Control device for a working machine, and a working machine including the control device

Abstract

To provide a control device for a work machine that allows for improved work efficiency of the work machine, regardless of geography and geological properties of a work site.SOLUTION: A control device for a work machine has an operation planning part forming an operation plan of the work machine, on the basis of a position of the work machine. The operation planning part acquires first geographical information related to the geography of a surrounding region of the work machine including the position, and first geological property information related to the geological properties of the surrounding region, and identifies a work region of the work machine on the basis of the first geographical information and the first geological property information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for a working machine and a working machine including the control device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a working machine capable of maintaining semi-automatic control construction accuracy regardless of soil quality has been known (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a hydraulic excavator including a traveling body, a revolving body rotatably mounted on the traveling body, and a front working machine pivotally connected to the revolving body in the vertical direction. The front working machine includes a boom pivotally connected to the revolving body in the vertical direction, an arm pivotally connected to the tip side of the boom in the vertical direction, a bucket pivotally connected to the tip side of the arm in the vertical direction, a boom cylinder for driving the boom, an arm cylinder for driving the arm, and a bucket cylinder for driving the bucket. The hydraulic excavator is also equipped with a pressure sensor that converts the load pressures of the boom cylinder, the arm cylinder, and the bucket cylinder into pressure signals and outputs them.

[0004] In the hydraulic excavator described in Patent Document 1, the load pressures of the boom cylinder, the arm cylinder, and the bucket cylinder detected by the pressure sensor are input to the soil acquisition unit as pressure signals. The soil acquisition unit acquires soil information based on the pressure signals and the like. In the hydraulic excavator, the operation command for the front working machine is corrected according to the estimated load calculated based on this soil information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, hydraulic excavators are used at various work sites in terms of terrain (open pit (single bench, double bench), underground mine, etc.) and geology (metal, non-metal, coal, limestone, etc.). Hydraulic excavators are required to work efficiently at such various work sites.

[0007] In this regard, the hydraulic excavator described in Patent Document 1 aims to improve work efficiency by changing the operation command of the front working machine according to the soil information of the work site. However, in this hydraulic excavator, since it is not assumed to change the operation command of the front working machine according to the terrain information, for example, at a work site where different terrains are mixed, the work may not be performed efficiently. In addition, in this hydraulic excavator, in order to acquire soil information, it is necessary to detect the load pressure of the boom cylinder, arm cylinder, and bucket cylinder by a pressure sensor. That is, in this hydraulic excavator, in order to acquire soil information, it is necessary to actually perform excavation work based on the operation of the operator. In order to further improve the work efficiency of the hydraulic excavator, it is desirable to change the operation command of the front working machine without actually performing excavation.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a control device for a working machine capable of improving the work efficiency of the working machine regardless of the terrain and geology of the work site, and a working machine including the control device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, a control device for a working machine according to the present invention is a control device for a working machine including an operation plan unit that generates an operation plan for the working machine based on the position of the working machine, wherein the operation plan unit acquires first terrain information regarding the terrain of the surrounding area of the working machine including the position and first geological information regarding the geology of the surrounding area, and specifies a working area of the working machine based on the first terrain information and the first geological information.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the control device for a working machine according to the present invention, an operator of the working machine does not need to actually perform an excavation operation, for example, in order to specify the above working area. That is, before starting the work by the working machine, it is grasped that the working area is an area where the working machine performs work based on the first terrain information and the first geological information. Therefore, the working efficiency of the working machine can be improved regardless of the terrain and geology of the work site. Other problems, configurations, and effects than the above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For components with the same reference numerals in each embodiment, unless otherwise specified, they have the same functions in each embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a controller (control device for a working machine) 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] First, the working machine to be controlled by the controller 100 according to this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the working machine is a hydraulic excavator 101 (hereinafter also referred to as the excavator 101), and the case where excavation work is performed by the hydraulic excavator 101 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the hydraulic excavator 101 includes a lower traveling body 5, an upper slewing body 4 rotatably attached to the lower traveling body 5, and a front working machine 10 rotatably attached to the upper slewing body 4. The controller 100 may be mounted on, for example, the upper slewing body 4, or may be provided in a command room or the like at a location separate from the hydraulic excavator 101. When the controller 100 is provided in the above command room or the like, the controller 100 may be connected to the hydraulic excavator 101 via, for example, a known wireless communication line or the like. Further, the hydraulic excavator 101 may be connected to a dump vehicle 504 described later via, for example, a known wireless communication line or the like.

