Unloading device, control method for unloading device, and control program for unloading device

Abstract

A discharging machine 1 for discharging bulk cargo M from a ship 200 comprises: a travel unit 2 that is capable of moving relative to the ship 200; a rotating unit that is capable of rotating relative to the travel unit 2; a bucket elevator that is provided to the rotating unit and carries out the bulk cargo M; a scraping unit 11 that is provided to the bucket elevator and scrapes the bulk cargo M; a cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310 that acquires cargo handling-related data on the scraping unit 11 that has scraped the bulk cargo M and / or the bulk cargo M that has been scraped by the scraping unit 11; and a cargo shape map update unit 320 that updates, on the basis of the cargo handling-related data, a cargo shape map representing the shape of the bulk cargo M.

Description

Unloading equipment, control method for unloading equipment, control program for unloading equipment

[0001] This disclosure relates to unloading equipment, etc.

[0002] Cargo handling machines are known for handling cargo or loads on ships and other vessels. Cargo handling machines are broadly classified into loading machines that load cargo into the ship's hold and unloading machines or devices that unload cargo from the ship's hold onto land. Among loading machines, those that load bulk cargo or bulk loads such as coal or iron ore are also called ship loaders, and among unloading machines, those that unload bulk loads are also called ship unloaders. This disclosure is applicable to any unloading machine or unloading device, but will mainly describe ship unloaders in an illustrative and representative manner. Some ship unloaders continuously unload bulk loads from the ship's hold and are called continuous unloaders or continuous ship unloaders. In this disclosure, the abbreviation CSU will be used.

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-160034

[0004] A CSU (Cargo Storage Unit) may be equipped with a distance-measuring sensor to measure the shape of bulk cargo in the cargo hold. If the movable parts of the CSU (such as the moving parts, rotating parts, and unloading parts described later) can be accurately controlled according to the distance to the cargo hold or bulk cargo measured by the distance-measuring sensor, collisions between the unloading part inserted into the cargo hold and the cargo hold can be prevented, and bulk cargo can be unloaded efficiently. However, structures such as cargo hold hatches may get in the way between the distance-measuring sensor and the bulk cargo. Also, bulk cargo piled up in front of the distance-measuring sensor may obscure the bulk cargo behind it. Due to occlusion caused by such obstacles, the distance-measuring sensor may not be able to measure the shape of the bulk cargo.

[0005] This disclosure is made in light of these circumstances and aims to provide a cargo unloading device, etc., that can appropriately estimate the shape of a ship's cargo.

[0006] To solve the above problems, a cargo unloading device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a cargo unloading device for unloading cargo from a ship, comprising: a movable unit that is movable relative to the ship; an unloading unit provided on the movable unit for unloading cargo; an intake unit provided on the unloading unit for taking in cargo; a cargo handling related data acquisition unit that acquires cargo handling related data relating to at least one of the intake unit that has taken in cargo and the cargo taken in by the intake unit; and a cargo shape map update unit that updates a cargo shape map representing the shape of the cargo based on the cargo handling related data.

[0007] According to this embodiment, the cargo shape map representing the shape of the cargo can be appropriately updated based on cargo handling-related data concerning the intake unit and / or the cargo.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a method for controlling a cargo unloading device. The method controls a cargo unloading device comprising: a movable section that is movable relative to a ship; an unloading section provided on the movable section for unloading cargo from a ship; and an intake section provided on the unloading section for taking in cargo, and includes the following functions: acquiring cargo handling-related data relating to at least one of the intake section that has taken in cargo and the cargo taken in by the intake section; and updating a cargo shape map representing the shape of the cargo based on the cargo handling-related data.

[0009] Furthermore, any combination of the above components, as well as any representations thereof converted into methods, apparatus, systems, recording media, computer programs, etc., are also included in this disclosure.

[0010] According to this disclosure, the shape of the ship's cargo can be appropriately estimated.

[0011] This is a front view showing the overall configuration of the lifting machine. This is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the lifting machine. This shows the detailed configuration of the lifting section. This shows the appearance of the distance measuring sensor. This is a top view showing an example of the arrangement of the distance measuring sensor. This schematically shows the functional blocks of the control device responsible for updating the cargo shape map, etc. This schematically shows the cargo shape map update process based on cargo handling-related data by the cargo shape map update unit. This schematically shows the cargo shape map update process based on cargo handling-related data by the cargo shape map update unit. This flowchart shows an example of the process of creating and updating the cargo shape map by the control device. This schematically shows a vertical screw type unloader.

[0012] The following describes in detail the forms for implementing this disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as embodiments) with reference to the drawings. In the description and / or drawings, identical or equivalent components, members, processes, etc., are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. The scale and shape of the illustrated parts are set for convenience to simplify the description and are not to be interpreted restrictively unless otherwise specified. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the scope of this disclosure in any way. Not all features or combinations thereof presented in the embodiments are necessarily essential to this disclosure. For convenience, embodiments are presented by breaking them down into components for each function and / or group of functions that realize them. However, one component in an embodiment may actually be realized by a combination of multiple components as separate entities, and multiple components in an embodiment may actually be realized by a single component as a whole. Furthermore, multiple embodiments and modifications may be disclosed in parallel, and any components of each embodiment and / or modification may be combined in any manner as long as they do not interfere with each other's functions.

[0013] Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of a loading / unloading machine 1 as a loading / unloading device or cargo handling machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The loading / unloading machine 1 is a continuous unloader or shipboard continuous unloader that unloads bulk cargo M loaded on a ship 200 or as cargo onto land. Hereinafter, the loading / unloading machine 1 will also be referred to as CSU 1. The CSU 1 continuously transports bulk cargo M stored in the cargo hold 201 of a ship 200 docked at a quay 101 of a pier 102 in a port or the like to land. Examples of typical bulk cargo M include coal, coke, ore, etc. The ship 200 or cargo hold 201 is the storage location for the bulk cargo M, and is also the loading / unloading location where the CSU 1 handles or unloads the bulk cargo M.

[0014] The CSU 1 is operated by an operator in the main control room 16 located in its main body. The control room for operating the CSU 1 may be located elsewhere within the CSU 1, or it may be located anywhere on land outside the CSU 1.

[0015] The pier 102 where the ship 200 docks constitutes the land area where the bulk cargo M is unloaded, and is constructed of high-strength materials such as reinforced concrete. As shown in the perspective view of Figure 2, the pier 102 is provided with a pair of parallel rails 3 as a track along the longitudinal direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1) of the ship 200 that is docked and anchored at the quay 101. The rails 3 constitute a track on which the running section 2, which is the movable part of the CSU 1, can move or travel. These rails 3 allow the CSU 1 to move relative to the anchored ship 200. As shown in Figure 2, the direction in which the rails 3 are installed preferably coincides with the longitudinal direction of the anchored ship 200 or the quay 101, but it may be any other direction. The rails 3 may also include curved sections and bends. When unloading cargo from the ship 200, the CSU 1 moves along the rails 3 and approaches the hatch 21, which is the upper opening of the cargo hold 201 to be unloaded. Subsequently, the running section 2, the slewing frame 5, the unloading section 9, etc., are driven, and the bulk cargo M is unloaded from the cargo hold 201.

