JP2014046764A - Vehicle, loading system, controller, loading method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time required for vehicle height adjustment when cargo is loaded, and to improve efficiency of loading work.SOLUTION: A combination vehicle 1 which has an air bellows 11 forming an air suspension, and performs control so as to keep vehicle height constant by adjusting air pressure in the air bellows 11 includes a controller 18 for, when no cargo is loaded, estimating increment in a load to be applied on the air bellows 11 when cargo of predetermined weight is loaded, restricting vehicle height so that the vehicle height is not higher than vehicle height when the increment in a load is estimated, and adjusting air pressure in the air bellows so that the estimated increment in a load can be supported by the air pressure, while restricting the vehicle height. The controller 18 removes the restriction on the vehicle height when cargo is loaded.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle, a cargo handling system, a control device, a cargo handling method, and a program.

  In recent years, air suspensions are widely used not only for passenger vehicles such as buses but also for freight vehicles. The air suspension is composed of a plurality of air bellows, and the vehicle height can be adjusted by adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows. Therefore, in a freight vehicle having an air suspension, the vehicle height is controlled to be constant by changing the air pressure of the air bellows between an empty load and a fixed load.

  In Patent Document 1, when a container loaded on a freight vehicle is unloaded from the freight vehicle, a shock absorber is provided between the loading platform and the frame that supports the freight vehicle in order to suppress a sudden change in the height of the freight vehicle. The structure which arrange | positions is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-11132

  As described above, in a freight vehicle having an air suspension, the air pressure of the air bellows is adjusted according to the loaded weight to change the vehicle height. However, a change in the vehicle height requires a predetermined time. For example, in a freight vehicle loaded with a container for maritime transportation and transported by land, a change in the weight of the container occurs in a very short time as the container is loaded and unloaded. Adjustment of the air pressure in the air bellows cannot catch up with the change in the weight of the cargo that occurs in such an hour.

  For example, in a cargo handling operation such as a container yard in which a large number of containers are loaded on a large number of freight vehicles one after another, it is desired to efficiently load the large number of freight vehicles in a short time. In spite of this, while the freight vehicle that has completed cargo loading is adjusting the vehicle height, the next freight vehicle has to wait for the turn.

  The present invention has been made under such a background, a vehicle, a cargo handling system, which can shorten the time required for adjusting the vehicle height when loading cargo and can improve the efficiency of cargo handling work, It is an object to provide a control device, a cargo handling method, and a program.

  One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle, which has an air bellows that constitutes an air suspension, and controls a vehicle height to be kept constant by adjusting air pressure in the air bellows. The load increase estimation means for estimating the increase in load applied to the air bellows when the air load is loaded, and the vehicle height is higher than the vehicle height when the load increase estimation means estimates the increase in load. Vehicle height limiting means for limiting the height of the vehicle so that it does not become, and air pressure capable of supporting the load increase estimated by the load increase estimation means while limiting the vehicle height by the vehicle height limiting means An air pressure adjusting means for adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows is provided, and the vehicle height restriction means releases the restriction on the height of the vehicle height when cargo is loaded.

  For example, the vehicle height limiting means is attached to the loading platform and suppresses the extension of a shock absorber that expands and contracts as the vehicle height increases and decreases.

  Further, at this time, the vehicle height limiting means can detect the load of the cargo by detecting a decrease in the restraining force when the shock absorber restrains the extension.

