Control device and control method

Abstract

Provided is a control device for a crane capable of reducing standby time while allowing the crane to execute work having high priority. The control device: acquires a state signal indicating the state of garbage in a pit and a hopper; on the basis of an operation of a second crane and the state signal, refers to a table in which operations to be performed by a first crane in association with operations of the second crane that may possibly interfere with the first crane, for which an operation is to be determined, are arranged in order of priority in accordance with the state of garbage in the pit and the hopper; selects an operation to be performed by the first crane in order of decreasing priority; determines whether the selected operation interferes with the second crane; and determines the operation as the operation for the first crane if the selected operation does not interfere with the second crane.

Description

Control device and control method

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-013365, filed on January 31, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a crane operation control device that creates a schedule for multiple cranes on the same rail based on the transport command data of each crane, ensuring non-interfering operation between the cranes while minimizing crane standby time. If this technology is applied to the control of multiple cranes that feed waste into incinerators at a waste treatment plant, the standby time can be minimized, thereby improving the crane's operating rate. However, if the sole focus is on minimizing crane standby time, there is a risk that priority work will be postponed.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-282968

[0004] To provide a method for controlling a crane, capable of reducing the standby time of a crane while making the crane perform work having the highest possible priority.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a control device and a control method that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control device is a control device that controls multiple cranes for dumping garbage stored in a pit into a hopper of an incinerator, and includes: a table that lists the operations to be performed by the first crane in order of priority according to the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, in correspondence with the operation of a second crane that may interfere with the first crane for which the operation is to be determined; an acquisition unit that acquires a status signal that indicates the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper; and an operation determination unit that refers to the table based on the operation of the second crane and the status signal, selects the operation to be performed by the first crane in order of priority, determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane, and if there is no interference, determines the selected operation as the operation of the first crane.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the control method is a method for controlling multiple cranes that dump garbage stored in a pit into a hopper of an incinerator, which acquires a status signal indicating the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, and based on the operation of a second crane that may interfere with a first crane whose operation is to be determined and the status signal, associates the operation to be performed by the first crane with the operation of the second crane, refers to a table in which the operations are arranged in order of priority according to the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, selects the operation to be performed by the first crane in order of highest priority, determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane, and if there is no interference, determines that operation as the operation of the first crane.

[0008] According to the control device and control method described above, it is possible to reduce the standby time of the crane while allowing the crane to perform work with the highest possible priority.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a waste treatment plant according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an operation determination table according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a crane operation according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a crane operation according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a crane operation determination process according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a control device according to an embodiment.

[0010] Embodiment A crane control method for a waste treatment plant according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. (Configuration) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a waste treatment plant according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the waste treatment plant 100 includes a crane system 1, a pit 2, a hopper 3, and a control device 10. Waste transported to the waste treatment plant 100 is dumped into the pit 2 and stored there. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the pit 2 as viewed from above. The crane system 1 includes cranes C1 and C2 that perform operations such as stirring and transporting the waste. The cranes C1 and C2 are movably disposed on rails R1 and R2. However, the crane C1 cannot overtake the crane C2 and move to the right of the drawing, and the crane C2 cannot move to the left of the crane C1. Various operations of the crane system 1 are controlled by the control device 10. The control device 10 can move the cranes C1 and C2 left and right and up and down on the paper, and forward and backward on the paper, to perform the following various operations. The cranes C1 and C2 include buckets for grabbing waste, and use the buckets to pick up and drop waste from the pit 2, stirring the waste and homogenizing its quality and condition. Once the waste is in a state suitable for incineration, the cranes C1 and C2 use the buckets to grab the waste and transport it to hoppers 3a and 3b, where it is dumped. The hoppers 3a and 3b temporarily store the dumped waste and supply it to an incinerator (not shown).