[0016] At the pier 102, a belt conveyor 45 is provided between a pair of rails 3 to transport the unloaded bulk cargo M in a constant direction. As shown in Figure 2, it is preferable that the installation direction of the belt conveyor 45, i.e., the transport direction, coincides with the installation direction of the rails 3, but it may be any other direction. The belt conveyor 45 may also include curved sections and bends. The belt conveyor 45 needs to be provided between the pair of rails 3 where it receives the bulk cargo M unloaded from the CSU 1, but it may be provided outside the pair of rails 3 at other locations.

[0017] The CSU 1 comprises a traveling section 2 as a mobile section that can move relative to the ship 200, a slewing frame 5 as a slewing section that can rotate relative to the traveling section 2, and a lifting section 9 provided at the tip of the slewing frame 5 as a cargo handling section for unloading bulk cargo M. The slewing frame 5 is supported on the traveling section 2 so as to be able to rotate around a slewing axis in the vertical direction (up and down direction in Figure 1). The slewing frame 5 is provided with a boom 7 that extends laterally and intersects the slewing axis, and a bucket elevator, which constitutes the main part of the lifting section 9 as a conveying section, is supported at its tip.

[0018] The lifting section 9 maintains a vertical position regardless of the luffing angle of the boom 7 (the angle of rotation around the luffing axis perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1) through a parallel link mechanism formed between the slewing frame 5, the boom 7, and the parallel link 8. A counterweight 13 is provided at the rear end of the slewing frame 5 opposite to the tip of the boom 7. The counterweight 13 is connected to the tip of the boom 7 via a balancing lever 12. Due to the action of this counterweight 13, the lifting section 9 becomes virtually unloaded, achieving a stable load balance. The main components of the slewing section, such as the slewing frame 5, boom 7, balancing lever 12, and counterweight 13, will collectively be referred to as the main body below.

[0019] A cylinder 15 is provided to adjust the luffing angle of the boom 7. When the cylinder 15 is at its standard length, the luffing angle is 0 degrees, meaning the boom 7 is parallel or horizontal to the ground (left-right direction in Figure 1). Extending the cylinder 15 beyond its standard length causes the tip of the boom 7 to rise, resulting in a positive luffing angle. Reducing the cylinder 15 beyond its standard length causes the tip of the boom 7 to lower, resulting in a negative luffing angle. The lifting section 9, supported at the tip of the boom 7, rises while maintaining a vertical position when the luffing angle of the boom 7 increases, and lowers while maintaining a vertical position when the luffing angle of the boom 7 decreases. In this way, the lifting section 9, as a cargo handling or lifting device, moves up and down integrally with the luffing of the boom 7.

[0020] The main control room 16 for operating the CSU 1 is located in the CSU 1 or the main body of the slewing section. In the example shown in Figure 1, the main control room 16 is located on the lifting section 9 side of the slewing frame 5. The operator in the main control room 16 can safely operate the CSU 1 while visually monitoring the lifting section 9. Alternatively, the operator in the main control room 16 may operate the CSU 1 while viewing images or videos of the cargo hold 201, captured by a camera or other imaging device, on a monitor. In response to the operation of the CSU 1 through the main control room 16, parameters related to the position, posture, and operation of the CSU 1 (hereinafter collectively referred to as the CSU state), such as the position of the traveling section 2, the slewing angle of the slewing frame 5, and the elevation angle of the boom 7, are controlled. Furthermore, the loading operation of bulk cargo M by the lifting section 9 can also be operated through the main control room 16.

[0021] The unloading section 9 includes a scraping section 11 at its lower end that scrapes bulk cargo M from within the cargo hold 201, and a bucket elevator as a transport or unloading section that transports or unloads the bulk cargo M scraped by the scraping section 11 upward or toward the upper end to the outside of the cargo hold 201. The scraping section 11 is located at the lower part of the unloading section 9. A number of buckets 27 (see Figure 3) are provided along the outer circumference of the scraping section 11 so as to be movable in one direction (W in Figure 1), and the bulk cargo M from within the cargo hold 201 is continuously excavated and scraped off. The bulk cargo M scraped by the scraping section 11 is transported upward together with the buckets 27 by the bucket elevator.

[0022] The scraping section 11 is an example of a loading or retrieval section that takes in or retrieves bulk cargo M as cargo for a transport or unloading section such as a bucket elevator. The present disclosure is also applicable to unloading devices that have loading or retrieval sections of a different nature than the scraping section 11. Examples of such loading sections include those that take in cargo using air or gas in pneumatic unloaders, and those that take in cargo using a mechanism different from the bucket in bridge crane unloaders. In the following, the scraping section 11 will be described as a representative loading section, but by replacing "scraping" etc. in the description with "loading" etc., the description will be applicable to a general loading section.

[0023] Figure 3 shows the detailed configuration of the lifting section 9. The bucket elevator comprises a cylindrical elevator body 14 extending vertically and a chain bucket 29 that rotates along the outer circumference of the elevator body 14 and the scraping section 11. The chain bucket 29 comprises a pair of roller chains 25, each composed of an endless chain, and a plurality of buckets 27, both sides of which are supported by the pair of roller chains 25. Specifically, the pair of roller chains 25 are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 3(B), and each bucket 27 is mounted so as to be suspended between the pair of roller chains 25.

[0024] The bucket elevator includes a drive roller 31a that rotationally drives a stretched roller chain 25, driven rollers 31b and 31c, and a turning roller 33. The drive roller 31a is located at the top 9a of the bucket elevator and is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) or the like, causing the chain bucket 29 to rotate. The driven roller 31b is located in front of the scraping section 11 (to the left in Figure 3(B)), and the driven roller 31c is located behind the scraping section 11 (to the right in Figure 3(B)), each guiding the rotating chain bucket 29. The turning roller 33 is a driven roller located below the drive roller 31a, which guides the rotating chain bucket 29 and changes its direction of motion. An extendable cylinder 35 is provided between the driven roller 31b and the driven roller 31c. When the cylinder 35 extends or retracts, the distance between the axes of the two driven rollers 31b and 31c changes, altering the trajectory of the chain bucket 29's orbital motion. The extension and retraction of the cylinder 35 may be controlled by operation through the main control room 16, or it may be controlled automatically by a computer built into the CSU 1 according to a program. In addition, corresponding to the provision of two roller chains 25, two drive rollers 31a, two driven rollers 31b and 31c, and two turning rollers 33 are each provided and arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 3(B).

[0025] Driven by rotation through the drive roller 31a, the chain bucket 29 revolves along the outer circumference of the elevator body 14 and the scraping section 11. For example, the chain bucket 29 revolves counterclockwise along the arrow W shown in Figure 3(B). During this movement, the chain bucket 29 reciprocates between the scraping section 11 located at the bottom of the bucket elevator and the drive roller 31a located at the top 9a of the bucket elevator.

[0026] Each bucket 27 of the chain bucket 29 rises along the elevator main body 14 while maintaining a posture with its opening facing upward. When each bucket 27 passes through the drive roller 31a at the uppermost part 9a of the bucket elevator, as the movement direction of each bucket 27 changes from upward to downward, the opening of each bucket 27 also turns from upward to downward. A discharge chute (not shown) is provided below the opening of each bucket 27 thus turned downward, and the bulk cargo M scraped up by each bucket 27 is discharged there. The discharge chute discharges the bulk cargo M onto a rotary feeder 37 (FIG. 1) provided on the outer periphery of the upper part of the cargo unloading section 9.