  Further, the vehicle-side device that performs road-to-vehicle communication with the road-side device is provided, and the load increase estimation unit can acquire the weight information of the loaded cargo through the road-to-vehicle communication.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a cargo handling system, which includes a roadside device that transmits weight information of cargo loaded on the vehicle by road-to-vehicle communication, and a cargo handling device that loads cargo on the vehicle. System.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a control device, which is mounted on the vehicle of the present invention and has a calculation function of load increase estimation means, a control function of vehicle height restriction means, and a control function of air pressure adjustment means. It is a control device.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a control method, which is executed by a vehicle control device that has an air bellows that constitutes an air suspension and controls the vehicle height to be constant by adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows. In the control method, a load increase estimation step for estimating an increase in the load applied to the air bellows when a cargo having a predetermined weight is loaded and a load increase estimation step are processed by the load increase estimation step. A vehicle height restriction step for limiting the vehicle height so that the vehicle height does not become higher than the estimated vehicle height, and a load increase estimation step while restricting the vehicle height by processing the vehicle height restriction step An air pressure adjusting step for adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows so that the air pressure can be supported by the increase in load estimated by the processing in step (a). There are those comprising the step of releasing the restriction of when loaded vehicle height height.

  Still another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes an information processing device to realize the function of the control device of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the time which the vehicle height adjustment at the time of loading a cargo can be shortened, and the efficiency of cargo handling work can be aimed at.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a connecting vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a cargo handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the estimation formula of step S2 of FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows a connecting vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the connecting vehicle 1 is a vehicle in which a tow vehicle 2 and a towed vehicle 3 are connected via a coupler 4. The towing vehicle 2 has an unillustrated engine mounted in the lower part of the cab, has a front wheel 5 that is a non-driving wheel, and a rear wheel 6 that is a driving wheel in a towing vehicle chassis 7. The towed vehicle 3 has biaxial wheels 8 and 9 behind a towed vehicle chassis 10 as a loading platform, and the front of the towed vehicle 3 is detachably connected to the towed vehicle chassis 7 via a coupler 4. Has been.

  In the present embodiment, the articulated vehicle 1 for loading containers is illustrated as an example of a vehicle, but this is a time when the vehicle height adjustment time is longer than the time for loading and unloading the cargo. This is because it is a good example that requires Therefore, the application range of the present invention is not limited to the connecting vehicle 1. Since the gist of the present invention is to shorten the vehicle height adjustment time in a cargo vehicle, the present invention can be applied to any cargo vehicle having a vehicle height adjustment function.

  The connecting vehicle 1 has an air bellows 11 constituting an air suspension. The air bellows 11 has an air pressure sensor 12. The air bellows 11 is disposed on a support beam 13 attached to a lower frame of the towing vehicle 2 (not shown). The lower frame is a frame member that supports components such as the axle of the rear wheel 6. On the support beam 13, in addition to the air bellows 11, a shock absorber 14 and a height sensor 15 are arranged.

  One end of the shock absorber 14 is fixed to a support beam 13 attached to the lower frame, and the other end is fixed to an upper frame (not shown) that constitutes a tow vehicle chassis 7 that supports components such as the coupler 4. According to the shock absorber 14, it is possible to avoid a sudden change in the distance between the tow vehicle chassis 7 and the support beam 13 when the vehicle height changes. The internal mechanism of the shock absorber 14 is such that, for example, the movement in the extension direction or the expansion / contraction direction is alleviated by viscous flow resistance when oil filled in the shock absorber 14 flows inside the shock absorber 14.

  The shock absorber 14 has a mechanism that suppresses extension in the extension direction by control from the outside. Such a mechanism can be realized, for example, by suppressing the flow of oil filled in the shock absorber 14 by closing the solenoid valve.

  Further, the shock absorber 14 has a load sensor 14a that detects the restraining force of the extension in the extension direction. Since the shock absorber 14 is connected to the tow vehicle chassis 7, when a load is applied to the tow vehicle chassis 7, the restraining force for extension in the extension direction is reduced. The load sensor 14a can detect the state of the load on the tow vehicle chassis 7 by detecting the restraining force of the shock absorber 14 in the extension direction in this way.

  A specific example of detecting the extension force in the extension direction of the shock absorber 14 will be described. For example, if the structure suppresses the extension in the extension direction by suppressing the flow of oil in the shock absorber 14, the cargo Since the flow is suppressed when the (container) is loaded on the towed vehicle chassis 10, the force to suppress the expansion of the shock absorber 14 in the extending direction is reduced. That is, the suppression force can be detected by detecting the oil pressure of the oil.

