Measurement device, measurement method, and measurement program for work machine

Abstract

Provided is a device for measuring the position and orientation of a work machine (40). The device comprises a specified point position calculation unit and an orientation calculation unit. On the basis of the position of an index attached to a work mechanism (44) of the work machine (40) and orientation information about the orientation of the work mechanism (44), the specified point position calculation unit calculates a specified point position, which is the position of a specified point on the work mechanism (44), at a constant control cycle. Only when a measurement permission condition is satisfied, the orientation calculation unit calculates the orientation of the machine body (42) of the work machine (40) on the basis of a previous time specified point position, which is the specified point position calculated at a previous time by the specified point position calculation unit, and a current time specified point position which is the specified point position calculated at the current time. The measurement permission condition includes that current orientation information corresponding to the current time specified point position is different from previous orientation information corresponding to the previous time specified point position.

Description

Measuring device, measuring method and measuring program for working machine

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for measuring the position and orientation of a work machine such as a construction machine.

[0002] Techniques for acquiring information about a work machine have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for continuously measuring the position of a target part that moves in association with the relative movement of a work mechanism of a hydraulic excavator with respect to a rotating body, and acquiring three-dimensional information about the hydraulic excavator from the measured trajectory of the target part, for example, an arc-shaped trajectory.

[0003] However, a complex configuration is required to continuously measure the trajectory of the target part to an extent that three-dimensional information about the hydraulic excavator can be obtained, and to calculate the three-dimensional information based on the trajectory.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-079873

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a device or the like that can measure the position and orientation of a work machine with a simple configuration.

[0006] Provided is a measurement device for measuring the position and orientation of a work machine that includes a body and a work mechanism that extends from the body and is operable to change its attitude. The measurement device includes an index, an index position detector, an attitude information acquisition unit, a designated location position calculation unit, and an orientation calculation unit. The index is attached to the work mechanism. The index position detector detects the index position, which is the position of the index. The attitude information acquisition unit acquires attitude information, which is information about the attitude of the work mechanism. The designated location position calculation unit calculates, at a constant control period, a designated location position, which is the position of a designated location that is pre-designated on the work mechanism at a position different from the index position, based on the index position detected by the index position detector and the attitude information acquired by the attitude information acquisition unit. The orientation calculation unit calculates the orientation of the aircraft based on a previous designated location, which is the designated location previously calculated by the designated location position calculation unit, and a current designated location, which is the designated location currently calculated by the designated location position calculation unit, only when predetermined measurement allowance conditions are satisfied. The measurement allowance conditions include that current attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the current designated location position, is different from previous attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the previous designated location position.

[0007] It is a perspective view showing a work machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing an actual machine control device and the like mounted on the work machine. It is a flowchart showing a measurement method executed by the actual machine control device.

[0008] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] 1A shows a total station 10, an information processing device 20, and a work machine 40 according to the embodiment. The work machine 40 has the function of wirelessly communicating with both the total station 10 and the information processing device 20.

[0010] The work machine 40 illustrated in FIG. 1A is a crawler-type hydraulic excavator. Specifically, the work machine 40 includes a crawler-type undercarriage 41, an upper rotating body 42 that is rotatably mounted on the undercarriage 41 via a swing drive mechanism, and a working mechanism 44. The upper rotating body 42 includes a swing frame and a cab 43. The cab 43 is a driver's cabin, and an operator seat is disposed inside the cab 43. The cab 43 is mounted on the left front part of the swing frame. The working mechanism 44 is attached to the right front part of the swing frame. The cab 43 may be configured to be raised and lowered relative to the swing frame by a lifting drive mechanism (not shown) that has a link mechanism and an actuator.

[0011] The upper rotating body 42 functions as a machine body according to the present invention, and the working mechanism 44 is attached to the upper rotating body 42 so as to be able to perform a work operation. The work operation involves a change in the attitude of the working mechanism 44. Specifically, the working mechanism 44 includes a boom 441 attached to the upper rotating body 42 so as to be able to rise and fall, an arm 443 rotatably connected to the tip of the boom 441, and a tip attachment 445 rotatably connected to the tip of the arm 443. The tip attachment 445 illustrated in FIG. 1A is a bucket. Alternatively, the tip attachment 445 may be a grapple, a high-reach hook, a breaker, or a lifting magnet.

