JP2014097875A - Automatic boom follow-up device for work machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic boom follow-up device of a work machine, for reducing the possibility of damaging in falling, and being wide in an operable range, in the automatic boom follow-up device of the work machine capable of executing crane operation, without making an operator conscious of the positional relationship between oneself and a crane.SOLUTION: In this automatic boom follow-up device, a remote controller 10 transmits an ultrasonic wave and time information when transmitting this ultrasonic wave. A crane body side 20 receives the ultrasonic wave by two reception parts 23 and 24, and receives the transmitted time information. An automatic boom follow-up control device 22 on the crane body side 20 determines XY coordinates of the remote controller 10 based on a calculation distance between the remote controller 10 and the two reception parts 23 and 24 from a time difference between the transmitted time information and time information when receiving the ultrasonic wave, and sends a movement command based on its coordinates to a control part of a crane body, and thereby follows up and moves a tip position of a boom to a sky position of the remote controller 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to a boom automatic follower used for a working machine having a boom.

  When carrying a load on a working machine having a boom capable of boom operation including hoisting, expansion and contraction, and turning, such as a crane, the operator operates the boom while checking the state of the suspended load in the vicinity of the suspended load. It is common to do. Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a crane operation instruction device that can accurately instruct operation information such as a moving direction of a suspended load intended by an operator to the crane body side.

  The technology described in the same document is provided with an azimuth angle sensor in each of the crane body and the operation device, and the operation device includes a force sensor stick, a catch portion capable of gripping the hook portion of the crane, and a follow button. After the operator grips the hook with the catch portion, the boom is moved following the operating device by pulling the hook with a stick while pressing the follow button. Thereby, the operator can operate the boom without being aware of the positional relationship between the operator and the boom.

JP 2010-42880 A

  However, in the crane operation instruction device described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to pull the hook with the stick while the follower button is pressed after the operator grasps the hook with the catch portion. Normal operation is necessary until it becomes the range which can be operated with a stick. In addition, since the force detected by the force sensor changes depending on the inclination of the stick, there is a problem that malfunction is likely to occur.

Further, when the boom movement range is small and the load is not suspended, it is difficult to generate a sufficient force with the stick, and the boom cannot be operated as intended. In addition, since the operation device is equipped with complicated and precise mechanical parts (catch and sensor), there is a high possibility that the operation device will be damaged when dropped.
Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and it is for a working machine that allows an operator to perform a boom follow-up operation without being aware of the positional relationship between itself and the boom. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic boom follower for work implements that has a low possibility of being damaged when dropped and has a wide operable range.

  In order to solve the above problems, an automatic boom follower for a working machine according to an aspect of the present invention includes a boom capable of boom operation including undulation, expansion and contraction, and turning operation, and a control unit that controls the boom operation of the boom. In an automatic boom follower that moves a tip position of the boom to a position where a position command transmitter provided separately from the crane body exists, A follow-up information generating unit that sends information necessary for the follow-up movement of the boom to the control unit, and wirelessly transmits information necessary for the follow-up information generating unit to move the tip position of the boom to its own position. An automatic boom follower including a position command transmitter that transmits the ultrasonic wave, the position command transmitter including an ultrasonic transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves, and the ultrasonic transmitter A time information transmission unit that wirelessly transmits ultrasonic transmission time information when an ultrasonic wave is transmitted, and the ultrasonic waves transmitted by the ultrasonic transmission unit that are spaced apart from each other on the crane body side Are provided, and a time information receiving unit for receiving ultrasonic transmission time information transmitted from the time information transmitting unit, and the follow-up information generating unit includes the time information The ultrasonic wave transmission time information received by the reception unit and the ultrasonic wave reception time information when the two ultrasonic wave reception units respectively receive ultrasonic waves, and the ultrasonic wave transmission time information, the ultrasonic wave reception time information, And calculating the distance between the position command transmitter and the two ultrasonic receivers from the time difference and calculating the XY coordinates of the position command transmitter based on the calculated distance, Characterized by sending a move command based on the XY coordinates calculated in the control unit be made to follow the movement position of the tip of the boom over the position of the position command transmitter.

