Snow plow machine and control device therefor

Abstract

The present invention provides: a snow plow machine capable of, in an unmanned manner and in an area designated in advance, plowing snow regardless of the time of day, such as even at night; and a control device therefor. The snow plow machine includes an electric traveling machine and a snow plow unit attached to the electric traveling machine. The snow plow machine also includes a control unit for automatically controlling the electric traveling machine and the snow plow unit. The control unit performs the following: a snow plowing area designation step for designating a snow plowing area from map information; a movement route calculation step for calculating a movement route of the snow plow machine in the snow plowing area designated in the snow plowing area designation step; and a snow plowing step for performing necessary snow plow work by moving the snow plow machine along the movement route calculated in the movement route calculation step.

Description

Snow removal machine and its control device

[0001] The present invention relates to a snow blower and a control device thereof, and more particularly to a small snow blower capable of performing snow removal work unmanned, and a control device suitable for controlling the same.

[0002] Snowplows have traditionally been used to remove snow in snowy areas. Among these snowplows, for example, walk-behind snowplows are known, which are operated by an operator gripping the handlebar grip while walking, and proposals relating to these machines have been made (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] JP 2002-180431 A JP 2005-299159 A

[0004] However, conventional snow removal machines, including walk-behind snow removal machines, are operated by an operator while walking, and therefore cannot meet the demand for unmanned automatic control to remove snow from required areas, such as at night, before a large amount of snow accumulates.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a snow blower and its control device that can efficiently remove snow from a pre-designated area unmanned, regardless of the time of day, even at night.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the snow removal machine (1) of the present invention comprises an electric traveling machine (50), a snow removal unit (10) attached to the electric traveling machine (50), and a control unit (38) that automatically controls the electric traveling machine (50) and the snow removal unit (10), and is characterized in that the snow removal unit (10) comprises a frame (11) that rotates up and down around a pivot shaft portion at the rear of the body of the electric traveling machine (50) (more specifically, the upper end portion near the rear) as a fulcrum (Q), a plow (13) attached to the front end of the frame (11), and an electric actuator (22) that rotates the frame (11) up and down around the fulcrum (Q).

[0007] With the snow blower of the present invention, by moving the snow blower, which is automatically controlled by the control unit (38), within a designated area, snow can be removed by plowing it away with the plow attached to the tip of the snow blower. This allows snow to be removed from a designated area unmanned, regardless of the time of day, even at night, and unmanned operation and automation can reduce the labor required for snow removal work.

[0008] Here, the plow (13) may be supported on the frame (11) so as to be rotatable to the left and right, and an angle adjustment mechanism may be provided for adjusting the left and right inclination angle of the plow (13). In this way, the left and right inclination angle of the plow can be freely changed, and the amount and width of snow scraped to the side by the plow can be adjusted as desired.

[0009] Skis (14) for sliding on the snow surface may also be attached to the frame (11) near the plow (13). By providing skis near the plow in this manner, the movement of the plow on the snow surface is guided by the skis, making the plow's movement on the snow surface smoother, and the plow can efficiently sweep snow to the side, allowing the designated area to be cleared evenly.

[0010] Furthermore, a parallel link mechanism may be provided to support the plow (13) and the skis (14) on the frame (11) so that they can move up and down perpendicular to the snow surface, and this parallel link mechanism may be configured as a double wishbone suspension (16). By configuring the parallel link mechanism as a double wishbone suspension in this way, the plow and skis can be moved up and down vertically to follow the unevenness of the snow surface, allowing the plow to reliably remove snow.

[0011] In addition, the snow removal machine control device of the present invention comprises a snow removal machine (1) having an electric traveling machine (50) and a snow removal unit (10) attached to the electric traveling machine (50), and a control unit (38) that controls the electric traveling machine (50) and the snow removal unit (10), and is characterized in that the control unit (38) performs a snow removal area designation step that designates a snow removal area from map information, a movement path calculation step that calculates a movement path for the snow removal machine (1) in the snow removal area designated in the snow removal area designation step, and a snow removal step that moves the snow removal machine (1) along the movement path calculated in the movement path calculation step to perform the required snow removal.

