Work Machine Safety Alarm With Operation-Threshold Gating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety devices for work machines, such as hydraulic excavators, issue alarms at a high frequency regardless of operation, leading to operator desensitization and reduced alert effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A safety device for work machines that includes a detection part, alarm device, and control part, which outputs an alarm only when a detection object is present in a set area and the operation amount exceeds a preset allowable threshold, and stops the alarm when the operation amount is within the allowable range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the alarm device outputs an alarm whenever the work machine is in a work available state regardless of operation, then the safety monitoring coverage is improved, but the alarm frequency becomes too high causing operator desensitization
Solution Approach 1:
The alarm system dynamically adjusts its behavior based on the detected operation state. When operation is detected, the alarm activates with appropriate timing based on detection object distance. When no operation is detected, the alarm remains inactive regardless of work available state, thereby adapting the alarm frequency to actual operational needs and preventing operator desensitization
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the alarm output parameter based on the operation state parameter. When the operation state changes from non-operation to operation, the alarm activation parameter is adjusted accordingly. This parameter-based control ensures alarms are issued at appropriate frequencies only when operational context warrants attention
2Reliability
If the alarm device outputs an alarm continuously when a detection object is present, then the safety warning coverage is improved, but the alert effectiveness is reduced due to excessive alarm frequency
Solution Approach 1:
The alarm system dynamically responds to operation events rather than continuously alarming. It activates alarm output only when operation is detected and appropriate timing conditions are met, creating a dynamic, event-driven alarm behavior that preserves alert effectiveness by issuing warnings only when operationally relevant
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous alarm output, the system employs periodic detection of operation state and triggers alarm output only at appropriate intervals when operation is detected. This periodic, event-based approach maintains safety coverage while avoiding excessive continuous alarming that would reduce alert effectiveness
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a safety device capable of outputting an alarm at a preferred frequency based on the presence/absence of a detection object around a work machine. The safety device comprises a detection part, an alarm device, an operation detector and a control part. The detection part detects the detection objects present around the work machine. The alarm device outputs an alarm. The operation detector detects a target operation amount, which is the magnitude of an alarm target operation. The control part makes the alarm device output an operation alarm only when a detection object is present in an alarm area set around the work machine and the target operation amount exceeds a preset allowable operation amount, and stops the output of the operation alarm regardless of the presence/absence of the detection object when the target operation amount is equal to or less than the allowable operation amount.