[0014] The lower traveling body 5 is configured in a so-called crawler type, and a crawler is wound around between the driven wheels and the drive wheels. When the traveling motor is driven, rotational power is transmitted to the drive wheels via, for example, a speed reducer, and the crawler is driven to circulate between the drive wheels and the driven wheels. Since the configuration of the lower traveling body 5 is well-known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0015] The upper slewing body 4 is rotatably mounted on the upper part of the lower traveling body 5, and includes a slewing frame, a machine room, a counterweight, an operator's cab 6, etc. The slewing frame is the base frame of the upper slewing body 4 and is rotatably mounted on the upper part of the lower traveling body 5. A machine room is provided in the rear area of the slewing frame. Inside the machine room, equipment such as an engine and a hydraulic pump driven by the engine is mounted. In FIG. 1, this hydraulic pump is described as a hydraulic device 111. A counterweight is mounted further rearward of the machine room in the slewing frame. The counterweight is a weight for balancing with the front work implement 10. Also, in the slewing frame, an operator's cab 6 is provided in the front area. Since the configuration of the upper slewing body 4 is well-known, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0016] The front work implement 10 is an articulated type provided at the front part of the upper slewing body 4 for performing operations such as excavation of earth and sand, and includes a boom 2, an arm 1, a bucket 3, a boom cylinder for driving the boom 2, an arm cylinder for driving the arm 1, and a bucket cylinder for driving the bucket 3 (none of which are shown in the figure). The boom 2 is connected to the front part of the upper slewing body 4, the arm 1 is connected to the tip of the boom 2, and the bucket 3 is connected to the tip of the arm 1. The boom 2, the arm 1, and the bucket 3 all rotate about a pin extending horizontally to the left and right as a fulcrum. The boom cylinder, the arm cylinder, and the attachment cylinder are all hydraulic actuators. These hydraulic actuators receive the supply of hydraulic oil discharged from the hydraulic device 111 (the hydraulic pump mounted in the machine room), and each expands and contracts to drive the front work implement 10. Since the configuration of the front work implement 10 is well-known, a detailed description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, an example in which the bucket 3 is attached to the arm 1 is shown, but the object to which it is attached is not limited to this, and it can be appropriately replaced with other attachments such as a breaker or a grapple.

[0017] Although illustration is omitted, the controller 100 has a configuration in which a CPU as an operation circuit, a RAM and a ROM as storage devices, etc. are connected via a bus. The controller 100 controls the operation of the entire system by the CPU executing various control programs stored in the ROM. Thereby, the controller 100 functions as a position detection unit 103, an excavation surface imaging unit 104, a terrain geology determination unit 107, an operation planning unit 109, and an automatic control unit 110, which will be described later.

[0018] <First Embodiment> The controller 100 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 100 according to the present embodiment includes a position detection unit 103, a terrain geology determination unit 107, an operation planning unit 109, and an automatic control unit 110.

[0019] The position detection unit 103 detects the position of the hydraulic excavator 101. Specifically, the position detection unit 103 receives radio waves from four or more satellites including the GPS satellite 102 and calculates the position of the hydraulic excavator 101. The GPS satellite 102 is an artificial satellite for acquiring the position coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the hydraulic excavator 101 by a satellite positioning system. Note that the controller 100 may not include the position detection unit 103. In this case, a position detection device (not shown) may be provided separately from the controller 100 to detect the position of the hydraulic excavator 101. The position detection device may be, for example, a sensor such as LiDAR. The position detection device transmits the position information of the hydraulic excavator 101 to the terrain geology determination unit 107 described later.

[0020] The terrain and geology determination unit 107 determines the terrain and geological features of the area where the hydraulic excavator 101 performs excavation work. Here, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flowchart of the terrain and geology determination unit 107 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terrain and geology determination unit 107 receives, from the position detection unit 103, the position coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the hydraulic excavator 101 as position information (S100 in FIG. 2). Next, the terrain and geology determination unit 107 transmits the position information (latitude, longitude) to the terrain database 105 (S110 in FIG. 2), and receives terrain information A (second terrain information) from the terrain database 105 (S120 in FIG. 2). The terrain database 105 is an external storage device that stores terrain information. As an example, the terrain database 105 divides the ground surface into a plurality of grids and stores information on the latitude, longitude, and elevation of each grid. Thereby, based on the position information (latitude, longitude) of the hydraulic excavator 101 received from the terrain and geology determination unit 107, the terrain database 105 outputs, as terrain information A, data regarding the coordinates (for example, elevation) of the grid points in the surrounding area 501 of the excavator 101 including the position of the excavator 101.

[0021] Next, the terrain and geology determination unit 107 transmits the information (latitude, longitude) received from the position detection unit 103 and the terrain information A (elevation) received from the terrain database 105 to the geology database 106 as the position information of the excavator 101 (S130 in FIG. 2), and receives geology information B (second geology information) from the geology database 106 (S140 in FIG. 2). The geology database 106 is an external storage device that stores geological information. As an example, the geology database 106 divides the ground surface into a plurality of grids and stores geological information (hardness, viscosity, mass per unit volume (hereinafter simply referred to as mass)) of the latitude, longitude, elevation, and its coordinates of each grid. Thereby, based on the above information (latitude, longitude, elevation) received from the terrain and geology determination unit 107, the geology database 106 outputs, as geology information B, the geological information (hardness, viscosity, mass) of the surrounding area 501 of the excavator 101 including the position of the excavator 101.