[0011] More specifically, waste transported by transport vehicles is dumped into area 2c of pit 2 and then transported to area 2a or area 2b by cranes C1 and C2. Doors 4a to 4d are installed on the wall near area 2c, and waste can only be dumped from transport vehicles into area 2c when doors 4a to 4d are open. Areas 2a and 2b alternate roles, for example, daily. For example, on one day, area 2a serves as the source of waste to be dumped into hoppers 3a and 3b, while area 2b receives waste dumped from transport vehicles. The next day, waste dumped into area 2c is transported to area 2a, and waste is dumped from area 2b into hoppers 3a and 3b. When dumping waste into hoppers 3a and 3b, to prevent interference between cranes C1 and C2, crane C1 dumps waste into hopper 3a, and crane C2 dumps waste into hopper 3b. Interference between cranes C1 and C2 is determined by the horizontal distance between them on the paper. The horizontal direction of the paper is defined as rows, and the vertical direction is defined as columns. For example, if pit 2 is divided into eight rows (A through H) and fourteen columns (1 through 14), cranes C1 and C2 can approach each other up to two rows apart. If they get any closer, it is determined that interference will occur. The control device 10 controls cranes C1 and C2 so that the distance between cranes C1 and C2 is at least two rows apart. Each area of ​​pit 2 divided into eight rows and fourteen columns is called a cell. For example, the cell in row A and column 1 is referred to as cell (A, 1). In the example pit 2 shown in Figure 1, area 2a is a 5-cell x 5-cell area spanning rows A through E and columns 9 through 13, and area 2b is a 5-cell x 5-cell area spanning rows A through E and columns 3 through 7. However, these are merely examples, and the positions and extents of areas 2a and 2b can be freely set by the user. Next, the main operations of the cranes C1 and C2 will be described.

[0012] (Loading) Hoppers 3a and 3b are equipped with sensors that measure the height of garbage, which indicates the amount of garbage stored in the hoppers. When the garbage height falls below a certain level, the amount of garbage supplied to the incinerator (not shown) will be insufficient. This level is called Level 1. Level 1 indicates a state in which garbage loading is necessary. For example, when the garbage height in hopper 3a reaches Level 1, the control device 10 controls crane C1 to load garbage from pit 2 into hopper 3a. The same is true for hopper 3b. When the garbage height in the hopper reaches a certain level or above, it is no longer necessary to load any more garbage. This height is called Level 3. Level 3 indicates a state in which garbage loading is no longer necessary. For example, when the garbage height in hoppers 3a and 3b reaches Level 3, the control device 10 will not load garbage into hoppers 3a and 3b. When the garbage height in the hopper falls below a predetermined height that is higher than Level 1 but lower than Level 3, garbage loading becomes possible. This height is called Level 2. Level 2 indicates a state in which garbage can be dumped. For example, when the garbage height in hopper 3a reaches Level 2, the control device 10 may dump garbage into hopper 3a if there are no other operations with a higher priority. The garbage from a cell in area 2a or the like to be dumped into hopper 3a or the like is selected from among cells whose overall evaluation score, which is calculated and managed for each cell, is higher than a predetermined threshold, based on, for example, the absence of interference, the shortest time required for dumping, the highest overall evaluation score, etc., and the garbage from the selected cell is dumped into hopper 3a or the like.

[0013] (Acceptance) The height of the garbage in each cell of the pit 2 is managed. For example, a sensor measuring the height of the garbage in each cell may be installed on the walls, ceiling, or upper space of the pit 2, and the height may be measured by this sensor. Alternatively, the height may be estimated based on the amount of garbage transported by the cranes C1 and C2. If the height of the garbage in area 2c (or the height of the garbage in row H of area 2c) exceeds a predetermined threshold, it must be quickly moved to another location within the pit 2, as this will affect the disposal of garbage from the transport vehicle. For example, if the garbage height in cell (H, 8) exceeds the threshold and area 2b is designated as the recipient of garbage disposed of by the transport vehicle, the control device 10 moves crane C1 or crane C2 to cell (H, 8) to transport the garbage from cell (H, 8) to area 2 (provided that doors 4a-4d are closed). This operation is referred to as "acceptance." Since acceptance is not performed when doors 4a-4d are open and trash can be dropped in, acceptance is performed only when the trash height is equal to or greater than a threshold and doors 4a-4d are closed. When accepting trash, for example, the control device 10 calculates the average trash height for each column of region 2b based on the trash height in each cell of region 2b, selects the column with the lowest average trash height, and evenly drops the trash transported from cell (H, 8) onto the entire selected column. The trash height in each cell after trash has been dropped is determined and managed by measurement or calculation. A comprehensive evaluation score representing the state of trash agitation in each cell after trash has been dropped is calculated, and the comprehensive evaluation score is managed for each cell. Any method can be used to calculate the comprehensive evaluation score. For example, the calculation may be performed using a formula in which the greater the number of agitations, the higher the comprehensive evaluation score.

