3a to 3f in the same way as the user by operating the tablet terminal 7 or PC 8, and can assist the user with cable laying work.

[0036] In the cable laying machine control system 1, video captured by the camera 24 of relay box 9a is output as a wireless signal from the wireless communication slave unit 26, relayed by the wireless communication slave units 26 of the other relay boxes 9b to 9f, and received by the tablet terminal 6. This allows the video captured by the camera 24 of relay box 9a to be displayed on the touch panel display of the tablet terminal 6. Similarly, video captured by the cameras 24 of the other relay boxes 9b to 9f can also be displayed on the touch panel display of the tablet terminal 6. Specifically, the operating application of the tablet terminal 6 makes it possible to simultaneously display the video captured by each camera 24 of relay boxes 9a to 9f side by side on the touch panel display, and the user can select and enlarge the desired video.

[0037] This allows the user to perform cable laying work while checking the video feed from the cameras 24 on the relay boxes 9a to 9f in real time using the tablet terminal 6. Furthermore, if a problem occurs during cable laying work, such as the cable 2 becoming loose or the cable 2 coming off the roller section 14, the user can stop the operation of all cable laying machines 3a to 3f by operating the operation switch 5 or the tablet terminal 6, thereby interrupting the cable laying work. The user can then rush to the location of the cable laying machine 3a to 3f where the problem occurred and resolve it.

[0038] Furthermore, in the cable laying machine control system 1, the wireless signals of the video captured by the cameras 24 in each relay box 9a to 9f are relayed via the wireless communication slave unit 26 to the wireless communication master unit 20 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b, and received by the remote user's tablet terminal 7 or PC 8 via the internet 17. This allows the remote user to view the video from the cameras 24 in the relay boxes 9a to 9f in real time on the tablet terminal 7 or PC 8, just like the user.

[0039] In this way, remote operators can monitor the cable laying work, operate the cable laying machines 3a-3f from tablet terminals 7 or PC 8 as needed, and report any problems that arise to the user. This allows the user to perform the cable laying work more accurately and safely.

[0040] Conventional cable laying operations using cable laying machine control systems required both an operator to operate the control system and another operator to visually check each cable laying machine for problems such as cables coming off the rollers. In contrast, with the cable laying machine control system 1, the user can operate the cable laying machine control system 1 using the operation switch 5 or the tablet terminal 6 while viewing the status of each cable laying machine 3a to 3f as video on the tablet terminal 6, thereby achieving labor savings. Furthermore, the cable laying work performed by the user can be remotely monitored by a remote person using the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8, and the cable laying machine control system 1 can be remotely operated, thus ensuring the safety of the cable laying work.

[0041] In the cable laying machine control system 1, a cable slack detection unit 30 is provided at the curved portion of the cable laying path of the cable 2 to detect slack in the cable 2 and tension in the cable 2 (the opposite of a slack state where the cable 2 is taut) during cable laying work.

[0042] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cable slack detection unit 30 consists of a cable guide member 42 installed on the outer surface of the support column 16a of the curved portion of the cable rack 16, two types of sensors (switch 43, proximity sensors 44, 44) provided on the cable guide member 42, and a transmitter 46 wired to the two types of sensors 43, 44, 44.

[0043] The cable guide member 42 consists of a roughly U-shaped base portion 48, a sliding portion 49 mounted on the base portion 48 so as to be slidable horizontally, and a rotating arm portion 50 provided on the sliding portion 49 so as to be rotatable vertically. The base portion 48 consists of a pair of vertically extending T-shaped legs 48a, 48a having a roughly square cross-section, and an elongated plate-shaped horizontal portion 48c that extends horizontally and connects the upper ends of the legs 48a, 48a.

[0044] Proximity sensors 44, 44 are provided at both ends of the upper surface of the horizontal section 48c. The proximity sensors 44, 44 detect when the slid sliding section 49 approaches the proximity sensors 44, 44. A switch 43 is provided on the lower side of the horizontal section 48c. The switch 43 is a limit switch that detects when the rotating arm 50 rotates downward and makes contact with the switch 43.

[0045] The sliding section 49 consists of a pair of parallel vertical rollers 51, 51, a horizontal roller 52 located below the vertical rollers 51, 51, and a support frame 53 made of a roughly U-shaped, elongated thin plate member that rotatably supports these rollers 51, 51, 52. The vertical rollers 51, 51 have a constant outer diameter and are thinner than the horizontal roller 52, while the outer diameter of the horizontal roller 52 decreases towards the center in the longitudinal direction. The sliding portion 49 is attached to the base portion 48 so as to be able to slide longitudinally, for example, by fitting the lower portion of the support frame 53 of the sliding portion 49 into a longitudinally extending groove provided in the horizontal portion 48c of the base portion 48.

[0046] The rotating arm 50 consists of an elongated plate-shaped arm 54, one end of which is rotatably connected to the support frame 53 of the sliding part 49, and a horizontal roller 55 that is rotatably attached to the other end of the arm 54. The arm portion 54 extends toward the cable drum 11 when viewed from the sliding portion 49, and the switch 43 of the base portion 48 is located on the underside of the arm portion 54. The horizontal roller 55 is paired with the horizontal roller 52 of the sliding section 49 and, like the horizontal roller 52, has a constricted central portion.

[0047] With the cable guide member 42 configured as described above, the cable 2 is guided from the cable drum 11 side, through the underside of the horizontal roller 55, and through the upper side of the horizontal roller 52 and between the vertical rollers 51, 51 to the cable laying machine 3a.

[0048] The transmitter 46 transmits a wireless signal to the inverter devices 4a and 4b to stop the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f when slack or tension in the cable 2 is detected by the cable guide member 42. The wireless communication standard of the transmitter 46 is ZIGBEE, the same as that of the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b.