[0022] Next, the terrain geology determination unit 107 generates terrain information A’ (first terrain information) and geology information B’ (first geology information), which will be described later, from the above-mentioned terrain information A and geology information B (S150 in FIG. 2), and transmits the terrain information A’ and geology information B’ to the operation planning unit 109 (S160 in FIG. 2).

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the terrain information A’ generated by the operation flowchart of FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the symbol 301 indicates the position and orientation of the hydraulic excavator 101. The surrounding area 501 is an area including the position of the hydraulic excavator 101 and its surroundings. The working bench (working area) 502 is an area included in the range of the surrounding area 501 and is the area where the excavator 101 performs excavation work. The excavation area 503 is a part of the working bench 502 and is the area where the excavator 101 will perform excavation. The depression area 510 is an area where the height is lower than the surroundings. As shown in FIG. 3, the terrain information A’ is terrain surface shape information obtained from the lateral width, depth, and height of the surrounding area 501, the working bench 502, and the excavation area 503. This surface shape information is generated, for example, from a set of coordinates (latitude, longitude, altitude) of a plurality of grids or a set of triangular polygon mesh data. Also, the geology information B’ is, for example, the information on the hardness, viscosity, and mass of the soil in the working bench 502 clustered into five levels respectively. By clustering the information on the hardness, viscosity, and mass of the soil, minerals (such as iron, bauxite, rare metals, etc.) existing in the excavation area 503 can be inferred.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation plan flowchart of the operation planning unit 109 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 1. The operation planning unit 109 generates an operation plan for the excavator 101 based on the position of the excavator 101. Specifically, the operation planning unit 109 acquires terrain information A' regarding the terrain of the surrounding area 501 of the excavator 101 including the position of the excavator 101, and geological information B' regarding the geology of the surrounding area 501 (S200 in FIG. 4). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the operation planning unit 109 acquires, as the terrain information A', the surface shape information of the terrain obtained from the width, depth, and height of the surrounding area 501, the working bench 502, and the excavation area 503. Further, the operation planning unit 109 acquires, as the geological information B', the information on the hardness, viscosity, and mass of the soil of the working bench 502 of the excavator 101 included in the surrounding area 501. Then, the operation planning unit 109 identifies the working bench 502 based on the terrain information A' and the geological information B'. The working bench 502 is an area where excavation work is performed by the excavator 101. Specifically, the operation planning unit 109 identifies the type of mineral present in the working bench 502 based on the information on the type of mineral included in the geological information B' (S210 in FIG. 4), thereby identifying the working bench 502. Further, the operation planning unit 109 may identify the excavation area 503 in which the mineral to be excavated exists from among the working benches 502 based on the hardness, viscosity, and mass of the excavation area 503 included in the geological information B'. Finally, the operation planning unit 109 transmits an operation instruction (operation plan) to excavate the working bench 502 (particularly the excavation area 503) to the automatic control unit 110 (S220 in FIG. 4).

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an operation flowchart of the automatic control unit 110 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 1. The automatic control unit 110 controls the operation of the hydraulic excavator 101. The automatic control unit 110 receives a digging work instruction for the excavation area 503 from the operation planning unit 109 (S300 in FIG. 5), and generates commands for the movement, turning, and digging operations of the hydraulic excavator 101 based on the work instruction (S310 in FIG. 5). The automatic control unit 110 transmits the movement command to the hydraulic motor of the lower traveling body 5 (S320 in FIG. 5), transmits the turning command to the hydraulic motor of the upper slewing body 4 (S330 in FIG. 5), and transmits an operation command for the front work machine 10 to the hydraulic device 111 (S340 in FIG. 5). Based on the operation command, pressure oil is supplied from the hydraulic device 111 to the arm cylinder, boom cylinder, and bucket cylinder. Thereby, the digging operation is realized by the coordinated operation of the arm 1, boom 2, and bucket 3.

[0026] As described above, the operation planning unit 109 of the controller 100 according to the present embodiment acquires the terrain information A' regarding the terrain of the surrounding area 501 and the geological information B' regarding the geology of the working bench 502 based on the position of the excavator 101, and based on the terrain information A' and the geological information B', specifies that the working bench 502 is an area where the excavator 101 performs a digging operation. Therefore, the operator of the excavator 101 does not need to actually perform a digging operation to specify the working bench 502 (particularly the excavation area 503). That is, before starting the work by the excavator 101, the operator grasps that the working bench 502 is an area where the excavator 101 performs a digging operation based on the terrain information A' and the geological information B'. Therefore, the working efficiency by the excavator 101 can be improved regardless of the terrain and geology of the work site.

[0027] <Second Embodiment> Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 13, the controller 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The controller 100 according to the second embodiment is different from the controller 100 according to the first embodiment in terms of the functions of the operation planning unit 109 and the automatic control unit 110. In the controller 100 according to the second embodiment, descriptions of the same configurations and operations as those in the first embodiment are omitted.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a system configuration example of the controller 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an operation flowchart of the operation planning unit 109 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 6.

