Automated Shovel Load Conveyance With Image-Guided Path Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current work machines, such as shovels and cranes, face challenges in comprehensively supporting lifting work by accurately conveying suspended loads to conveying destinations, particularly in maintaining constant height or vertical movement, which requires advanced techniques for efficient operation.
Innovation Solution
A work machine system equipped with a lower traveling body, an upper swing body, a work device, a hook, an acquisition device for load information, and an imaging device to acquire and process image information, enabling automatic operation to convey loads to designated destinations by controlling the movement of the lower traveling body, upper swing body, and work device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual operation is used to convey suspended loads, then operator control and adaptability are maintained, but operator load and work time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic conveyance operation where the work machine autonomously moves the suspended load to the conveying destination based on image recognition and automatic path planning, eliminating the need for continuous manual operation and significantly reducing operator load while maintaining productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated control system that uses imaging devices for detection, automatic path planning algorithms for decision-making, and electronic control signals to operate the work machine, substituting human operators with an integrated automation system
2Manufacturing precision
If advanced techniques for maintaining constant height or vertical movement are used, then lifting work precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs imaging devices to continuously detect the position and orientation of the suspended load, providing real-time feedback to the control system which adjusts the work machine's movements to maintain constant height or vertical movement, achieving precision through closed-loop control rather than complex mechanical mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The control system integrates multiple functions including image processing, automatic path planning, and precision control for maintaining constant height or vertical movement within a single automated control unit, reducing device complexity by consolidating functions rather than requiring separate specialized mechanisms for each task
3Loss of time
If automatic conveyance operation is implemented, then work time is shortened and productivity increases, but the system requires advanced detection and control capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic path planning in advance before conveyance begins, pre-calculating the optimal path based on image recognition data and conveying destination information, which enables rapid automatic conveyance without real-time decision-making delays, significantly reducing work time while managing detection complexity through pre-processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an automatic path planning system as an intermediary between image detection and work machine control, translating complex detection data into simplified navigation instructions that guide the conveyance process, reducing the difficulty of direct detection and control by adding a mediating planning layer
Data Source
AI summary
A work machine includes a lower traveling body, an upper swing body swingably mounted on the lower traveling body, a work device attached to the upper swing body, a hook attached to the distal end of the work device, an acquisition device configured to acquire information on the conveying destination of a suspended load to be suspended from the hook, and an imaging device attached to the upper swing body and configured to acquire image information related to a situation in an area in front of, behind, and beside the upper swing body. The situation includes the state of the suspended load. The work machine is configured to automatically convey the suspended load to the conveying destination by causing at least one of the lower traveling body, the upper swing body, and the work device to operate.