JP2000344463A - Crane automating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To modify an existing manually-operated crane into an automatic operation corresponding type crane by adding a control device in parallel to an operating apparatus for the existing manually-operated crane, and sending operation signals from the control device to a crane control device to perform automatic operation of the crane. SOLUTION: In automating an existing manually-operated crane C such as a refuse crane in a refuse destruction plant, a control device 10 is installed independently of an existing crane control device 1, and control signals from the control device 10 are inputted to an existing operating apparatus 2 through wiring 11. Winding up-down of a wire rope 42 through a drum 41 on a crab 4 is performed by the operation of the operating apparatus 2 to open and close a grab bucket 5. The control device 10 is connected to a plant equipment control device including a host control device and an incinerator control device, by wiring 12 to input control signals such as an operation instruction signal, an incinerator hopper charge demand signal and a crane interference preventing signal in opening/closing a gate for conveyance into a pit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of automating a crane, for example, in a cleaning plant that incinerates garbage, recycles an existing manually-operated crane so that garbage can be introduced into an incinerator. The driver operates the crane manually during the daytime,
The present invention relates to a method for automating a crane that can be automatically operated by a higher-level control device during a time period when no garbage is brought in by a garbage truck at night or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when converting an existing manually operated crane to an automatically operated type crane, the existing control device, operating device, and the like are removed, and both functions of manually operated operation and automatic operation are newly provided. A control device, an operating device, and the like were provided.

[0003]

That is, this conventional method of remodeling an existing manually operated crane requires 10 minutes after operation.
Up to 20 years have passed, and the renewal of aging crane equipment has been the main subject. Usually, the control system for lateral running and hoisting has been changed from the secondary resistance control system to the inverter drive control system, and the aging system excluding the motor has been aged. Electric parts are replaced with new parts, but they are replaced in accordance with the control devices, operating devices, and the like. Although such remodeling meets the purpose of equipment renewal, there has been a problem that remodeling costs are high.

[0004] In recent years, in a garbage incineration plant that incinerates garbage, the generation of harmful substances such as dioxin due to the incineration of garbage has become a social problem. There is a need for optimization and switching from batch furnace intermittent operation to continuous operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional manually operated cranes, and allows the existing manually operated cranes to be converted into automatic operation cranes at no cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic method.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for automating a crane according to the present invention comprises adding a control device in parallel to an existing operating device in an existing manually operated crane. In this case, the same operation signal as when the driver operates the operating device is input to the crane control device based on the signal from the controller, and the crane is automatically operated according to an instruction from the host control device.

In this crane automation method, an operating device used in an existing manually operated crane is used as it is, and a control device is added in parallel to the existing operating device.
With the signal from this control device, the same operation signal as when the driver operates the operating device is input to the crane control device, and the crane is automatically operated according to the instruction of the host control device. It is possible to quickly convert an existing manually-operated crane to an automatically-operated crane without applying any cost.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for automating a crane according to the present invention will be described based on an example applied to a garbage crane used in a cleaning plant as shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a crane C installed in a waste disposal site of a waste cleaning plant is installed so as to be able to travel above a pit P where garbage is stored and stored, and a drive provided on a girder or a saddle. A girder 3 running along a longitudinal direction of a garbage pit on a traveling rail provided below a ceiling of a building by a mechanism, and a club traversing on a traversing rail on the girder by a driving mechanism provided on the club. 4
And a grab bucket 5 suspended from a club 4 disposed on the girder 3 via a wire rope 42.

Then, a drum 41 on the club is driven by a motor provided on the club 4 to wind up and lower the wire rope 42, thereby raising and lowering the grab bucket 5.
Depending on the combination of the traveling of the crane C and the traversing of the club, the garbage is grabbed by the grab bucket 5 and moved in the pit for transhipment for homogenizing the garbage, or thrown into the hopper of the incinerator. ing.

The opening / closing operation of the grab bucket 5 is performed by a hydraulic opening / closing type in which electric power of an oil pump is supplied by a power supply cable from the club 4 to open / close by a hydraulic pressure, or a two-system motor for supporting and opening / closing on the club 4. , Which has a speed reducer and a drum, and is roughly divided into a two-rope type in which a hoisting / lowering operation and a bucket opening / closing operation are performed by rope operation.

By the way, usually, the crane C for garbage is
Since it is operated in a bad environment such as odor, dust, and high humidity, the power and sensor signals of each motor are cabtyre cable 7 laid in a curtain shape so that parts and equipment requiring maintenance are not placed on the crane C. Is connected to a crane control panel 1 installed on the ground side, and a crane C is remotely controlled by an operating device 2 installed in an operator's cab.