  The height sensor 15 has one end fixed to the support beam 13 and the other end fixed to the tow vehicle chassis 7, and detects the distance between the one end and the other end as the vehicle height.

  Air is supplied to the air bellows 11 from an air tank 17 through an air pipe 16. The air tank 17 is supplied with outside air from a compressor (not shown) and is controlled by an ECU (Electric Control Unit) (not shown) so as to maintain a substantially constant air pressure at all times.

  In the middle of the air pipe 16, an electromagnetic valve 19 whose open state or closed state is controlled by the control device 18 is disposed. When the electromagnetic valve 19 is opened, the air tank 17 and the air bellows 11 communicate with each other, and the air in the air tank 17 is supplied to the air bellows 11. On the other hand, when the solenoid valve 19 is closed, the air tank 17 and the air bellows 11 are disconnected. At this time, if an exhaust valve (not shown) connected to the air bellows 11 is controlled to be in an open state, the air in the air bellows 11 is released into the atmosphere, and the pressure of the air in the air bellows 11 is reduced. .

  The control device 18 inputs information transmitted from the air pressure sensor 12, the load sensor 14 a, the height sensor 15, and the vehicle side device 20, and controls the expansion suppression of the shock absorber 14 and the air pressure of the air bellows 11. . The control device 18 is an example of an information processing device, and the function of the control device 18 is realized in the information processing device when the information processing device executes a predetermined program installed in advance. For example, the information processing apparatus includes a memory, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an input / output port, and the like. The CPU of the information processing apparatus reads and executes a control program as a predetermined program from a memory or the like. Thereby, the function of the control device 18 is realized in the information processing apparatus. Note that an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a microprocessor (microcomputer), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like may be used instead of the CPU described above.

  The vehicle side device 20 communicates with the roadside device 21 by radio signals. As a result, information on the weight of the cargo (container) to be loaded on the connected vehicle 1 from the roadside device 21 is transmitted to the vehicle-side device 20.

  FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a cargo handling system 30 provided in a cargo handling area that performs cargo handling work on the articulated vehicle 1. The cargo handling area includes an entrance gate 31, an exit gate 32, a cargo handling device 33, and a container storage area 34. The roadside device 21 described above is disposed before the cargo handling device 33 in the traveling direction of the connected vehicle 1. The cargo handling device 33 is, for example, a crane. As described above, the cargo handling system 30 includes the roadside device 21 that transmits the weight information of the loaded cargo to the coupled vehicle 1 by the road-to-vehicle communication, and the cargo handling device 33 that loads the cargo on the coupled vehicle 1. Have.

  Next, the operation of the control device 18 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 3, the condition of “START” is that the connected vehicle 1 is operating, the information processing device executes a program for realizing the function of the control device 18, and the function of the control device 18 is the information processing device. It is a condition that the state is realized. When such a “START” condition is satisfied, the flow proceeds to step S1.

  In step S <b> 1, the control device 18 determines whether or not the vehicle-side device 20 has received container weight information from the road-side device 21. If it is determined in step S1 that the container weight information has been received, the flow proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the container weight information has not been received, the flow repeats step S1.

In step S2, the control device 18 estimates the rear wheel load increase ΔMr after container loading. In other words, the control device 18 estimates an increase in the load applied to the air bellows 11 when a cargo having a predetermined weight is loaded at the time of idle loading. The rear wheel load increase ΔMr is calculated as follows. The meaning of the parameters shown below will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG.
Lwb1: Wheel base between the axle center of the front wheel 5 of the towed vehicle 2 and the axle center of the rear wheel 6 Lwb2: The center of the coupler 4 of the towed vehicle 3 and the axis of the axle of the wheel 8 and the wheel 9 Lof1: Offset between the center of the coupler 4 and the axis of the axle of the rear wheel 6 Lof2: Center of the coupler 4 and the center of the container mounting space (i.e., the container) Offset Mcon: container weight ΔM5th: parameter is set as the fifth wheel load.