[0027] The rotary feeder 37 rotates around a rotation axis in the extending direction of the elevator main body 14, that is, in the vertical direction, and transfers the bulk cargo M discharged from the discharge chute to the boom conveyor 39 of the boom 7. The boom conveyor 39 conveys the bulk cargo M along the boom 7 to the vicinity of the turning axis of the turning frame 5 and supplies it to a hopper (not shown) provided there. An in-ship conveyor 43 for receiving the bulk cargo M is provided in the traveling section 2 below the discharge port of this hopper. The in-ship conveyor 43 transfers the bulk cargo M to the aforementioned belt conveyor 45 provided at the quay 102 as land.

[0028] Next, the basic cargo unloading operation of the CSU 1 having the above configuration will be described. In this cargo unloading operation, the cargo unloading section 9 and / or the CSU 1 carry out the bulk cargo M (ship cargo) in the ship's hold 201 of the ship 200 to the outside of the ship's hold 201.

[0029] The operator of the CSU1 operates the CSU1 from the main control room 16. First, the running section 2 is moved along the rails 3 to a position close to the hatch 21 of the cargo hold 201 to be unloaded. Next, the slewing frame 5 is rotated around a vertical slewing axis located in a position overlapping with the running section 2 in the top view in Figure 1, moving the lifting section 9, located at the tip of the boom 7, above the hatch 21 of the cargo hold 201 to be unloaded. Here, it is preferable that the boom 7 is raised and lowered in the positive direction (clockwise in Figure 1) so as not to collide with the pier 102 or the ship 200, and that the running and slewing operations are performed when the lifting section 9 is sufficiently raised. Next, the boom 7 is raised and lowered in the negative direction (counterclockwise in Figure 1), and the scraping section 11, located at the tip of the lifting section 9, is inserted into the cargo hold 201 through the hatch 21. Furthermore, the movement of the travel unit 2, the rotation of the slewing frame 5, and the raising and lowering of the boom 7 may be performed simultaneously if there are no safety issues.

[0030] After the scraping section 11 is inserted into the cargo hold 201, the roller chain 25 begins to rotate along the arrow W. The multiple buckets 27 attached to the roller chain 25 excavate and scrape up the bulk cargo M stored in the cargo hold 201 as they rotate together with the roller chain 25. The bulk cargo M scraped up by each bucket 27 is transported upward along the elevator body 14 as the roller chain 25 rotates.

[0031] In order to efficiently scrape the bulk cargo M at various locations in the ship's hold 201, the scraping unit 11 may appropriately change its three-dimensional position within the ship's hold 201. For example, when the surface position of the bulk cargo M becomes lower as the unloading operation progresses, the boom 7 is undulated in the negative direction and the scraping unit 11 is lowered. Also, in order to scrape the bulk cargo M near the wall of the ship's hold 201, the position of the scraping unit 11 within the horizontal plane may be changed to approach the wall through the operation of the traveling unit 2 and / or the swivel frame 5. The scraping unit 11 may change not only its three-dimensional position but also its posture and shape. For example, the scraping unit 11 is rotatable around the rotation axis in the extending direction of the elevator main body 14, that is, the vertical direction, and its direction can be arbitrarily changed. Also, as shown by the dashed-dotted line in Fig. 3(B), the scraping unit 11 can take an inclined shape or a horizontally long shape that contracts in the vertical direction and extends in the horizontal direction. Thereby, even in the ship's hold 201 where the horizontal distance from the hatch 21 to the wall is large, the scraping unit 11 can be brought close to the wall to efficiently scrape the bulk cargo M.

[0032] The control of the CSU state such as the position, posture, movement, shape, etc. of the scraping unit 11 or the unloading unit 9 within the ship's hold 201 regarding the unloading operation of the CSU1 as described above may be autonomously performed by the CSU1 using a photographing device such as a camera and a distance measuring sensor described later (that is, the unloading unit 9 and / or the CSU1 may be automatically operated), or may be manually performed by the operator in the main control room 16 while communicating with the worker within the ship's hold 201.

[0033] The bucket 27 that has scraped the bulk cargo M within the ship's hold 201 as described above rises along the elevator main body 14 and turns from upward to downward when passing through the drive roller 31a at its uppermost part 9a. The bulk cargo M that has fallen due to the turning of the bucket 27 enters the discharge chute and is discharged onto the rotary feeder 37. Thereafter, the bulk cargo M is transferred to the belt conveyor 45 provided at the quay 102 as land through the boom conveyor 39 and the in-ship conveyor 43. By repeatedly performing the above-described unloading operation by a plurality of buckets 27, the bulk cargo M within the ship's hold 201 is continuously unloaded onto land.

[0034] Next, we will describe the distance measuring sensor installed in the CSU1 to improve the safety and efficiency of cargo unloading. The distance measuring sensor constitutes a cargo hold detection unit or position measuring unit that detects the position of a part of the cargo hold 201, for example, the edge of the opening 21, the upper / side surface facing the edge, the ceiling / walls / bottom of the cargo hold 201, structures inside the cargo hold 201, etc.

[0035] As shown in Figure 1, multiple distance measuring sensors 19 are provided on the upper part of the loading section 9 to measure the distance to objects located below and to the side. In the illustrated example, any object that can be measured by the distance measuring sensors 19 is any object such as the edge of the opening 21, the ceiling / walls / bottom of the cargo hold 201, bulk cargo M and other objects, people / structures inside the cargo hold 201, a bulldozer for bottom dredging, the scraping section 11, the ship 200, other parts of the CSU1 such as the boom 7 / slewing frame 5 / traveling section 2 / main control room 16, the quay 101, the dock 102, the rails 3, the belt conveyor 45, etc. Multiple distance measuring sensors 19 may be arranged, for example, on the upper part of a cylindrical elevator body 14, surrounding the outer circumference of the elevator body 14. Alternatively, multiple distance measuring sensors 19 may be provided on a flange section 91 that rotatably supports the upper part of the elevator body 14, surrounding the outer circumference of the elevator body 14. It is preferable that the multiple distance measuring sensors 19 be positioned below the connection point between the lifting section 9 and the boom 7 so that the boom 7 does not fall within the measurement range below and to the side of the multiple distance measuring sensors 19. On the other hand, if the multiple distance measuring sensors 19 are positioned above the connection point between the lifting section 9 and the boom 7, it is sufficient that each distance measuring sensor 19 is positioned so as not to overlap with the boom 7 when viewed from above (as seen from above in Figure 1). An example of the arrangement of the multiple distance measuring sensors 19 in a top view will be described later. The number of distance measuring sensors 19 is arbitrary. For example, any number of distance measuring sensors 19 that measure distance mainly below the lifting section 9 and any number of distance measuring sensors 19 that measure distance mainly to the side of the lifting section 9 may be provided.