  According to the boom automatic follower for a working machine according to one aspect of the present invention, the position command transmitter transmits ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic transmitter and transmits ultrasonic transmission time information when the ultrasonic waves are transmitted as time information. Transmit from the transmitter. And the crane main body side receives the transmitted ultrasonic wave by the two ultrasonic wave receiving units, and receives the transmitted ultrasonic wave transmission time information by the time information receiving unit. Then, the follow-up information generating unit on the crane body side determines the position command transmitter based on the separation distance between the position command transmitter and the two ultrasonic receivers from the time difference between the ultrasonic transmission time information and the ultrasonic reception time information. By obtaining the XY coordinates and sending a movement command based on the coordinates to the control unit of the boom, the tip position of the boom can be moved following the position above the position command transmitter.

  Therefore, the worker can perform the boom following operation without being aware of the positional relationship between the user (position command transmitter) and the boom. And according to this boom automatic follow-up device, the time at which the position command transmitter transmits ultrasonic transmission time information when the ultrasonic transmission unit transmits ultrasonic waves and the ultrasonic transmission unit transmits ultrasonic waves. Compared to a configuration requiring an operation by catch such as the operation device described in the above-described Patent Document 1, the operation range is wide and compared to the operation device described in the same document. Because there are no complicated and precise mechanical parts such as catches and sensors, there is little possibility of damage when dropped.

  Here, in the boom automatic tracking device for a work machine according to an aspect of the present invention, the tracking information generation unit buffers the ultrasonic transmission time information and the ultrasonic reception time information and uses the buffer data. Matching processing means for associating the ultrasonic transmission time with the ultrasonic reception time after receiving the ultrasonic wave, and the matching processing means has a value obtained by subtracting the new ultrasonic transmission time from the new ultrasonic reception time is less than zero. When it is larger and smaller than the predetermined transmission interval of ultrasonic waves, it is preferable to determine that the radio wave reception process has been performed at normal timing, and otherwise, it is preferable to determine that the radio wave reception process has been delayed. With such a configuration, even when the radio wave reception timing between the ultrasonic wave transmission time and the ultrasonic wave reception time differs depending on the situation, the ultrasonic wave transmission time and the ultrasonic wave reception time can be accurately associated. .

  Further, in the boom automatic tracking device for a work machine according to one aspect of the present invention, the tracking information generation unit buffers the calculation result of the separation distance and uses the buffer data to determine the separation distance data to be determined. Distance error filtering processing means for determining whether or not is normal, the distance error filtering processing means performs clustering on the buffer data of the separation distance under a predetermined condition, and the separation distance data to be determined is If it belongs to the set having the maximum number of data points, it is preferably determined as normal data, and if it does not belong, it is preferably determined as error data. With such a configuration, even if the calculation result of the separation distance suddenly changes due to the influence of an ultrasonic reception error or the like, this can be determined as an error and removed (filtered).

  As described above, according to the present invention, in the automatic boom follower for work implements that allows the operator to operate the boom without being aware of the positional relationship between itself and the boom of the crane body, it is damaged when dropped. There is little possibility to do, and the range of operation is wide.

It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the working machine with a boom provided with the boom automatic tracking apparatus for working machines which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the boom automatic follower for working machines which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram (diagram corresponding to the top view of FIG. 1) which shows the image which a boom automatically follows a remote control device. It is a flowchart of the boom automatic follow-up process on the remote controller side. It is a flowchart of the boom automatic follow-up process on the crane body side. It is a figure explaining the type | formula which calculates XY coordinate of a remote controller from two separation distances and the opposing distance of an ultrasonic receiving unit. It is a flowchart of a reception time determination update process during the boom automatic follow-up process on the crane body side. It is a figure explaining the ultrasonic reception timing in a reception time determination process. It is a flowchart of the transmission / reception time matching process during the boom automatic follow-up process on the crane body side. It is a figure which shows the example of the group of the transmission timing and reception timing of an ultrasonic wave in a transmission / reception time matching process. It is a flowchart of a distance error filtering process during the boom automatic follow-up process on the crane body side. It is a figure explaining the clustering in a distance error filtering process. It is explanatory drawing when not using clustering in distance error filtering processing. It is explanatory drawing when not using clustering in distance error filtering processing.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a working machine with a boom according to an aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In this embodiment, the boom-equipped working machine is an example of a vehicle-mounted crane.
As shown in FIG. 1, this vehicle-mounted crane (hereinafter also simply referred to as “crane body”) 1 is mounted between a driver's seat 9a and a loading platform 9b of a vehicle 9 such as a truck, The base 2 is fixed on a chassis frame (not shown) of the vehicle 9. A pair of outriggers 8 that can project in the vehicle width direction are provided on the left and right sides of the base 2. A column 3 is erected on the base 2 at a position in the center of the vehicle width so as to be turnable. A boom 4 is pivotally supported at the upper end of the column 3 so as to be able to expand and contract. The column 3 is provided with a winch (not shown). A wire rope (not shown) is led from the winch to the tip 4t of the boom 4 and is hooked on a hook (not shown).