[0012] The working mechanism 44 is equipped with a plurality of actuators, specifically a plurality of extendable hydraulic cylinders, for changing the attitude of the working mechanism 44. The plurality of hydraulic cylinders include a boom cylinder 442, an arm cylinder 444, and a tip attachment cylinder 446. The boom cylinder 442 is interposed between the boom 441 and the upper rotating body 42 so as to extend and retract upon receiving a supply of hydraulic oil, thereby rotating the boom 441 in the hoisting direction. The arm cylinder 444 is interposed between the arm 443 and the boom 441 so as to extend and retract upon receiving a supply of hydraulic oil, thereby rotating the arm 443 about a horizontal axis relative to the boom 441. The tip attachment cylinder 446 is interposed between the tip attachment 445 and the arm 443 so as to extend and retract upon receiving a supply of hydraulic oil, thereby rotating the tip attachment 445 about a horizontal axis relative to the arm 443.

[0013] The work machine 40 further includes the elements shown in FIG. 1B, namely, a real machine control device 400, a real machine input interface 410, a plurality of real machine sensors 412, a real machine output interface 420, and a real machine wireless communication device 422.

[0014] The actual machine control device 400 includes a processing unit, such as a single-core processor or a multi-core processor or processor cores constituting the same, and a storage device such as a memory. The processing unit reads necessary data and software from the memory and executes processing in accordance with the software based on the data.

[0015] The actual machine input interface 410 includes an actual machine operation mechanism 411. The actual machine operation mechanism 411 includes a plurality of operation levers, and the plurality of operation levers are arranged around the seat inside the cab 43.

[0016] The multiple actual machine sensors 412 include multiple attitude sensors. The multiple attitude sensors function as an attitude information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the attitude of the work mechanism 44. Specifically, the multiple attitude sensors include a boom angle sensor that detects the hoisting angle of the boom 441 relative to the upper rotating body 42, an arm angle sensor that detects the rotation angle of the arm 443 relative to the boom 441, and a tip attachment angle sensor that detects the rotation angle of the tip attachment 445 relative to the arm 443. The multiple actual machine sensors 412 further include multiple sensors that detect parameters related to the state of the work machine 40 other than the attitude of the work mechanism 44, such as hydraulic oil pressure and remaining fuel. Each of the multiple actual machine sensors is configured to generate a signal corresponding to the value of the parameter and input it to the actual machine control device 400. The multiple actual machine sensors 412 may further include an actual machine positioning device that measures the position (latitude and longitude) of the work machine 40. The actual machine positioning device is configured with a GPS or GNSS, and, if necessary, a gyro sensor or the like.

[0017] A prism 12 functioning as an index is attached to the working mechanism 44. The prism 12 illustrated in FIG. 1A is attached to the base end of the arm 443. The base end is the end opposite the tip end of the arm 443 and is connected to the tip end of the boom 441. The prism 12 is attached to the arm 443 so as to swing about the rotation axis as the arm 443 rotates about the rotation axis relative to the boom 441. The prism 12 may be attached to an intermediate portion of the arm 443 rather than the base end. Alternatively, the prism 12 may be attached to the boom 441. It is preferable that the prism 12 be attached to the working mechanism 44 at a position away from the tip attachment 443, which comes into direct contact with the work object, so that the position of the prism 12 can be detected more reliably as described below.

[0018] The storage device (or database) of the actual machine control device 400 pre-stores prism mounting position information and working mechanism dimensional information. The prism mounting position information is information about the prism mounting position, and the prism mounting position is the position where the prism 12 is mounted in the working mechanism 44. The working mechanism dimensional information is information about the dimensions of each member constituting the working mechanism 44. The prism mounting position information and the working mechanism dimensional information are used to calculate the position P(k) of a designated location of the working mechanism 44 in a forward kinematic manner based on a prism position P0(k), which is the position of the prism 12 in three-dimensional space, as will be described later. The designated location is a location designated in advance in the working mechanism 44.

