Scraping machine

Abstract

To improve the operability of the front device in a scraping machine. [Solution] A scraping work machine (100) comprising a lower traveling body (2), an upper rotating body (6) mounted on the lower traveling body via a first rotating device (3) and rotating around a vertical axis by the first rotating device, a driver's cab (5) provided on the upper rotating body, and a front device (22) mounted on the front of the upper rotating body via a second rotating device (18) and rotating around a horizontal axis by the second rotating device, further comprising a camera (50) for imaging the front device and a monitor (47) provided in the driver's cab for displaying the images captured by the camera, wherein the orientation of the camera changes to follow the rotation of the front device around the horizontal axis.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a working machine for scraping out deposits accumulated under a belt conveyor or the like. [[Background Art]]

[0002] As background art in this technical field, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a scraping working machine in which an articulated arm (front device) having a scraping bucket attached to the tip end thereof is rotated about a horizontal axis by a vertical swing device to change the posture from a vertical posture to a horizontal posture. According to this scraping working machine, deposits can be scraped out by the scraping bucket by causing the articulated arm to go under the belt conveyor while maintaining the horizontal posture. [[Prior Art Documents]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-175135 [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0004] However, the operation direction of the operation lever is generally set corresponding to the vertical posture of the articulated arm. Therefore, when an operator operates the operation lever in a state where the articulated arm is in the horizontal posture, the operator's operational sense does not match the actual movement of the articulated arm, which leaves a problem in terms of operability.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to improve the operability of a front device in a scraping working machine. [[Means for Solving the Problem]]

[0006] To achieve the above objective, one aspect of the present invention provides a scraping work machine comprising: a lower traveling body; an upper rotating body provided on the lower traveling body via a first rotating device and rotating around a vertical axis by the first rotating device; a driver's cab provided on the upper rotating body; and a front device provided at the front of the upper rotating body via a second rotating device and rotating around a horizontal axis by the second rotating device, wherein the machine further comprises: a camera for imaging the front device; and a monitor provided in the driver's cab for displaying the image captured by the camera, the orientation of the camera changes to follow the rotation of the front device around the horizontal axis. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the operability of the front device of a scraping machine can be improved. In particular, operability is improved because the operator can intuitively operate the front device even when its posture changes. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those mentioned above will be clarified by the following description of embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a side view showing one embodiment of the scraping machine of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the internal layout of the driver's cab. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of the main components of the scraping machine, including the front device. [Figure 4] This is a view of the vertical swing mechanism from the front. [Figure 5A] This is a view of the camera unit from the front. [Figure 5B] This is a view of the camera unit from above. [Figure 5C] This is a cross-sectional view of the camera unit from the side. [Figure 6] This is a functional block diagram of the controller. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the monitor display. [Figure 8]This figure shows an example of the gear arrangement of the interlocking mechanism according to Modification 1. [Figure 9] This diagram shows the interlocking mechanism according to modified example 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the scraping work machine 100 of the present invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the operator's cab 5, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the main part of the scraping work machine 100 including the front device 22, and Figure 4 is a view of the vertical rotation device 18 from the front. Note that the camera unit 50 is not shown in Figure 1, and the front device 22 is not shown in Figure 4.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the scraping work machine 100 comprises a lower traveling body 1, a slewing device 3 (first slewing device), an upper slewing body 6, a link mechanism 7, a vertical slewing device 18 (second slewing device), and a front device 22.

[0011] The lower running body 1 comprises left and right side frames 1a, drive wheels 1b attached to one end of each side frame 1a and driven by a hydraulic motor (not shown), driven wheels 1c attached to the other end of the side frame 1a, and tracks 1d wrapped around the drive wheels 1b and driven wheels 1c. In addition, a dozer blade 44 is provided on the rear side of the lower running body 1 so as to be able to move up and down.

[0012] The upper rotating body 6 is mounted on the lower traveling body 1 via a rotating device 3 (first rotating device). When the rotating device 3 is driven, the upper rotating body 6 rotates around the vertical axis V1 in the direction of arrow 40 in Figure 1 (left and right direction). The upper rotating body 6 comprises a rotating frame 2, a driver's cab 5, a counterweight 43, and a rocking device 14.