  The crane 1 is provided with a plurality of actuators (not shown) corresponding to the boom 4 undulation, expansion and contraction, turning, and driving of the winch. The plurality of actuators are driven by the control of the controller 30 provided in the base 2 portion, and boom operation including undulation, expansion and contraction, and turning operation is possible. The controller 30 corresponds to a control unit that controls the boom operation.

  Although not shown, the crane body 1 detects a boom length detector that detects the length of the boom 4, a boom angle detector that detects the undulation angle of the boom 4, and a turning angle of the column 3. A swivel angle detector and a winch drum rotation detector for detecting the amount and amount of wire rope fed out from the winch are provided. The signals acquired by these detectors are read into the controller 30, and the controller 30 can recognize the position of the tip end portion 4 t of the boom 4 and the position of the hook based on the signals from each detector. ing.

Here, the crane main body 1 includes a remote control device 10 provided separately from the crane main body 1 while the tracking information generation device 20 is attached to the controller 30. The remote controller 10 exchanges signals necessary for boom operation with the tracking information generating device 20 of the crane body 1 by wireless communication.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the remote controller 10 includes a transmission control unit 12, a wireless communication module 16 as a time information and operation signal transmission unit, and an ultrasonic transmission unit 14 that transmits ultrasonic waves. Thus, the position command transmitter is also used.

On the other hand, the follow-up information generation device 20 on the crane body 1 side includes a reception control unit 22 that can exchange data with the controller 30, and two ultrasonic reception units 23 and 24 as ultrasonic reception units. And a wireless communication module 26 as a time information and operation signal receiving unit.
When the operator inputs a desired crane operation from a position away from the crane 1, the remote controller 10 transmits a signal corresponding to the desired crane operation by the wireless communication via the mutual wireless communication modules 16 and 26. It is configured to be able to input to the controller 30 via the generation device 20. That is, in normal crane operation, each actuator of the crane 1 is operated by an operation of each selection switch (not shown) and a speed lever (not shown) of the remote controller 10 corresponding to the actuator by an operator. Predetermined operation data serving as an execution command is input to the controller 30 on the crane 1 side.

  In normal crane operation, on the controller 30 side, the ON / OFF signals of the selection switches of the remote controller 10 are input, so that the selection of the actuator to be used and the operating direction can be determined. Similarly, a signal corresponding to the proportional amount of the speed lever, which is a trigger switch capable of proportional control, is also input to the controller 30 side, so that the operation with the speed lever can be performed by finely adjusting the operating speed. In combination with the operation of the selection switch, the operation of the desired actuator is started.

  Here, the remote controller 10 is provided with a follow-up mode start button (not shown) for the operator to input start and end of execution of boom automatic follow-up processing (described later). When the follow mode start button is pressed, the boom automatic follow process is started, and the tip 4t of the boom 4 follows the position of the remote controller 10 and moves as shown in FIG. When the button is released, the boom automatic follow-up process ends.

Hereinafter, this boom automatic follow-up process will be described in detail.
This boom automatic follow-up process is executed when the crane body 1 is in an operating state. When the boom automatic follow-up process is executed, the transmission control unit 12 in the remote controller 10 is as shown in FIG. First, the process proceeds to step S10 to monitor whether or not the transmission time of the ultrasonic wave has been updated. If it has been updated (Yes), the process proceeds to step S11. If not (No), the process waits at step S10. .