[0012] According to the snow removal machine control device of the present invention, in the snow removal step, the automatically controlled snow removal machine is moved within the area designated in the snow removal area designation step along the movement path calculated in the movement path calculation step, thereby making it possible to efficiently remove snow from the designated area unmanned, regardless of the time of day, even at night, and thereby reducing the labor required for snow removal work through unmanned operation and automation.

[0013] Here, the snow removal unit (10) can be moved by rotating the frame (11) between a snow removal position (X) where the plow (13) is lowered toward the snow surface and a retracted position (Y) where the plow (13) is raised above the snow surface, and the control unit (38) controls the snow removal step by controlling the first step of disposing the plow (13) at the snow removal position (X) and moving the snow remover (1) forward along a linear first travel line (L1) from a start point (a) to an end point (b), and the second step of disposing the plow (13) at the retracted position (Y) and moving the snow remover (1) forward along a linear first travel line (L1). a second step of moving the snow blower (1) backward along the first travel line (L1) from the end point (b) to the start point (a) or a position nearby, a third step of placing the plow (13) at the retracted position (Y) and moving the snow blower (1) to the start point (e) of an adjacent linear second travel line (L2), and a fourth step of placing the plow (13) at the snow removal position (X) and moving the snow blower (1) forward along the second travel line (L2) from the start point (e) to the end point (f). By performing the above-described control in the snow removal step, it is possible to efficiently and evenly remove snow from a designated snow removal area.

[0014] Furthermore, it is desirable that the control unit (38) change the travel path of the snow blower (1) to avoid a collision with the obstacle when an obstacle sensor (33) installed on the snow blower (1) detects an obstacle during the snow removal step. By doing so, when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, for example, a controller installed on the electric traveling machine controls a steering mechanism to change the traveling direction of the snow blower, thereby avoiding a collision with the obstacle.

[0015] Furthermore, it is desirable that the control unit (38) stops the movement of the snow blower (1) when the contact sensor (34) installed on the snow blower (1) detects contact with another object during the snow removal step. By doing so, if the snow blower comes into contact with another object, this is detected by the contact sensor and the movement of the snow blower is stopped, thereby avoiding a collision of the snow blower.

[0016] According to the present invention, snow can be efficiently removed from a pre-designated area unmanned regardless of the time of day, even at night, and the unmanned operation and automation can reduce the labor required for snow removal work.

[0017] 5 is a perspective view of a snow blower according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a snow removal unit of a snow blower according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side view of a snow removal unit of a snow blower according to the present invention. (a) and (b) are side views of the front part of the snow removal unit showing the operation of a snow blower according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the front part of the snow removal unit of a snow blower according to the present invention, seen from diagonally above. FIG. 8 is an enlarged detailed view of part A of FIG. 5. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of various sensors of a snow blower equipped with a control device according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a front view of a transmitter of a snow blower equipped with a control device according to the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a snow removal area specified on a display screen in a control method using a control device according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a driving line along which a snow blower travels in a specified snow removal area in a control method using a control device according to the present invention.

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] [Configuration of Snow Plow] First, the overall configuration of a snow plow 1 according to the present invention is shown in Figure 1. The snow plow 1 shown in the figure comprises, as its main components, an electric traveling machine 50, a snow removal unit 10 attached to the electric traveling machine 50, and a control unit 38 (not shown in Figure 1, see Figure 7) that automatically controls the electric traveling machine 50 and the snow removal unit 10. Below, the configurations of the electric traveling machine 50, the snow removal unit 10, and the control unit 38, which are the main components of the snow plow 1, will be described. In the following description, the directions indicated by the arrows in Figure 1 will be referred to as the "front-rear" direction, the "left-right" direction, and the "up-down" direction, respectively.

