Crane operation support device and crane

Abstract

To make crane operation easier.SOLUTION: A crane 1 includes a boom 13 capable of derricking relative to a crane body, and a hook 14 that is suspended from the boom 13 so that it can be raised and lowered. A crane operation support system includes a driving operation unit 20 that performs a derricking operation of the boom 13 and a raising / lowering operation of the hook 14, and a display unit 31a that displays required operation information for operating the driving operation unit 20. Thus, the operator can suitably recognize the required operation parameters for operating the driving operation unit 20 by visually recognizing a displayed operation arrow D.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a crane operation assistance device and a crane. [Background technology]

[0002] In the past, when a load swayed during crane operation, the operator would deal with the situation by operating the boom and hook while taking into account the amplitude and direction of the load's swing. Patent Document 1 describes a technology that detects the displacement of a suspended load and the speed of the boom tip, and displays them in association with the direction of sway of the suspended load and the operating direction of the boom control lever, thereby assisting the operator in performing anti-sway operations. According to this technology, the operator operates the boom control lever in the same direction as the sway of the suspended load while looking at the displacement of the suspended load and the boom tip speed displayed on a display means, thereby attenuating the sway of the suspended load through a damping effect. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-48586 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the displayed state quantities of the crane, such as the swing amount of the load and the speed of the boom tip, change from moment to moment. Therefore, even if the operator refers to these changing state quantities of the crane, it is still not easy to use this information to appropriately determine the amount of operation of the control lever and the operation timing, etc.

[0005] The present invention aims to make it easier to operate a crane. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a crane operation assistance device that assists in the operation of a crane that includes a boom that can be raised and lowered relative to a crane body and a hook that is suspended from the boom so that it can be raised and lowered, an operation unit for performing a raising and lowering operation of the boom and a raising and lowering operation of the hook; a display unit that displays required operation information to be operated by the operation unit; 、 The display unit displays the required operation information in association with the appearance of the operation unit. .

[0007] The present invention also provides a crane, The crane operation assistance device; The crane comprises the crane body and the boom. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the crane can be operated more easily. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a crane according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of an operation support process. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display of required operation parameters. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of display of required operation parameters. [Figure 5] 4 is a time chart illustrating an example of operation of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a crane according to this embodiment. The crane 1 of this embodiment includes a lower structure 11, a rotating upper structure 12 that rotates relative to the lower structure 11, a boom (hoisting member) 13 that raises and lowers relative to the rotating upper structure 12, a hook 14 suspended from the boom 13 via a wire rope L, a detector 16 such as a camera that detects the swing of a suspended load H, an operation control unit 20 that can be operated by an operator, an input / output unit 30 that outputs information to the operator and receives information from the operator, and a control unit 40 that controls the operation of the crane 1. The detector 16 sends detected information (such as video data) about the swing of the suspended load H to the control unit 40 via an I / O 64. The crane main body according to this embodiment includes the lower structure 11 and the rotating upper structure 12.

[0012] Although shown in a simplified form in FIG. 1 , the lower structure 11 may be a traveling body such as a crawler, or may be a fixed structure. The upper rotating body 12 has a main frame connected to the lower structure 11 via bearings, and the crane 1 is equipped with a slewing device that rotates via the bearings using power from a hydraulic motor or the like. The boom 13 is rotatably connected to the main frame of the upper rotating body 12, and the crane 1 is equipped with a hoisting winch that raises and lowers the boom 13 by winding or paying out a hoisting wire rope. The hook 14 is suspended from the boom 13 via a wire rope L, and the crane 1 is equipped with a lifting winch that raises and lowers the hook 14 by winding or paying out the wire rope L. The operation unit 20, the input / output unit 30, and the control unit 40 may be located, for example, in a driver's cab and a control room (not shown) on the upper rotating body 12.