[0014] (Agitation) The waste stored in areas 2a and 2b is agitated to ensure that each cell is equally suitable for combustion. Agitation is performed, for example, by using cranes C1 and C2 to pick up waste from a cell and drop it into the same cell, or by transporting it to another cell and dropping it there. The overall evaluation score of the cell is updated each time agitation is performed. Agitation is performed with priority on cells with lower overall evaluation scores, and is not performed on cells whose overall evaluation score is equal to or exceeds a predetermined threshold, indicating that the waste is ready for dumping into hoppers 3a and 3b. Compared to the above-mentioned dumping and receiving, agitation is often considered a relatively low-priority operation. When no dumping or receiving is required, the control device 10 searches areas 2a and 2b for cells whose overall evaluation score is below the threshold and performs agitation.

[0015] The control device 10 includes a signal acquisition unit 11, an operation determination unit 12, a control unit 13, and a memory unit 14. The signal acquisition unit 11 acquires signals including the trash heights in the hoppers 3a and 3b, the trash height in the area 2c, and the trash heights in each cell of the pit 2. The signal acquisition unit 11 constantly receives signals including the latest trash heights and records the trash height information included in the received signals in the memory unit 14. The operation determination unit 12 determines the operation (e.g., "throwing," "receiving," or "mixing") to be assigned to each of the cranes C1 and C2. The operation determination unit 12 determines the highest-priority operation among the operations that can be performed without interference between the cranes C1 and C2. The operation determination unit 12 calculates the overall evaluation score for each cell using a predetermined method and records the calculation results in the memory unit 14. The control unit 13 controls the cranes C1 and C2 based on the operation determined by the operation determination unit 12. The memory unit 14 stores information acquired by the signal acquisition unit 11 (the garbage height in the hopper, the garbage height in each cell), the overall evaluation score of each cell, and an "operation decision table" that takes into account the priority of operations and interference with other cranes, as described below.

[0016] FIG. 2 shows an example of a motion determination table. The motion determination unit 12 determines the motions of cranes C1 and C2 by referring to the motion determination table 200. As shown, the motion determination table 200 includes the following fields: "item number," "other crane motion," "priority of target crane motion," and "condition." The other crane is a crane that may interfere with the target crane whose motion is being determined (referred to as the target crane). When determining the motion of crane C1, the other crane is crane C2, and when determining the motion of crane C2, the other crane is crane C1. The condition is a condition for determining the motion of the target crane. For example, when determining the motion of crane C1, if crane C2 is performing a loading operation, the motions of items 1 to 5, i.e., loading (integrated), loading (split), receiving (integrated), receiving (split), and mixing, are candidate motions to be assigned to crane C1. The priorities of the motions of items 1 to 5 are set in the column to the left of "priority of target crane motion." In this example, loading (integrated) has the highest priority, and mixing has the lowest priority. However, if the conditions set in the "Conditions" are not met, the operation will not be selected as the operation for crane C1, no matter how high its priority. For example, if the current waste level in hopper 3a is Level 3, items 1 and 2 (loading (consistent)) and 2 (loading (split)) are excluded from the list of operations to be assigned to crane C1. If the conditions in items 3 to 5 are met, operations 3 to 5 are considered for assignment to crane C1 in order of priority. Specifically, the consideration here refers to whether or not the operation will interfere with crane C2. The interference between cranes C1 and C2 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. For example, assume that crane C2 is performing an operation to load waste from cell (A, 9) into hopper 3b. If the waste level in hopper 3a is Level 3, the waste level in cell (H, 9) is equal to or greater than the threshold, and doors 4a to 4d are closed, the operation determination unit 12 refers to the operation determination table 200 and attempts to assign the receiving operation to crane C1. However, when crane C1 is moved to cell (H, 9), the distance between crane C2 and crane C1, which are in the same 9th row, becomes less than two rows, causing interference.In this case, the operation decision unit 12 does not select acceptance of item No. 3 (consistency) or acceptance of item No. 4 (division), and if there is a cell whose overall evaluation score is less than the threshold, it decides to mix that cell as the operation of crane C1 (if there is no such cell, crane C1 does not operate).