[0020] 1, the electric traveling machine 50 includes an electric motor as a drive source for a vehicle body supported for travel by a pair of left and right front wheels 51 and rear wheels 52, a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the electric motor to the pair of left and right rear wheels 52 that are drive wheels, a battery that supplies power to the electric motor, a charger that charges the battery, a steering mechanism that steers the pair of left and right front wheels 51 that are steered wheels, a controller that controls these components, and a receiver that receives a signal transmitted from the transmitter 40 shown in FIG. 8 (none of which are shown). It is to be noted that a commercially available electric traveling machine may be used as this electric traveling machine 50.

[0021] (Snow Removal Unit) The snow removal unit 10 is attached to the electric travelling machine 50 and comprises a pair of left and right frames 11 that are bent in a U-shape (gate-like shape). A triangular truss-shaped arm 12 is attached to the front end of these frames 11 so that its height can be adjusted up and down, and a plow (snow removal board) 13 and a pair of left and right skis 14 are attached to the front end of this arm 12.

[0022] Here, the plow 13 is configured as a bucket with an open front and a substantially arcuate curved surface, and a pair of left and right bowl-shaped skis 14 (with curved lower end surfaces) are attached to the arm 12 at the rear of the plow 13 by vertical support bars 15 (see FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The arm 12 supporting the plow 13 and the pair of left and right skis 14 is adjustable in vertical height relative to the front end of the frame 11. As shown in FIG. 3 , a vertical portion 11A at the front end of the frame 11 is formed with a plurality of bolt insertion holes 11a in two rows, one at the front and one at the back. By selecting the bolt insertion holes 11a through which bolts that secure the arm 12 to the frame 11 are inserted, the vertical height of the arm 12 and the plow 13 and skis 14 attached thereto can be adjusted as desired. In other words, the plurality of bolt insertion holes 11a and the bolts (not shown) selectively inserted into these bolt insertion holes 11a constitute a height adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of the plow 13 and skis 14.

[0023] As shown in Figure 4, the arm 12 may be supported on the frame 11 by a double wishbone suspension 16. This double wishbone suspension 16 has an upper arm 16a and a lower arm 16b arranged parallel to one another, and these upper arm 16a and lower arm 16b form a parallel link with the frame 11 and the arm 12, allowing the plow 13 and skis 14 to be raised and lowered while always maintaining a perpendicular position relative to the snow surface. As shown in Figure 4, a stopper 17 is attached to the lower end of the frame 11 to regulate the lower limit positions of the arm 12 and the plow 13 and skis 14 attached thereto. In other words, the lower limit positions of the arm 12 and the plow 13 and skis 14 attached thereto are regulated to the position where the lower arm 16b abuts against the stopper 17.

[0024] 6, the plow 13 is pivotally mounted to the arm 12 by a support shaft 19 inserted into a bracket 18 attached to the center of the width of the plow 13 so as to be rotatable left and right within a horizontal plane, and is mounted at a predetermined angle relative to the direction of travel of the snow blower 1. The angle of inclination of the plow 13 can be adjusted by an angle adjustment mechanism.

[0025] 6, the angle adjustment mechanism for adjusting the tilt angle of the plow 13 is composed of a plurality of bolt insertion holes 18a formed in the arc-shaped outer periphery of the bracket 18, a bolt 20 selectively inserted into one of these bolt insertion holes 18a, and a nut (not shown) threaded onto the bolt 20. To adjust the left and right tilt angle of the plow 13, the nut (not shown) threaded onto the bolt 20 is removed and the bolt 20 is pulled out of the bolt insertion hole 18a of the bracket 18, the plow 13 is rotated left and right by a predetermined angle around the support shaft 19, and then the bolt 20 is inserted into the other bolt insertion hole 18a and a nut (not shown) is tightened onto the bolt 20 to secure the plow 13 to the arm 12. In this manner, the tilt angle of the plow 13 can be adjusted so that it is fixed at a desired angle.