[0013] With the above configuration, the crane 1 can hook a load H on the hook 14, reel in the wire rope L to lift the load H, then rotate the upper rotating body 12 and, if necessary, change the boom hoisting angle to move the load H above the destination. The crane 1 then pays out the wire rope L to lower the load H to the destination. The rotation of the upper rotating body 12, the raising and lowering of the boom 13, and the raising and lowering of the load H are achieved by the control unit 40 outputting a rotation request signal, a boom hoist request signal, and a lift request signal via the I / O 63 to a rotation drive circuit 51 that drives the rotation device of the upper rotating body 12, a boom hoist drive circuit 52 that drives the boom hoist winch, and a lift drive circuit 53 that drives the lift winch. The rotation drive circuit 51, boom hoist drive circuit 52, and lift drive circuit 53 are collectively referred to as drive circuits 50.

[0014] Although not particularly limited, the slewing device receives power from a hydraulic motor that rotates with pressurized oil supplied from the hydraulic motor via a control valve to slew the upper slewing body 12. The slewing drive circuit 51 drives the control valve to operate the hydraulic motor and drive or brake the slewing device.

[0015] The boom hoisting winch receives power from a hydraulic motor, which rotates using pressurized oil supplied from the hydraulic motor via a control valve, to rotate a drum and wind a wire rope around the drum or unwind the wire rope from the drum, thereby raising or lowering the boom 13. The boom hoisting drive circuit 52 drives the control valve to operate the hydraulic motor and drive the boom hoisting winch. When the boom 13 is raised (the hoisting angle increases), the height of the tip 13t of the boom 13 rises, and when the boom 13 is lowered (the hoisting angle decreases), the height of the tip 13t of the boom 13 decreases.

[0016] The lifting winch receives power from a hydraulic motor, which is rotated by pressurized oil supplied from the hydraulic motor via a control valve, to rotate a drum, and lifts and lowers the hook 14 by winding a wire rope around the drum or letting out the wire rope from the drum. The lifting drive circuit 53 drives the control valve to operate the hydraulic motor and drive the lifting winch.

[0017] Hereinafter, the rotation and operation of the upper rotating body 12 will be simply referred to as "rotation" and "rotation operation", the raising and lowering of the boom 13 and its operation will be simply referred to as "hoisting" and "hoisting operation", and the raising and lowering of the load H (hook 14) and its operation will be simply referred to as "lifting" and "lifting operation".

[0018] The driving operation unit 20 includes a plurality of driving levers 21 that the operator uses to manually perform various operations. Specifically, the driving levers 21 include a swing lever 22 for swing operation, a hoist lever 23 for hoisting operation, and a lift lever 24 for lifting operation. An operation signal for each driving lever 21 is output to the control unit 40 via the I / O 61. The control unit 40 determines the operation type of the driving lever 21 based on the input operation signal, and if the operation is a swing operation, outputs a swing command corresponding to the operation to the swing drive circuit 51. If the operation is a hoisting operation, outputs a lift command corresponding to the operation to the hoist drive circuit 52. If the operation is a lifting operation, outputs a lift command corresponding to the operation to the lift drive circuit 53. This allows swing operation, hoisting operation, or lifting operation to be performed in accordance with the operator's operation of the driving levers 21. In this specification, the operating operations may include all of the operations such as turning, raising and lowering, lifting of the hook 14, etc., or only some of them.

[0019] The input / output unit 30 includes an alarm unit 31 that notifies the operator of information by display or sound, and an operation panel 32 that the operator can operate to input information, etc. The alarm unit 31 performs an alarming operation upon receiving commands from the control unit 40 via the I / O 62, and includes a display unit 31a that displays various information. The operation panel 32 receives display signals from the control unit 40 via the I / O 62, and also outputs operation signals to the control unit 40 via the I / O 62.

[0020] The control unit 40 is a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device that stores control programs and the like, and an interface that inputs and outputs signals between the control unit 40 and external devices (components of the crane 1). The control unit 40 exchanges commands and information with the operation unit 20, the input / output unit 30, the detection device 16, and the drive circuit 50 via a bus and I / Os 61 to 63. The control unit 40 includes an operation assistance control unit 41 that controls operation assistance for the operator. The operation assistance control unit 41 executes an operation assistance process described below to assist the operator in his operation. The operation assistance control unit 41 may be a software module that is realized by a CPU executing a corresponding control program. The crane operation assistance device according to the present invention includes the operation assistance control unit 41, the driving operation unit 20, and the notification unit 31.