[0036] Multiple distance measuring sensors 18 are provided in the scraping section 11 at the bottom of the loading section 9 to measure the distance to objects to be measured above, to the side, and below. In the illustrated example, any object can be measured by the distance measuring sensors 18, such as the edge of the opening 21, the ceiling / walls / bottom of the cargo hold 201, bulk cargo M and other objects, people / structures inside the cargo hold 201, a bulldozer for bottom scraping, and other parts of the CSU1 such as the boom 7. The distance measuring sensors 18 are provided at the front (left side in Figure 1) and rear (right side in Figure 1) of the scraping section 11, respectively. To avoid deterioration of measurement accuracy due to dust from the bulk cargo M scraped by the bucket 27 of the scraping section 11, it is preferable that the multiple distance measuring sensors 18 be provided at a position away from the location where the bucket 27 excavates the bulk cargo M (for example, the lower part of the scraping section 11) (for example, the upper part of the scraping section 11). The number of distance measuring sensors 18 is arbitrary. For example, any number of distance measuring sensors 18 that measure distances mainly to the side of the scraping section 11 and any number of distance measuring sensors 18 that measure distances mainly below the scraping section 11 may be provided.

[0037] Figure 4 shows the external appearance of the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19. The distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 are, for example, distance-measuring laser sensors and constitute a distance measuring unit that measures the distance to an object to be measured. The distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 as laser sensors include a laser light-emitting unit (not shown) that emits laser light toward the object to be measured, including the ship's hold 201, and a laser light-receiving unit (not shown) that receives the laser light reflected by the object to be measured. A light-transmitting portion 171 that can transmit laser light is formed in an endless band shape around the entire circumference of the side surface of the cylindrical housing 17 of the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19.

[0038] Multiple laser emitters are provided in the housing 17, facing the light-transmitting section 171, and emit a linear laser beam to the outside of the housing 17 through the light-transmitting section 171. Each laser emitter is arranged at a predetermined interval along the direction of the central axis A of the housing 17 (the vertical direction in Figure 4), although Figure 4 simply shows the laser beam being emitted from a single point. Also, as schematically illustrated, the emission angles of each laser emitter are provided with a difference of approximately 0.1 to 3 degrees from each other. Such distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 irradiate laser beams within a predetermined angular range above and below the reference plane S (in the illustrated example, within the range of θ- to θ+), with the plane perpendicular to the central axis A of the housing 17 as the reference plane S. θ- and θ+ can be designed arbitrarily, but in the following example, -θ- = θ+ = 15 degrees. In this case, the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 irradiate laser beams within a range of ±15 degrees centered on the reference plane S. Furthermore, these multiple laser light-emitting units can be integrally rotated 360 degrees around the central axis A of the housing 17. Therefore, the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 can irradiate laser light onto substantially all objects to be measured around (to the side of) the housing 17. Note that the laser light-emitting units of the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 may irradiate laser light within any angular range smaller than 360 degrees around the central axis A of the housing 17 (for example, an angular range of 180 degrees or less or an angular range of 120 degrees or less). In addition, it is preferable to use laser light of an invisible wavelength such as near-infrared light so as not to disturb people inside or around the CSU 1 or the ship 200.

[0039] The distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 rotate multiple laser light-emitting units together, emitting pulsed laser light at predetermined rotational angles. The pulsed laser light emitted by each laser light-emitting unit is reflected or scattered by the object to be measured and returns to the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19, where it is received by a laser light-receiving unit provided together with each laser light-emitting unit within the housing 17. The calculation unit (not shown) of the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 calculates the distance to the object to be measured based on the time from when the laser light-emitting unit emits a pulse of laser light until the laser light-receiving unit receives the pulse of laser light reflected from the object to be measured. This technology is also called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging).

[0040] While laser sensors were given as examples of distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 above, distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 may also use other types of light or electromagnetic waves. For example, a millimeter-wave sensor using so-called millimeter waves with a wavelength of about 1 mm to 10 mm may be used as distance measuring sensors 18 and 19. Millimeter waves have high directivity due to their high frequency of about 30 GHz to 300 GHz, and can be handled in the same way as lasers. A millimeter-wave sensor is configured similarly to the laser sensor in Figure 4, except that a millimeter-wave transmitter (a broad-sense light-emitting unit) that emits millimeter waves toward the object to be measured is provided instead of a laser light-emitting unit, and a millimeter-wave receiver (a broad-sense light-receiving unit) that receives millimeter waves reflected by the object to be measured is provided instead of a laser light-receiving unit. Furthermore, optical sensors that use light other than laser light, such as Time of Flight (ToF) image sensors, may also be used as distance measuring sensors 18 and 19. Moreover, distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 may not have a light-emitting unit that emits light or electromagnetic waves toward the object to be measured. For example, stereo cameras capable of measuring distance by simultaneously photographing the object to be measured from different directions may be used as distance measuring sensors 18 and 19.

[0041] The distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 shown in Figure 4 can be attached to the CSU shown in Figure 1 at any position and in any orientation depending on the measurement purpose. For example, the distance measuring sensor 18 installed in the scraping section 11 is mounted so that its central axis A in Figure 4 is vertical and its reference plane S is horizontal. This distance measuring sensor 18 can measure the distance inside the cargo hold 201, centering on the side of the scraping section 11. Alternatively, the distance measuring sensor 18 may be mounted so that its central axis A in Figure 4 is horizontal and its reference plane S is vertical. This distance measuring sensor 18 can measure the distance to the opening 21 above the scraping section 11 or the bulk load M below the scraping section 11. Note that the orientation of the central axis A of the distance measuring sensor 18 is not limited to the vertical or horizontal direction and may be any orientation.

[0042] The distance measuring sensor 19, installed on the upper part of the unloading section 9, may be mounted so that its central axis A in Figure 4 is horizontal and its reference plane S is a vertical plane. This distance measuring sensor 19 can measure the distance to the edge of the opening 21 of the cargo hold 201 below, or to bulk cargo M inside the cargo hold 201. Although this distance measuring sensor 19 can also emit laser light upwards, if there is no object to be measured above, the upward measurement may be disabled by covering the upper side of the distance measuring sensor 19 with a light-shielding cover. Alternatively, the distance measuring sensor 19 may be mounted so that its central axis A in Figure 4 is vertical and its reference plane S is parallel to the horizontal plane. This distance measuring sensor 19 can efficiently measure the distance to any object outside the cargo hold 201 located to the side. The orientation of the central axis A of the distance measuring sensor 19 is not limited to the horizontal or vertical direction, but in the following example, it is assumed to be horizontal.

[0043] By installing the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 described above in the unloading section 9, the position of any object to be measured can be accurately determined, such as the edge of the opening 21, the ceiling / walls / bottom of the cargo hold 201, bulk cargo M and other objects, people / structures inside the cargo hold 201, the bulldozer for bottom dredging, and the scraping section 11. Therefore, collisions between the unloading section 9 and other objects during unloading can be prevented, and bulk cargo M can be unloaded efficiently.