At this time,
ΔMr = [(Lwb1-Lof1) / Lwb1] × ΔM5th
ΔM5th = [(Lwb2-Lof2) / Lwb2] × Mcon
So
ΔMr = [(Lwb1-Lof1) / Lwb1] ×
[(Lwb2-Lof2) / Lwb2] × Mcon (1)
As described above, the rear wheel load increase ΔMr can be obtained.

According to the above equation (1), since the values of parameters other than the container weight Mcon are known in advance, the control device 18
[(Lwb1-Lof1) / Lwb1] × [(Lwb2-Lof2) / Lwb2] (2)
As for the value of, a previously calculated result can be stored in the memory. For example, if the calculation result of Expression (2) is “A”, the estimation result of Expression (1) can be obtained simply by calculating “A × Mcon”.

  In this manner, the control device 18 estimates the rear wheel load increase ΔMr by acquiring the container weight information from the vehicle side device 20. When the rear wheel load increase ΔMr is estimated in step S2, the flow proceeds to step S3.

  In step S <b> 3, the control device 18 suppresses the extension of the shock absorber 14. In other words, the articulated vehicle 1 is in a state in which the air suspension has already completed the adjustment of the vehicle height when the cargo is idle before the cargo is loaded, and the cargo loading surface on the towed vehicle chassis 10 is kept horizontal. At this time, the control device 18 limits the vehicle height by suppressing the extension of the shock absorber 14 so that the vehicle height does not become higher than the vehicle height when the increase in load is estimated in step S2. In step S3, when the expansion of the shock absorber 14 is suppressed, the flow proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the control device 18 controls the electromagnetic valve 19 to be in an open state, and supplies the air in the air tank 17 to the air bellows 11, whereby the output of the load sensor 14a is estimated by the increase in the rear wheel load estimated in step S2. The air pressure in the air bellows 11 is increased until ΔMr. That is, the air pressure in the air bellows 11 is adjusted so that the air pressure can be supported by the increase in load estimated by the process of step S2 while the height of the vehicle is limited by the process of step S3. In step S4, when the air pressure in the air bellows 11 is pressurized to the rear wheel load increase ΔMr, and the control device 18 controls the electromagnetic valve 19 to be closed to complete the pressurization, the flow proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, the control device 18 determines whether or not the output of the load sensor 14a has decreased. If the output of the load sensor 14a decreases, it means that the restraining force in the extension direction of the shock absorber 14 due to the pressure of the air bellows 11 has been reduced by loading the cargo (container) on the towed vehicle chassis 10. It is shown. If it is determined in step S5 that the output of the load sensor 14a has decreased, the flow proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the output of the load sensor 14a has not decreased, the flow repeats step S5.

  In step S6, the control device 18 releases the suppression of the shock absorber 14 in the extending direction and ends the process (END).

  In this way, an increase in the load applied to the air bellows 11 when a cargo having a predetermined weight is loaded is estimated at the time of empty loading, so that the vehicle height does not become higher than the vehicle height when the increase in the load is estimated. The height of the vehicle is restricted, and the air pressure in the air bellows 11 is adjusted so that the estimated increase in load can be supported while the height of the vehicle is restricted, and the cargo is loaded. By removing the restriction on the height of the vehicle, the time required for adjusting the vehicle height when loading the cargo can be shortened, and the efficiency of the cargo handling work can be improved.

  For example, before the loading / unloading device 33 loads a container on the connection vehicle 1, the connection vehicle 1 increases the air pressure of the air bellows 11 in advance, so that even if the container is loaded on the connection vehicle 1, the height of the connection vehicle 1 is increased. There is no change. As a result, the connecting vehicle 1 can start immediately after the container is loaded. According to this, the waiting time of the succeeding vehicle that waits for the order of cargo handling is only the time required for the cargo handling device 33 to load the container on the preceding vehicle. In this way, the efficiency of the cargo handling work can be improved.