[0049] In the cable laying machine control system 1, if the cable 2 becomes horizontally slack (upper right direction in Figure 1) at a point where the cable slack detection unit 30 is installed during cable laying work, the slackened cable 2 comes into contact with one of the vertical rollers 51 of the cable guide member 42, causing the sliding part 49 to move horizontally outward. When one of the proximity sensors 44 detects this, the transmitter 46 outputs a wireless signal to stop the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f. This wireless signal is received and relayed in a daisy-chain fashion from the receiver 25 of relay box 9c to the receiver 25 of relay box 9a and the receiver 19 of inverter device 4a, and also received and relayed in a daisy-chain fashion from the receiver 25 of relay box 9d to the receiver 25 of relay box 9f and the receiver 19 of inverter device 4b.

[0050] As a result, in inverter device 4a, the inverter control unit 21 stops the power supply from inverter 18, stopping the operation of cable laying machines 3a to 3c, and in inverter device 4b, the inverter control unit 21 stops the power supply from inverter 18, stopping the operation of cable laying machines 3d to 3f. Therefore, the user can rush to the location where the cable slack detection unit 30 is installed and eliminate the slack in cable 2.

[0051] If tension occurs in the cable 2 in the horizontal direction (downward left direction in Figure 1) at the point where the cable slack detection unit 30 is installed during cable laying work, the cable 2, which is stretched, will come into contact with the other vertical roller 51 of the cable guide member 42, causing the sliding part 49 to move horizontally inward. When the other proximity sensor 44 detects this, the transmitter 46 outputs a wireless signal to stop the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f. Furthermore, if cable slack occurs in the cable 2 in the vertical direction downward at a point where the cable slack detection unit 30 is installed during cable laying work, the arm portion 54 of the cable guide member 42 rotates downward due to its own weight and contacts the switch 43 on the base portion 48. When the switch 43 detects this, the transmitter 46 outputs a wireless signal to stop the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f.

[0052] In these cases as well, the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f will stop, just as when cable 2 experiences horizontal slack. This allows the user to rush to the location where the cable slack detection unit 30 is installed and eliminate any horizontal tension or downward slack in cable 2.

[0053] Furthermore, if tension occurs in the cable 2 in the vertical direction upward at the point where the cable slack detection unit 30 is installed during cable laying work, the horizontal roller 55 of the guide member 43 is lifted by the cable 2, causing the arm 54 to rotate upward. When the arm 54 reaches the upper limit of its rotation range, the upward movement of the arm 54 is fixed, and the cable 2 is pressed down by the horizontal roller 55, thereby suppressing the tension in the cable 2. The same applies to the cable slack detection unit 35 of the cable drum control device 13, which will be described later.

[0054] Furthermore, as described above, when the cable slack detection unit 30 detects slack or tension in cable 2 and the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f stops, it is preferable that the operation application of the tablet terminal 6 displays information on the touch panel display indicating that slack or tension has been detected in cable 2 by the cable slack detection unit 30, and outputs a warning sound. The same applies to the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8 of remote users.

[0055] In the cable laying machine control system 1, the cable drum control device 13 consists of a pair of cable feeders 31a and 31b for rotating the cable drum 11, an inverter device 34 for supplying power to and controlling the cable feeders 31a and 31b, and a cable slack detection unit 35.

[0056] The cable feeder 31a has a roller section 32 (not shown in Figure 1) consisting of a pair of rollers, and a motor 33 (not shown in Figure 1) that drives the roller section 32. By rotating the roller section 32 with the motor 33 while the roller section 32 of the cable feeder 31a is in contact with the outer circumferential surface of one of the disc sections 11a of the cable drum 11, the cable drum 11 rotates in the forward direction and the cable 2 is fed out. Conversely, by rotating the roller section 32 in the reverse direction with the motor 33, the cable drum 11 reverses direction and the cable 2 is pulled back.

[0057] The cable dispenser 31a is also equipped with an operating unit (not shown) for directly operating the cable dispenser 31a, such as a switch provided on the housing of the cable dispenser 31a or a remote control connected to the cable dispenser 31a by wire. The cable feeder 31b has the same configuration as the cable feeder 31a, and is used by contacting the roller portion 32 with the outer circumferential surface of the other disc portion 11a of the cable drum 11.

[0058] The inverter device 34 is connected to two cable feeders 31a and 31b and comprises an inverter 36 that supplies power to drive the cable feeders 31a and 31b, a receiver 37 that receives wireless signals from the cable slack detection unit 35, a wireless communication slave unit 38 that receives wireless signals from a tablet terminal 6 or the like, and an inverter control unit 39 that controls the inverter 36 based on the wireless signals received by the receiver 37 and the wireless communication slave unit 38, all housed in a casing 40. The inverter device 34 is connected to a standard 100V power outlet 41.

[0059] The inverter device 34 is also equipped with an operating unit (not shown) for directly operating the inverter device 34, such as a switch provided on the housing 40 of the inverter device 34 or a remote control connected to the inverter device 34 by a wire.

[0060] The wireless communication slave unit (wireless LAN slave unit) 38 receives wireless signals from the tablet terminal 6 and wireless signals relayed from the wireless communication slave units 26 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f, and relays them to the wireless communication master unit 20 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b and the wireless communication slave units 26 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f. The wireless communication slave unit 38 uses a Wi-Fi router slave unit.