[0026] 3, a pair of left and right frames 11 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 3) have their rear ends supported by a support shaft 21 on the main body of the electric traveling machine 50 shown in FIG. 1 so that they can rotate up and down, and these frames 11 can rotate up and down around the position of the support shaft 21 as a center (fulcrum Q) by a pair of left and right electric actuators 22 interposed between their front ends and the main body of the electric traveling machine 50. Therefore, plows 13 and skis 14 attached to the front ends of these frames 11 via arms 12 can also rotate up and down around fulcrum Q, and these plows 13 and skis 14 can move from a position where they are lowered and in contact with the snow surface S (snow-removing position X) as shown by solid lines in FIG. 3 to a position where they are lifted up above the snow surface S (retracted position Y) as shown by dotted lines, or conversely, they can move down from the retracted position Y to the snow-removing position X.

[0027] Here, each electric actuator 22 has a cylinder 22a and an extendable piston rod 22b extending from the cylinder 22a, with one end of the cylinder 22a attached to the main body of the electric traveling machine 50 by a shaft 23, and the other end of the piston rod 22b attached to each frame 11 by a shaft 24. Therefore, when each electric actuator 22 is driven and the piston rod 22b extends or retracts relative to the cylinder 22a, the pair of left and right frames 11 rotates up and down about the support shaft 21, and the plow 13 and skis 14 attached to the front end of each frame 11 via the arm 12 move from a position in contact with the snow surface S (snow removal position X) shown by the solid line in Figure 3 to a position lifted above the snow surface S (retracted position Y) shown by the chain line, as described above, or conversely, they can move down from the retracted position Y to the snow removal position X.

[0028] (Control Unit) When a specific snow removal area is designated on a map, the control unit 38 automatically controls the snow removal machine 1 based on its position information obtained by a GPS (Global Positioning System), allowing the snow removal machine 1 to remove snow from the designated area unmanned while avoiding obstacles, etc. Here, the snow removal machine 1 is equipped with various sensors as shown in FIG.

[0029] 7 , the snow blower 1 is equipped with a GPS compass 31 that tracks the position of the snow blower 1 and an emergency stop button 32 that forcibly stops the operation of the snow blower 1 in an emergency. The front and rear of the snow blower 1 are equipped with obstacle sensors 33 that detect obstacles by emitting ultrasonic waves or the like, and the front, rear, left, right, and left sides of the snow blower 1 are equipped with multiple contact sensors 34, such as touch sensors, that detect when the snow blower 1 comes into contact with an obstacle. The GPS compass 31, emergency stop button 32, obstacle sensor 33, and contact sensor 34 are electrically connected to a controller (not shown) installed in the electric travel device 50, and these detection signals are sent to the controller. The obstacle sensors 33 can be any of a variety of well-known sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors and radar.

[0030] The control unit 38 also includes a transmitter 40 shown in Fig. 8, which includes a display screen 41 that displays map information and location information on the map obtained from signals from the GPS, various operation buttons 42 to 46, antennas 47 and 48, and application software that calculates the route to take to remove snow in a specified snow removal area. Note that the configuration of the transmitter 40 is an example, and it is also possible to use a mobile communication terminal device (smartphone) or the like that has application software installed to remotely operate the snow blower 1 as the transmitter.

[0031] [Method of Controlling Snow Removal Machine] Next, a control method using the control unit 38 of the snow removal machine 1 configured as above, that is, an operation of automatically controlling the snow removal machine 1 to remove snow from a designated area unmanned, will be described.

[0032] First, when map information is displayed on the display screen 41 of the transmitter 40 (see FIG. 8 ), the operator specifies the area (area on the map) from which snow should be removed unmanned (snow removal area specification step). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9 , the operator specifies the area from which snow should be removed on the map displayed on the display screen 41 of the transmitter 40 by indicating the corners of the area with the numbers "1," "2," "3," and "4." That is, in the example shown in FIG. 9 , the operator touches the snow removal area four-corner setting mode button 41 a and taps the four corners of the snow removal area in the order of "1," "2," "3," and "4." Note that the four corner points of the snow removal area, which are indicated by the numbers "1," "2," "3," and "4," can be later corrected by dragging the points on the display screen 41.