  In particular, when the container is loaded on the towed vehicle chassis 10, the loading surface of the towed vehicle chassis 10 is required to be horizontal. That is, the corner metal fitting provided at the corner of the container is provided with a hole for fixing the container by engaging with the protrusion provided on the loading surface of the towed vehicle chassis 10. In order for the hole provided in the corner bracket of the container to be lowered horizontally by a crane or the like and the protrusion provided on the loading surface of the towed vehicle chassis 10 to reliably engage, the loading surface of the towed vehicle chassis 10 must be Need to keep level.

  In the connected vehicle 1, the height of the vehicle is limited prior to adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows 11. Therefore, even if the air pressure in the air bellows 11 increases, the vehicle height does not change and before the air pressure increases. Therefore, the horizontal state of the tow vehicle chassis 7 and the towed vehicle chassis 10 connected to the tow vehicle chassis 7 is also maintained well. Therefore, as described above, when the container is loaded on the towed vehicle chassis 10, the loading surface of the towed vehicle chassis 10 can be kept horizontal. As a result, the container can be reliably fixed on the loading surface on the towed vehicle chassis 10. This also makes it possible to improve the efficiency of cargo handling work.

  The above-described embodiment can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the cargo loading state is detected by the load sensor 14a included in the shock absorber 14. However, the cargo loading state may be detected in any manner. As another example, for example, a sensor for detecting the fifth wheel load of the coupler 4 may be provided. Or you may provide the vibration sensor which detects the vibration of the tow vehicle 2 produced at the time of cargo loading. Alternatively, the height sensor 15 may detect the vibration of the towing vehicle 2 that occurs during cargo loading as a phenomenon in which the height of the towing vehicle 2 changes frequently within a short time. Alternatively, means for detecting cargo loading may be provided on the towed vehicle 3 side. As an example of this, for example, a detection switch such as a limit switch or a piezoelectric switch is provided on the cargo loading surface of the towed vehicle chassis 10, and the loading of the cargo is detected by pressing this switch by the weight of the cargo. Also good. Alternatively, a non-contact switch such as a photoelectric switch or a proximity switch is provided at the cargo loading position of the towed vehicle chassis 10 to detect the loading of the cargo when the cargo enters the detection range of these non-contact switches. Also good. Alternatively, a small camera may be attached to either the towed vehicle 2 or the towed vehicle 3, and it may be detected that the cargo is loaded by image analysis.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the control device 18 acquires the weight information of the cargo from the vehicle-side device 20 by road-to-vehicle communication in step S1 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 has been described. This is an example when information is unknown. On the other hand, when the weight information of the cargo is known, the processing of step S1 and step S2 can be omitted.

  For example, if the weight of the cargo to be transported is always the same, the controller 18 does not need to newly acquire the cargo weight information, and the cargo weight information may be stored in the memory of the controller 18 in advance. Alternatively, when the weight of the cargo to be transported is specified by the identifier of the cargo, the control device 18 stores a table or the like that records the correspondence between the identifier and the loaded weight in the memory of the control device 18. By acquiring information on the identifier of the cargo, information on the weight of the cargo can be acquired indirectly.

  Further, the control device 18 may acquire the weight information of the cargo by means other than road-to-vehicle communication. For example, a bar code or IC tag in which weight information is recorded may be attached to each container, and the control device 18 may be provided with these reading devices. Or if the control apparatus 18 is equipped with the communication apparatus which communicates via a network, the weight information of a cargo can be acquired via a network. The network is the Internet, an intranet, a cellular phone network, a LAN (Local Area Network), or the like.