[0017] The terms "integrated" and "divided" refer to whether the operations are performed in a continuous manner or in separate operations. Figure 4 shows an example of an integrated input operation. For ease of explanation, in Figure 4, area 2a is the range from rows A to E and columns 7 to 13, and area 2b is the range from rows A to E and columns 3 to 5. Area 2a is the area where input occurs, and area 2b is the area where input occurs. Assume that crane C2 is performing an input operation to transport waste from cell (H, 2) to column 4. In this case, the movement range of crane C2 is from column 2 to column 4. On the other hand, if the waste height in hopper 3a is level 1 and there is a cell (E, 7) with the highest overall evaluation score that does not interfere with crane C2, the operation determination unit 12 refers to the operation determination table 200 and first selects item 6 (integrated input) from items 6-12 as the operation to be assigned to crane C1, and then considers whether there is any interference with crane C2. Assume that crane C1 is currently located in cell (B, 12). In order to dump the waste from cell (E, 7) into hopper 3a, crane C1 must move from row 12 to row 7, grab the waste from cell (E, 7), and transport it to hopper 3a. However, crane C1's movement range during this process is from row 7 to row 12, and even when it gets closest to crane C2, it is still more than two rows away from crane C2. Therefore, the operation determination unit 12 determines to assign the highest priority operation, item number 6, to crane C1. The control unit 13 performs a consistent operation, moving crane C1 from cell (B, 12) to cell (E, 7), grabbing the waste in cell (E, 7), transporting it to hopper 3a, and dumping the grabbed waste into hopper 3a. This is the "continuous dumping" operation. The same applies to the "continuous receiving" operation. For example, in this example, crane C2 moves from cell (A, 4) to cell (H, 2), picks up waste, then transports it to cell (E, 4), and drops it evenly as it moves from cell (E, 4) to cell (A, 4). This operation is called receiving (consistent).

[0018] Next, the receiving (division) process will be described with reference to FIG. 5 . Now, let us assume that crane C1 is currently in the throwing operation and the operation determination unit 12 is determining the operation of crane C2. Specifically, let us assume that crane C1 moves from cell (B, 12) to cell (E, 7), grabs the waste in cell (E, 7), throws it into hopper 3a, and then returns to the original cell (B, 12). In this case, the operation determination unit 12 again determines the operation of crane C2 by referring to the operation determination table 200 in FIG. 2 . In this example, the other crane is crane C1. Since crane C1 is in the throwing operation, the operation determination unit 12 determines the operation of crane C2 by prioritizing items 1 to 5. Let us now assume that hopper 3b is at level 3. Let us assume that the waste height in cell (H, 2) is above a threshold, doors 4a to 4d are closed, area 2a is the waste receiving area, and the average waste height in column 9 is relatively lower than the other columns. The operation determination unit 12 then selects item 3, "Acceptance (Integrated)," which accepts waste from cell (H, 2) into column 9, as a candidate operation for crane 2 and determines whether interference will occur. As shown in FIG. 5 , if crane 2 performs the above-described accepting operation, it will interfere with crane 1 when transporting the waste from cell (H, 2) to column 9 and when dropping the waste at column 9. Therefore, the operation determination unit 12 abandons item 3, "Acceptance (Integrated)," and instead determines whether interference will occur in the case of item 4, "Acceptance (Divided)," which has the next highest priority. Here, "divided" refers to the first half of an operation, whether for accepting or throwing, in which the first half is moving from the current position to the cell position where the waste is to be picked up and then the second half is transporting the picked-up waste to the destination and performing the intended operation (e.g., dropping it into hopper 3a or scattering it in the receiving column). Interference is prevented by providing a waiting period between the first and second halves of the operation. In the example of Figure 5, crane C2 is moved from cell (A, 4) to cell (H, 2) and is made to wait with the waste picked up from cell (H, 2) (first half). When crane C1 dumps waste into hopper 3a and returns to cell (B, 12), crane 2C can be moved to row 9 without interfering with crane C1 because the distance between crane 2C and row 9 is two rows. Therefore, the operation determination unit 12 determines that crane C2 should accept (split).More specifically, the operation determination unit 12 determines that the operation of crane C2 is to move from cell (A, 4) to cell (H, 2) and wait while picking up the garbage, and that after crane C1 returns to cell (B, 12), it will perform the latter operation of transporting the picked-up garbage to row 4 and scattering it.