[0021] [Operation support processing] Next, an operation support process for supporting the operator's driving operation will be described. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the operation support process, and Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are diagrams showing examples of display of required operation parameters, which will be described later. The operation support process is a process for supporting the operator's operation in suppressing the swing of the suspended load H, and is executed, for example, by the control unit 40 reading and developing a corresponding program in response to an execution operation by the operator.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, when the operation assistance process is executed, the operation assistance control unit 41 first acquires detection information from the detection device 16 indicating the swing state of the suspended load H (such as the amplitude and phase of the swing in two directions) (step S1).

[0023] Next, the operation assistance control unit 41 calculates (estimates) the required operation parameters of the driving operation unit 20 for suppressing the swing of the suspended load H based on the detection information acquired in step S1 (step S2). The "required operation parameters" are parameter information of the driving operation unit 20 that should be operated by the operator in order to suppress the sway of the suspended load H, and are an example of required operation information according to the present invention. The required operation parameters in this embodiment include the amount and direction of operation of the driving operation unit 20 to suppress the sway of the suspended load H, and the operation timing at which the driving operation unit 20 should be operated with the amount and direction of operation. A specific calculation example (estimation example) of the required operation parameters will be described later.

[0024] Next, the operation assistance control unit 41 causes the display unit 31a to display the required operation parameters calculated in step S2 (step S3). In this step, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, an operation arrow D as a required operation parameter may be displayed on the display unit 31a in association with an external image of the driving operation unit 20 (plurality of driving levers 21). For example, the base end position of the operation arrow D indicates the driving lever 21 to be operated, its length or tip position indicates the amount of operation, and its direction indicates the direction of operation. Furthermore, the operation arrow D indicates the operation timing by the timing at which it is displayed, and in this embodiment, it is displayed a predetermined time before the operation timing at which the operation should be performed. The predetermined time is, for example, the standard reaction time of an adult male (visual stimulus reaction time; the time from visual recognition to occurrence of a behavioral reaction). As a result, the operator can visually recognize the required operation parameters for operating the driving operation unit 20 (driving lever 21) by visually checking the displayed operation arrow D. Furthermore, because the operation arrow D as the required operation parameter is displayed in association with the exterior image of the driving operation unit 20, the operator can more accurately recognize information such as the driving lever 21 to be operated and the amount and direction of operation thereof, among the required operation parameters. Furthermore, because the operation arrow D is displayed a predetermined time (for example, a standard reaction time for an adult male) before the timing at which the operation should be performed, the operator can quickly (or naturally) perform the operation in accordance with the information after visually checking the operation arrow D, thereby performing the operation at the appropriate timing.

[0025] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, an operation arrow D as a required operation parameter may be displayed on the display unit 31a in association with the movement of the load H supported by the hook 14. The movement of the load H may be displayed, for example, by displaying video data of the load H acquired by the detection device 16 on the display unit 31a. In this case, the length or tip position of the operation arrow D indicates the amount of operation, and its direction indicates the direction of operation. In this case, it is preferable to display the swing range of the load H together with the operation arrow D. In the example of FIG. 4, multiple concentric circles S, centered on the swing center of the load H and with the largest concentric circle representing the maximum swing position, are displayed as the swing range of the load H. In this case, it is preferable that the operation arrow D indicates the operation timing by the timing at which it is displayed, as in the above example. That is, it is preferable that the operation arrow D is displayed a predetermined time before the operation timing (when the swing of the load H is maximum). Even with such a display, the operator can visually recognize the required operation parameters for operating the driving operation unit 20 (driving lever 21) by visually checking the displayed operation arrow D. Furthermore, since the operation arrow D as the required operation parameter is displayed in correspondence with the movement of the load H, the operator can visually check the swing of the load H and can more accurately recognize information on the required operation parameters, particularly the operation timing at which the operation should be performed.