  Further, even if the program executed by the information processing device constituting the control device 18 is stored in the memory or the like of the information processing device before shipment of the control device 18, the information processing device is shipped after the control device 18 is shipped. It may be stored in a memory of the device. Further, a part of the program may be stored in a memory of the information processing apparatus after the control device 18 is shipped. The program stored in the memory or the like of the information processing apparatus after shipment of the control apparatus 18 may be, for example, the one installed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or the Internet. The one downloaded via the transmission medium may be installed.

  The program includes not only a program that can be directly executed by the information processing apparatus but also a program that can be executed by being installed on a hard disk or the like. Also included are those that are compressed or encrypted.

  Thus, by realizing the function of the control device 18 by the information processing device and the program, it becomes possible to flexibly cope with mass production and specification change (or design change).

  The program executed by the computer may be a program that is processed in time series in the order described in this specification, or in parallel or at a necessary timing such as when a call is made. It may be a program for processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connection vehicle, 2 ... Towing vehicle, 3 ... Towed vehicle, 7 ... Towed vehicle chassis, 10 ... Towed vehicle chassis, 11 ... Air bellows (a part of air pressure adjusting means), 12 ... Air pressure sensor, 13 ... Support Beam, 14 ... Shock absorber (part of vehicle height limiting means), 15 ... Height sensor, 18 ... Control device (load increase estimation means, part of vehicle height limiting means, part of air pressure adjusting means), 20 ... Car side device (part of load increase estimation means), 21 ... road side device, 30 ... cargo handling system, 33 ... cargo handling device

Claims (8)

In a vehicle having an air bellows constituting an air suspension and controlling the vehicle height to be constant by adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows,
A load increase estimation means for estimating an increase in load applied to the air bellows when a cargo having a predetermined weight is loaded;
Vehicle height limiting means for limiting the height of the vehicle so that the vehicle height does not become higher than the vehicle height when the load increase estimation means estimates the increase in load;
Air pressure adjusting means for adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows so as to be able to support the load increase estimated by the load increase estimating means while limiting the vehicle height by the vehicle height limiting means. When,
Have
The vehicle height restriction means releases the vehicle height restriction when the cargo is loaded.
A vehicle characterized by that. The vehicle according to claim 1,
The vehicle height limiting means is attached to a cargo bed and suppresses the extension of a shock absorber that expands and contracts with the increase and decrease of the vehicle height.
A vehicle characterized by that. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein
The vehicle height limiting means detects a decrease in the restraining force when the shock absorber suppresses extension to detect the loading of cargo,
A vehicle characterized by that. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
It has a vehicle side device that performs road-to-vehicle communication with the roadside device,
The load increase estimation means obtains weight information of the loaded cargo via the road-to-vehicle communication.
A vehicle characterized by that. A roadside device that transmits weight information of cargo loaded to the vehicle by road-to-vehicle communication to the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A cargo handling device for loading cargo on the vehicle;
Having
A cargo handling system characterized by that. It is mounted on the vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A calculation function of the load increase estimation means;
A control function of the vehicle height limiting means;
A control function of the air pressure adjusting means;
Having
A control device characterized by that. In a control method executed by a vehicle control device that has an air bellows that constitutes an air suspension and controls the vehicle height to be constant by adjusting the air pressure in the air bellows,
A load increase estimation step for estimating an increase in load applied to the air bellows when a cargo having a predetermined weight is loaded;
A vehicle height limiting step for limiting the height of the vehicle so that the vehicle height does not become higher than the vehicle height when the processing of the load increase estimation step estimates the increase in load;
The air pressure in the air bellows is adjusted so that the air pressure can be supported by the load increase estimated by the load increase estimating step while the vehicle height is limited by the vehicle height restricting step. Air pressure adjustment step,
Have
The vehicle height restriction step processing includes a step of releasing the vehicle height restriction when the cargo is loaded.
A control method characterized by that.   A program for causing an information processing device to realize the function of the control device according to claim 6.

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