  In step S11, it is monitored whether or not the follow-up mode start button of the remote controller 10 is pressed. If the follow-up mode start button is pressed (ON), the process proceeds to step S12, and if not (OFF). The process proceeds to step S13. In step S12, the boom automatic follow-up operation is set to permit (ON), and the process proceeds to step S14. In step S13, the boom automatic follow-up operation is set to non-permitted (OFF), and the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the radio wave is transmitted to the follow-up information generating device 20 on the receiving side. This transmitted radio wave includes ultrasonic transmission time information and an operation permission signal (ON or OFF) as character string information. Since this transmitted information is transmitted as a character string, even if a time lag occurs between the remote controller 10 side starting the radio wave transmission process and the follow-up information generation device 20 side completing the radio wave reception process, Since the information is read from the column, the ultrasonic transmission time information can be transmitted accurately.

  In addition, in this transmission control unit 12, an interruption process with a period of 64 ms is always executed when the crane body 1 is in operation as a predetermined transmission interval of ultrasonic waves in order to stabilize the transmission period of ultrasonic waves. ing. In this interrupt process, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the process proceeds to step S20, the current time is set to the ultrasonic transmission time and the process proceeds to step S21. In step S21, the ultrasonic transmission is performed for only 1 ms. An ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the ultrasonic wave transmission unit 14 which is a unit, and the process is returned to the interrupted position on the side of FIG. As described above, in this transmission control unit 12, the transmission cycle is stable because the transmission cycle of the ultrasonic wave is processed by interruption of a cycle of 64 ms separately from the main processing.

Next, the boom automatic follow-up process on the follow-up information generation device 20 side will be described.
When the boom automatic follow-up process is executed when the crane main body 1 is in an operating state, the reception control unit 22 of the follow-up information generation device 20 first proceeds to step S30 as shown in FIG. The speed and the Z coordinate to be positioned above the target position are set with reference to a setting table stored in advance, and in the subsequent step S31, an interrupt for ultrasonic reception is set. This is because if the ultrasonic wave reception process is incorporated into the main process, the accurate reception time cannot be measured, so the ultrasonic wave reception is processed by interruption, and the ultrasonic wave reception interruption setting in S31 is the initial setting. It is. As shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, in parallel with the main process, interruptions in steps S40 and S50 are always executed, whereby reception times A from the two ultrasonic reception units 23 and 24 are respectively obtained. And the reception time B is acquired and the process is returned.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, in step S32 in the main process, ultrasonic transmission time information and an operation permission signal are received. In the subsequent step S33, it is monitored whether or not the ultrasonic reception time A and the reception time B in the two ultrasonic reception units 23 and 24 are updated. If they are updated (Yes), the process proceeds to step S34. If not (No), the process returns to step S32. In step S34, matching processing (described later) for associating the ultrasonic transmission time with the ultrasonic reception time is performed, and transmission / reception time A and transmission / reception time B are set. “Transmission / reception time” is a time set by matching processing shown in FIG. 9 described later based on a time difference between the ultrasonic transmission time information and the ultrasonic reception time information.

In the subsequent step S35, the distance Ra and the distance Rb between the remote controller 10 and the two ultrasonic receiving units 23 and 24 are calculated. Here, the separation distance Ra and the separation distance Rb are calculated by the following (Expression 1) and (Expression 2).
Separation distance Ra = Sending / receiving time A × Sonic velocity (Formula 1)
Separation distance Rb = sending / receiving time B × sound velocity (Formula 2)

  In subsequent step S36, a distance error filtering process is performed for the calculated separation distance Ra and separation distance Rb. In this distance error filtering process, when the calculation result of the separation distance suddenly changes due to the influence of an ultrasonic reception error or the like, this is determined as an error and removed (filtered) (this will also be described later). To do). In step S37, the XY coordinates of the remote controller 10 are calculated from the facing distance between the two ultrasonic receiving units 23, 24 and the calculated separation distance Ra and separation distance Rb.

