Excavator Work Implement Control for Dead-Angle Collision Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional construction machines, such as hydraulic excavators, fail to effectively prevent contact between a front work implement and a moving body that appears from a dead angle, as they do not account for potential moving bodies in the blind spots of detected objects.
Innovation Solution
A construction machine equipped with a main body, an articulated front work implement, posture sensors, external environment recognition devices, and a controller that calculates dead angles and assumed movement ranges to perform preventive control and prevent contact between the moving body and the front work implement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional object detection is used to control work implement velocity, then contact prevention with detected objects is improved, but moving bodies in dead angles cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by calculating the dead angle range in advance based on the detected object's position and dimensions. This allows the system to proactively identify areas where moving bodies might be hidden before they enter the work implement's path, enabling preventive control rather than reactive response.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extends detection from the direct line-of-sight dimension to include the dead angle dimension. By calculating the dead angle range as a virtual detection zone behind detected objects, the system effectively adds a new spatial dimension for monitoring, allowing it to track potential moving bodies that are not directly visible to sensors.
2Speed
If the work implement velocity is controlled based on detected objects only, then response time is reduced, but safety against hidden moving bodies deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The dead angle range calculation acts as an intermediary between direct object detection and work implement control. This virtual zone serves as a mediator that translates detected object information into predictive safety zones, allowing the system to respond to potential threats before they become actual collision risks, thus improving both response effectiveness and safety certainty.
Data Source
AI summary
A construction machine includes a posture sensor provided on a front member of a front work implement. An external environment recognition device detects an object around a main body, and a controller calculates a dead angle range from a recognition range of the external environment recognition device. An assumed movement range in which a moving body is assumed to exist in the dead angle range in a period of time determined in advance is calculated; and a movable range within which the front work implement is movable in a period of time determined in advance is calculated on the basis of the posture information detected by the posture sensor. Preventative control is then performed for preventing contact between the moving body and the front work implement on the basis of the assumed movement range of the moving body and the movable range of the front work implement.