The operating device 2 includes operating switches such as a lateral lever operation, a cross lever operation, and a joystick. The operating device 2 and the crane control device 1 are connected by wiring 6.

When automating the existing manually operated crane C configured as described above, the control device 10 for remodeling the crane C is installed independently of the existing crane control device 1, and the control signal is , Existing operating device 2 by wiring 11
To be entered.

The control device 10 is connected to a plant equipment control device (not shown) including a host control device and an incinerator control device via a wiring 12, and an operation instruction signal from the host control device, an incinerator hopper input request signal, and the like. , A control signal such as a signal for preventing interference with a crane that opens and closes the gate for loading into the pit.

The operation device 2 is used to raise or lower the wire rope 42 to lift and lower and open and close the grab bucket 5, and is configured as shown in FIG. The operation of the garbage crane is usually performed in a sitting posture by an operation device installed in a cab above a side wall of the pit, where the situation near the garbage pit, the hopper, and the entrance gate can be seen. The operating device 2 is configured such that, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a lever moves along a cross-shaped gate 100 and a contact of a switch corresponding to the lever position is closed, and the cross-shaped gate is mechanically operated. The operation is restricted so that two operations cannot be performed. Similarly, in the case of prohibiting the simultaneous operation of traversing and running, the cross-shaped operating device is used.

The operating device 2 is incorporated in the existing crane control device 1 in the sequence circuit 1a shown in FIG. Voltage applied to the contacts 102 and 103 of the operation switch,
The current flowing through the contacts differs for each individual crane. For example, the applied voltage is DC 12V, DC 24V, AC 100
V, 200 V AC, etc. are generally used, and the contact current also has a width of about several mA to several tens mA. Here, an example of an AC circuit will be described.

The automation control device 10 comprises an interface unit such as interface portions 201a and 201b with the existing control device 1 shown in FIG. Then, the assembly 10a of both is stored in the control device 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the interface unit includes a circuit that insulates a signal output 301 from the control unit 200 with a relay contact and a signal 302 that insulates the opening and closing state of the contact with a photocoupler and that is input to the control device 200. The output interface behaves equivalent to closing the contacts of the operating device 2 when the control unit 200 performs the automatic operation, and the control device 10 gives a signal to the operating device 2 on behalf of the driver to operate the crane. I do.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operation unit 200 is divided into a plurality of layers, and is constituted by a lowermost layer hardware interface 402 and a software layer 401 constituted by a sequencer of a control device or a microcomputer program. The hardware layer 402 converts the voltage and current of the interface into internal signals of the control unit 200 at the connection between the existing control device and the newly installed control device as shown in FIG. The internal signal is a signal of a single specification, and has a plurality of types to exchange a hardware interface according to the specification of an existing control device. Software layer 4
Reference numeral 01 denotes a conversion layer unit 401a for converting the difference in the type of the operating device and the contact configuration into a single interface; an abstraction operation layer unit 401b for abstracting and operating the operation of the crane; an automatic operation sequence layer unit 401c; The layer 401d has a hierarchy.

The conversion layer section 401a of the hierarchy switches the contacts of a plurality of switches according to the operation of the operating device, with the difference in the type of the operating device and the contact configuration. For example, during the winding operation, both of the contacts 109 and 110 of the contacts in FIG. 2 are closed. Before the operation of the winding operation, the operation lever is in the neutral position, and the contacts 106, 107, and 110 are closed. In the transition state from neutral to winding, both the contact 106 and the contact 107 are opened, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the contact 109 for the lifting operation is closed. The contact 110 is closed even in the transient state. As described above, the open / closed state of the switch corresponding to the state transition is generated from the open / closed state of the contact corresponding to the drive operation from the drive operation and the state immediately before the drive operation is performed.

The abstraction operation layer unit 401b is a combination of operations in which the movement of the operation of the crane, the picking of dust, the opening of the bucket of grabbed dust, and the like are divided into operating elements without being conscious of the contact structure and model of the operating device. Is realized.

As an example, a description will be given of an operation sequence in a case where dust is grabbed by a grab bucket. (1) Open the grab bucket. (2) Start lowering. (2) When the lowering position is lowered to the predicted landing point of the grab bucket, the lowering is stopped. (3) The lowering is performed again. (4) When the landing of the bucket is detected due to a change in the power consumption of the motor for lowering or a change in the load of the load meter installed in the hoisting drum indicating section, the lowering is stopped. (5) Close the grab bucket. (6) When the grab bucket is closed, wind up for a short time. (7) Measure the load value, if the load value is within the specified range, continue winding, if not, open the grab bucket,
Return to (2). (8) The operation ends when the film is wound up to the specified position.