[0033] Once the snow removal area has been designated as described above, the user touches the snow removal travel line (automatic calculation display) mode button 41b on the display screen 41 shown in Fig. 9. This causes the dedicated application software to calculate the travel path of the snow removal machine 1 in the designated snow removal area (travel path calculation step). An example of this is shown in Fig. 10.

[0034] According to the movement path shown in Figure 10, a total of 12 straight-line driving lines L1 to L12 extending vertically in Figure 10 are set horizontally parallel and at equal intervals within the designated snow removal area, and the snow blower 1 moves along these driving lines L1 to L12 to thoroughly remove snow from the designated snow removal area (snow removal step).

[0035] That is, first, with the plow 13 and skis 14 positioned at the snow removal position X, the snow blower 1 is moved along the linear travel line (first travel line) L1 from point a, which is the start point, to point b, which is the end point (upward in FIG. 10 ) (first step). This movement causes the snow blower 1 to plow and remove snow from the travel line L1. The snow blower 1 then extends the piston rod 22b of the electric actuator 22 shown in FIG. 3 to raise (rotate) the frame 11 about fulcrum Q to the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3 , thereby lifting the plow 13 and skis 14 at the tip of the frame 11 to retracted position Y, where they are spaced above the snow surface. Then, in this state, the snow blower 1 is moved backward along the travel line L1 from point b to point a in FIG. 10 (second step).

[0036] As the snow blower 1 moves backward along the travel line L1 shown in Figure 10 from point b to point a, it reaches point c (near point a) along the travel line L1. The snow blower 1 then moves forward along the travel line M1, which extends diagonally forward from point c to the next adjacent travel line L2 in a substantially straight line, and reaches point d on the next adjacent linear travel line (second travel line) L2. The snow blower 1 then moves backward along the travel line L2 from point d to point e, which is the starting point (third step). The electric actuator 22 is then activated to retract the piston rod 22b, rotating the frame 11, which is located at the dotted line in Figure 3, about the fulcrum Q. This causes the plow 13 and skis 14 at the tip of the frame 11 to move (lower) to the snow clearing position X, bringing the plow 13 and skis 14 into contact with the snow surface.

[0037] Then, from the above state, the snow blower 1 moves forward from point e on the travel line L2 to point f, which is the end point of the travel line L2, while removing snow (fourth step). Similar operations are then repeated in this order, and the snow blower 1 repeatedly removes snow while traveling along the travel lines L1 to L12 in sequence, thereby clearing snow from the designated snow removal area by the snow blower 1. Note that in this embodiment, an example has been described in which the snow blower 1 is reversed along the travel line L1 to point c, which is partway along the travel line L1, but the snow blower 1 may also be reversed to point a, which is the start point of the travel line L1.

[0038] In the snow blower 1 according to this embodiment, skis 14 that slide on the snow surface are attached to the frame 11 near the plow 13. This allows the movement of the plow 13 on the snow surface to be guided by the skis 14, making the movement of the plow 13 on the snow surface smoother, and the plow 13 can efficiently sweep snow to the side, allowing the designated area to be cleared evenly.

[0039] In the snow blower 1 of this embodiment, the plow 13 is supported on the frame 11 so that it can rotate left and right, and an angle adjustment mechanism is provided for adjusting the left and right inclination angles of the plow 13.This means that the left and right inclination angles of the plow 13 can be freely changed, and the amount and width of snow scraped to the side by the plow 13 can be adjusted as desired.

[0040] Furthermore, the snow blower 1 according to this embodiment is provided with a height adjustment mechanism for adjusting the height of the plow 13 and skis 14, allowing the depth and volume of snow removal by the plow 13 to be adjusted as desired. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 4, by adopting a configuration in which the arms 12 and the plow 13 and skis 14 attached thereto are supported relative to the frame 11 by a double wishbone suspension 16 consisting of upper arms 16a and lower arms 16b, the plow 13 and skis 14 can be moved vertically up and down to follow the unevenness of the snow surface. That is, when the plow 13 and skis 14 moving on a flat snow surface as shown in Fig. 4(a) move over a snow surface having a protrusion P as shown in Fig. 4(b), the plow 13 and skis 14 rise vertically upward along the protrusion P, clear the protrusion P, and continue moving.