[0044] Figure 5 shows an example of the arrangement of the distance measuring sensors 19 in a top view. Three distance measuring sensors 191, 192, and 193 are arranged to surround the outer circumference of the flange portion 91 or the elevator body 14. Distance measuring sensor 191 is positioned so that its central axis A in Figure 4 is in the left-right direction in Figure 5, and its reference surface S1, which corresponds to the reference surface S in Figure 4, is in the up-down direction in Figure 5. Distance measuring sensor 191 measures distance by irradiating laser light within a range of ±15 degrees centered on the reference surface S1. Distance measuring sensors 192 and 193 are positioned so that their central axis A in Figure 4 is in the up-down direction in Figure 5, and their reference surfaces S2 and S3, which correspond to the reference surface S in Figure 4, are in the left-right direction in Figure 5. Distance measuring sensors 192 and 193 measure distance by irradiating laser light within a range of ±15 degrees centered on the reference surfaces S2 and S3. The reference planes S2 and S3 of the distance measuring sensors 192 and 193 are different planes that are parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the reference plane S1 of the distance measuring sensor 191.

[0045] The CSU 1 unloads bulk cargo M from the cargo hold 201 using the posture shown in Figure 5 as its basic posture during unloading. In this basic posture, the running section 2 is positioned offset from the front of the cargo hold 201, and the slewing frame 5 and boom 7 are in a slewing position that forms an acute angle with respect to the rails 3 that constitute the track of the running section 2. In this case, the unloading section 9 is located above the cargo hold 201 of the ship 200, and its lower scraping section 11 is inserted into the cargo hold 201 through the opening 21.

[0046] The opening 21 of the cargo hold 201 is often a long rectangle in the direction of the ship 200's movement (left-right direction in Figure 5). In this case, the upper edge E11 and lower edge E12 of the opening 21 can be detected by the distance measuring sensor 191, which irradiates laser light parallel to the short side of the opening 21 (the vertical side in Figure 5). The points shown at the center of edges E11 and E12 represent the positions where the laser light on the reference plane S1 of the distance measuring sensor 191 strikes the edge of the opening 21, and the small rectangle surrounding it schematically represents the range in which the laser light irradiated within a ±15 degree range centered on the reference plane S1 strikes the edge of the opening 21. The same notation is used for distance measuring sensors 192 and 193.

[0047] Similarly, distance measuring sensors 192 and 193, which irradiate laser light parallel to the long side of the opening 21 (the left-right side in Figure 5), can detect the left edge E21, E31 and the right edge E22, E32 of the opening 21. By using two distance measuring sensors 192 and 193, high-precision distance measurement becomes possible even in the long direction, where distance measurement is more difficult than in the short direction. Thus, the arrangement of distance measuring sensors 191, 192, and 193 in Figure 5 is suitable for detecting the edges of an opening 21 that is long in one direction, such as a rectangle.

[0048] Furthermore, even if the CSU1 is not in the basic position shown in Figure 5, as long as the lifting section 9 is inside the opening 21 when viewed from above, the three distance sensors 191, 192, and 193 can acquire six distance measurement point groups on the edge of the opening 21 corresponding to E11, E12, E21, E22, E31, and E32, and the position of the opening 21 can be accurately determined.

[0049] Furthermore, the basic position of the CSU 1 during unloading is not limited to that shown in Figure 5. For example, the traveling section 2 may be in front of the cargo hold 201, and the slewing frame 5 and boom 7 may be perpendicular to the rail 3. In this case, since the extension direction of the boom 7 coincides with the short side direction of the opening 21, the reference plane S1 of the distance measuring sensor 191 becomes parallel to the extension direction of the boom 7, and the reference planes S2 and S3 of the distance measuring sensors 192 and 193 become perpendicular to the extension direction of the boom 7. If the distance measuring sensors 191, 192, and 193 are made rotatable integrally around the axis of the cylindrical elevator body 14, then it is easy to arrange the distance measuring sensors 191, 192, and 193 in a manner suitable for the elongated opening 21 as described above, in accordance with changes in the basic position of the CSU 1 during unloading.

[0050] The number and / or arrangement of the distance measuring sensors 19 described above is merely an example, and any number and / or arrangement of distance measuring sensors 19 may be used. The number of distance measuring sensors 19 is preferably at least two, and more preferably three or more, in order to efficiently measure the position, orientation, shape, and other conditions of the cargo hold 201 surrounding the unloading section 9 in a top view. Multiple distance measuring sensors 19 may be arranged at equal intervals along the outer circumference of the flange portion 91 or the elevator body 14. In this case, the installation orientation of each distance measuring sensor 19 is arbitrary, but for example, each distance measuring sensor 19 may be installed so that its reference surface S is in contact with the outer circumference of the flange portion 91 or the elevator body 14. With such a symmetrical arrangement, the position, orientation, shape, and other conditions of the cargo hold 201 can be measured stably regardless of the orientation of the CSU 1 during unloading.

[0051] In accordance with the distance measured by the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 to the cargo hold 201 itself or to objects to be measured inside or outside the cargo hold 201, each movable part of the CSU1, namely the movable traveling part 2, the swivelable swivel frame 5, the luffing boom 7, the rotatable and deformable scraping part 11, etc., is controlled to prevent the unloading part 9 from colliding with the cargo hold 201 itself or other objects (objects to be measured) inside or outside the cargo hold 201 during unloading, and the bulk cargo M is unloaded efficiently. In addition to or instead of the distance measuring sensors 18 and 19, optical sensors such as image sensors or cameras that photograph objects to be measured may be used to detect the cargo hold 201 itself or objects inside or outside the cargo hold 201.

[0052] Next, a cargo shape map representing the shape of bulk cargo M as cargo of ship 200 will be described. Figure 6 schematically shows the cargo shape map and also schematically shows the functional blocks of the control device 300 according to this embodiment, which is responsible for updating the cargo shape map. The control device 300 includes a cargo handling related data acquisition unit 310, a cargo shape map update unit 320, and a scraping operation control unit 330. Some of these functional blocks may be omitted as long as the control device 300 can realize at least some of the operations and / or effects described below. These functional blocks may be realized by the cooperation of hardware resources such as the central processing unit, memory, input devices, output devices, and peripheral devices connected to the computer, and software executed using them. Regardless of the type or location of the computer, each of the above functional blocks may be realized with the hardware resources of a single computer, or it may be realized by combining hardware resources distributed across multiple computers.

[0053] The cargo shape map represents the surface shape of the bulk cargo M in the cargo hold 201 that is to be unloaded by the unloading section 9 or the scraping section 11. The cargo shape map may also be configured as a height map or height function that shows the height of the bulk cargo M at each position in the horizontal plane (or the bottom surface of the cargo hold 201).

[0054] A cargo shape map can be created by the aforementioned distance measuring sensors 18 and 19 and optical sensors directly measuring the surface shape of the bulk cargo M. However, as schematically shown in Figure 6, structures such as the hatch 21 of the cargo hold 201 may be present between the distance measuring sensors 19, etc. and the bulk cargo M (or inside the cargo hold 201). Also, bulk cargo M stacked in front of the distance measuring sensors 19, etc. may obscure the bulk cargo M behind them. Due to occlusion caused by such obstacles, the surface shape of the bulk cargo M may not be measured by the distance measuring sensors 19, etc. In the example in Figure 6, the portion of the bulk cargo M surface that cannot be measured by the distance measuring sensors 19 due to occlusion is schematically shown by a dotted line. A cargo shape map of such a dotted line portion cannot be created by the distance measuring sensors 19, etc. alone. The control device 300 according to this embodiment creates or updates a cargo shape map that cannot be created by the distance measuring sensors 19, etc. alone using cargo handling-related data.