[0061] The inverter control unit 39 is a relay circuit that inputs instructions to the inverter 36 for rotation, reverse rotation, and change of rotation speed of the roller section 32 of the cable feeders 31a and 31b, based on the wireless signals received by the receiver 37 and the wireless communication slave unit 38. The inverter 36 is a power converter that converts the power from the power outlet 41 and supplies it to the cable dispensers 31a and 31b based on instructions from the inverter control unit 39. In this embodiment, the inverter 36 is an inverter that can be used with the power of a normal power outlet, i.e., a 100V power supply.

[0062] The cable slack detection unit 35 of the cable drum control device 13 detects slack or tension in the cable 2 that is fed out from the cable drum 11 during cable laying work. As shown in Figure 1, the cable slack detection unit 35 consists of a cable guide member 42 positioned between the cable drum 11 and the cable laying machine 3a in the cable laying path of the cable 2 to guide the cable 2, two types of sensors (a switch 43 and proximity sensors 44, 44) provided on the cable guide member 42, and a transmitter 45 wired to the two types of sensors 43, 44, 44.

[0063] The configuration of the cable guide member 42 and the two types of sensors 43, 44, and 44 of the cable slack detection unit 35 is the same as that of the cable guide member 42 and the two types of sensors 43, 44, and 44 of the cable slack detection unit 30 described above. The cable guide member 42 of the cable slack detection unit 35 guides the cable 2 from the cable drum 11 side, under the horizontal roller 55, and above the horizontal roller 52 and between the vertical rollers 51, 51 to the cable laying machine 3a, as shown in Figure 3.

[0064] Unlike the transmitter 46 of the cable slack detection unit 30, the transmitter 45 transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device 34 to operate the cable feeders 31a and 31b when the cable guide member 42 does not detect any downward slack in the cable 2 in the vertical direction. The transmitter 45 also transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device 34 to stop the operation of the cable feeders 31a and 31b when the cable guide member 42 detects downward slack in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the transmitter 45 transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device 34 and inverter devices 4a and 4b to stop the operation of the cable feeders 31a and 31b and the cable layers 3a to 3f when the cable guide member 42 detects any horizontal slack or tension in the cable 2 (vertical direction in the paper of Figure 1). The wireless communication standard for the transmitter 45 is ZIGBEE, the same as that used by the receiver 37 of the inverter device 34.

[0065] In the cable laying machine control system 1, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 3, while tension is generated in the upward direction of the cable 2 fed out from the cable drum 11 during cable laying work, that is, while the horizontal roller 55 of the cable guide member 42 of the cable slack detection unit 35 is lifted by the cable 2 and the arm 54 rotates upward, and while the arm 54 is not in contact with the switch 43 of the base 48, the transmitter 45 outputs a wireless signal to operate the cable feeders 31a and 31b, which is received by the receiver 40 of the inverter device 34.

[0066] In the inverter device 34, the inverter control unit 39 controls the inverter 36 based on the signal received by the receiver 40, and power is supplied from the inverter 36 to each cable feeder 31a and 31b. As a result, the motors 33 of the cable feeders 31a and 31b rotate, causing the roller section 32 to rotate, and the cable drum 11 to rotate in the forward direction, allowing the cable 2 to be fed out.

[0067] In the cable laying machine control system 1, if the cable 2 fed out from the cable drum 11 slackens downward in the vertical direction during cable laying work, the arm portion 54 of the cable guide member 42 rotates downward and contacts the switch 43 on the base portion 48, similar to the cable slack detection unit 30 described above (see Figure 3). When the switch 43 detects this, the transmitter 45 outputs a wireless signal to stop the operation of the cable feeders 31a and 31b, which is received by the receiver 40 of the inverter device 34. In the inverter device 34, the inverter control unit 39 stops the power supply from the inverter 36 to the cable feeders 31a and 31b, and the operation of the cable feeders 31a and 31b stops.

[0068] Therefore, with the cable drum control device 13, when the user operates the operation switch 5 and tablet terminal 6, or when a remote person operates the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8, the cable laying machines 3a to 3f are operated and the cable 2 in the cable drum 11 is pulled, the cable feeders 31a and 31b are operated to feed the cable 2 from the cable drum 11 and perform the cable laying work. Furthermore, when slack occurs in the cable 2 in the vertical direction downwards, the cable feeders 31a and 31b are stopped, and when the cable 2 is pulled by the cable laying machines 3a to 3f and the slack is eliminated, the cable feeders 31a and 31b are operated again to perform the cable laying work.

[0069] In the cable laying machine control system 1, if the cable 2 fed out from the cable drum 11 moves excessively to one side horizontally during cable laying work, the cable 2 comes into contact with one of the vertical rollers 51 of the cable guide member 42 of the cable slack detection unit 35, causing the sliding part 49 to move to one side horizontally, similar to the cable slack detection unit 30 described above. When the proximity sensor 44 on that side detects this, the transmitter 45 outputs a wireless signal to stop the operation of the cable feeders 31a, 31b and the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, which is received by the receiver 40 of the inverter device 34 and the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b.

[0070] As a result, the operation of the cable feeders 31a and 31b stops, just as if there is slack in the cable 2 fed out from the cable drum 11 as described above, and the operation of the cable layers 3a to 3f stops, just as if the cable slack detection unit 30 as described above detects horizontal slack in the cable 2.

[0071] As described above, if the cable 2 fed out from the cable drum 11 moves excessively to one side in the horizontal direction, the operation of the cable laying machines 3a-3f and the cable feeders 31a and 31b will stop immediately. This allows for the detection and prevention of the cable drum 11 coming into contact with the drum jacks 12, 12 and becoming unable to rotate, or the drum jacks 12, 12 tipping over and preventing the cable 2 from being fed out from the cable drum 11 during cable laying work. Furthermore, the user can rush to the location where the cable drum 11 is installed and check its condition. The same applies if the cable 2 fed out from the cable drum 11 moves excessively to the other side in the horizontal direction.

