Dynamic Intrusion Zone Adjustment for Worker Safety

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing construction assisting systems face challenges in ensuring worker safety while maintaining work efficiency, particularly when there is an inconsistency between the worker's intended actions and the pre-set intrusion prohibiting regions around work machines.

Innovation Solution

A construction assisting system that includes a worker terminal and a work machine controller, which communicate to detect the worker's approach intention and confirm it with the operator, allowing the system to adjust its safety operations accordingly, thereby ensuring safety and efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a pre-set intrusion prohibiting region is used to stop the work machine when a worker approaches, then worker safety is improved, but work efficiency deteriorates due to frequent stopping

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveworker safetyVSAvoidwork efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The intrusion prohibiting region is dynamically adjusted based on the detected approach intention of the worker. When approach intention is detected, the region is expanded to ensure safety; when no approach intention is detected, the region is reduced to minimum necessary size. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to maintain worker safety while minimizing unnecessary stop control, thereby preserving work efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If a minimum necessary intrusion prohibiting region is set to suppress frequent stopping, then work efficiency is improved, but worker safety deteriorates when the worker performs unintended work

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvework efficiencyVSAvoidworker safety
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of the worker's approach intention before the worker actually enters the intrusion prohibiting region. By detecting approach intention in advance (when the worker is still outside the minimum necessary region), the system can proactively expand the intrusion prohibiting region and prepare stop control, ensuring worker safety is maintained even when the worker performs unintended work, while still allowing minimum necessary region to preserve work efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the intrusion prohibiting region is expanded to cover all possible work scenarios, then worker safety is improved, but work efficiency deteriorates due to excessive stop control

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveworker safetyVSAvoidwork efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different intrusion prohibiting region sizes based on the local situation - specifically, based on the detected approach intention of the worker. When approach intention is detected, a larger region is applied; when no approach intention is detected, a minimum necessary region is applied. This localized quality adjustment ensures worker safety is improved only where needed, while work efficiency is preserved in situations where the worker has no intention to approach.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4047138B1Construction assistance system and work machine
Publication Date: 2025.01.22 HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO LTD
  • EP4047138B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4047138B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4047138B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A construction assisting system including a controller that performs construction assistance processing on the basis of positional relation between a worker and a hydraulic excavator, the construction assisting system including: an approach intention detecting device that detects an intention of the worker to approach the hydraulic excavator; an approach intention presenting device that presents a detection result of the approach intention detecting device to an operator of the hydraulic excavator; and an approach confirmation obtaining device that obtains a confirmation state of the operator of the hydraulic excavator for contents presented by the approach intention presenting device, the controller performing the construction assistance processing on the basis of position information of the worker when the operator of the hydraulic excavator denies the approach of the worker or when the operator of the hydraulic excavator does not confirm the intention of the worker to approach. It is thereby possible to perform construction assistance according to the intention of the worker, and further improve safety of the worker while suppressing a decrease in work efficiency.