[0029] The operation planning unit 109 according to the present embodiment generates an operation plan for excavation work (for example, excavation, turning, dumping, and return turning) by the hydraulic excavator 101. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation planning unit 109 transmits the width, depth, and height of the working bench 502 included in the terrain information A', the hardness, viscosity, and mass per unit volume of the excavation area 503 included in the geological information B', and the operation type (excavation, turning, dumping, return turning) of the hydraulic excavator 101 to the skilled operation database 108 (S230 in FIG. 7). Next, the operation planning unit 109 acquires the operation know-how information C of a skilled operator for the excavation area 503 from the skilled operation database 108 (S240 in FIG. 7). Here, the skilled operation database 108 is an external storage device that stores the know-how information of human skilled operators. As an example, the skilled operation database 108 stores the operation methods of skilled operators corresponding to the operation type (excavation, turning, dumping, return turning), the terrain information, and the geological information of the excavation location. Thereby, the skilled operation database 108 outputs the operation know-how information C based on the terrain information A', the geological information B', and the operation type (excavation, turning, dumping, return turning) of the hydraulic excavator 101 received from the operation planning unit 109. Next, the operation planning unit 109 generates a work plan (work trajectory information and work speed information) for the excavation area 503, which is a part of the working bench 502, based on the terrain information A', the geological information B', and the operation know-how information C (S250 in FIG. 7), and transmits the work plan to the automatic control unit 110 (S260 in FIG. 7).

[0030] Next, the operation know-how information C output from the skilled operation database 108 will be described. First, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10, the operation know-how information C regarding the excavation depth d output based on the height h of the work bench 502 and the viscosity of the excavation area 503 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state of the excavation work by the hydraulic excavator 101. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the hydraulic excavator 101 is located on the work bench 502, and the tip 701 of the bucket 3 is located in the vicinity of the excavation area 503. As shown in FIG. 8, the bench height h is the vertical length of the work bench 502. Further, the excavation depth d is the length of the excavation area 503 in the direction from the front surface of the excavation area 503 toward the excavator 101.

[0031] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of the operation know-how regarding the excavation depth d received by the operation planning unit 109 in the operation flowchart of FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another example of the operation know-how regarding the excavation depth d received by the operation planning unit 109 in the operation flowchart of FIG. 7. FIGS. 9 and 10 show the operation know-how for determining the excavation depth d in the excavation area 503. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis of the graph indicates the viscosity of the soil, and the vertical axis indicates the excavation depth d. Further, FIG. 10 shows that the excavation depth d corresponding to these input information is output as the operation know-how C with the operation type, bench height h, and viscosity as input information. FIG. 9 shows that the higher the viscosity of the soil, the shorter the achievable excavation depth d. Further, FIG. 10 shows that in a certain range of bench heights, the higher the viscosity of the soil, the shorter the achievable excavation depth d. This is because the higher the viscosity of the soil, the greater the load on the advancing direction of the bucket 3. Also, FIGS. 9 and 10 show that the greater the bench height h of the excavation area 503, the shorter the depth.

[0032] In this way, the operation planning unit 109 acquires the height h of the working bench included in the terrain information A' and the viscosity of the excavation area 503 included in the geological information B'. The greater the height h and the viscosity, the smaller the excavation depth of the shovel 101 with respect to the working bench 502 (especially the excavation area 503) is set as the working trajectory information. On the other hand, the operation planning unit 109 sets the excavation depth d of the shovel 101 with respect to the working bench 502 (especially the excavation area 503) to be larger as the working trajectory information, the smaller the height h and the viscosity are. In the examples shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the height h of the working bench 502 and the viscosity of the excavation area 503 are transmitted from the operation planning unit 109 to the skilled operation database 108. Thereby, the operation planning unit 109 obtains information on the excavation depth d from the skilled operation database 108 and generates the trajectory of the tip 701 of the bucket 3. The trajectory of the tip 701 of the bucket 3 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20.

[0033] Next, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the operation know-how C regarding the excavation order, which is output based on the viscosity and mass of the excavation area 503, will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of the work plan regarding the excavation order generated in the operation flowchart of FIG. 7. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the operation know-how regarding the excavation order received by the operation planning unit in the operation flowchart of FIG. 7.

[0034] FIG. 11 shows a state where a dump truck 504, which is the dumping destination of the excavated soil, is arranged on the left side of the hydraulic excavator 101, and the hydraulic excavator 101 is excavating an excavation area 503. FIG. 12 shows know-how for determining whether to start excavation from the left or right side of the excavation area 503 when the excavation area 503 is excavated in, for example, four divisions in the state shown in FIG. 11. In FIG. 12, the horizontal axis represents the mass per unit volume of the soil, and the vertical axis represents the viscosity of the soil. FIG. 12 shows that when the mass per unit volume is small and the viscosity is low, excavation should start from the right side of the excavation area 503. Under these geological conditions, it is possible to heap up the soil in the bucket 3, and the soil is likely to fall from the bucket 3 to the ground during transportation to the dump truck 504. Therefore, by starting excavation from the right side of the excavation area 503, even if the soil spills from the bucket 3 during turning, the spilled soil can be scooped up during the next excavation. On the other hand, FIG. 12 shows that when the mass per unit volume is large and the viscosity is high, excavation should start from the left side of the excavation area 503. Under these geological conditions, the excavation area 503 does not collapse during transportation to the dump truck 504. Also, since it is difficult to heap up the soil in the bucket 3, the soil rarely spills to the ground. Therefore, by starting excavation from a position close to the dump truck 504, the soil can be reliably transported.