[0072] Conventional cable laying operations using cable laying machine control systems required two operators: one to rotate the cable drum to feed out the cable, and another to operate the cable laying machine control system. In contrast, with the cable laying machine control system 1, the cable drum control device 13 is linked to the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, and the cable feeders 31a and 31b feed out the cable 2. Therefore, the user can perform the cable laying work alone without needing an operator to rotate the cable drum 11 and feed out the cable 2, thus achieving labor savings.

[0073] Furthermore, the cable laying machine control system 1 may be configured to include relay boxes similar to the relay boxes 9a to 9f, near the cable slack detection unit 30 and the cable slack detection unit 35 of the cable drum control device 13, respectively, and to capture images of the cable guide members 42, 42 of the cable slack detection units 30, 35 with cameras in the relay boxes and display them on tablet terminals 6, 7 and PC 8. This is preferable because it allows users and remote personnel to check not only the cable laying machines 3a to 3f but also the condition of the cable 2 in the cable guide members 42, 42 on the tablet terminals 6, 7 and PC 8.

[0074] Furthermore, the cable laying machine control system 1 may be configured to display buttons and dials on the displays of tablet terminals 6, 7 and PC 8, via an operating application, for forward rotation, reverse rotation, and changing the rotation speed of the roller section 14 of the cable feeders 31a and 31b, allowing the user and remote operators to operate the cable feeders 31a and 31b using tablet terminals 6, 7 and PC 8 (referred to as cable feeder operation mode). Furthermore, the cable laying machine control system 1 may be configured to switch between a cable feeder operation mode and a mode in which the cable feeders 31a and 31b are linked to the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, as described above. Buttons for switching between these modes may be displayed on the displays of the tablet terminals 6 and 7 and the PC 8 via an operation application.

[0075] Alternatively, the cable drum control device 13 may be configured to omit the transmitter 45 of the cable slack detection unit 35 and the receiver 37 of the inverter device 34, and instead connect the sensors 43, 44, 44 of the cable guide member 42 to the inverter device 34 via a wired connection, thereby directly inputting the signals from the sensors 43, 44, 44 to the inverter control unit 39 of the inverter device 34 and controlling the operation of the cable feeders 31a and 31b.

[0076] As shown in Figures 1, 4, and 5, the cable pulling machine control system 1 further includes a cable pulling robot 60 for pulling a guide rope 2a, which is a rope member attached to the end of the cable 2. As shown in Figure 4, the cable-pulling robot 60 comprises an electric arm 61, a pair of tracks 62, 62, a control box 63, a camera 64, a switch 65, and a chassis 66 that holds these components.

[0077] The electric arm 61 is for pulling the call rope 2a and consists of a horizontal section 61a, a first inclined section 61b, and a second inclined section 61c. The horizontal section 61a has an elongated L-shaped rectangular prism shape extending to the rear in the front-rear direction of the chassis 66, and the L-shaped portion is attached to the chassis 66 so as to be rotatable horizontally. One end of the elongated rectangular prism-shaped first inclined section 61b is connected to the tip of the horizontal section 61a so as to be rotatable vertically. One end of the thin, short rectangular prism-shaped second inclined section 61c is connected to the other end of the first inclined section 61b so as to be rotatable vertically. The horizontal section 61a is provided with a guide tube 67 made of an S-shaped tubular member extending from the switch 65 so as to pass through the horizontal section 61a. Multiple suspension ring-shaped members 68 are provided on the lower side of the horizontal section 61a and the first and second inclined sections 61b and 61c.

[0078] The chassis 66 is equipped with an arm drive unit (not shown) consisting of a motor and drive mechanism of a general configuration for driving the electric arm 61. The arm drive unit can rotate (swivel) the horizontal portion 61a of the electric arm 61 horizontally, rotate the first inclined portion 61b vertically relative to the horizontal portion 61a, and rotate the second inclined portion 61c vertically relative to the first inclined portion 61b.

[0079] The chassis 66 is equipped with a track drive unit (not shown) consisting of a motor and drive mechanism of a general configuration for driving the tracks 62, 62. The track drive unit rotates and steers (changes the direction of travel by changing the rotation speed of the tracks 62, 62) the tracks 62, 62, allowing the cable towing robot 60 to move. The tracks 62, 62 allow the cable towing robot 60 to travel on the cable rack 16 without getting caught on the sub-stools 16b of the cable rack 16 or falling between the sub-stools 16b.

[0080] In the chassis 66, a switch 65 to which a wire 69 is connected is provided on the front side in the front-rear direction of the horizontal section 61a of the electric arm 61. The switch 65 is a sensor for detecting when the wire 69 is pulled and a load is applied to the wire 69, and a limit switch is used. The wire 69 is guided through the guide tube 67 to the underside of the horizontal section 61a, and is guided through the suspension ring-shaped members 68 of the horizontal section 61a, the first and second inclined sections 61b and 61c in order to the tip side of the second inclined section 61c.

[0081] The chassis 66 is equipped with a pair of guide pipes 70, 70 that surround the chassis 66 in order to mitigate the impact when the cable pulling robot 60 travels and collides with the inner surface of the support column 16a of the cable rack 16. The guide pipes 70, 70 are made of elongated cylindrical elastic members that extend in the front-rear direction of the chassis 66, and their front and rear portions are gently bent inward.

[0082] As shown in Figure 1, the control box 63 is located in front of the switch 65 on the chassis 66. The control box 63 houses a control unit 71, a transmitter 72, a wireless communication slave unit 73, and a battery 74 within a housing 75, which control each component of the cable pulling robot 60. The configuration of the transmitter 72 is the same as that of the transmitter 45 of the cable slack detection unit 35 of the cable drum control device 13 described above, and the configuration of the wireless communication slave unit 73 and battery 74 is the same as that of the wireless communication slave unit 26 and battery 27 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f described above.