Here, the calculation of the XY coordinates is as follows. As shown in FIG. 6, the opposing distance between the two ultrasonic receiving units 23 and 24 is D, and the ultrasonic receiving unit 23, the remote controller 10 and the ultrasonic receiving unit 24 are If the angle formed by the straight lines connecting the respective straight lines is θ _1, and the angle formed by the straight lines connecting the ultrasonic receiving unit 24, the remote controller 10, and the ultrasonic receiving unit 23 is θ ₂ , The calculated separation distances _Ra and _Rb and the following (Expression 3), (Expression 4), and (Expression 5) can be obtained by the cosine theorem.
cos θ ₂ = (R _b ² + D ² −R _a ² ) / (2R _b D) (Formula 3)
X = R _b cos θ ₂ = (R _b ² + D ² −R _a ² ) / (2D) (Formula 4)
Y = √ (R _b ² −X ² ) (Formula 5)

In the subsequent step S38, the XY coordinates of the remote controller 10 calculated in step S37, the set operation speed of the crane 1, the operation permission signal, and error information are transferred to the controller 30 and the process returns to step S32.
Here, the reception time determination update process in steps S40 and S50 of the interrupt process (FIGS. 5B and 5C) will be described with reference to FIG. Since this process is the same for both acquisition of reception time A and reception time B, reception time A will be described here, and description of reception time B will be omitted.

The reception time determination update process is a reception time determination update process in the interruption process (step S40) in the ultrasonic reception A (reception by the ultrasonic reception unit 23), and the time at which the ultrasonic reception A is started is determined. Record. At this time, there is a possibility that the ultrasonic receiving unit 23 may also receive an echo sound (see FIG. 8). If the distance is calculated based on this echo sound reception time, an incorrect distance is calculated. For this reason, when it is determined that the reverberation sound or the like is “receiving”, an error occurs and the reception time is not updated.
After a state where ultrasonic waves are not received for 30 ms or more continues, only the time at which ultrasonic reception is first started is determined as a direct wave reception time, and if ultrasonic waves are received continuously thereafter, it is determined as an echo sound. The reception time is not updated.

  If it transfers to step S60 by this reception time determination update process, it will transfer to step S61 by making the present time when the ultrasonic reception unit 23 received the ultrasonic wave into the temporary reception time A. In step S61, it is determined whether or not the provisional reception time A is greater than a value obtained by adding 30 ms to the last reception time A received before that time. That is, if provisional reception time A> (final reception time A + 30 ms) (Yes), the process proceeds to step S62; otherwise (No), the process proceeds to step S63. In step S62, the provisional reception time A is updated to reception time A, and the process proceeds to step S63. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, an ultrasonic wave transmitted within a predetermined transmission interval of approximately 64 ms, which is transmitted for only 1 ms, includes an echo sound other than the reception timing to be recorded within 30 ms. The received sound can be determined as an error. In step S63, the provisional reception time A is set as the final reception time A. By this process, the reception time A corresponding to the reception timing to be recorded can be acquired more reliably.

Next, the matching process will be described.
Here, the timing for acquiring the ultrasound transmission time and the ultrasound reception time on the follow-up information generation device 20 side varies depending on the situation. For this reason, the value obtained by subtracting the “latest ultrasonic wave transmission time” from the “latest ultrasonic wave reception time” does not necessarily become the “transmission / reception time” as it is. Therefore, in this matching process, ultrasonic transmission / reception time information is buffered, and the buffer data is used to associate (match) the ultrasonic transmission time with the ultrasonic reception time after ultrasonic reception. . In addition, since this matching process is similarly performed for the reception times A and B, the reception time A will be described here, and the description of the reception time B will be omitted.

  That is, when the matching process is executed by the reception control unit 22, as shown in FIG. 9, first, the process proceeds to step S70, and the ultrasonic transmission time information and the ultrasonic reception time information are respectively buffered and the process proceeds to step S71. Transition. In step S71, the value obtained by subtracting the new ultrasonic wave transmission time from the new ultrasonic wave reception time is greater than zero, and the value obtained by subtracting the new ultrasonic wave transmission time from the new ultrasonic wave reception time is from a predetermined transmission interval of 64 ms. If not (Yes), the process proceeds to step S72. If not (No), the process proceeds to step S73.

