JP2000272873A - Position detecting method for columnar object - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a position detecting method for a columnar object so as to obtain a correct operated result, by repreparing distance distribution data in Y- and height Z-directions to a columnar object, and repreparing the Y-directional center coordinate and width of the object, in the case of an abnormal operated result. SOLUTION: In the case of an abnormal operated result, distance distribution data, in Y- and height Z-directions to columnar objects 10, 11, and 12 are reprepared, and the Y-directional center coordinate and width of the objects 10, 11, and 12 are reoperated by changing the irradiation angles of light or a supersonic wave 31 for irradiating toward the objects 10, 11, and 12 to move them in the Y-direction again.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for detecting the position of a columnar object placed at a distant place using light or ultrasonic waves, and more particularly to a method for transporting a columnar object. The present invention relates to a method for detecting the position of a columnar object used for automatic operation of a crane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a columnar object, for example, a steelmaking coil (hereinafter referred to as a "coil") produced by winding a steel sheet into a roll at a steelmaking factory is used when automatically transported by an overhead crane. In the position detection method, when a coil placed on a trolley and carried into the coil yard is automatically lifted by an overhead crane, the position and size of the coil are accurately detected in order to guide the overhead crane accurately on the coil. There is a need to. As a conventional detection device for that purpose, for example, there is an invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-203203. An object of the present invention is to accurately detect the position and center coordinates of a coil placed on a carriage by using a laser distance meter.

[0003]

However, in the conventional method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object, no problem occurs when the first detection is performed normally, but when the detection is not performed normally. In such a case, there is a problem that the automatic operation of the overhead crane cannot be performed because the countermeasures in the above are not considered.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional method for detecting the position of a columnar object, and changes the irradiation angle of light or ultrasonic waves to be irradiated on the columnar object when the calculation result is not normal. Or the irradiation position is changed in the short X direction of the cart and moved again in the Y direction, thereby creating distance distribution data in the Y direction and the height Z direction to the columnar object again, and forming the columnar object. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object, which can obtain a correct operation result by calculating the center coordinate and the width of the object in the Y direction again.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for detecting the position of a columnar object according to the present invention is provided for automatically transporting one or more columnar objects mounted on a truck by a crane. Is a method of detecting the position of a cylindrical object, wherein the cylindrical object is arranged in the Y direction with its central axis direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction Y of the bogie, and emits light or ultrasonic waves in a cylindrical shape. Move the object in the Y direction while irradiating it to the object, and create the distance distribution data in the Y direction and the height Z direction to the cylindrical object by collecting the reflected light or reflected wave, and the Y direction of the cylindrical object Calculate center coordinates and width,
Similarly, in the columnar object position detection method for calculating the center coordinate and the width of the other cylindrical object in the Y direction, if the calculation result is not normal, the irradiation angle of the light or ultrasonic wave applied to the cylindrical object Is changed and moved again in the Y direction, thereby creating distance distribution data in the Y direction and the height Z direction to the columnar object again, and calculating the Y direction center coordinates and the width of the columnar object again. Similarly, the center coordinates and the width of the other columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again.

The method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object according to the present invention having the above-described structure is capable of detecting the position of the cylindrical object even when the calculation result by the reflected light or reflected wave of the laser light or the ultrasonic wave applied to the cylindrical object is not normal. By changing the irradiation angle of the laser beam or ultrasonic wave applied to the object and moving the object again in the Y direction, the distance distribution data in the Y direction and the height Z direction to the cylindrical object is created again, and the cylindrical shape is obtained. By calculating the center coordinate and the width of the object in the Y direction again, a correct calculation result can be obtained, so that the overhead crane can be automatically operated.

Further, the position detection method for a columnar object according to the present invention is a method for detecting the position of a columnar object used when one or a plurality of columnar objects placed on a truck are automatically conveyed by a crane. The columnar objects are arranged in the Y direction so that the center axis direction is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction Y of the bogie, and irradiate light or ultrasonic waves to the columnar objects while irradiating the columnar objects.
In the direction, and collect the reflected light or reflected wave to create distance distribution data in the Y direction and height Z direction to the columnar object, and calculate the Y direction center coordinates and width of the columnar object. In the same manner, in the position detection method of the columnar object which calculates the center coordinate and the width of the other columnar object in the Y direction,
If the calculation result is not normal, the irradiation position of the light or ultrasonic wave radiated toward the columnar object is changed to the short X direction of the carriage, and the trolley is moved again in the Y direction, so that the Y to the columnar object is changed. The distance distribution data in the direction and the height Z direction is created again, and the center coordinate and the width of the columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again. Similarly, the center coordinate and the width of the other columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again. It is characterized by the following.