[0083] Camera 64 is for taking pictures of the area around the cable pulling robot 60 and is mounted on the housing 75 of the control box 63. The chassis 66 is equipped with a camera drive unit (not shown) consisting of a motor and drive mechanism of a general configuration for driving the camera 64. The camera drive unit can change the orientation of the camera 64, specifically by rotating the camera 64 horizontally and vertically.

[0084] The user's tablet terminal 6 can display buttons on its touch panel display for operating the electric arm 61, specifically for rotating the horizontal section 61a of the electric arm 61 and rotating the first and second inclined sections 61b and 61c (electric arm operation button group), for operating the tracks 62, specifically for rotating and steering the tracks 62, and for operating the camera 64, specifically for changing the orientation of the camera 64 (camera operation button group). By operating these buttons, the user can transmit wireless signals to the wireless communication slave unit 73 of the cable-pulling robot 60. The same applies to the remote user's tablet terminal 7 and PC 8.

[0085] Alternatively, a wireless controller with a common configuration, such as those used in game consoles, may be prepared, and buttons for operating the electric arm, tracks, and camera may be assigned to this controller. By operating these buttons, the controller may transmit wireless signals to the wireless communication slave unit 73 of the cable-pulling robot 60.

[0086] Under the above-described configuration of the cable-pulling robot 60, when the user operates the electric arm operation buttons, track operation buttons, and camera operation buttons on the operation application of the tablet terminal 6, a wireless signal is output from the tablet terminal 6 and received by the wireless communication slave unit 73 of the cable-pulling robot 60. Based on the signal received by the wireless communication slave unit 73, the control unit 71 controls the arm drive unit, track drive unit, and camera drive unit (not shown), allowing the user to freely move the electric arm 61, freely move the cable-pulling robot 60, and freely change the orientation of the camera 64.

[0087] Furthermore, when a remote operator operates the electric arm control buttons, track control buttons, and camera control buttons using the operation applications on the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8, the signals output from the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8 are relayed via the internet 17 from the wireless communication master unit 20 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b to the wireless communication slave units 26 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f, and received by the wireless communication slave unit 73 of the cable-pulling robot 60. As a result, just like the user described above, the remote operator can freely move the electric arm 61, freely move the cable-pulling robot 60, and freely change the direction of the camera 64.

[0088] Based on the above, the user connects the wire 69 of the cable pulling robot 60 to the guide rope 2a of the cable 2, and then operates the electric arm 61 of the cable pulling robot 60 with the tablet terminal 6 to make the cable pulling robot 60 move on the cable rack 16, thereby allowing the cable pulling robot 60 to pull the guide rope 2a and install it on the roller section 14 of the cable laying machine 3a, or more specifically, to guide the guide rope 2a between a pair of elastic rollers in the roller section 14.

[0089] At this time, when the weight of cable 2 puts a load on wire 69, switch 65 detects this, and a wireless signal is output from transmitter 72 in control box 63 to operate cable layers 3a to 3f. This wireless signal is received by receivers 19 of inverter devices 4a and 4b, which then activates cable layers 3a to 3f.

[0090] In other words, while the cable pulling robot 60 is running and a load is applied to the wire 69, the cable laying machines 3a to 3f can operate and feed out the cable 2. Therefore, the user is no longer required to perform the laborious task of manually pulling the cable rope 2a of the cable 2 and placing it on the roller section 14 of the cable laying machine 3a. When the user stops the cable pulling robot 60 from running, the cable rope 2a loosens, the load on the wire 69 is removed, and the operation of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f stops.

[0091] The user then continues to operate the tablet terminal 6 while accompanying the cable pulling robot 60, and performs the cable laying work by having the cable pulling robot 60 pull the call rope 2a and sequentially install it on the roller sections 14 of the remaining cable laying machines 3b to 3f. As described above, during the cable laying work, the cable drum control device 13 can be used to link the cable feeders 31a and 31b with the cable laying machines 3a to 3f to feed out the cable 2 from the cable drum 11.

[0092] Furthermore, when the cable pulling robot 60 is far away from the inverter devices 4a and 4b due to cable laying work, the wireless signal from the transmitter 72 of the control box 63 of the cable pulling robot 60 is relayed in a daisy-chain fashion by the repeaters 25 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f and can be received by the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b.

[0093] Furthermore, the video captured by the camera 64 of the cable-pulling robot 60 is output as a wireless signal from the wireless communication slave unit 73 of the control box 63 and received by the user's tablet terminal 6. This allows the video captured by the camera 64 to be displayed on the touch panel display of the tablet terminal 6 using the operating application.

[0094] Therefore, the user can perform cable laying work while checking the surroundings of the cable pulling robot 60 in real time on the tablet terminal 6. Specifically, the user can control the cable pulling robot 60 while checking its direction of travel, or change the orientation of the camera 64 to check how the electric arm 61 is setting the guide rope 2a on the roller section 14 of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f. As a result, the user can perform cable laying work without accompanying the cable pulling robot 60, and can perform cable laying work even in situations where the user cannot get close to the cable pulling robot 60 or the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, such as at high places or in confined spaces.

[0095] Furthermore, the operation of the cable pulling robot 60 and the viewing of the camera 64's images can also be performed remotely using the tablet terminal 7 and PC 8. In other words, remote operators can also use the cable pulling robot 60 to perform cable laying work on the cable 2.