[0026] The operation arrow D is not limited to an arrow shape as long as it includes at least one piece of information from among the operation amount, operation direction, and operation timing. For example, the operation amount may be displayed numerically, or the operation direction may be displayed in text. Furthermore, the operation timing may be displayed as a countdown to the operation timing (e.g., text such as "3, 2, 1, operation!") instead of (or in addition to) the display timing of the operation arrow D. Furthermore, in addition to the display of the operation arrow D (required operation parameter), the required operation parameter may be output as a voice (e.g., a countdown voice for the operation timing). When an external image of the driving operation unit 20 (driving lever 21) is displayed together with the operation arrow D, the image may be a photographed image or an image, etc. Furthermore, when the movement of the load H is displayed together with the operation arrow D, a graph showing the movement (swing) of the load H (for example, with the horizontal axis representing the swing width direction of the load H and the vertical axis representing the Z direction) may be displayed instead of video data of the load H. Furthermore, a display together with the external appearance of the driving operation unit 20 (FIG. 3) and a display together with the movement of the load H (FIG. 4) may be displayed simultaneously.

[0027] Next, the operation assistance control unit 41 determines whether or not to terminate the operation assistance process (step S4), and if it determines not to terminate it (step S4; No), it transitions to the above-mentioned step S1 and repeats the calculation and display of the required operation parameters. Then, when it is determined that the operation support process should be ended, for example, due to the completion of the movement of the suspended load H to a predetermined position (step S4; Yes), the operation support control unit 41 ends the operation support process.

[0028] [Example of calculation of required operating parameters] 5 is a time chart showing an example of operation of the embodiment. This figure shows an example of operation when the load H is moved from the movement start position to the movement end position by only swinging.

[0029] In this operation example, the load H can be moved to the end position through accelerated swings a1, a2, constant-speed swings c1, c2, c3, and decelerated swings b1, b2. However, during this type of movement, swings in the swing direction q (see Figure 1) occur due to the swinging movement of the load H. At the same time, swings in the perpendicular direction r (the horizontal direction perpendicular to the swing direction q, see Figure 1) may occur due to the centrifugal force acting on the load H. The swing in the swing direction q is represented by the angle θq between the vertical line J passing through the tip of the boom 13 (the hanging position of the wire rope L) and the swing direction q of the wire rope L, and the swing in the perpendicular direction r is represented by the angle θr between the vertical line J and the perpendicular direction r of the wire rope L. If the wire rope L has a length l, the angular velocity ω and period T of the swings θq and θr are functions of the length l. The period T corresponds to the swing period, which is the time it takes for the swing θq or θr to make one round trip.

[0030] The circular motion (i.e., swing) of the suspended load H can be directed toward the origin by applying the necessary acceleration to the suspended load H at the appropriate timing, and the vibration can be converged by setting the acceleration to zero when the motion reaches the origin. Therefore, based on this theory of sway angle control, the operation assistance control unit 41 calculates the appropriate magnitude and time of acceleration swings a1 and a2 and deceleration swings b1 and b2 to suppress sway. Then, by performing operations to change the swing speed at appropriate times Q1 to Q6, it is possible to move the load H while suppressing vibration. Q1 is the change point between a1 and c1, Q2 is the change point between c1 and a2, Q3 is the change point between a2 and c2, Q4 is the change point between c2 and b1, Q5 is the change point between b1 and c3, and Q6 is the change point between c3 and b2. The operation assistance control unit 41 then uses these calculation results as operation parameters for vibration suppression operation. Based on the calculation results of the operation parameters, the operation assistance control unit 41 calculates the required operation parameters to be displayed on the display unit 31a.

[0031] The method for calculating the operating parameters is not particularly limited. The operation assistance control unit 41 may calculate the operating parameters by correcting for various factors that affect the swing of the suspended load H, such as wind, the weight of the wire rope L, and changes in the rotation direction q and the perpendicular direction r due to rotation. Alternatively, the operation assistance control unit 41 may acquire such operating parameters using other algorithms or machine learning. However, it is preferable that the operating parameters do not require complicated operations so that the operator can easily operate them. In the above explanation, the magnitude and time of all operations (including acceleration) in the driving example of Fig. 5 are calculated and the timing is presented, but this is not limited to this. For example, the operator may be free to perform acceleration operations, and the magnitude and time of deceleration may be calculated and presented only when a deceleration operation is performed.