[0035] In this way, the operation planning unit 109 acquires the viscosity and the mass per unit volume of the excavation area 503 included in the geological information B'. The smaller the viscosity and the mass are, the operation planning unit 109 sets, as the work trajectory information, an excavation sequence in which excavation is performed from a position far from the dump vehicle 504 (the vehicle to be loaded) to a position close to the dump vehicle 504 in the excavation area 503. In this case, the operation planning unit 109 may set an excavation trajectory in which the excavation amount decreases as it moves from a far position to a near position. Further, the larger the viscosity and the mass are, the operation planning unit 109 sets, as the work trajectory information, an excavation sequence in which excavation is performed from a position close to the dump vehicle 504 to a position far from the dump vehicle 504. In this case, the operation planning unit 109 sets an excavation trajectory in which the excavation amount decreases as it moves from a near position to a far position, and may set, as the work speed information, a turning speed at which the transportation speed increases as it moves from a near position to a far position. In the examples shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the viscosity and the mass of the excavation area 503 are transmitted from the operation planning unit 109 to the skilled operation database 108. Thereby, the operation planning unit 109 obtains information on the excavation sequence from the skilled operation database 108 and determines the excavation start position of the excavator 101.

[0036] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation flowchart of the automatic control unit 110 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 6. The automatic control unit 110 controls the movement operation, the turning operation, and the excavation operation related to the excavation work of the excavator 101 based on the excavation depth d, the excavation sequence, the excavation trajectory (work trajectory information), and the turning speed (work speed information) transmitted from the operation planning unit 109. Specifically, the automatic control unit 110 receives a work plan (work trajectory information and work speed information) from the operation planning unit 109 (S300a in FIG. 15), and generates commands for the movement, turning, and excavation operations of the hydraulic excavator 101 based on this work plan (S310a in FIG. 15).

[0037] In the mining business, since workers are forced to stay at the mine for a long time, it is difficult to secure skilled operators. Also, in the mining excavation work using the hydraulic excavator 101, there is often a difference in production volume between skilled workers and beginners. Therefore, by reflecting the operation know-how of skilled workers in the control of the hydraulic excavator 101, productivity can be increased. In particular, in mines, there are various differences in terrain (open pit (single bench, double bench), underground, etc.) and geology (metal, non-metal, coal, limestone, etc.). And depending on the differences in terrain and geology, the operation know-how of skilled workers in excavation work also varies. Therefore, when reflecting the operation know-how of skilled workers in excavation work, it is necessary to make a selection according to the terrain and geology of the site. In this regard, according to the controller 100 according to the present embodiment, the operation planning unit 109 generates a work plan (work trajectory information and work speed information) for the excavation area 503 based on the operation know-how information C, and transmits the work plan to the automatic control unit 110. For this reason, based on the operation know-how of skilled workers (excavation depth d, excavation order, excavation trajectory, and turning speed) according to the differences in terrain and geology, it becomes possible to control the moving operation, turning operation, and excavation operation related to the excavation work of the hydraulic excavator 101. Therefore, the working efficiency by the hydraulic excavator 101 can be further improved.

[0038] <Modification Example> Next, with reference to FIGS. 14 to 20, the controller 100 according to the modification example of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The controller 100 according to this modification example is different from the controller 100 according to the second embodiment in terms of the function of the automatic control unit 110. Regarding the same configuration and operation as in the second embodiment in the controller 100 according to this modification example, the description will be omitted.

[0039] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the controller 100 according to a modified example of the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flowchart of the automatic control unit 110 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 14. The automatic control unit 110 generates a display command to the monitor 509 based on the work plan transmitted from the operation planning unit 109, that is, the excavation depth d, the excavation order, the excavation trajectory (work trajectory information), and the turning speed (work speed information) (S350 in FIG. 15). Further, the automatic control unit 110 displays information on the moving operation, the turning operation, and the excavation operation on the monitor 509 provided on the excavator 101 based on the work trajectory information and the work speed information (S360 in FIG. 15). The operator operates the excavator 101 based on the information displayed on the monitor 509 described later.