[0096] Conventional cable laying operations using cable laying machine control systems required both a worker to operate the control system and another worker to manually attach the cable guide rope to the roller section of the cable laying machine. In contrast, with the cable laying machine control system 1, the user can install the guide rope 2a on the roller section 14 of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f using the cable pulling robot 60, and the cable 2 is fed out in conjunction with the movement of the cable pulling robot 60. Therefore, the user can perform the cable laying work without requiring workers to manually install the guide rope 2a on the roller section 14 of the cable laying machines 3a to 3f, thus achieving labor savings.

[0097] Furthermore, during cable laying work, as described above, the cable laying machines 3a-3f and cable feeders 31a and 31b operate simultaneously to feed out the cable 2. Therefore, the weight of the cable 2, the frictional resistance of the cable 2 against the laying surface, and the difficulty of rotating the cable drum 11 around which the cable 2 is wound do not hinder the movement of the cable pulling robot 60. Consequently, the cable pulling robot 60 can be made smaller and lighter. With this, the user can operate the cable pulling robot 60 using a tablet terminal 7, and the cable laying machines 3a-3f and cable feeders 31a and 31b will work together to automatically perform cable laying work.

[0098] The cable laying machine control system 1, which includes the relay boxes 9a-9f, cable drum control device 13, and cable pulling robot 60 described above, can maximize the reduction of manpower and labor in cable laying operations. Furthermore, the safety of cable laying operations can be ensured by remote monitoring of the user's cable laying work using a tablet terminal 7 and a PC 8. Furthermore, the cable laying machine control system 1 is configured to use both ZIGBEE communication and mesh network (mesh Wi-Fi) communication. This means that even if one communication becomes impossible due to a communication failure, for example, the user or remote operator can operate the cable laying machine control system 1 using the other communication method, thus enabling safe and reliable cable laying work.

[0099] In addition, the number of tablet terminals 7 and PCs 8 operated remotely in the cable laying machine control system 1 is not limited to one each. For example, there may be at least one tablet terminal 7, at least one PC 8, or at least two tablet terminals 7 and PCs 8. The cable laying machine control system 1 has six cable laying machines 3a to 3f, but the number of cable laying machines is not limited to these. Also, three of the six cable laying machines 3a to 3f are connected to inverter devices 4a and 4b, but the number of cable laying machines connected to inverter devices is not limited to these.

[0100] The cable laying machine control system 1 has six relay boxes 9a to 9f to correspond to cable laying machines 3a to 3f, but the number of relay boxes is not limited to this. For example, the number of relay boxes may be half the number of cable laying machines. In this case, each relay box may have two cameras, and one relay box may be configured to capture the status of two cable laying machines with its two cameras.

[0101] The cameras 24 in relay boxes 9a to 9f are mounted on the housing 28, but this is not limited to that configuration. For example, the cameras 24 may be made separate from the housing 28 so that they can be installed in a desired location, and connected to the housing 28 by a wire. The cable laying machine control system 1 is configured to have two inverter devices 4a and 4b, which are connected to a 200V power outlet, but it may also be configured to have only one or three or more inverter devices. Alternatively, the cable laying machine control system 1 may be configured to have multiple inverter devices that have the same basic configuration as inverter devices 4a and 4b, but are connected to a 100V power outlet.

[0102] The cable pulling robot 60 is pulling the guide rope 2a of the cable 2 with its electric arm 61, but is not limited to this. The electric arm 61 may also pull the cable 2 directly, that is, a wire 69 may be tied to the end of the cable 2 and then pulled by the electric arm 61. Furthermore, the configuration of the electric arm 61 is not limited to that described above. For example, the electric arm 61 has first and second inclined sections 61b and 61c that can rotate in the vertical direction, that is, it has two joints, but the number of joints is not limited to this. Furthermore, the cable pulling robot 60 is equipped with one camera 64, and the orientation of the camera 64 can be changed, but it is not limited to this configuration. For example, the cable pulling robot 60 may be equipped with multiple cameras whose orientation is fixed in a desired direction, and the images from each camera may be displayed on tablet terminals 6 and 7 and PC 8.

[0103] The cable slack detection unit 30, the cable slack detection unit 35 of the cable drum control device 13, and the cable pulling robot 60 employ limit switches or proximity sensors as sensors, but other sensors may also be used.

[0104] The cable laying machine control system 1 is configured such that two inverter devices 4a and 4b are controlled collectively by the user or a remote operator, and cable laying machines 3a-3c and 3d-3f operate simultaneously to feed out / retract the cable 2, but it is not limited to this configuration. For example, buttons for individually operating inverter devices 4a and 4b may be provided on the operation switch 5, and similar buttons may be displayed on the displays of tablet terminals 6 and 7 and PC 8 by an operation application. Furthermore, the system may be configured to transmit wireless signals to individually control inverter devices 4a and 4b from the operation switch 5, tablet terminals 6 and 7 and PC 8, allowing the user or a remote operator to freely operate cable laying machines 3a-3c and 3d-3f, respectively. In addition, the system may be configured to allow switching between collective control and individual control of such inverter devices 4a and 4b, and buttons for switching between these controls may be provided on the operation switch 5, and similar buttons may be displayed on the displays of tablet terminals 6 and 7 and PC 8 by an operation application.

[0105] Furthermore, the cable slack detection unit 30 may be configured such that when the transmitter 46 detects horizontal slack or downward slack in the vertical direction of the cable 2 at the cable guide member 42, it transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device 4a to stop the operation of the cable laying machines located on the cable drum 11 side of the cable guide member 42, i.e., cable laying machines 3a to 3c, and when horizontal tension in the cable 2 is detected, it transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device 4b to stop the operation of the cable laying machines located on the opposite side of the cable drum 11 from the cable guide member 42, i.e., cable laying machines 3d to 3f.