[0019] The total station 10 constitutes an index position detector that detects the prism position, i.e., the index position, together with the prism 12. Specifically, the total station 10 irradiates a laser beam toward the prism 12 (or a reflector), detects the reflected light of the laser beam, i.e., the light reflected by the prism 12, calculates the distance between the total station 10 and the prism 12 based on the time from the irradiation of the laser beam to the detection of the reflected light, and calculates the three-dimensional position of the prism 12, i.e., the prism position, based on the distance and the irradiation direction of the laser beam.

[0020] The index position detector is not limited to the combination of the total station 10 and the prism 12. The index position detector may be one that measures the three-dimensional position of an index over time by using other distance measuring devices and / or image sensors, such as a combination of a laser tracker and a reflector or a combination of a stereo camera and a marker.

[0021] The information processing device 20 is configured by, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc., and includes a control device (computer), an input interface, and an output interface. The information processing device 20 has a function of outputting information sent to the information processing device 20 in the form of an image, etc.

[0022] The arithmetic processing unit of the actual machine control device 400, which is a computer, is configured to read an actual machine status measurement program (downloaded from a server, for example) from the storage device, and measure the position and orientation of the work machine 40 in accordance with the actual machine status measurement program, specifically, measure the position of the designated location and the orientation of the upper rotating body 42. Specifically, the actual machine control device 400 can function as a designated location position calculation unit and an orientation calculation unit for the measurements. The designated location position calculation unit calculates the designated location position at a fixed control cycle based on the prism position detected by the total station 10 and prism 12, which function as the index position detector, i.e., the index position, and the attitude information acquired by the multiple attitude sensors, which function as the attitude information acquisition unit. The orientation calculation unit calculates the orientation of the aircraft based on the previous designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated last time by the designated location position calculation unit, and the current designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated this time by the designated location position calculation unit, only when predetermined measurement tolerance conditions are met.

[0023] Specifically, the details of the measurement method performed by the actual machine control device 400 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0024] The actual device control device 400 sets the index k representing the number of control periods to "1" (STEP 10).

[0025] The real machine control device 400 acquires the position P0(k) of the prism 12 measured by the total station 10, i.e., the real space position or three-dimensional position, from the total station 10 via the real machine wireless communication device 422 (STEP 12). The position P0(k) of the prism 12 can be determined based on the position (known) of the total station 10 in real space and the position detected by the total station 10, i.e., the relative position of the prism 12 with respect to the total station 10.

[0026] The actual machine control device 400 acquires posture information Θ(k), which is information relating to the posture of the working mechanism 44, based on detection signals input by the plurality of posture sensors included in the plurality of actual machine sensors 412 (STEP 14). In this embodiment, the posture information Θ(k) includes the boom angle, which is the hoisting angle of the boom 441, the arm angle, which is the rotation angle of the arm 443 relative to the boom 441, and the tip attachment angle, which is the rotation angle of the tip attachment 445 relative to the arm 443.

[0027] The actual machine control device 400 calculates the designated location position P(k) in a forward kinematic manner based on the prism mounting position information, information regarding the prism position P0(k) (in this embodiment, the base end position of the arm 443), the attitude information Θ(k), and the working mechanism dimension information (STEP 16). The designated location is preferably a location where the designated location is likely to change for the purpose of calculating the orientation, i.e., a location at or near the tip of the working mechanism 44. In this embodiment, the center of the tip of the tip attachment 445, i.e., the toe, is determined as the designated location.

[0028] The initial calculation of the designated location position P(k), i.e., the calculation in the first control cycle (k=1), is performed on the condition that the initial aircraft orientation Φ(k), i.e., the initial aircraft orientation Φ(1), is known. The aircraft orientation Φ(k) is the orientation of the upper rotating body 42, which is the aircraft, in real space. If the initial aircraft orientation Φ(1) is unknown, in the next control cycle, i.e., after the index k becomes 2, the initial aircraft orientation Φ(1) may be calculated based on the initial prism position P0(1) and the prism position P0(2) in the second control cycle, and the designated location position P(1) may be calculated based on the initial aircraft orientation Φ(1) and the initial attitude information Θ(1).

[0029] If the index k is 1 (NO in STEP 18), the actual device control device 400 increments the index k by "1" (STEP 30) and repeats the process of obtaining the prism position P0(k) (STEP 12) and subsequent processes.