[0040] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the monitor 509 based on the display command generated in the operation flowchart of FIG. 15. FIG. 16 shows the movement trajectory of the hydraulic excavator 101 displayed on the monitor 509 in the driver's seat 6 to assist the operator of the hydraulic excavator 101. In FIG. 16, the monitor 509 displays the position of the excavator 101, the surrounding area 501, the working bench 502 where the excavator 101 performs excavation work, and the excavation area 503 where the excavator 101 first excavates. Further, the monitor 509 displays a dump truck 504, a tray 505, a stop position 506, an arrow 507, and a height map 508. The dump truck 504 is for loading the soil excavated by the hydraulic excavator 101 and transporting it to other places. The tray 505 is provided on the dump truck 504 and is a container for loading the soil excavated by the hydraulic excavator 101. The stop position 506 is a symbol that instructs to stop the front of the hydraulic excavator 101 at this position. The arrow 507 is a symbol indicating the movement trajectory of the hydraulic excavator 101 to the stop position 506. The height map 508 is a diagram showing the heights of the working bench 502 and the excavation area 503 with respect to the surrounding area 501.

[0041] The automatic control unit 110 generates the positional relationship among the hydraulic excavator 101, the working bench 502, and the excavation area 503 from the terrain information A’ (the width, depth, and height of the working bench 502) and the position information of the excavator 101 generated by the terrain and geology determination unit 107, and causes these positions to be displayed on the monitor 509. Further, the automatic control unit 110 determines the depth d of the excavation area 503 based on the operation know-how information C received from the skilled operation database 108 according to the terrain information A’ (the height of the working bench 502) and the geology information B’ (the viscosity of the excavation area 503), and displays this. As a result, the position where the hydraulic excavator 101 stops is obtained, and the stop position 506 is displayed. Further, since the position of the depression 510 is known from the height h of the working bench 502, an arrow 507 indicating the movement trajectory toward the stop position 506 is displayed so as to avoid this depression 510. Further, the stop position of the dump truck 504 is determined by the stop position 506 of the hydraulic excavator 101 and is displayed on the monitor 509. For this reason, the stop position and the direction of the dump truck 504 are displayed so that an appropriate stop position can be indicated from the excavator 101 to the dump truck 504. Note that the same information as that displayed on the monitor 509 may be displayed on the monitor of the actual dump truck 504. In addition, when the dump truck 504 is not stopped at the correct position, the operator of the hydraulic excavator 101 may be notified by a lamp or a sound.

[0042] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another example of the screen of the monitor 509 based on the display command generated in the operation flowchart of FIG. 15. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another example of the screen of the monitor 509 based on the display command generated in the operation flowchart of FIG. 15. Specifically, FIGS. 17 and 18 show how to proceed with the excavation in the excavation area 503.

[0043] FIG. 17 shows the excavation depth, excavation sequence, and excavation volume when the soil in the excavation area 503 has high viscosity and high mass per unit volume. That is, FIG. 17 shows that the excavation depth d3 is shortened, and excavation is carried out in the order of "1" to "4" from a position close to the tray 505 of the dump truck to a position far from it. Also, FIG. 17 shows that the excavation volume at "1" is large and the excavation volume at "4" is small. Under the geological conditions shown in FIG. 17, at the location of "1" where the distance to the tray 505 of the dump truck 504 is short, more soil is excavated. At this time, it is advisable to reduce the speed of the transportation turning. On the other hand, at the location of "4" where the distance to the dump truck 504 is long, less soil is excavated. At this time, it is advisable to increase the speed of the transportation turning. Thereby, the total cycle time of four times from excavation to loading can be shortened and the efficiency of the excavation work can be improved.

[0044] Moreover, FIG. 18 shows the excavation depth, excavation sequence, and excavation volume when the viscosity is low and the mass per unit volume is small. The depth d4 of the excavation area 503 shown in FIG. 18 is longer than the depth d3 of the excavation area 503 shown in FIG. 17. And it is shown that excavation is carried out in the order of "1" to "4" from a position far from the tray 505 of the dump truck 504 to a position close to it. This is because it is assumed that the soil excavated during the transportation turning will spill out of the bucket 3 due to the low viscosity of the soil. That is, when turning to load the soil excavated in the area of "1" onto the tray 505 of the dump truck 504, the soil may spill out of the bucket 3. For example, if the soil spills into the area of "2", when excavating the area of "2", the previously spilled soil can be scooped up together. Also, since the amount of soil that spills is predicted to increase as it goes to the area of "4", the excavation volume is reduced as it goes from a far position to a near position. Thereby, the total cycle time of four times from excavation to loading can be shortened and the efficiency of the excavation work can be improved.

[0045] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of the screen of the monitor 509 based on the display command generated by the operation flowchart of FIG. 15. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing another example of the screen of the monitor 509 based on the display command generated by the operation flowchart of FIG. 15. FIG. 19 shows the trajectory of the tip 701 during excavation when the soil has high viscosity and a large mass per unit volume. That is, FIG. 19 shows that even when the hydraulic pressure applied to the arm 1, boom 2, and bucket 3 is maximized, it is not possible to dig deeper than the depth d1. On the other hand, FIG. 20 shows the trajectory of the tip 701 during excavation when the soil has low viscosity and a small mass per unit volume. That is, FIG. 20 shows that it is possible to lift the bucket 3 upward even when digging to a depth d2 greater than the depth d1.