As described above, the operation of the crane is described as "raise,""lower," and "stop" for hoisting and lowering, "opening,""closed," and "stopping" for opening and closing the bucket, and "starting" for specifying the direction for lateral traveling. Break it down into "stop" element actions,
The crane is operated based on the combination of the element operations, the change in the operation state by the sensor, and the position information.

Automatic operation sequence layer section 401c of the hierarchy
Performs the following sequence in the automatic operation sequence. As an example, a sequence in a case where an input request to the hopper is generated is shown. (1) Specify a target position for lateral traveling, and move laterally and travel. (2) When the side running arrives at the designated position, grab the garbage. (3) After grabbing the trash, move the grab bucket to the hopper loading position. (3) When the grab bucket moves, the target position of the lateral traveling is designated to the hopper, and traveling and traveling are moved. (4) When the robot arrives at the loading position of the hopper, the grab bucket is opened, and the grabbed garbage is loaded into the hopper.

As described above, the operation of the crane is decomposed into an abstract operation, and an automatic operation sequence is realized by a combination of the operations. Upper interface layer 401d of the hierarchy
Receives an operation command from the host controller and a hopper input request, and starts an automatic sequence.

The hierarchical conversion layer section 401a is mounted in combination with a hardware interface 402 located therebelow, and depends on a crane-specific specification. The layer abstraction operation layer 401b and the automatic operation sequence layer 401c are standardized and implemented as software that abstracts the operation and does not depend on the specific specifications of the crane. The upper interface layer unit 401d depends on the equipment status of the plant and the upper control device, and is mounted according to the use of each plant.

The signal input interface shown in FIG.
Used for failure diagnosis of automatic operation control device and learning of crane operation. In the self-diagnosis, an arbitrary signal is output from the automatic control device, and it is confirmed that the signal is output.
In the operation of the crane, the motor is not driven by only a single contact signal, but is operated by a combination of a plurality of signals. An operation signal of a combination that is impossible in the actual operation is output from the automatic control device, and the operation of the interface portion of the control device is checked without moving the crane by inputting and confirming the input signal. In addition, it is possible to confirm the operation up to the interface portion of the control device by outputting the operation signal of the normal operation with the power supply turned off.

Further, the signal input interface performs learning of crane operation. The hierarchical conversion layer unit 40 shown in FIG.
1a associates a combination of contact signals of an operating device with an abstracted operation of the layer abstraction operation layer unit 401b. Correspondence associates the open / closed state of the contact with the state transition of the signal over time. This is not only a record of a driving operation normally performed by a driver, but also a signal in which a state transition of a signal recorded during manual driving is recorded according to an operation command of the abstraction operation layer unit 401b. When this is realized by software, the driver's driving situation is input.

In addition, when the manual operation by the driver occurs during the execution of the automatic driving, the input interface receives the signal of the operating device different from the signal output from the automatic driving control device. Detects manual intervention, switches the subject of control from automatic operation to manual operation by the driver, and surrenders the operating right. In this way, only the hardware that depends on the hardware specifications and the related software are replaced, and the other parts are standardized control device hardware and software to handle manually operated cranes for automatic operation. Can be easily remodeled.

Although the crane automation method of the present invention has been described with respect to an existing garbage crane in a waste cleaning plant, it can be applied to automated remodeling of a coil transfer crane in a steel mill, a material transfer crane in a cement plant, and the like. .

[0031]

According to the method of automating a crane of the present invention, an operating device used in an existing manual operation type crane is used as it is, and a control device is added in parallel to the existing operating device to control the operation. Since the same operation signal as the driver operates the operating device is input to the crane control device by the signal from the device, the crane is automatically operated according to the instruction of the host control device, so it is expensive. Instead, the existing manually operated crane can be quickly converted to an automatically operated crane. In addition, since there is no change in the manual operation operation method of the crane, it is possible to prevent an accident due to unfamiliar operation. Then, by applying the crane automation method of the present invention to a waste crane in an incineration plant that performs waste incineration, it is possible to easily perform appropriate incineration management and easily switch from intermittent operation to continuous operation of a combustion furnace. In addition, generation of harmful substances such as dioxin due to incineration of refuse can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a crane in a landfill showing an embodiment of the crane automation method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram for opening / closing and lifting / lowering a bucket by the operating device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sequence circuit diagram.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an interface.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation unit divided into a plurality of layers.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C crane 1 crane control panel 2 operating device 10 control device

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an existing manually operated crane,
A control device is added in parallel to the existing operation device, and the same operation signal as when the driver operates the operation device is input to the crane control device by a signal from the control device, and the command from the higher-level control device is issued. A crane automation method, characterized in that the crane is automatically operated by the method.