[0055] The cargo handling data acquisition unit 310 acquires cargo handling data relating to the scraping unit 11 that scrapes off the bulk cargo M, and to at least one of the bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11.

[0056] The cargo handling-related data acquired by the cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310 may include the movement path or trajectory of the scraping unit 11 that scraped the bulk load M. The movement path or trajectory of the scraping unit 11 can be calculated by the cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310 based on CSU state parameters related to the position, posture, and operation of each part of the CSU 1 (particularly the traveling unit 2, the slewing frame 5, the boom 7, the lifting unit 9, and the scraping unit 11). Alternatively, the movement path or trajectory of the scraping unit 11 may be set by the scraping operation control unit 330, which will be described later, and acquired by the cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310.

[0057] The cargo handling data acquired by the cargo handling data acquisition unit 310 may include the reaction force received by the scraping unit 11 when scraping the bulk load M. The reaction force received by the scraping unit 11 from the bulk load M may be acquired by the cargo handling data acquisition unit 310, for example, through a force sensor (not shown) provided on the scraping unit 11 to measure the reaction force. The cargo handling data acquisition unit 310 may also calculate the reaction force received by the scraping unit 11 from the bulk load M based on the created cargo shape map and the intensity of the scraping operation by the scraping operation control unit 330 described later (for example, the speed and intensity at which the scraping unit 11 is pressed against the bulk load M).

[0058] The cargo handling data acquired by the cargo handling data acquisition unit 310 may include the amount of bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11. The amount of bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11 may be acquired by the cargo handling data acquisition unit 310, for example, through cargo handling volume sensors (not shown) provided on the scraping unit 11 or individual buckets 27 (Figure 3) to measure the weight and volume of the scraped bulk cargo M. Alternatively, the cargo handling data acquisition unit 310 may calculate the amount of bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11 based on a created cargo shape map and the movement path or trajectory of the scraping unit 11 by the scraping operation control unit 330, which will be described later.

[0059] The cargo handling data acquired by the cargo handling data acquisition unit 310 may include the properties of the bulk load M scraped off by the scraping unit 11. Examples of properties of the bulk load M include the composition, material, and characteristics of the bulk load M. In particular, it is preferable that the angle of repose of the bulk load M scraped off by the scraping unit 11 be included in the cargo handling data as a property of the bulk load M that has a significant impact on the cargo shape map. The angle of repose is the angle between the slope and the horizontal plane formed when the bulk load M maintains stability without spontaneously collapsing, and is useful as an indicator of the fluidity of the bulk load M.

[0060] The cargo shape map update unit 320 creates or updates a cargo shape map representing the surface shape of the bulk cargo M based on the various cargo handling-related data acquired by the cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310. Such a cargo shape map update unit 320 may be configured with a machine learning-trained or deep learning-trained cargo shape map update model 321. It is preferable that the cargo shape map of the surface portion of the bulk cargo M (the portion shown by the solid line in Figure 6) that can be directly measured by the aforementioned distance measuring sensors 18, 19 and optical sensors is created and / or updated based on the measurement data from the distance measuring sensors 18, 19 and optical sensors.

[0061] In this case, the cargo shape map update unit 320 or the cargo shape map update model 321 creates or updates the cargo shape map based on the cargo handling related data acquired by the cargo handling related data acquisition unit 310, but only for the surface portion of the bulk load M that cannot be measured by the distance measuring sensors 18, 19 or the optical sensor (the portion shown by the dotted line in Figure 6). The cargo shape map update unit 320 then combines the portion of the cargo shape map created or updated based on the measurement data from the distance measuring sensors 18, 19 or the optical sensor (solid line portion) with the portion of the cargo shape map created or updated based on the cargo handling related data acquired by the cargo handling related data acquisition unit 310 (dotted line portion), thereby creating an up-to-date cargo shape map that covers substantially the entire surface of the bulk load M.

[0062] Furthermore, the cargo shape map update model 321 may attempt to create or update the cargo shape map based on cargo handling-related data acquired by the cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310, even for the surface portion of the bulk load M that can be directly measured by the distance measuring sensors 18, 19 and the optical sensor. In this case, it is possible to objectively evaluate whether the cargo shape map that the cargo shape map update model 321 has tentatively created or updated based on the cargo handling-related data acquired by the cargo handling-related data acquisition unit 310 matches the correct cargo shape map obtained based on the measurement data from the distance measuring sensors 18, 19 and the optical sensor.

[0063] If these cargo shape maps do not match, the accuracy of the creation or updating of the cargo shape map based on the cargo handling-related data by the cargo shape map update model 321 may be evaluated as low. In such cases, the cargo shape map update model 321 can be retrained or retrained so that the cargo shape map based on the cargo handling-related data by the cargo shape map update model 321 approaches the correct cargo shape map based on the measurement data. As the training data or teacher data here, the correct cargo shape map (ground truth data) based on measurement data from the distance measuring sensors 18, 19 and the optical sensor, and the cargo handling-related data can be used as is. The cargo shape map update model 321 is retrained or retrained so that it can output the correct cargo shape map when this cargo handling-related data is input.

[0064] Figures 7 and 8 schematically illustrate the process of updating the cargo shape map based on cargo handling-related data by the cargo shape map update unit 320 or the cargo shape map update model 321. Figure 7 schematically shows the cargo shape map before update. In this example, the bulk cargo M is flat, and a plane representing this is given as the initial state of the cargo shape map. With this flat cargo shape map or bulk cargo M with the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11, the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 enters along the movement path P (set by the scraping operation control unit 330, etc., which will be described later), schematically shown by a dotted line, and scrapes the bulk cargo M.

[0065] Figure 8 schematically shows the cargo shape map updated by the cargo shape map update unit 320 or the cargo shape map update model 321 based on cargo handling-related data, representing the surface shape of the bulk load M after the scraping operation by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 as described above.

[0066] The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 may update the cargo shape map based on the movement path P of the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 as cargo handling related data. As schematically shown in Figure 8, the bulk load M in the portion that the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 has passed along the movement path P is scraped off, so the surface shape of the bulk load M (i.e., the cargo shape map) is updated to be concave along the movement path P. However, depending on the properties of the bulk load M, such as the angle of repose, which are also referenced as cargo handling related data, the scraped bulk load M may collapse and fill at least a part of the concave area. The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 according to this embodiment can estimate the surface shape or concave area of ​​the scraped bulk load M with high accuracy by considering such properties of the bulk load M, such as the angle of repose, in addition to the movement path P of the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11.

[0067] Furthermore, as schematically shown in Figure 8, a pile of bulk cargo M is formed to the front side of the movement path P (to the left in Figure 8) by being pushed out by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 as it moves along the movement path P. The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 may reflect such a pile of bulk cargo M in the cargo shape map based on the movement path P as cargo handling related data. However, depending on the properties of the bulk cargo M, such as the angle of repose, which are also referenced as cargo handling related data, at least a part of the pile of bulk cargo M may collapse. The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 according to this embodiment can estimate the surface shape or pile of the bulk cargo M after scraping with high accuracy by considering such properties of the bulk cargo M, such as the angle of repose, in addition to the movement path P of the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11.