According to the method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object of the present invention, even if the calculation result by the reflected light or reflected wave of the laser light or the ultrasonic wave irradiated on the cylindrical object is not normal, the irradiation is performed on the cylindrical object. The irradiation position of the laser light or ultrasonic wave to be changed is changed in the short X direction of the carriage and moved again in the Y direction, so that the Y direction and the height Z to the columnar object are changed.
The correct calculation result can be obtained by re-creating the distance distribution data in the direction and calculating the center coordinate and the width of the columnar object in the Y direction again, so that the overhead crane can be automatically operated.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for detecting the position of a columnar object according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 8 show a first embodiment of a method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object according to the present invention. An apparatus for detecting the position of a columnar object used for carrying out this method includes an overhead crane 20 that is automatically operated, a distance meter 30 mounted on the overhead crane 20, and an arithmetic control unit 40.

As shown in FIG. 1, coils having different diameters,
For example, the medium-diameter coil 10, the small-diameter coil 11, and the large-diameter coil 12 may be mounted on the same carriage 13 and carried into the coil yard. In this case, the medium-diameter coil 10,
The small-diameter coil 11 and the large-diameter coil 12 are respectively mounted in a direction substantially parallel to the central axis direction and the longitudinal direction Y of the carriage 13.

Assuming that the traveling direction of the overhead crane 20 is X, the transverse direction perpendicular to the traveling direction is Y, and the height direction is Z,
3 is carried in the Y direction. The coils 10, 11, and 12 are positioned and fixed on a carriage 13 by skids 14, 15, and 16. The overhead crane 20 has a girder 21 traveling in the X direction, a club 22 traversing in the Y direction, and a coil tool 23 moving up and down in the Z direction on the club.
Is arranged. The distance meter 30 is, for example, a laser distance meter, which is integrally attached to the club 22, and a laser light source 32 irradiating a laser tip 31 to a lower portion of the distance meter 30 and a laser light 31 radiated from the laser light source. Has a light receiving unit 34 for receiving the reflected light 33 reflected on the coils 10, 11, 12, and the like.

The laser distance meter 30 is connected to a swing motor 35 constituting a laser light swing mechanism, and includes a laser light source 32 and a light receiving section 34.
The laser light 31 can swing in the X direction by swinging the entirety of the laser beam. The swing angle of the laser rangefinder 30 by the swing motor 35 is measured by an encoder 36 attached to the laser rangefinder. The arithmetic and control unit 40 has a built-in microcomputer and is electrically connected to the light receiving unit 34. And
The function of calculating and storing the distance to the coil based on the principle of the triangulation method using the angle at which the laser light 31 and the reflected light 33 intersect, and controlling the speed of the swing motor 35 and the overhead crane 20 Can also.

The distance meter 30 is traversed by traversing the club, and the resulting distance distribution data to the coils 10, 11, and 12 is temporarily stored in a built-in microcomputer memory. Based on the above, data required for carrying the coil by the overhead crane 20, that is, the number of coils, each coil width, and the center coordinate of each coil in the Y direction are calculated. This calculation result is reported to the host computer (not shown) or the controller (not shown) of the overhead crane 20 via the calculation control unit 40.

The light receiving section 34 of the distance meter 30 is configured to have a sufficient light receiving sensitivity so as to receive the reflected light 33 (including the irregularly reflected light component) of the laser. However, in the above-described scanning in the Y direction, since the laser beam is normally scanned while radiating in a substantially vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 3, the coil position happens to be located at the center in the X direction, and When the reflectance of the surface is large, the regular reflection component of the laser beam is directly incident on the light receiving unit 34, causing charge saturation of the normally used CCD image sensor, resulting in an abnormal measurement distance value or an impossible distance measurement. It may be.

As a result, the number of coils may become abnormally large, may become zero and calculation may not be performed, or the width of each coil may become abnormally small. When the calculation result is not normal, it is necessary to perform measurement again.
At the time of re-measurement in this case, scanning is performed with the emission angle of the laser beam changed to an angle different from the vertical direction by a predetermined angle, with the swing mechanism changed, or with the crane position changed to the X direction. . Based on the result, the number of coils, the width of each coil, and the center coordinate in the Y direction of each coil are calculated again as described above. If the result is still not normal, scanning is performed with the swing mechanism changing the emission angle of the laser beam to a different angle from the above by a predetermined angle. Based on the result, the number of coils, the width of each coil, and the center coordinate in the Y direction of each coil are calculated again as described above. If the result of any of the above measurements is not normal, that is, if the number of redo scans exceeds a predetermined number, the automatic operation of the overhead crane is stopped as an abnormality of the measurement system. If the result is determined to be normal, the process proceeds to the next measurement step, that is, measurement of the diameter of the coil.