[0013] The slewing frame 2 constitutes the base frame of the upper slewing body 6. The operator's cab 5 is a control room where the operator sits to operate the front equipment 22, etc., and is provided on the slewing frame 2.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the operator cab 5 is provided with a driver's seat 45 for an operator to sit on, left and right operation levers 46L, 46R, a monitor 47, and the like. The operator sits on the driver's seat 45 and operates the operation levers 46L, 46R with the left and right hands to operate the front device 22 and other components. In this process, an image of the front device 22 captured by a camera unit 50 (described later) is displayed on the monitor 47. Therefore, the operator can operate the front device 22 while viewing the image displayed on the monitor 47. That is, the monitor 47 assists the operator's operation.

[0015] The counterweight 43 is a heavy component for balancing the weight with the front device 22, and is provided at the rear portion of the swing frame 2.

[0016] The swing device 14 is provided on the front side of the swing frame 2. The swing device 14 is connected to the fixed side frame 8 of the link mechanism 7, and swings the link mechanism 7 (fixed side frame 8) about the vertical axis V2 in the direction of arrow 41 (left-right direction) in Figure 1. Since the link mechanism 7 is connected to the front device 22, the front device 22 swings about the vertical axis V2 in the direction of arrow 41 by the swing device 14.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3, the link mechanism 7 is a four-bar linkage, and is configured by connecting the fixed side frame 8 and the movable side frame 9 via an upper link 10, a lower link 11, and connecting pins 10a, 10b at both ends of the respective links 10, 11, and connecting pins 11a, 11b. The hydraulic cylinder 12 moves the movable side frame 9 up and down. The hydraulic cylinder 12 is mounted such that one end thereof is connected to an intermediate portion of the fixed side frame 8 via a pin 12a, and the other end is connected to the movable side frame 9 via a connecting pin 10b. The link mechanism 7 can translate the movable side frame 9 vertically by expanding and contracting the hydraulic cylinder 12. Thereby, the front device 22 translates in the vertical direction. Note that Figure 1 shows a state where the front device 22 is at the lowermost position.

[0018] The vertical swivel device 18 is a device for rotating the front device 22 around the horizontal axis H1 in the direction of arrow 42, and is provided on the movable side frame 9 of the link mechanism 7. The vertical swivel device 18 comprises an outer casing 19 and a support frame 20. The outer casing 19 is made up of a hollow box and houses a swivel motor 35, a gear 36, a swivel bearing 37, and an interlocking mechanism 60 (described later) (see Figure 5A). The support frame 20 is a structure to which the front device 22 is attached.

[0019] When the slewing motor 35 is driven, the slewing bearing 37 rotates via a gear 36 connected to the shaft of the slewing motor 35. As the slewing bearing 37 rotates, the support frame 20 connected to the slewing bearing 37 rotates around the horizontal axis H1. Since the front device 22 is connected to the support frame 20, the front device 22 also rotates around the horizontal axis H1 in conjunction with the rotation of the support frame 20.

[0020] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, a camera unit 50 for imaging the front device 22 is provided in the upper left corner when viewed from the front of the exterior body 19. Details of the camera unit 50 will be described later.

[0021] The front device 22 is connected to the support frame 20 of the vertical slewing device 18 via a pin 21, and is rotatable vertically around the pin 21. That is, the front device 22 is attached to the slewing frame 2 via the vertical slewing device 18, the link mechanism 7, and the rocking device 14. Furthermore, as described above, the front device 22 rotates in the direction of arrow 42 around the horizontal axis H1 by the vertical slewing device 18.

[0022] The front device 22 comprises an articulated arm 24 and a scraping bucket 25. The articulated arm 24 includes a first arm 27 and a second arm 29. The first arm 27 is driven by a hydraulic cylinder 30, and the second arm 29 is driven by a hydraulic cylinder 31. The scraping bucket 25 is located at the tip of the second arm 29 and is driven by a hydraulic cylinder 32. The scraping bucket 25 has a roughly C-shaped cross-section, has an excavation function, and is structured to accommodate sediment inside.