[0106] With this configuration, when the cable guide member 42 detects horizontal slack or downward slack in the cable 2, the cable layers 3a to 3c remain stopped while the cable layers 3d to 3f operate to feed out the cable 2, thereby eliminating the slack in the cable 2. Once the slack in the cable 2 is eliminated, the sliding part 49 of the cable guide member 42 returns to its original position, and the proximity sensor 44 detects this. As a result, the transmitter 46 stops transmitting a wireless signal to stop the operation of the cable layers 3a to 3c, allowing the cable layers 3a to 3c to restart and continue the cable laying work. Similarly, when the cable guide member 42 detects horizontal tension in the cable 2, the cable layers 3d to 3f remain stopped while the cable layers 3a to 3c operate to feed out the cable 2, thereby eliminating the tension in the cable 2.

[0107] In the cable laying machine control system 1, as described above, ZIGBEE is adopted as the wireless communication standard for the operation switch 5, and the wireless signal from the operation switch 5 is relayed in a daisy-chain fashion by the repeaters 25 in the relay boxes 9a to 9f and received by the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b. However, the wireless communication standard for the operation switch 5 is not limited to ZIGBEE.

[0108] For example, the cable laying machine control system 1 may employ an operation switch 5 that enables longer-distance communication than ZIGBEE and performs wireless communication in a different frequency band than ZIGBEE. The inverter devices 4a and 4b may be equipped with receivers 19 corresponding to the frequency band of the operation switch 5, and the wireless signal from the operation switch 5 may be directly received by the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b. Furthermore, the relay boxes 9a to 9f may be equipped with repeaters 25 corresponding to the frequency band of the operation switch 5, and the wireless signal from the operation switch 5 may be relayed by the repeaters 25 of the relay boxes 9a to 9f and received by the receivers 19 of the inverter devices 4a and 4b. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 1. Cable laying machine control system 2 Cables 2a Cable lead rope 3a~3f wire extension machine 4a, 4b Inverter device 5. User's operating switch 6. User's tablet device 7. Remote user's tablet device 8. Remote user's PC 9a~9f Relay Box 11 Cable Drum 13 Cable Drum Control Device 16 Cable Racks 17 Internet 18 Inverter of an inverter device 19. Receiver for inverter device 20 Wireless communication master unit for inverter devices 21 Inverter control unit of the inverter device 24 Cameras in the relay box 25 Repeater in a relay box 26 Wireless communication slave unit of relay box 30 Cable slack detection unit 31a, 31b Cable payout machine for cable drum control device 34. Inverter device for cable drum control device 35 Cable slack detection unit for cable drum control device 36 Inverter of the Inverter Device for Cable Drum Control Device 37 Receiver of the inverter device for cable drum control device 38 Wireless communication slave unit of the inverter device for cable drum control device 39. Inverter control unit of the inverter device for the cable drum control device. 42 Cable guide member of cable slack detection unit 43 Switch of the cable slack detection unit of the cable drum control device 44. Proximity sensor of the cable slack detection unit of the cable drum control device. 45. Transmitter of the cable slack detection unit of the cable drum control device. 46 Cable slack detection unit transmitter 60 Cable-pulling robots 61 Electric Arm 62, 62 tracks 63. Control box for cable pulling robot 64. Camera for cable-pulling robot 65 Switch for cable pulling robot 69 wires 71 Control unit of the control box for a cable pulling robot 72. Transmitter for the control box of a cable-pulling robot 73 Wireless communication slave unit for cable pulling robot control box

Claims

1. The system comprises: multiple cable laying machines for laying cables; at least one inverter device for driving the multiple cable laying machines; operating switches, a portable terminal, and a remote terminal device for operating the multiple cable laying machines; multiple cameras for photographing the multiple cable laying machines; and multiple relay boxes for relaying wireless signals from the portable terminal and the terminal device to the inverter device. The relay box has a wireless communication slave unit that relays wireless signals from the mobile terminal and the terminal device and transmits the video captured by the camera as a wireless signal. The inverter device comprises an inverter for supplying power to the cable layer, a receiver for receiving wireless signals from the operation switch, a wireless communication base station for receiving wireless signals from the portable terminal and the terminal device, and a control unit for controlling the inverter based on the wireless signals received by the receiver and the wireless communication base station. Multiple wireless communication slave units in the relay boxes and the wireless communication master unit of the inverter device constitute a mesh network. The cable layer control system is characterized in that the mobile terminal and the terminal device receive wireless signals transmitted from the wireless communication slaves of the plurality of relay boxes and display images captured by the plurality of cameras.

2. The relay box has a relay that relays the wireless signal of the operation switch, The cable laying machine control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the wireless signals of the operation switches are transmitted in a daisy-chain manner by wireless communication between the repeaters of the multiple relay boxes.

3. It has a cable slack detection unit that detects slack in the cable of the extension line, The cable slack detection unit is, A first cable guide member having a first sliding portion that is slidable horizontally and equipped with a first vertical roller for guiding the cable, and a first rotating arm portion that extends toward the opposite side of the direction of travel of the cable, is equipped with a first horizontal roller at its tip for guiding the cable, and is rotatable vertically and provided on the first sliding portion, A sensor for the first rotating arm detects the first rotating arm which has rotated downward due to the downward slack of the cable, A sensor for the first slide portion detects the first slide portion that slides horizontally in contact with the cable which is loose or taut in the horizontal direction, The cable laying machine control system according to claim 2, further comprising: a first transmitter that, based on the output of the first rotating arm sensor and the first sliding part sensor, transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device to stop the operation of the plurality of cable laying machines when downward slack, horizontal slack, or tension of the cable is detected.