[0030] If the index k is greater than 1 (YES in STEP 18), that is, in the second or subsequent control cycles, the actual machine control device 400 determines whether the designated location position calculated in the current control cycle, i.e., the current designated location position P(k), is different from the previous designated location position P(k-1), which is the designated location position calculated last time (STEP 20).

[0031] If it is determined that the current designated location position P(k) is not different from the previously designated location position P(k-1) (NO in STEP 20), the actual device control device 400 transmits the previously acquired attitude information Θ(k-1) and the aircraft orientation Φ(k-1) to the information processing device 20 via the actual device wireless communication device 422 (STEP 21). In this way, the attitude information and the aircraft orientation are maintained as they are. Thereafter, the actual device control device 400 increments the index k by "1" (STEP 30) and repeats the process of acquiring the prism position P0(k) (STEP 12) and subsequent processes.

[0032] If it is determined that the current designated location position P(k) is different from the previous designated location position P(k-1) (YES in STEP 20), the actual machine control device 400 determines whether the condition that the current attitude information Θ(k) is different from the previous attitude information Θ(k-1) is satisfied (STEP 22). The current attitude information Θ(k) is the attitude information acquired in the current control cycle, that is, the current position, and corresponds to the current designated location position P(k). Similarly, the previous attitude information Θ(k-1) is the attitude information acquired in the previous control cycle, that is, the control cycle immediately preceding the current position, and corresponds to the previous designated location position P(k-1).

[0033] If it is determined that the current attitude information Θ(k) is not different from the previous attitude information Θ(k-1) (NO in STEP 22), the arithmetic processing unit of the actual machine control device 400 erases the previous attitude information Θ(k-1) from the storage device of the actual machine control device 400, specifically from the specified memory address in the storage device, and stores the current attitude information Θ(k) in the storage device instead (STEP 23). Even if the designated location position P(k) has changed (YES in step S20), the fact that the attitude information Θ(k) has not changed (NO in step S22) means that the working mechanism 44 is translating or rotating while maintaining its attitude. Therefore, the change in the designated location position P(k) does not contribute to measuring the orientation of the upper rotating body 42. Therefore, after the actual aircraft control device 400 increases the index k by "1" (STEP 30), it does not calculate the aircraft orientation Φ(k), but repeats the process of obtaining the prism position P0(k) (STEP 12) and subsequent processes.

[0034] If it is determined that the current attitude information Θ(k) differs from the previous attitude information Θ(k-1) (YES in STEP 22), the actual aircraft control device 400 calculates the aircraft orientation Φ(k) (step S24). Specifically, the orientation calculation unit of the actual aircraft control device 400 according to this embodiment identifies a plane including the current designated location position P(k) and the previous designated location position P(k-1), and calculates the orientation of the plane as the aircraft orientation Φ(k), which is the orientation of the aircraft, in this embodiment, the upper rotating body 42 (STEP 24).

[0035] The arithmetic processing unit of the actual aircraft control device 400 stores the current attitude information Θ(k), the current designated location position P(k), and the current aircraft orientation Φ(k) in the storage device (STEP 26).

[0036] Furthermore, the actual machine control device 400 also functions as an information transmitting unit, which transmits the current designated location position P(k) and the current machine body orientation Φ(k) as work machine information to the information processing device 20 via the actual machine wireless communication device 422 (STEP 28). As a result, the information processing device 20 outputs an image representing the current designated location position P(k) and the current machine body orientation Φ(k) from an image output device that constitutes its output interface.

[0037] The actual machine control device 400 determines whether or not predetermined termination conditions are satisfied (STEP 29). The termination conditions are conditions for determining that it is no longer necessary to calculate the machine heading Φ(k), etc., and include, for example, that the operation of the work machine 40 has been stopped, specifically that the shutdown lever has been raised to prohibit operation of the work machine 40, or that the engine of the work machine 40 has been switched from ON to OFF.

[0038] If it is determined that the termination condition is not satisfied (NO in STEP 29), the actual device control device 400 increments the index k by "1" (STEP 30), and then repeats the process of acquiring the prism position P0(k) (STEP 12) and subsequent processes. Then, when it is determined that the termination condition is satisfied (YES in STEP 29), the actual device control device 400 terminates the series of processes described so far.