[0023] Next, the camera unit 50 will be described. Figure 5A is a view of the camera unit 50 from the front, Figure 5B is a view of the camera unit 50 from above, and Figure 5C is a cross-sectional view of the camera unit 50 from the side.

[0024] As shown in Figures 5A, 5B, and 5C, the camera unit 50 comprises a camera 51, a turntable 52, a slip ring 53, and an interlocking mechanism 60.

[0025] The camera 51 is positioned above the front device 22, at the upper left corner when viewed from the front of the exterior body 19. However, the mounting position of the camera 51 is not limited to the upper left corner. For example, the camera 51 may be located at the upper right corner of the exterior body 19.

[0026] The rotating platform 52 is formed, for example, in the shape of a disc, and supports the camera 51 so that it can rotate. The harness leading from the camera 51 is inserted through the slip ring 53. Thus, the harness is protected by the slip ring 53. The camera 51 and the controller 70 can also be connected wirelessly.

[0027] The interlocking mechanism 60 includes multiple gears 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65. It rotates the camera 51 in the direction of arrow 54 in Figure 5B relative to the horizontal axis H2 in conjunction with the rotation of the rotation motor 35 of the vertical rotation device 18. Note that the horizontal axis H1 and the horizontal axis H2 are parallel to each other.

[0028] To explain in more detail, the interlocking mechanism 60 is configured such that gear 61 and gear 62 mesh together, gear 62 and gear 63 mesh together, gear 63 and gear 64 rotate together on the same axis, gear 64 and gear 65 mesh together, and gear 65 and gear 36 rotate together on the same axis.

[0029] Therefore, when the slewing motor 35 is driven, gears 36 and 65 rotate simultaneously. When gear 36 rotates, the slewing bearing 37 that meshes with gear 36 rotates. When gear 65 rotates, its rotational force is transmitted in the order of gears 64, 63, 62, and 61, ultimately causing the camera 51 mounted on the turntable 52 to rotate (changing the orientation of the camera 51).

[0030] Here, the number of teeth in the interlocking mechanism 60 is set so that the rotation ratio between the front device 22 (swivel bearing 37) and the camera 51 is 1:1. Therefore, the rotation angle of the front device 22 and the rotation angle of the camera 51 are always the same. In other words, the direction in which the camera 51 views the front device 22 never changes. Therefore, although the background reflected around the front device 22 changes as the camera 51 rotates, the image of the front device 22 captured by the camera 51 remains the same regardless of whether the front device 22 is oriented vertically or horizontally. Note that the rotation ratio between the front device 22 and the camera 51 does not necessarily have to be 1:1. The camera 51 only needs to rotate enough so that it can always image the front device 22 from above, regardless of its orientation.

[0031] Figure 6 is a functional block diagram of the controller 70. The controller 70 is an on-board computer that calculates various information and control command values ​​related to the machine control of the scraping work machine 100 and outputs electrical command signals. It is composed of a CPU, various memories, a communication interface, etc., and is located, for example, behind the driver's seat 45 inside the driver's cab 5.

[0032] As shown in Figure 6, the camera 51 is connected to the input side of the controller 70, and the monitor 47 is connected to the output side. The image of the front device 22 captured by the camera 51 is displayed on the monitor 47 via the controller 70. The controller 70 performs various display controls for displaying the image on the monitor 47.

[0033] Figure 7 shows an example of the display on the monitor 47, specifically the camera image when the front device 22 is oriented sideways, i.e., the state shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 7, since the front device 22 is oriented sideways, the belt conveyor 80 is displayed on the right side of the monitor 47, and the ground 81 is displayed on the left side of the monitor 47. The front device 22, which is positioned beneath the belt conveyor 80, is displayed in the center of the monitor 47.