[0041] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the snow blower 1 according to this embodiment is provided with a plurality of obstacle sensors 33. When these obstacle sensors 33 detect an obstacle, a controller (not shown) provided in the electric travel machine 50 controls a steering mechanism (not shown) to change the direction of travel of the snow blower 1 and avoid a collision with the obstacle.

[0042] Even if the traveling direction of the snow blower 1 is changed by controlling the steering mechanism as described above, if the snow blower 1 comes into contact with something, this will be detected by the contact sensor 34 and the movement of the snow blower 1 will be stopped, thereby avoiding a collision of the snow blower 1. Furthermore, if an abnormal situation occurs, the operator can manually press the emergency stop button 32, which will forcibly stop the snow blower 1 from clearing snow, preventing any unexpected situations from occurring and ensuring a high level of safety.

[0043] As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, in the snow removal step, by moving the automatically controlled snow removal machine 1 within the area designated in the snow removal area designation step along the movement path calculated in the movement path calculation step, it is possible to remove snow from the designated area unmanned, regardless of the time of day, even at night, and the unmanned and automated operation can reduce the labor required for snow removal work.

[0044] The present invention is not limited to the application of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, specification, and drawings.

Claims

1. A snow removal machine comprising an electric travelling machine, a snow removal unit attached to the electric travelling machine, and a control unit that automatically controls the electric travelling machine and the snow removal unit, wherein the snow removal unit comprises: a frame that rotates up and down around the rear of the body of the electric travelling machine as a fulcrum; a plow attached to the front end of the frame; and an electric actuator that rotates the frame up and down around the fulcrum.

2. A snow removal machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the plow is supported on the frame so as to be rotatable to the left and right, and an angle adjustment mechanism is provided for adjusting the left and right inclination angle of the plow.

3. The snow removal machine according to claim 1, wherein skis for sliding on the snow surface are attached to the frame near the plow.

4. A snow removal machine according to claim 3, further comprising a parallel link mechanism for supporting said plow and said skis on said frame so that they can be raised and lowered perpendicular to the snow surface.

5. A snow blower according to claim 4, wherein the parallel link mechanism is configured as a double wishbone suspension.

6. A control device for a snow removal machine comprising a snow removal machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and a control unit for controlling said snow removal machine, wherein said control unit has the functions of performing a snow removal area designation step of designating a snow removal area from map information, a movement path calculation step of calculating a movement path for said snow removal machine in the snow removal area designated in said snow removal area designation step, and a snow removal step of moving said snow removal machine along the movement path calculated in said movement path calculation step to perform the required snow removal.

7. The control device for a snow removal machine according to claim 6, wherein the snow removal unit is capable of moving between a snow removal position in which the plow is lowered toward the snow surface and a retracted position in which the plow is raised above the snow surface by rotating the frame, and the control unit has the functions of performing the following steps in the snow removal step: a first step of positioning the plow at the snow removal position and moving the snow removal machine forward along a first linear travel line from a start point to an end point; a second step of positioning the plow at the retracted position and moving the snow removal machine backward along the first travel line from the end point to the start point or a position nearby; a third step of positioning the plow at the retracted position and moving the snow removal machine to the start point of an adjacent second linear travel line; and a fourth step of positioning the plow at the snow removal position and moving the snow removal machine forward along the second travel line from the start point to the end point.

8. The control device for a snow blower according to claim 6, characterized in that the control unit has a function of changing the movement path of the snow blower to avoid collision with the obstacle when an obstacle sensor installed in the snow blower detects an obstacle during the snow removal step.

9. The control device for a snow blower according to claim 6, characterized in that the control unit has a function of stopping the movement of the snow blower when a contact sensor installed on the snow blower detects contact with another object during the snow removal step.

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