[0068] The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 can accurately estimate the surface shape of the bulk cargo M near the walls of the cargo hold 201, which cannot be reached by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11, by considering the properties of the bulk cargo M, such as the angle of repose, as cargo handling-related data. For example, if the bulk cargo M that is far from the walls of the cargo hold 201 is scraped off by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11, and only the bulk cargo M near the wall remains piled up, the angle of the steep slope of the bulk cargo M will exceed the angle of repose and collapse. By estimating such collapse of bulk cargo M that exceeds the angle of repose, the cargo shape map near the walls of the cargo hold 201 can also accurately update the cargo shape map.

[0069] The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 may update the cargo shape map based on the reaction force received by the scraping unit 11 from the bulk load M as cargo handling related data. The reaction force received by the scraping unit 11 from the bulk load M represents the intensity and load of the scraping operation by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11, and can affect the depth of the depressions or valleys and the height of the peaks of the bulk load M as described above. In this embodiment, the cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 can estimate the surface shape (valleys and peaks) of the bulk load M after scraping with high accuracy by considering the reaction force received by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 from the bulk load M in addition to the movement path P of the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11.

[0070] The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 may update the cargo shape map based on the amount of bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11 as cargo handling related data. The amount of bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11 represents the difference between the total amount of bulk cargo M in the cargo shape map before update in Figure 7 and the total amount of bulk cargo M in the updated cargo shape map in Figure 8, and can affect the depth of depressions or valleys and the height of peaks in the bulk cargo M as described above (for example, bulk cargo M spilled from the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 may fill in valleys or raise peaks). The cargo shape map update unit 320 or cargo shape map update model 321 according to this embodiment can estimate the surface shape (valleys and peaks) of the bulk cargo M after scraping with high accuracy by considering the amount of bulk cargo M scraped off by the scraping unit 11 in addition to the movement path P of the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11.

[0071] The scraping operation control unit 330 may control its scraping operation in accordance with the load shape map created or updated by the load shape map update unit 320, in order to reduce fluctuations in the load of the scraping unit 11. For example, the scraping operation control unit 330 may control its scraping operation in accordance with the load shape map created or updated by the load shape map update unit 320, in order to make the load of the scraping unit 11 substantially below a certain value, or substantially constant.

[0072] Specifically, the scraping operation control unit 330 may adaptively control the depth, speed, and intensity of the scraping operation according to the load shape map in order to adjust the load on the scraping unit 11. For example, increasing the depth of the scraping operation against the surface of the bulk load M represented by the load shape map increases the load on the scraping unit 11, while decreasing the depth decreases the load on the scraping unit 11. Similarly, increasing the speed and intensity at which the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 is pressed against the bulk load M represented by the load shape map increases the load on the scraping unit 11, while decreasing the speed and intensity decreases the load on the scraping unit 11. In this way, the scraping operation control unit 330 can maintain the load on the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 at a substantially constant value (or below a certain value) by appropriately adjusting the depth, speed, and intensity of the scraping operation according to the load shape map created or updated by the load shape map update unit 320. This will contribute to stabilizing the operation of CSU1.

[0073] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the process of creating and updating a cargo shape map by the control device 300 according to this embodiment. In the flowchart, "S" represents a step or process. As will be described later, the process shown in this figure may be repeated multiple times for the same cargo hold 201 and / or bulk cargo M. In the following description, each process is also referred to as a round and is indicated by the subscript k (a natural number).

[0074] In S1, the surface shape of the bulk cargo M in the cargo hold 201 is measured by a distance measuring sensor 19 such as LiDAR. The shape of the surface portion of the bulk cargo M that the distance measuring sensor 19 can directly measure (the portion shown by the solid line in Figure 6) is immediately reflected in the cargo shape map by the cargo shape map update unit 320. For example, when the cargo hold 201 is divided into multiple grids in a horizontal plane, a grid map h representing the height of the bulk cargo M in each grid is displayed. ｋ－１A cargo shape map is created. On the other hand, the surface portion of the bulk load M (the portion shown by the dotted line in Figure 6) or grid that could not be measured by the distance measuring sensor 19, etc., is treated as an unmeasurable area. In addition, areas or grids in which the number or density of distance measurement points by the distance measuring sensor 19, etc. is less than a predetermined value may also be treated as an unmeasurable area.

[0075] In S2, the cargo shape map update unit 320 sets the initial shape of the cargo shape map for the unmeasurable region recognized in S1, and creates a grid map h as the cargo shape map. ｋ－１ This is reflected in the following. If the cargo shape map was updated for the unmeasurable area in the processing of the previous round targeting the same cargo hold 201 (S6 described later), it may be set as the initial shape of the cargo shape map. For example, the scraping section 11 may pass through substantially the same location within the cargo hold 201 multiple times along a circular trajectory within the cargo hold 201 that may be set in S3 described later.

[0076] In such cases, if a cargo shape map for the area recognized as unmeasurable in the processing of this round (S1) has already been created in the processing of the previous round, the initial shape h of the cargo shape map in the processing of this round will remain unchanged. ｋ－１ It may be set as follows. On the other hand, if there is no existing cargo shape map for the unmeasurable region or if it is old, for example, under the assumption that it is the same height as the surface portion (S1) of the bulk load M measured by the distance measuring sensor 19 etc. in the vicinity of the unmeasurable region, the initial shape h of the cargo shape map for the unmeasurable region is obtained through extrapolation processing by the nearest neighbor method, etc. ｋ－１ This will be set.

[0077] In S3, the scraping operation control unit 330 sets the load shape map h created or set in S1 and / or S2. ｋ－１ Accordingly, the scraping trajectory or movement path P of the bulk load M by the bucket 27 or scraping unit 11 is planned or set. As described above, the scraping operation control unit 330 creates or sets the load shape map h in S1 and / or S2. ｋ－１According to the situation, the scraping operation may be controlled so as to reduce fluctuations in the load on the scraping unit 11.

[0078] Also, in S6 described later in the previous round, when the load shape map update model 321 estimates the estimation error of the shape of the bulk cargo M based on the cargo handling related data, the scraping operation control unit 330 may slow down the scraping operation by the scraping unit 11 when the estimation error increases. When the estimation error of the shape of the bulk cargo M is large, there is a possibility that the load shape map does not correctly represent the actual surface shape of the bulk cargo M. Therefore, safety can be enhanced by slowing down the scraping operation by the scraping unit 11. In addition, the fact that the scraping operation by the scraping unit 11 is slowed down due to such a large estimation error may be notified to the operator in the main operation cab 16 or the like in any form such as screen display, sound, light, message, etc. Note that the non-measurable area recognized in S1 may be treated as having a large estimation error in the load shape map h ｋ－１ set in S2, and the scraping operation control unit 330 may slow down the scraping operation by the scraping unit 11 in S3.