Here, step S72 corresponds to the case where the radio wave reception process is performed at a normal timing as shown in FIG. 10 (a) (that is, reception time (new) −transmission time (new)> 0). , Reception time (new) −transmission time (new) <64 ms), where transmission / reception time = reception time (new) −transmission time (new).
On the other hand, in step S73, the value obtained by subtracting the new ultrasonic wave transmission time from the old ultrasonic wave reception time is used as the transmission / reception time, and the process proceeds to step S74. In subsequent step S74, an estimated value is obtained based on the “% operator”. . The “% operator” outputs the remainder after division, and is, for example, 14% 3 = 2 (14 ÷ 3 = 4 is too much 2). This estimated value corresponds to the case where the radio wave reception process is delayed as shown in FIG. 10B (that is, reception time (new) -transmission time (new)> 64 ms), and transmission / reception time> In the case of 64 ms, an estimated value calculated as transmission / reception time = transmission / reception time% 64 ms is used.

Next, the distance error filtering process will be described.
In this distance error filtering process, if the calculation result of the separation distance suddenly changes due to the influence of an ultrasonic reception error or the like, this is judged as an error and is removed (filtered). The distance error filtering process is similarly performed for each of the calculated separation distances _Ra and _Rb . This article discusses the distance error filtering separation distance R _a, it will not be described distance R _b.

When the process is executed by the receiving control unit 22, as shown in FIG. 11, the operation result of separation R _a and buffered first proceeds to step S80, in succeeding step S81, based on the buffer data Clustering. In the example of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the clustering is performed under the condition that the data within the range of ± 0.6 m in the vertical range is the same set as the predetermined condition for the calculation result of the separation distance. An error is determined based on this.

  Here, as an error determination method, although error absorption by a moving average or a low-pass filter is possible, as shown in FIG. 13, when error of error data with respect to normal data is large, or as shown in FIG. When the number of error data is large, the influence of the error becomes large. Therefore, in this embodiment, error determination is performed by performing clustering as shown in FIG.

  In this clustering, a case where it belongs to a set having the maximum number of data points is determined as normal data, and a case where it does not belong is determined as error data. That is, in the example of FIG. 12, the final data (data No. 10) belongs to the set “set 1” having the maximum data number “7”. Therefore, normal data is obtained. Then, an average value of the separation distance is calculated only for normal data determined by this clustering, and this is output.

Next, operation | movement of this crane 1, an effect | action, and an effect are demonstrated.
As described above, the remote controller 10 that also serves as a position command transmitter always transmits a 40 kHz ultrasonic wave with a period of 64 ms as a predetermined transmission interval from the ultrasonic transmitter unit 14 for 1 ms regardless of the operation of the remote controller 10. send. Now, when the follow mode start button (operation permission button) of the remote controller 10 is pressed, the remote controller 10 thereby transmits the time information signal used for coordinate measurement and the boom operation permission signal of the crane from the wireless communication module 16. Send as a string. The boom operation permission signal is output only while the follow mode start button is pressed.

The crane-side tracking information generation device 20 receives the time information signal and the boom operation permission signal via the wireless communication module 26. In addition, ultrasonic waves around 40 kHz are received by the two ultrasonic receiving units 23 and 24, respectively.
The reception control unit 22 of the follow-up information generation device 20 separates the remote controller 10 (transmitter) and the ultrasonic receiving units 23 and 24 (receiver) from the ultrasonic transmission time information and the ultrasonic reception time information. Calculate the distance. Then, the XY coordinates of the remote controller 10 are calculated from the relationship between the calculated two separation distances R _a and R _b and the facing distance D between the ultrasonic receiving units 23 and 24. Then, the reception control unit 22 transfers the calculated XY coordinates and the preset target speed and operation permission signal to the controller 30 of the crane 1 via the communication port.

  When the controller 30 receives the operation permission signal, the controller 30 starts control of the crane. The controller 30 calculates the position of the tip 4t of the boom 4 from a boom angle sensor or the like provided in the crane 1, and sets this as the current position. Then, the XY coordinate of the remote controller 10 relative to the tip 4t of the boom 4 of the crane 1 is set as the target position, the target position is compared with the current position, the direction in which the crane 1 should move is determined, and the operation permission signal is input. Each actuator is driven so that the target position coincides with the current position in that direction, and the boom tip 4t is controlled to move above the measured target position. Then, the vehicle decelerates in the vicinity of the target position, and when approaching further, it is determined that the target point has been reached and stops. In this way, the position of the tip 4t of the boom 4 can be moved following the position of the remote controller 10. Note that the height (Z-axis direction) is set in advance as a constant value, and can be changed by a switch input from the remote controller 10 (height measurement is not performed).