[0019] The same applies to the throwing (split) operation. Assume that a situation arises in which interference with crane C2 can be avoided by splitting the throwing operation of crane C1 in FIG. 5 . In this case, crane C1 moves from cell (B, 12) to cell (E, 7), picks up the waste, waits, and then, once interference with crane C2 is eliminated, moves from cell (E, 7) to hopper 3a and throws the waste into hopper 3a. Splitting the operation increases the total work time, but compared to waiting until interference is completely eliminated and then performing the same operation in a continuous manner, performing part of the operation in advance reduces the wait time and allows the receiving and throwing operations to be completed more quickly. If interference can be avoided by waiting in the first half of the operation rather than performing other lower-priority tasks to avoid interference, the higher-priority task can be performed first.

[0020] When disposing of waste, the operation determination unit 12 determines the cell from which waste is to be disposed so that the quality of the waste disposed of in the incinerator (not shown) is uniform. The operation determination unit 12 determines the cell from which waste is to be disposed so that the next layer of waste is not removed until all of the waste in the waste-grabbing area (area 2a or area 2b, which are alternated daily, for example) is removed. An example of a method for disposing of waste is shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 6(a) is a side view of cells (A,9) to (A,13) in area 2a. For example, as shown, cells (A,9) to (A,13) are configured in three layers in the height direction, with the top layer being the first layer, the bottom layer being the second layer, and so on. As waste accumulates, the properties of the waste vary from layer to layer. Disposing waste layer by layer homogenizes the waste supplied to the incinerator and stabilizes the incineration of the waste in the incinerator. Based on the overall evaluation score, the operation determination unit 12 selects, for example, the first layer of cell (A, 13) ("(A, 13)-1") as the input source (FIG. 6(b)). Even if the second layer of cell (A, 13) ("(A, 13)-2") has a higher overall evaluation score than the other cells on the first layer, the operation determination unit 12 selects the next input source from the first layer of cells (A, 9) to (A, 12) as shown in FIG. 6(c). When all the trash on the first layer has been input as shown in FIG. 6(d), the operation determination unit 12 selects, for example, the cell with the highest overall evaluation score from the second layer and determines to input the trash from the selected cell into the hopper 3a, etc. The operation determination unit 12 calculates the trash height of each cell from the trash height information of each cell acquired by the signal acquisition unit 11.

[0021] (Operation) Next, the operation of the control device 10 will be described using FIG. 7 . FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a crane operation determination process according to the embodiment. As a premise, the memory unit 14 stores the operation determination table 200 and the overall evaluation score of each cell in the pit 2, and the signal acquisition unit 11 acquires information on the garbage heights of the hoppers 3a and 3b and the garbage heights of each cell in the pit 2 at predetermined time intervals. The crane for which the operation is to be determined is designated as crane C1, and the other crane is designated as crane C2. The operation determination unit 12 checks the operation of crane C2 (step S1). For example, the operation determination unit 12 reads from the memory unit 14 the operation of crane C2 that it determined one control step ago. Next, the operation determination unit 12 checks the state of garbage in the pit 2 and the hoppers 3a and 3b (step S2). For example, the operation determination unit 12 reads from the memory unit 14 the latest information on the garbage heights of the hoppers 3a and 3b and the garbage height of area 2c acquired by the signal acquisition unit 11. The operation determination unit 12 reads the overall evaluation score of each cell in the pit 2 from the storage unit 14. This information indicating the state of the garbage is used when referencing the operation determination table 200. Next, the operation determination unit 12 refers to the operation determination table 200 and selects one candidate operation for the crane C1 in order of priority (step S3). For example, if the operation of the crane C2 is to dump, the garbage height in the hopper 3a is level 2, the garbage height in any cell in the area 2c is equal to or greater than the threshold and the doors 4a to 4d are closed, and the overall evaluation score of any cell in the areas 2a and 2b is less than the threshold, items 1 to 5 in FIG. 2 become candidate operations to be assigned to the crane C1. From these, the operation determination unit 12 selects item 1, which has the highest priority, to dump (consistent). Next, the operation determination unit 12 determines whether the selected operation interferes with the dump operation of the crane 2 (step S4). For example, the operation determination unit 12 selects all cells in area 2a or area 2b that are the source of garbage dumping and whose overall evaluation score is equal to or greater than a threshold, and calculates for each cell the movement range when garbage is dumped from the selected cell into hopper 3a. The operation determination unit 12 compares the movement range of crane 1 with the movement range of crane 2, and calculates whether the distance between the rows of cranes 1 and 2 when they are closest to each other is less than two rows, and determines that interference will occur if the distance is less than two rows, and determines that no interference will occur if the distance is two rows or more.For example, the operation decision unit 12 may make a similar judgment for all cells whose overall evaluation score is equal to or greater than a threshold value, and may determine that interference will occur if there are less than two rows for all cells, and may determine that there will be no interference if there is even one cell with two or more rows, and in the next step S6, may assign the crane 1 to dump garbage from that cell into the hopper 3a.