[0032] [Technical effect of this embodiment] As described above, according to this embodiment, the operation arrow D is displayed on the display unit 31a as a required operation parameter for operating the driving operation unit 20. This allows the operator to visually recognize the required operating parameters for operating the driving operation unit 20 by visually checking the displayed operation arrow D. Therefore, compared to the conventional method in which the constantly changing state quantities of the crane are simply displayed, the operator can operate the crane 1 more easily.

[0033] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the amount of operation of the driving operation unit 20 for suppressing the swing of the suspended load H is estimated and displayed on the display unit 31a as a required operation parameter. As a result, the operator can visually recognize the amount of operation of the driving operation unit 20 that should be operated in order to suppress the swing of the suspended load H by visually checking the displayed operation arrow D.

[0034] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the operation timing at which the driving operation unit 20 should be operated with the above-mentioned operation amount is estimated, and the operation arrow D (operation amount) is displayed a predetermined time before this operation timing. This allows the operator to quickly (or naturally) perform an operation in accordance with the information after visually recognizing the operation arrow D, thereby enabling the operator to perform the operation at an appropriate timing.

[0035] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the required operation parameters (operation arrow D) are displayed in association with the movement of the load H. In this case, the operator can visually confirm the swing of the load H, and can more accurately recognize the required operation parameters, particularly the information regarding the operation timing at which the operation should be performed. Furthermore, the required operation parameters (operation arrow D) are displayed in association with the appearance of the driving operation unit 20. In this case, the operator can more accurately recognize information such as the driving lever 21 to be operated and the amount and direction of operation thereof, among the required operation parameters.

[0036] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the swing range (concentric circles S) of the suspended load H is displayed together with the operation arrow D as the required operation parameter. This allows the operator to visually recognize the magnitude of the swing of the suspended load H, while intuitively learning the required operation parameters, such as the amount of operation and direction of operation, required for that magnitude of swing.

[0037] [others] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the operation of the driving operation unit 20 to be operated has been described as an example of an operation to suppress the swing of the suspended load H. However, the required operation parameters (required operation information) to be operated by the driving operation unit 20 are not limited to those related to an operation to suppress the swing of the suspended load H. The present invention can be widely applied to cases where an operation to move the suspended load H from the start point to the end point is performed appropriately (for example, an operation to move the suspended load H to the end point more quickly while suppressing the swing within an allowable range, or an operation to set an obstacle and move the suspended load while avoiding the obstacle, etc.).

[0038] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a crane having one boom that can be raised and lowered relative to the upper rotating body is shown, but the crane according to the present invention may also be a crane having a first boom (e.g., a tower boom) rotatably connected to the upper rotating body and a second boom (e.g., a jib) rotatably connected to the first boom. In this case, operation to suppress vibration of the suspended load may be performed by increasing and decreasing the hoisting angle of the first boom, the second boom, or both. Furthermore, the crane according to the present invention may be any type of crane, such as a wheel crane, a truck crane, a jib crane, or a tower crane. In addition, the details shown in the embodiments can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 crane 11 Undercarriage 12 Upper rotating body 13. Boom 14 Hook 16. Detection Device 20 Driving operation unit (operation unit) 21 Driving lever 31 Information Department 31a Display section 40 Control Unit 41 Operation support control unit (estimation means) D Operation Arrow S concentric circles L Wire Rope H Hanging load

Claims

1. A crane operation assistance device that assists in the operation of a crane, An operation unit that operates the crane; a display unit that displays required operation information for operating the operation unit; Equipped with the display unit displays the required operation information in association with the appearance of the operation unit. Crane operation support device.

2. The display unit displays the required operation information in association with the movement of the suspended load. The crane operation assistance device according to claim 1.

3. An estimation means for estimating an operation amount of the operation unit for suppressing swing of the suspended load is provided, the display unit displays the operation amount estimated by the estimation means as the required operation information. The crane operation assist device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the estimation means estimates an operation timing at which the operation unit should be operated with the operation amount; the display unit displays the operation amount a predetermined time before the operation timing. The crane operation assist device according to claim 3.

5. The display unit displays the swing range of the suspended load together with the required operation information. The crane operation assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A crane operation assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, crane.

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