[0046] Thus, according to this modification, according to the differences in the terrain and geology of the work site, based on the operation know-how of skilled workers (excavation depth, excavation order, excavation trajectory, and turning speed), the moving operation, turning operation, and excavation operation related to the excavation work of the excavator 101 can be displayed on the monitor 509. Therefore, the operator can perform the excavation work in accordance with the operation know-how of skilled workers displayed on the monitor 509. For example, in the excavation work of a mine by the hydraulic excavator 101, the difference in production volume between skilled workers and beginners can be reduced. Thereby, for example, when performing excavation work with a plurality of hydraulic excavators 101, the work efficiency of the entire work site can be improved.

[0047] <Third Embodiment> Next, the controller 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 to 23. The controller 100 according to the third embodiment is different from the controller 100 according to the second embodiment in that an excavation surface imaging unit 104 is provided and in terms of the function of the terrain and geology determination unit 107. In the controller 100 according to the third embodiment, the description of the same configuration and operation as in the second embodiment will be omitted.

[0048] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the controller 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flowchart of the terrain and geology determination unit 107 included in the controller 100 of FIG. 21. FIG. 23 is a functional block diagram of the terrain and geology determination unit 107 of FIG. 21.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 21, the controller 100 according to the present embodiment includes an excavation surface imaging unit 104. The excavation surface imaging unit 104 acquires point group data a, which is the coordinates of the grid points on the surface of the working bench 502, and image data b including the color and particle size of the surface of the working bench 502, from a camera (not shown) provided on the shovel 101. As shown in FIG. 23, the excavation surface imaging unit 104 transmits the point group data a and the image data b to the terrain and geology determination unit 107. The terrain and geology determination unit 107 generates terrain information A' and geology information B' based on the point group data a and the image data b. Specifically, the terrain and geology determination unit 107 generates terrain information A' by correcting terrain information A based on the point group data a, and generates geology information B' by correcting geology information B' based on the image data b.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 23, the terrain and geology determination unit 107 according to the present embodiment includes an excavation area extraction unit 1001, a terrain data correction unit 1002, and a geology data correction unit 1003. The excavation area extraction unit 1001 receives terrain information A (elevation) of the surrounding area 501 including the shovel 101 from the terrain database 105. The terrain and geology determination unit 107 receives the position information (latitude, longitude) of the shovel 101 from the position detection unit 103. Further, the excavation area extraction unit 1001 receives geology information B (hardness, viscosity, mass) of the surrounding area 501 of the shovel 101 including the position of the shovel 101 from the geology database 106. Then, the excavation area extraction unit 1001 extracts the terrain information and geology information of the excavation area 503 from the terrain information A and the geology information B. Further, the excavation area extraction unit 1001 transmits the extracted terrain information and geology information of the excavation area 503 to the terrain data correction unit 1002 and the geology data correction unit 1003, respectively. [[ID=?]]

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the terrain geology determination unit 107 receives the point cloud data a acquired by the excavation surface imaging unit 104 in the terrain data correction unit 1002 (S170 in FIG. 22). Further, the terrain geology determination unit 107 receives the terrain information A from the terrain database 105 in the terrain data correction unit 1002 (S120 in FIG. 22), and receives the terrain information of the excavation area 503 from the excavation area extraction unit 1001. The terrain data correction unit 1002 corrects the terrain information A based on the point cloud data a. Specifically, the terrain data correction unit 1002 corrects the grid point information of the excavation area 503 based on the height information of the grid points of the point cloud data a. The terrain data correction unit 1002 corrects the terrain information A to the latest terrain data based on the point cloud data a immediately before excavation. Specifically, the terrain data correction unit 1002 checks the consistency between the point cloud data a and the terrain information A immediately before excavation, and corrects the terrain information A to the latest terrain data if the two do not match. Then, the terrain data correction unit 1002 generates terrain information A' based on the corrected terrain information A (S180 in FIG. 22), and transmits this terrain information A' to the operation planning unit 109 (S160 in FIG. 22).

[0052] As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the terrain geology determination unit 107 receives the image data b acquired by the excavation surface imaging unit 104 in the geology data correction unit 1003 (S170 in FIG. 22). Further, the terrain geology determination unit 107 receives the geology information B from the geology database 106 in the geology data correction unit 1003 (S140 in FIG. 22), and receives the geology information of the excavation area 503 from the excavation area extraction unit 1001. The geology data correction unit 1003 corrects the geology information B based on the image data b. Specifically, the geology data correction unit 1003 determines the moisture of the soil from the color of the soil in the excavation area 503 included in the image data b, and corrects the viscosity of the soil included in the geology information B according to this result. Further, the geology data correction unit 1003 determines the mixing ratio of the soil and stone particles in the excavation area 503 included in the image data b, and corrects the hardness of the soil and the mass per unit volume in the excavation area 503. Then, the geology data correction unit 1003 generates geology information B' based on the corrected geology information B (S190 in FIG. 22), and transmits this geology information B' to the operation planning unit 109 (S160 in FIG. 22).