[0022] If there is no interference (step S4; none), the operation determination unit 12 determines the operation selected in step S3 as the operation of the crane 1 (step S6). For example, the operation determination unit 12 determines the cell from which the garbage is to be thrown and the operation "throw (consistent)". The operation determination unit 12 instructs the control unit 13 on the determined operation (step S7). The control unit 13 controls the crane C1 based on the determined operation.

[0023] If interference occurs (Step S4: Yes), the operation determination unit 12 determines whether all candidate operations have been selected (whether all candidate operations have been selected in Step S3) (Step S5). If all operations have been selected (Step S5: Yes), the operation determination unit 12 determines not to operate the crane C1. In this case, the flowchart of FIG. 7 ends.

[0024] If all items have not been selected (Step S5; No), the operation determination unit 12 repeats the process from Step S3. For example, the operation determination unit 12 selects the next highest priority "Input (Split)" (Step S3), divides the input into a first half operation and a second half operation, and determines whether interference with crane C2 can be avoided by having crane C1 wait without moving after the first half operation is completed (Step S4). Similarly, the operation determination unit 12 determines whether operations up to item number 6 are possible in order of priority, and if an operation that does not interfere with crane C2 is found, determines to operate crane C1 using that operation (Step S6). Specifically, if interference can be avoided by input (split), the operation determination unit 12 assigns input (split) as the operation of crane 1. If interference cannot be avoided, the operation determination unit 12 determines whether interference occurs with receiving (consistent), and if no interference occurs, assigns receiving (consistent) as the operation of crane 1. If there is interference, the operation determination unit 12 determines whether or not there is interference with acceptance (division), and if there is no interference, assigns acceptance (division) as the operation of the crane 1. If interference cannot be avoided even with acceptance (division), the operation determination unit 12 determines whether or not there is interference with stirring, and if there is no interference, assigns stirring as the operation of the crane 1, and if there is interference, determines "no operation."

[0025] (Effects) As described above, according to this embodiment, candidate operations to be performed by the target crane, as indicated by the state of garbage in the pit 2 and hoppers 3a, 3b, are identified, and the candidate operations are prioritized by referring to an operation determination table 200, which associates the candidate operations with the operations of other cranes and sets the operations to be performed by the target crane, which is the object of the operation determination, in order of priority. Then, whether or not there is interference with other cranes is determined in order of priority, and if there is no interference, that operation is assigned to the target crane. As a result, among the operations that can avoid interference with other cranes, a high-priority operation is assigned to the target crane. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the crane's standby time while having the crane perform operations with the highest priority possible.