  Therefore, the operator can perform the follow-up operation of the boom 4 without being aware of the positional relationship between itself (the remote controller 10) and the boom 4. And according to the crane 1 provided with this boom automatic follow-up device, the remote controller 10 transmits an ultrasonic transmission unit 14 that transmits ultrasonic waves, and time information when the ultrasonic transmission unit 14 transmits ultrasonic waves. Therefore, the operation range is wider than the configuration that requires an operation by a catch such as the operation device described in Patent Document 1 described above, and the operation described in the same document. Compared to a container, it does not have complicated and precise mechanical parts such as catches and sensors, so it is less likely to be damaged when dropped.

In addition, the boom automatic follower for a working machine according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the measurement points are the two ultrasonic receiving units 23 and 24 has been described as an example. However, according to only the above-described configuration, the remote controller 10 is located on either the front or rear side of the vehicle 9. Cannot determine if there is. Therefore, it may be configured such that the front / rear direction is determined in advance by a front / rear switching function (switching by a button or the like) for setting whether the remote controller 10 is in front of or behind the vehicle 9.

1 Vehicle-mounted crane (crane body)
2 Base 3 Column 4 Boom 8 Outrigger 9 Vehicle 10 Remote controller (position command transmitter)
12 Transmission Control Unit 14 Ultrasonic Transmission Unit (Ultrasonic Transmission Unit)
16 Wireless communication module (time information transmitter)
20 Tracking Information Generation Device 22 Reception Control Unit 23 Ultrasonic Reception Unit (Ultrasonic Reception Unit)
24 Ultrasonic receiver unit (Ultrasonic receiver)
26 Wireless communication module (time information receiver)
30 controller (control unit)

Claims (3)

It is used in a working machine having a boom body that can perform a boom operation including hoisting, extending and contracting, and a swiveling operation, and a control unit that controls the boom operation of the boom. In a boom automatic follower that moves to follow the position of a separately provided position command transmitter,
Necessary for moving the boom tip position to its own position by following the information generating unit provided on the crane body and sending the information necessary for the following movement of the boom to the control unit. A boom automatic follower including a position command transmitter for transmitting various information wirelessly,
The position command transmitter includes an ultrasonic transmitter that transmits ultrasonic waves, and a time information transmitter that wirelessly transmits ultrasonic transmission time information when the ultrasonic transmitter transmits ultrasonic waves,
On the crane body side, two ultrasonic receiving units that are provided apart from each other and receive ultrasonic waves transmitted by the ultrasonic transmitting unit, and ultrasonic transmission times transmitted from the time information transmitting unit And a time information receiving unit for receiving information,
The follow-up information generation unit acquires ultrasonic transmission time information received by the time information reception unit and ultrasonic reception time information when the two ultrasonic reception units respectively receive ultrasonic waves, and transmits the ultrasonic transmission The time information and the ultrasonic reception time information are compared, and the distance between the position command transmitter and the two ultrasonic receivers is calculated from the time difference, and the position command transmission is based on the calculated distance. The operation of calculating the XY coordinate of the device and sending the movement command based on the calculated XY coordinate to the control unit to move the tip position of the boom following the position above the position command transmitter. Boom automatic follower for machine.   The tracking information generation unit buffers the ultrasonic transmission time information and the ultrasonic reception time information, and uses the buffer data to match the ultrasonic transmission time and the ultrasonic reception time after ultrasonic reception Processing means, and the matching processing means receives a signal at a normal timing when a value obtained by subtracting a new ultrasonic wave transmission time from a new ultrasonic wave reception time is greater than zero and smaller than a predetermined ultrasonic transmission interval. The automatic boom follower for work implements according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that reception processing has been performed, and otherwise, it is determined that radio wave reception processing has been delayed.   The follow-up information generation unit includes a distance error filtering processing unit that buffers the calculation result of the separation distance and uses the buffer data to determine whether or not the separation distance data to be determined is normal. The distance error filtering processing means performs clustering on the buffer data of the separation distance under a predetermined condition, and when the separation distance data to be determined belongs to a set having the maximum number of data points, determines that the data is normal data. 3. The automatic boom follower for work implements according to claim 1, wherein when there is no error, it is determined as error data. 4.

Images