4. Having multiple inverter devices, The cable laying machine control system according to claim 3, characterized in that the first transmitter, based on the outputs of the first rotating arm sensor and the first sliding sensor, transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device that drives the cable laying machine located on the opposite side of the cable's direction of travel from the cable slack detection unit when downward slack or horizontal slack of the cable is detected, to stop the operation of the cable laying machine located on the side of the cable's direction of travel from the cable slack detection unit, among the plurality of inverter devices, and transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device that drives the cable laying machine located on the side of the cable's direction of travel from the cable slack detection unit, among the plurality of inverter devices, to stop the operation of the cable laying machine located on the side of the direction of travel, when horizontal tension of the cable is detected.

5. The cable laying machine control system according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the wireless communication standard of the operation switch, the repeaters of the plurality of relay boxes, the receiver of the inverter device, and the first transmitter of the cable slack detection unit is ZIGBEE®.

6. The cable drum control device includes at least one cable feeder for rotating the cable drum, an inverter device for the cable feeder for driving the cable feeder, and a cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder for detecting slack in the cable fed out from the cable drum. The cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device for the cable feeder to operate the cable feeder when no downward slack in the cable is detected, and transmits a wireless signal to the inverter device for the cable feeder to stop the operation of the cable feeder when downward slack, horizontal slack, or tension in the cable is detected, characterized in that the cable feeder control system according to claim 1.

7. The cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder is, A second cable guide member having a second sliding portion that is slidable horizontally and equipped with a second vertical roller for guiding the cable, and a second rotating arm portion that extends toward the opposite side of the direction of travel of the cable, is equipped with a second horizontal roller at its tip for guiding the cable, and is rotatable vertically and provided on the second sliding portion, A sensor for the second rotating arm detects the second rotating arm which has rotated downward due to the cable slackening downward, A sensor for the second slide portion detects the second slide portion that slides horizontally in contact with the cable which is loose or taut in the horizontal direction, The cable laying machine control system according to claim 6, further comprising: a second transmitter that, based on the outputs of the second rotating arm sensor and the second sliding sensor, transmits a wireless signal to the cable laying machine inverter device to operate the cable laying machine when no downward slack in the cable is detected, and transmits a wireless signal to the cable laying machine inverter device to stop the operation of the cable laying machine when downward slack, horizontal slack, or tension in the cable is detected.

8. The cable feeder inverter device comprises a cable feeder inverter for supplying power to the cable feeder, a cable feeder receiver for receiving wireless signals from the second transmitter, and a control unit for controlling the cable feeder inverter based on the wireless signals received by the cable feeder receiver. The cable laying machine control system according to claim 7, characterized in that the wireless communication standard of the second transmitter of the cable slack detection unit for the cable laying machine and the receiver for the cable laying machine of the inverter device for the cable laying machine is ZIGBEE®.

9. The mobile terminal and the terminal device have a cable pulling robot that can be operated by the terminal device, The aforementioned cable pulling robot, A motorized arm having at least one joint and being able to rotate, A pair of tracks, A camera for the cable pulling robot that photographs the area around the cable pulling robot, A wire, one end of which is guided to the tip of the electric arm and connected to the end of the cable or the cable's guide rope, A sensor connected to the other end of the aforementioned wire, A transmitter that transmits a wireless signal to operate multiple cable layers when the sensor detects that a load is being placed on the wire by the cable, A wireless communication slave unit for a cable pulling robot transmits video captured by the camera for the cable pulling robot as a wireless signal and receives the wireless signal from the mobile terminal and the terminal device, The control unit includes a control unit that controls the electric arm and a pair of tracks based on wireless signals from the portable terminal and the terminal device received by the wireless communication slave unit for the cable-pulling robot, The cable pulling machine control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the mobile terminal and the terminal device receive a wireless signal transmitted from the wireless communication slave unit for the cable pulling robot and display images captured by the camera for the cable pulling robot.

10. The cable pulling machine control system according to claim 9, characterized in that the wireless communication standard of the transmitter of the cable pulling robot is ZIGBEE (registered trademark).

11. A motorized arm having at least one joint and being able to rotate, A pair of tracks, Camera and, A wire, one end of which is guided to the tip of the electric arm and connected to the end of the cable or the guide rope of the cable, A sensor connected to the other end of the aforementioned wire, A transmitter that transmits a wireless signal to operate the cable layer when the sensor detects that a load is being placed on the wire by the cable, A wireless communication slave unit that transmits the video captured by the aforementioned camera as a wireless signal and receives the wireless signal from a mobile terminal, A cable-pulling robot comprising a control unit that controls the electric arm and a pair of tracks based on a wireless signal from the mobile terminal received by the wireless communication slave unit.

12. The system includes at least one cable feeder for rotating a cable drum, an inverter device for the cable feeder for driving the cable feeder, and a cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder for detecting slack in the cable fed out from the cable drum. The cable slack detection unit for the cable feeder is, A cable guide member having a sliding section that is slidable horizontally and has a vertical roller for guiding the cable, and a rotating arm section that extends in the opposite direction of the cable's direction of travel, has a horizontal roller at its tip for guiding the cable, and is rotatable vertically and is attached to the sliding section. A sensor for a rotating arm that detects the rotating arm that has rotated downward due to the cable slackening downward, A sensor for the sliding part that detects the sliding part that slides horizontally when it comes into contact with the cable which is loose or taut in the horizontal direction, A cable drum control device comprising: a transmitter that, based on the output of the rotating arm sensor and the sliding part sensor, transmits a wireless signal to the cable feeder inverter device to operate the cable feeder when no downward slack in the cable is detected, and transmits a wireless signal to the cable feeder inverter device to stop the operation of the cable feeder when downward slack, horizontal slack, or tension in the cable is detected.

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