[0026] For example, in the example shown in Figure 3, if hopper 3a is at level 2, the trash height in cell (H, 9) is above a threshold, and doors 4a-4d are closed, crane C1 would conventionally be assigned a high-priority operation to receive trash from cell (H, 9). However, due to interference with crane C2's loading, the crane must wait until crane C2 has finished loading. In contrast, in this embodiment, when another crane is loading, if the trash height in hopper 3a or the like is at level 2, the target crane is set to load trash (items 1-2 in Figure 2). This allows crane C1 to load trash from cell (A, 12) into hopper 3a, whereas crane C1 would have to wait in the background in the past. Considering the condition of the pit and hoppers, the priority of dumping garbage into hopper 3a, which has a garbage height of Level 2, may not necessarily be higher than that of accepting garbage from area 2c, where the garbage height has exceeded the threshold. However, dumping garbage into hopper 3a reduces the standby time of crane C1 and improves the operating rate of crane C1. Taking this opportunity to dump garbage into hopper 3a allows future garbage dumping operations to be carried out in advance during the freed-up time. By reducing future garbage dumping operations, we can expect to improve work efficiency in the long term.

[0027] Although the above embodiment illustrates a configuration in which there are two cranes, the number of cranes may be three or more. In this case, for example, the operation determination table 200 may be configured to register a combination of operations of two cranes other than those targeted for operation determination in the other crane operation column.

[0028] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a control device. A computer 900 includes a CPU 901, a main storage device 902, an auxiliary storage device 903, an input / output interface 904, and a communication interface 905. The above-described control device 10 is implemented in the computer 900. The above-described functions are stored in the auxiliary storage device 903 in the form of a program. The CPU 901 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 903, loads it into the main storage device 902, and executes the above-described processing in accordance with the program. The CPU 901 allocates a storage area in the main storage device 902 in accordance with the program. The CPU 901 allocates a storage area in the auxiliary storage device 903 for storing data being processed in accordance with the program.

[0029] A program for implementing all or part of the functions of the control device 10 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed to perform processing by each functional unit. The term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. If a WWW system is used, the term "computer system" also includes the homepage provision environment (or display environment). The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as CDs, DVDs, and USBs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into the computer system. If the program is distributed to the computer 900 via a communication line, the computer 900 may load the program into the main storage device 902 and execute the processing described above. The program may be for implementing part of the functions described above, or may be capable of implementing the functions described above in combination with a program already stored in the computer system.

[0030] As described above, several embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described, but all of these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0031] <Additional Notes> The crane control device and control method described in the embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0032] (1) A control device according to a first aspect is a control device for controlling multiple cranes that dump waste stored in a pit into a hopper of an incinerator, and includes: a table that lists, in order of priority, the operations to be performed by the first crane in correspondence with the operations of a second crane that may interfere with a first crane for which operation determination is to be made, according to the state of the waste in the pit and the hopper; an acquisition unit that acquires a status signal indicating the state of the waste in the pit and the hopper; and an operation determination unit that references the table based on the operation of the second crane and the status signal, selects an operation to be performed by the first crane in order of priority, determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane, and if no interference will occur, determines that the selected operation will be the operation of the first crane. This makes it possible to reduce crane standby time while allowing the crane to perform work with the highest possible priority.

[0033] (2) A control device according to a second aspect is the control device of (1), wherein the operation determination unit, if the selected operation interferes with the second crane, selects from the table the operation with the next highest priority after the selected operation, determines whether the selected operation interferes with the second crane, and if there is no interference, determines the selected operation as the operation of the first crane, and if there is interference, selects from the table the operation with the next highest priority, repeating this process until an operation of the first crane that does not interfere with the second crane is found. This makes it possible to have the crane perform work with the highest possible priority while avoiding interference with other cranes.

[0034] (3) A control device according to a third aspect is the control device of (1) to (2), wherein the operation determination unit, if the selected operation would interfere with the second crane, divides the selected operation into a first half of the operation up to grabbing the trash and a second half of the operation up to transporting the grabbed trash to a destination and performing the intended operation, and determines whether interference with the second crane can be avoided by having the first crane wait at that location after performing the first half of the operation, and if avoidance is possible, determines to execute the selected operation by dividing the selected operation into the first half of the operation and the second half of the operation. By dividing the selected operation into the first half of the operation and the second half of the operation, it is possible to reduce the crane's waiting time compared to waiting for a continuous operation.