The operation of the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the truck 13 on which the coils 10, 11, and 12 having different diameters enter the coil yard based on a command from a computer or the like, the overhead crane 2
The movement of the club 22 above zero causes the distance meter 30 to move to the sampling start position (origin) of the distance distribution data, and the measurement operation starts. Next, the laser light of the laser distance meter is turned on, and the first measurement is started. That is, the club 22 is moved in the Y direction while irradiating the coil with the laser light without driving the swing motor 35. 30 distance meters at the same time
Collects distance distribution data in the YZ direction,
Store in microcomputer memory inside.

When the scanning is completed by the laser beam due to the movement of the club 22 in the Y direction, the microcomputer calculates the number of coils, the width of the coils, and the center coordinates in the width direction based on the obtained distance distribution data in the YZ directions. calculate. Then, the calculation result is evaluated. That is, the predetermined value is compared with the above calculation result. If the result is abnormal, it is determined whether or not the number of scans has exceeded a predetermined value. Re-measurement is performed in a state changed by the rotation of. The re-measurement is performed as necessary until a predetermined value is reached.If the result is abnormal even if the value exceeds the predetermined value, the device may be damaged.
Stop the automatic operation of the overhead crane. If a normal result is obtained by one or a plurality of measurements, the process proceeds to the next measurement (for example, measurement of a coil diameter).

FIG. 2 shows the measurement results of the distance distribution stored in the microcomputer in the arithmetic and control unit 40 when the range finder 30 is scanned in the Y direction on the YZ plane. In this case, the scanning is performed continuously, but the distance distribution data is discretely sampled, so that the data indicated by the circles in the figure is stored in the microcomputer. The vertical axis in the figure indicates the coil height distribution from the origin when the origin 0 is the ground 17. That is, the height 100 is
, The height 110 is the portion of the coil 11, the height 120 is the portion of the coil 12, the height 130 is the portion of the truck 13, the height 140 is the portion of the skid 14, and the height 150 is the portion of the skid 1.
The portion of 5 and the portion of height 170 are the ground 17. In addition,
The height 170 becomes zero by performing coordinate conversion. FIG.
Is measured by an encoder (not shown) attached to the girder 21 or the like. Each distance measuring point in the Y direction in FIG. 2 is measured by an encoder (not shown) attached to the club 22 or the like.

FIG. 4 shows the XZ plane of the distance measurement result when the distance meter 30 is moved in the Y direction. The circles in each of these times indicate distance distribution measurement points. Next, a method of calculating the number of coils, each coil width, and the center coordinate in the width direction in the arithmetic and control unit 40 based on the distance distribution data will be described. In FIG. 2, a height value Z is a predetermined constant value ZS.
By extracting a portion exceeding the area, data of a portion irrelevant to the coil surface, for example, the carriage 130, the skid 14
The data of the parts such as 0 and 150 are deleted. as a result,
The number of coils can be calculated from the discontinuity of the data remaining on the memory. Also, the width of each coil is calculated from the difference between the last position data and the first position data of the continuous data, and the first position data and the last position data are added and divided by 2 to obtain the center of each coil in the width direction. Coordinates Y10, Y11, Y
12 can be calculated.

However, when the coil position happens to be located in the center in the X direction as shown in FIG. 3 and the reflectivity of the coil surface is large, the regular reflection component of the laser light is directly received. Since the light enters the unit 34, charge saturation of a CCD image sensor which is usually used may occur, and the measured distance value may become abnormal or the distance measurement may not be possible. In such a case, data at the place where the coil originally exists may be lost or the distance value may be abnormal. In this case, in the above calculation, an abnormal state occurs in which the number of coils is abnormally large, the coil width is abnormally narrow, or the distance between coil center coordinates is abnormally close.

However, as described above, if the laser irradiation angle is changed or the club is moved in the X direction and the above measurement is performed again, the regular reflection component of the laser light is directly incident on the light receiving unit 34. Since this can be avoided, it is possible to obtain regular distance data, and thus correct coil information can be calculated. The outer diameter of the coil and the center coordinates in the outer diameter direction can be measured and calculated by swinging a laser beam by a swing motor 35 on the coil. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, an example is shown in which the distance meter 30 is integrally mounted on the club 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a motor (not shown) can run on a rail mounted on the lower surface of the girder 21. Even if it is provided, it may be attached to another place instead of under the girder.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the laser beam swinging mechanism uses the entire rangefinder 30 as a swing motor 3.
The swing is made at 5, but is not limited to this. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the reflecting mirror 38 is swung in the range of 380 to 381 by the scan motor (not shown), and the laser beam 31 emitted from the laser light source 37 is swung in the range of 310 to 311. You may do it. It is to be noted that the angle can be similarly swung by using a lens instead of the reflecting mirror 38 and utilizing refraction.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the method for detecting the position of a columnar object according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the moving mechanism in the present embodiment may be one in which a disc crank 372 and a link 373 are attached to an output shaft of a motor 371 with a speed reducer to swing the distance meter 30. . 374 is an encoder. The same effect can be obtained by moving the crane in the X direction as shown in FIG. 10 without using the angle moving mechanism. Note that the same function is obtained by using another light source or an ultrasonic wave instead of the laser beam.