[0053] Thus, according to the third embodiment, the latest terrain information (point cloud data a) and geology information (image data b) of the excavation area 503 can be obtained via the excavation surface imaging unit 104. Further, the terrain geology determination unit 107 corrects the terrain information A and the geology information B based on the point cloud data a and the image data b. Therefore, the operation planning unit 109 can create a work plan for the hydraulic excavator 101 based on the latest terrain information and geology information. Thereby, the stagnation of the excavation work in the hydraulic excavator 101 is suppressed, and the work efficiency of the hydraulic excavator 101 can be further improved.

[0054] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are included. For example, the above embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Also, part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, for part of the configuration of each embodiment, addition, deletion, or replacement with other configurations is possible.

[0055] In addition, each of the above configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized by hardware, for example, by designing part or all of them with an integrated circuit. Also, each of the above configurations, functions, etc. may be realized by software by a processor interpreting and executing a program for realizing each function. Information such as a program, tape, file, etc. for realizing each function can be placed in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk, SSD (solid state drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, DVD.

[0056] Also, control lines and information lines show those considered necessary for explanation, and not necessarily all control lines and information lines are shown on the product. In fact, it may be considered that almost all the configurations are interconnected.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0057] 4 Upper slewing body 5 Lower traveling body 10 Front working machine 100 Controller (control device for working machine) 101 Hydraulic excavator (working machine) 103 Position detection unit 104 Excavation surface imaging unit 107 Terrain and geology determination unit 109 Operation planning unit 110 Automatic control unit 501 Surrounding area 502 Working bench (working area) 503 Excavation area 504 Dump truck (vehicle to be loaded)

Claims

1. A control device for a working machine, comprising an operation planning unit that generates an operation plan for an excavation operation by the working machine based on the position of the working machine, and an automatic control unit that controls the operation of the working machine, wherein the operation planning unit, acquires first terrain information regarding the terrain of the surrounding area of the working machine including the position of the working machine and its surroundings, and first geological information regarding the geology of the surrounding area including information on the type of minerals, identifies a working area, which is an area in the surrounding area where the working machine performs the excavation operation, based on the first terrain information and the first geological information, identifies an excavation area where the excavation target of the excavation operation exists from within the working area based on the first geological information, acquires, from an external storage device, operation know-how information of a skilled person for the excavation area based on the width, depth, and height of the working area included in the first terrain information, and the hardness, viscosity, and mass per unit volume of the excavation area included in the first geological information, generates working trajectory information and working speed information for the excavation area based on the operation know-how information, and transmits the working trajectory information and the working speed information to the automatic control unit, characterized in that it is a control device for a working machine.

2. wherein the operation planning unit, acquires the height of the working area included in the first terrain information and the viscosity of the excavation area included in the first geological information, sets the excavation depth of the working machine for the excavation area to be smaller as the height and the viscosity are higher as the working trajectory information, sets the excavation depth of the working machine for the excavation area to be larger as the height and the viscosity are lower as the working trajectory information, the control device for a working machine according to claim 1.

3. wherein the operation planning unit, acquires the viscosity and the mass per unit volume of the excavation area included in the first geological information, sets an excavation sequence for performing excavation from a position far from the loading target vehicle to a position close to the loading target vehicle in the excavation area as the working trajectory information, and sets an excavation trajectory for reducing the excavation amount as it moves from the far position to the near position, as the viscosity and the mass are smaller, The greater the viscosity and the mass, the more the excavation order for performing excavation from the nearer position to the farther position is set as the work trajectory information, the excavation trajectory for reducing the excavation amount as the work proceeds from the nearer position to the farther position is set, and as the work speed information, the turning speed at which the transportation speed increases as the work proceeds from the nearer position to the farther position is set. The control device for a working machine according to claim 1, characterized by this.

4. The working machine is a hydraulic excavator, The automatic control unit controls the moving operation, turning operation, and excavation operation related to the excavation work of the hydraulic excavator based on the work trajectory information and the work speed information transmitted from the operation planning unit, or displays information on the moving operation, the turning operation, and the excavation operation on a monitor provided on the hydraulic excavator. The control device for a working machine according to claim 2 or 3.

5. An excavation surface imaging unit that acquires point group data that is the coordinates of grid points on the surface of the work area, and image data that includes the color and particle size of the surface of the work area, A terrain geology determination unit that generates the first terrain information and the first geology information based on the point group data and the image data, The terrain geology determination unit A terrain data correction unit that acquires second terrain information regarding the coordinates of grid points in the surrounding area based on the position, corrects the second terrain information based on the point group data, and generates the first terrain information based on the corrected second terrain information, A geology data correction unit that acquires second geology information regarding the hardness, viscosity, and mass per unit volume in the surrounding area based on the position, corrects the second geology information based on the image data, and generates the first geology information based on the corrected second geology information. The control device for a working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

6. A lower traveling body, An upper slewing body rotatably attached to the lower traveling body, A front working machine rotatably attached to the upper slewing body, A working machine comprising the control device for a working machine according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 5.

Images