[0035] (4) A control device according to a fourth aspect is the control device of (3), in which, if dividing the selected operation into the first half operation and the second half operation still fails to avoid interference with the second crane, the operation determination unit selects from the table the operation with the next highest priority after the selected operation and determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane. This makes it possible to have the crane perform work with the highest possible priority while avoiding interference with other cranes.

[0036] (5) A fifth aspect of the control device is the control device of (1) to (4), in which the operation determination unit determines the operation of the first crane so that, when the height direction of the garbage stored in the pit is divided into a predetermined number of layers, after all the garbage in a certain layer has been dumped into the hopper, the garbage in the layer one layer below the layer into which the garbage has been dumped is dumped into the hopper. This makes it possible to homogenize the garbage dumped into the hopper.

[0037] (6) A control method according to a sixth aspect is a control method for a plurality of cranes that dump garbage stored in a pit into the hopper of an incinerator, which acquires a status signal indicating the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, and, based on the operation of a second crane that may interfere with the first crane whose operation is to be determined and the status signal, associates the operation to be performed by the first crane with the operation of the second crane, refers to a table in which the operations are arranged in order of priority according to the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, selects the operation to be performed by the first crane in order of highest priority, determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane, and, if there is no interference, determines that operation as the operation of the first crane.

[0038] (7) A program according to the seventh aspect causes a computer to execute a process for determining the operation of one of a plurality of cranes for dumping garbage stored in a pit into the hopper of an incinerator, by acquiring a status signal indicating the state of garbage in the pit and the hopper, and, based on the operation of a second crane that may interfere with the first crane for which the operation is to be determined and the status signal, associating the operation to be performed by the first crane with the operation of the second crane, referring to a table arranged in order of priority according to the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, selecting the operation to be performed by the first crane in order of highest priority, determining whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane, and, if there is no interference, determining that operation as the operation of the first crane.

[0039] According to the control device and control method described above, it is possible to reduce the standby time of the crane while allowing the crane to perform work with the highest possible priority.

[0040] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10: Control device 11: Signal acquisition unit 12: Operation determination unit 13: Control unit 14: Storage unit 900: Computer 901: CPU 902: Main storage unit 903: Auxiliary storage unit 904: Input / output interface 905: Communication interface

Claims

1. A control device for controlling multiple cranes that dump garbage stored in a pit into the hopper of an incinerator, comprising: a table that lists the operations to be performed by the first crane in order of priority according to the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper, in correspondence with the operation of a second crane that may interfere with the first crane for which the operation is to be determined; an acquisition unit that acquires a status signal that indicates the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper; and an operation determination unit that references the table based on the operation of the second crane and the status signal, selects the operation to be performed by the first crane in order of highest priority, determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane, and if there is no interference, determines the selected operation as the operation of the first crane.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein, if the selected operation interferes with the second crane, the operation determination unit selects from the table an operation with the next highest priority after the selected operation, determines whether the selected operation interferes with the second crane, and if there is no interference, determines the selected operation as the operation of the first crane, and if there is interference, selects from the table the operation with the next highest priority, repeating this process until a selected operation that does not interfere with the second crane is found.

3. The control device described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein, when the selected operation interferes with the second crane, the operation determination unit selects a split operation registered in the table that divides the selected operation into a first half operation of moving to a position to grab the garbage and grabbing the garbage, and a second half operation of transporting the grabbed garbage to a destination and performing the intended operation, and after performing the first half operation, determines whether interference with the second crane can be avoided by having the first crane wait at that location, and if interference can be avoided, determines the selected split operation as the operation of the first crane.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein, if interference with the second crane cannot be avoided even when the first crane is placed on standby after the first half of the operation is performed, the operation determination unit selects from the table the operation with the next highest priority after the selected split operation, and determines whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane.

5. A control method for multiple cranes that dump garbage stored in a pit into the hopper of an incinerator, comprising: acquiring status signals indicating the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper; referring to a table in which the operation to be performed by the first crane is associated with the operation of the second crane based on the operation of a second crane that may interfere with the first crane whose operation is to be determined and the status signals, and which lists the operations in order of priority according to the state of the garbage in the pit and the hopper; selecting the operation to be performed by the first crane in order of highest priority; determining whether the selected operation will interfere with the second crane; and, if there is no interference, determining that operation as the operation of the first crane.

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