[0025]

According to the method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object according to the first aspect of the present invention, the irradiation position of the laser beam or the ultrasonic wave applied to the cylindrical object is different from the irradiation position on the coil surface.
In addition, even if the reflectance is different from the design value and the measured distance value due to the reflected light or reflected wave becomes abnormal or the distance measurement becomes impossible and the calculation result is not normal, it is irradiated toward the cylindrical object. By changing the irradiation angle of the laser light or the ultrasonic wave, moving again in the Y direction and irradiating,
Distance distribution data in the Y direction and the height Z direction to the columnar object can be created again, whereby correct calculation results can be obtained by recalculating the center coordinate and the width of the columnar object in the Y direction. As a result, the automatic operation of the overhead crane can be continued.

Further, according to the method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object according to the second aspect, even if the calculation result by the reflected light or reflected wave of the laser beam or ultrasonic wave applied to the cylindrical object is not normal, By changing the irradiation position of the laser light or the ultrasonic wave to be irradiated toward the columnar object in the short X direction of the bogie, and moving the same again in the Y direction, the position in the Y direction and the height Z direction up to the columnar object is changed. Since the distance distribution data is created again, and the center coordinate and the width of the columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again, a correct calculation result can be obtained.
The reliability is improved, and the automatic operation of the overhead crane can be continued.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of a columnar object recognition method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating Y-direction distance distribution data obtained by a distance meter.

FIG. 3 is a front view when a first measurement is performed.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing XZ direction distance distribution data of a coil at the time of a first measurement.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of a laser swing mechanism that performs a second measurement.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing XZ direction distance distribution data of a coil at the time of a second measurement.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration explanatory diagram illustrating an embodiment of a laser swing mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the second example of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view when a second measurement is performed using the laser swing mechanism shown in FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Medium-diameter coil 11 Small-diameter coil 12 Large-diameter coil 13 Dolly 20 Overhead crane 21 Girder 22 Club 23 Laser distance meter 31 Laser light 32 Laser light source 33 Laser reflected light 34 Light receiving unit 35 Swing motor 40 Operation control unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] A method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object used when a crane automatically transports one or more cylindrical objects placed on a cart, wherein the cylindrical object has a center axis direction. It is arranged in the Y direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction Y of the cart, and moves in the Y direction while irradiating light or ultrasonic waves to the columnar object to collect the reflected light or reflected wave. Creates distance distribution data in the Y direction and height Z direction to the columnar object, calculates the Y direction center coordinates and the width of the columnar object, and similarly calculates the Y direction center coordinates and the other columnar objects. In the position detection method of the columnar object to calculate the width, if the calculation result is not normal, by changing the irradiation angle of the light or the ultrasonic wave irradiated toward the columnar object, by moving again in the Y direction, Y to cylindrical object
The distance distribution data in the direction and the height Z direction is created again, and the center coordinate and the width of the columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again. Similarly, the center coordinate and the width of the other columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again. A method for detecting the position of a cylindrical object. 2. A method for detecting the position of a columnar object used when a crane automatically transports one or more columnar objects placed on a cart, wherein the columnar object has a center axis direction. It is arranged in the Y direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction Y of the cart, and moves in the Y direction while irradiating light or ultrasonic waves to the columnar object to collect the reflected light or reflected wave. Creates distance distribution data in the Y direction and height Z direction to the columnar object, calculates the Y direction center coordinates and the width of the columnar object, and similarly calculates the Y direction center coordinates and the other columnar objects. In the position detection method of the columnar object for calculating the width, if the calculation result is not normal, the irradiation position of the light or the ultrasonic wave radiated toward the columnar object is set to the short X of the bogie.
By changing the direction and moving it again in the Y direction,
The distance distribution data in the Y direction and the height Z direction to the columnar object is created again, the center coordinate and the width of the columnar object in the Y direction are calculated again, and the center coordinate of the other columnar object in the Y direction is similarly calculated. And a width of the columnar object are calculated again.