[0039] According to the measuring device and measuring method described above, the designated location position P(k), which is the position of the designated location of the working mechanism 44, is measured using the prism position P0(k) and the attitude information Θ(k). In addition, the aircraft orientation Φ(k), which is the orientation of the upper rotating body 42, can be measured in real time with a simple configuration using the previous designated location position P(k-1) calculated in the previous control cycle and the current designated location position P(k) calculated in the current control cycle. Furthermore, since the calculation of the vehicle orientation Φ(k) is performed only when the measurement permissible condition that the current attitude information Θ(k) is different from the previous attitude information Θ(k-1) is met (YES in STEP 22 and STEP 24), it is possible to prevent the vehicle orientation Φ(k) from being calculated in a situation where a transition from the previous designated location position P(k-1) to the current designated location position P(k) occurs even though the attitude of the working mechanism 44 has not changed, i.e., a situation where the transition of the designated location position is caused solely by the translation of the upper rotating body 42 or the rotation of the upper rotating body 42 relative to the lower running body 41. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of measurement of the vehicle orientation Φ(k) using the transition from the previous designated location position P(k-1) to the current designated location position P(k) due to a change in the attitude of the working mechanism 44.

[0040] The actual machine control device 400 transmits the work machine information, i.e., information including the specified location position P(k) and the machine body orientation Φ(k), to the information processing device 20 via the actual machine wireless communication device 422, thereby allowing the information processing device 20 to output the work machine information or information about the status of the work machine 40 that is determined based on the work machine information. This makes it possible for the user (worker, etc.) of the information processing device 20 to recognize the status of the work machine 40 in real time.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified in various ways.

[0042] For example, the orientation calculation unit according to the present invention is not limited to being included in the actual machine control device 400 of the work machine 40. Alternatively, the orientation calculation unit may be included in the control device 400 of the information processing device 20. Specifically, information relating to the time series of the prism position P0(k) is transmitted from the total station 10 to the information processing device 20, and information relating to the time series of the work mechanism attitude information Θ(k) is transmitted from the work machine 40 to the information processing device 20, thereby enabling the information processing device 20 to execute the processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 2. In this flowchart, the transmission processing to the information processing device 20 (STEP 21 and STEP 28) can be omitted.

[0043] The operation for moving the work machine according to the present invention is not limited to an operation by an operator inside the cab 43, i.e., an operation applied to an operation lever or the like included in the actual machine operation mechanism 411 inside the cab 43. For example, the work machine 40 may be remotely operated using a remote operation device. In this case, the actual machine state measuring device may be included in the remote operation device or a remote control device that is a control device for the remote operation device.

[0044] The measurement permissible condition, which is a condition for permitting the calculation of the aircraft orientation, may include an additional requirement in addition to the basic requirement that the current designated location position P(k) differs from the previous designated location position P(k-1). The additional requirement is, for example, that the designated location position P(k) calculated based on the prism position P0(k) and the attitude information Θ(k) coincides with an estimated designated location position Pest(k), where the estimated designated location position Pest(k) is the position of the designated location estimated based on the previous designated location position P(k-1) and the difference between the current attitude information Θ(k) and the previous attitude information Θ(k-1). This additional requirement makes it possible to calculate the machine orientation Φ(k) only when the transition from the previous designated location position P(k-1) to the current designated location position P(k) is due solely to a change in the attitude of the work mechanism 44; in other words, it makes it possible to exclude the calculation of the machine orientation Φ(k) based on the transition of the designated location position due to the travel of the lower running body 41 or the rotation of the upper rotating body 42, thereby making it possible to further improve the accuracy of measuring the machine orientation Φ(k), which is the orientation of the upper rotating body 42 based on the transition from the previous designated location position P(k-1) to the current designated location position P(k) due to the change in attitude.

[0045] The index position detector according to the present invention is not limited to the combination of the prism 12 and the total station 10 that detects its three-dimensional position. The index position detector may be, for example, a GNSS including a GNSS antenna installed as the index at a position corresponding to the mounting position of the prism 12. The GNSS transmits information about the position of the GNSS antenna, i.e., the index position, to the actual machine control device 400 or the like via the actual machine wireless communication device 422 or wiring, thereby enabling the position of the specified location to be calculated based on the index position. This configuration eliminates the need to install a total station on-site, simplifying the actual machine condition measuring device and making the actual machine condition measuring method easier to implement.