[0079] In S4, the bucket 27 or the scraping unit 11 scrapes the bulk cargo M along the scraping trajectory planned or set in S3. In S5, the cargo handling related data acquisition unit 310 acquires the reaction force received by the bucket 27 or the scraping unit 11 that scraped the bulk cargo M in S4 from the bulk cargo M. For example, the waveform f ｋ－１ of the reaction force on the bucket 27 during excavation execution may be acquired by the cargo handling related data acquisition unit 310. Instead of or in addition to the reaction force waveform f ｋ－１ the amount of the bulk cargo M scraped by the scraping unit 11 may be acquired by the cargo handling related data acquisition unit 310 as cargo handling related data.

[0080] In S6, the load shape map update unit 320 or the load shape map update model 321 is based on the cargo handling related data (for example, the movement path P, the reaction force, the scraping amount of the bulk cargo M, the properties of the bulk cargo M) acquired in S5 and the like regarding the cargo handling executed by the bucket 27 or the scraping unit 11 in S4, and the load shape map h representing the surface shape of the bulk cargo M ｋCreate or update the initial shape h in this round, which was set in S1 and / or S2. For example, the cargo shape map update unit 320 or the cargo shape map update model 321 creates or updates the initial shape h in this round. ｋ－１ Based on various cargo handling-related data, a cargo shape map h ｋ Update to [date / time].

[0081] For example, the cargo shape map update model 321 has an initial shape h ｋ－１ , excavation track x of bucket 27 ｋ－１ (The aforementioned movement path P), reaction force waveform f ｋ－１ Based on this, the cargo shape map h is obtained by the following formula. ｋ and variance σ ２,ｋ Outputs. Here, r represents the cargo shape map update model 321, which is an estimation model based on deep learning, and D represents the training data for the cargo shape map update model 321. As training data D, actual measurement data acquired by LiDAR etc. in S1, or data generated by simulations such as DEM (Discrete Element Method) can be used.

[0082] variance σ ２,ｋ This is the updated cargo shape map h ｋ This represents the estimation error or confidence level. Specifically, it is the variance σ. ２,ｋ A larger value indicates a larger estimation error (lower confidence), and the variance σ ２,ｋ A smaller value indicates a smaller estimation error (higher confidence). Thus, the cargo shape map update model 321 according to this embodiment determines the shape h of the bulk cargo M based on the cargo handling related data as described above. ｋ We estimate the following, but the estimation error σ ２,ｋ It is also possible to estimate this together. As mentioned above, the variance σ is large in round k. ２,ｋ For the region where this is estimated, the scraping operation control unit 330 may reduce the speed of the scraping operation by the scraping unit 11 in S3 of round k+1.

[0083] The above estimation (cargo shape map h) ｋ ) with variance σ ２,ｋLearning methods including this are disclosed in literature such as "Kendall, Alex, and Yarin Gal. “What uncertainties do we need in bayesian deep learning for computer vision?” Advances in neural information processing systems 30 (2017)". In this embodiment, the estimated value h of each grid or each cell obtained by dividing the cargo hold 201 in the horizontal plane ｉ ｋ and σ ｉ ２,ｋ In contrast, h is the true value of the training data. ～ ｉ ｋ Learning is performed by optimizing the next log-likelihood under these conditions.

[0084] The present disclosure has been described above based on embodiments. Various modifications are possible for each component and each combination of processes in the exemplary embodiments, and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such modifications are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

[0085] This disclosure is applicable not only to bucket elevator type continuous unloaders described in relation to embodiments, but also to vertical screw type unloaders, pneumatic type unloaders equipped with an air conveying mechanism, and bridge crane type unloaders. At least one of these unloaders, for example, a bridge crane type unloader, does not need to have a slewing section such as a slewing frame 5. In this case, the unloading section such as the lifting section 9 is directly or indirectly attached to the moving section such as the traveling section 2 without a slewing mechanism or slewing section. In the case of the vertical screw type unloader 1 schematically shown in Figure 10, the rotating intake section 11 corresponds to the intake section. The screw conveyor 90, which transports the bulk load M taken in by the rotating intake section 11 upward to the outside of the cargo hold 201 by the rotation of a screw (not shown), corresponds to the unloading section. In the case of a bridge crane type unloader, the grab bucket corresponds to the intake section and the unloading section. In the case of a pneumatic type unloader, the nozzle corresponds to the intake section and the unloading section.

[0086] The configuration, operation, and function of each device and method described in the embodiments can be realized by hardware resources or software resources, or by the cooperation of hardware resources and software resources. Hardware resources include, for example, processors, ROMs, RAMs, and various integrated circuits. Software resources include, for example, operating systems and application programs.

[0087] This disclosure relates to unloading equipment, etc.

[0088] 1 Cargo lifting machine (CSU), 2 Traveling unit, 5 Swivel frame, 7 Boom, 9 Cargo lifting unit, 11 Scraping unit, 18 Distance sensor, 19 Distance sensor, 27 Bucket, 200 Ship, 201 Cargo hold, 300 Control device, 310 Cargo handling related data acquisition unit, 320 Cargo shape map update unit, 321 Cargo shape map update model, 330 Scraping operation control unit.

Claims

1. A cargo unloading device for unloading cargo from a ship, comprising: a movable unit that is movable relative to the ship; an unloading unit provided on the movable unit for unloading the cargo; an intake unit provided on the unloading unit for taking in the cargo; a cargo handling related data acquisition unit for acquiring cargo handling related data relating to at least one of the intake unit that has taken in the cargo and the cargo taken in by the intake unit; and a cargo shape map update unit that updates a cargo shape map representing the shape of the cargo based on the cargo handling related data.

2. The unloading device according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling related data includes the movement path of the loading unit that took in the cargo.

3. The unloading device according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling related data includes the reaction force received by the loading unit that took in the cargo.

4. The unloading device according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling related data includes the amount of cargo taken in by the intake unit.

5. The unloading device according to claim 1, wherein the cargo handling-related data includes the properties of the cargo taken in by the intake unit.

6. The unloading device according to claim 5, wherein the cargo handling-related data includes the angle of repose of the cargo taken in by the intake unit.

7. The unloading device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cargo shape map updating unit is configured with a machine learning-based cargo shape map updating model.

8. The unloading device according to claim 7, wherein the cargo shape map update model estimates the shape of the cargo based on the cargo handling related data and also estimates the estimation error.

9. The unloading device according to claim 8, further comprising a loading operation control unit that slows down the loading operation by the loading unit when the estimation error becomes large.

10. The unloading device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an unloading operation control unit that controls the unloading operation of the unloading unit in accordance with the load shape map, so as to reduce fluctuations in the load of the unloading unit.

11. A control method for an unloading device comprising a movable unit that is movable relative to a ship, an unloading unit provided on the movable unit for unloading cargo from the ship, and an intake unit provided on the unloading unit for taking in the cargo, the method comprising: acquiring cargo handling-related data relating to at least one of the intake unit that has taken in the cargo, and the cargo taken in by the intake unit; and updating a cargo shape map representing the shape of the cargo based on the cargo handling-related data.

12. A control program for a cargo unloading device comprising a movable unit that is movable relative to a ship, an unloading unit provided on the movable unit for unloading cargo from the ship, and an intake unit provided on the unloading unit for taking in the cargo, wherein the control program causes a computer to perform the following actions: acquire cargo handling related data relating to at least one of the intake unit that has taken in the cargo, and the cargo taken in by the intake unit; and update a cargo shape map representing the shape of the cargo based on the cargo handling related data.

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