[0034] As mentioned above, the camera 51 is linked to the front device 22 and is configured to follow changes in the orientation of the front device 22. Therefore, even if the front device 22 is turned sideways, the monitor 47 displays an image of the front device 22 viewed from above. As a result, the operator can operate the control levers 46L and 46R with the same feeling as when the front device 22 is in a vertical orientation. Thus, operability is improved.

[0035] In summary, the effects and advantages of the scraping machine 100 according to the above embodiment are as follows.

[0036] In other words, according to the scraping work machine 100 of this embodiment, the articulated arm 24 is turned sideways by the vertical rotation device 18, and by rotating the joints of the articulated arm 24, the scraping bucket 25 can be moved horizontally along the ground 81 to scrape out the accumulated material beneath the belt conveyor 80.

[0037] In this case, since the camera 51 is linked to (follows) the rotation of the articulated arm 24, the image of the front device 22 captured by the camera 51 is always an image of the front device 22 taken from above. Therefore, even if the actual orientation of the front device 22 is sideways, the operator can intuitively operate the control levers 46L and 46R while looking at the image of the front device 22 displayed on the monitor 47. Thus, operability is improved.

[0038] Here, if the camera 51 is not configured to rotate, then when the front device 22 rotates, the attitude and orientation of the front device 22 as captured by the camera 51 will change. As a result, it becomes difficult for the operator to intuitively understand whether to pull or push the operating levers 46L and 46R.

[0039] In this respect, as described above, in this embodiment, since the image of the front device 22 is always captured from above, the operator can operate the operating levers 46L and 46R as usual, according to their familiar operating sense.

[0040] (Variation 1) Figure 8 shows an example of the gear arrangement of the interlocking mechanism 60 according to Modification 1. The arrangement of gears 61 to 65 can be modified as appropriate, as shown in Figures 8(a) to (c), in addition to the arrangement shown in Figure 5A.

[0041] (Modification 2) Figure 9 shows the interlocking mechanism 60-1 according to Modification 2. Modification 2 shown in Figure 9 is characterized in that gear 61 and gear 63 are connected by a chain 66. This configuration also produces the same effects as the embodiment described above. In addition to the combination of gears (sprockets) and chain, a combination of belt and pulley may also be used.

[0042] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to having all the configurations described in the embodiments above, but also includes configurations in which some of those configurations are omitted. Furthermore, it is possible to add or replace some of the configurations of one embodiment with the configurations of another embodiment. Other embodiments that can be 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]

[0043] 1: Lower running body 2: Swivel frame 3: Swivel mechanism (first swivel mechanism) 5: Driver's cab 6: Upper rotating body 7: Link mechanism 8: Fixed side frame 9: Movable side frame 10: Link above 11: See link below 12: Hydraulic Cylinder 14: Oscillating device 18: Vertical rotation device (second rotation device) 19: Exterior 20: Support frame 22: Front device 24: Multi-jointed arm 25: Bucket for scraping 27: First Arm 29: Second Arm 35: Swivel motor 36: Gears 37: Swivel bearing 45: Driver's seat 46L, 46R: Operating levers 47: Monitor 50: Camera Unit 51: Camera 52: Turntable 53: Slip ring 60, 60-1: Interlocking mechanism 61, 62, 63, 64, 65: Gears 70: Controller 100: Scraping machine

Claims

1. Lower running body and An upper rotating body is provided on the lower traveling body via a first rotating device, and rotates around a vertical axis by the first rotating device, The driver's cab provided in the upper rotating body, A scraping work machine comprising a front device provided at the front of the upper rotating body via a second rotating device, and which rotates around a horizontal axis by the second rotating device, A camera for imaging the front device, The driver's cab is provided with a monitor that displays the image captured by the camera, A scraping machine characterized in that the orientation of the camera changes in accordance with the rotation of the front device around the horizontal axis.

2. In the scraping machine described in claim 1, The scraping work machine is characterized in that the camera is provided at a position above the front device in the second rotating device.

3. In the scraping machine described in claim 1, A scraping machine characterized in that the rotation ratio between the camera and the front device is 1:1.

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