[0046] As described above, a device or the like is provided that can measure the position and orientation of a work machine with a simple configuration.

[0047] Provided is a measurement device for measuring the position and orientation of a work machine that includes a body and a work mechanism that extends from the body and is operable to change its attitude. The measurement device includes an index, an index position detector, an attitude information acquisition unit, a designated location position calculation unit, and an orientation calculation unit. The index is attached to the work mechanism. The index position detector detects the index position, which is the position of the index. The attitude information acquisition unit acquires attitude information, which is information about the attitude of the work mechanism. The designated location position calculation unit calculates, at a constant control period, a designated location position, which is the position of a designated location that is pre-designated on the work mechanism at a position different from the index position, based on the index position detected by the index position detector and the attitude information acquired by the attitude information acquisition unit. The orientation calculation unit calculates the orientation of the aircraft based on a previous designated location, which is the designated location previously calculated by the designated location position calculation unit, and a current designated location, which is the designated location currently calculated by the designated location position calculation unit, only when predetermined measurement allowance conditions are satisfied. The measurement allowance conditions include that current attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the current designated location position, is different from previous attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the previous designated location position.

[0048] The measurement device described above can measure the designated location, which is the position of a designated location on the work mechanism, and the orientation of the vehicle with a simple configuration. Furthermore, the vehicle orientation is calculated only when a measurement permissible condition is met, including the current attitude information being different from the previous attitude information. This prevents a situation in which a transition from the previous designated location to the current designated location occurs even though the attitude of the work machine has not changed, i.e., a situation in which the vehicle orientation is calculated based on a transition of the designated location even though the transition is due solely to movement of the vehicle. This enables improved accuracy in measuring the vehicle orientation using a transition from the previous designated location to the current designated location due to a change in the attitude of the work mechanism.

[0049] For example, the orientation calculation unit can calculate the orientation of a plane including the previously designated location position and the currently designated location position as the orientation of the aircraft.

[0050] Preferably, the measurement allowance condition further includes that the current designated location position coincides with an estimated designated location position. The estimated designated location position is the designated location position estimated based on the previous designated location position and the difference between the current attitude information and the previous attitude information. This makes it possible to calculate the vehicle orientation only when the transition from the previous designated location position to the current designated location position is caused solely by a change in the attitude of the working mechanism, in other words, to exclude calculation of the vehicle orientation based on the transition of the designated location position caused by movement of the vehicle, thereby making it possible to further improve the accuracy of measurement of the vehicle orientation based on the transition from the previous designated location position to the current designated location position caused by the change in attitude.

[0051] The restriction on the calculation of the vehicle orientation by the measurement allowance condition is particularly effective when the vehicle is an upper rotating body mounted on an undercarriage of the work machine so as to be rotatable relative to the undercarriage, and the work mechanism is attached to the upper rotating body so that the designated location rotates together with the upper rotating body relative to the undercarriage. In this case, although the rotation of the upper rotating body may cause fluctuations in the position of the designated location, the measurement allowance condition can effectively prevent the vehicle orientation from being calculated based on a shift in the position of the designated location caused by the rotation of the upper rotating body.

[0052] It is preferable that the designated location is closer to the tip of the working mechanism than the indicator attached to the working mechanism. This arrangement allows the calculation of the aircraft heading based on the position of the designated location to be more reliable. That is, by locating the indicator at a location away from the tip of the working mechanism, i.e., a part likely to come into contact with the work object, the influence of the work object on the indicator is reduced, while by designating the designated location at the tip of the working mechanism, i.e., a part of the working mechanism where movement is significant, the calculation of the heading based on the change in the position of the designated location, i.e., the transition from the previous designated location to the current designated location, can be performed with high accuracy.

[0053] Specifically, if the working mechanism includes a boom that can be raised and lowered relative to the machine body, an arm that is rotatably connected to the tip of the boom, and a tip attachment that is rotatably connected to the tip of the arm, it is preferable that the indicator is attached to the arm and the designated location is designated on the tip attachment. In this case, the attitude information acquired by the attitude information acquisition unit includes the rotation angle of the arm with respect to the boom and the rotation angle of the tip attachment with respect to the arm, thereby making it possible to calculate the position of the designated location on the tip attachment and the machine body orientation based on the position of the indicator on the arm.

[0054] It is preferable that the measuring device further includes an information transmission unit. The information transmission unit transmits work machine information, including the position of the specified location and the orientation of the machine body, to an information processing device, thereby causing the information processing device to output the work machine information or the status of the work machine determined based on the work machine information. The output enables a user of the information processing device to recognize the status of the work machine.

[0055] Also provided is a measurement method for measuring the position and orientation of the work machine, the measurement method including: detecting an index position, which is the position of an index attached to the work mechanism; acquiring information about the attitude of the work mechanism; calculating, at a constant control period, a designated location position, which is the position of a designated location pre-specified on the work mechanism at a position different from the index position, based on the detected index position and the acquired attitude information; and calculating the orientation of the machine based on a current designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated currently, and a previous designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated last time, only when predetermined measurement tolerance conditions are satisfied. The measurement tolerance conditions include current attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the current designated location position, being different from previous attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the previous designated location position.

[0056] Also provided is a computer-readable program that, when read by the computer, causes the computer to execute the measurement method.

Claims

1. A measurement device for measuring the position and orientation of a work machine including a body and a working mechanism extending from the body and operable to change its attitude, comprising: an index attached to the working mechanism; an index position detector that detects the index position, which is the position of the index; an attitude information acquisition unit that acquires attitude information, which is information about the attitude of the working mechanism; a designated location position calculation unit that calculates, at a constant control period, a designated location position, which is a position of a designated location that has been pre-designated at a position different from the index position on the working mechanism, based on the index position detected by the index position detector and the attitude information acquired by the attitude information acquisition unit; and an orientation calculation unit that calculates the orientation of the body based on a previous designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated last time by the designated location position calculation unit, and a current designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated this time by the designated location position calculation unit, only when predetermined measurement allowable conditions are satisfied; The measurement permissible condition includes that current posture information, which is the posture information corresponding to the currently specified location, is different from previous posture information, which is the posture information corresponding to the previously specified location.

2. A measuring device as described in claim 1, wherein the orientation calculation unit is configured to calculate the orientation of a plane including the previously specified location position and the currently specified location position as the orientation of the aircraft.

3. A measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measurement permissible conditions further include that the current designated location position coincides with an estimated designated location position, and the estimated designated location position is the designated location position estimated based on the previous designated location position and the difference between the current posture information and the previous posture information.

4. A measuring device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the machine body is an upper rotating body mounted on the lower running body of the work machine so as to be rotatable relative to the lower running body, and the work mechanism is attached to the upper rotating body so that the specified location rotates together with the upper rotating body relative to the lower running body.

5. A measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the designated location is located closer to the tip of the working mechanism than the index attached to the working mechanism.

6. A measuring device as described in claim 5, wherein the working mechanism includes a boom that can be raised and lowered relative to the machine body, an arm that is rotatably connected to the tip of the boom, and a tip attachment that is rotatably connected to the tip of the arm, the indicator is attached to the arm, the designated location is designated on the tip attachment, and the posture information acquired by the posture information acquisition unit includes the rotation angle of the arm relative to the boom and the rotation angle of the tip attachment relative to the arm.

7. A measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an information transmission unit configured to transmit work machine information, including the currently specified location position and the orientation of the machine, to an information processing device and cause the information processing device to output the work machine information or the status of the work machine identified based on the work machine information.

8. A measurement method for measuring a position and orientation of a work machine including a body and a working mechanism extending from the body and capable of operating to change its attitude, comprising: detecting an index position, which is the position of an index attached to the working mechanism; acquiring attitude information, which is information about the attitude of the working mechanism; calculating a designated location position, which is the position of a designated location previously designated at a position different from the index position on the working mechanism, at a constant control period based on the detected index position and the acquired attitude information; and calculating the orientation of the body based on a previous designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated last time, and a current designated location position, which is the designated location position calculated this time, only when predetermined measurement tolerance conditions are satisfied, wherein the measurement tolerance conditions include that the current attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the current designated location position, is different from the previous attitude information, which is the attitude information corresponding to the previous designated location position.

9. A program that can be read by a computer, which, when read by the computer, causes the computer to execute the measurement method according to claim 7.

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