JP2016216909A - Shovel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shovel having a turning operation characteristic adapted to a feeling of an operator.SOLUTION: A shovel 1 comprises a crawler and an upper turning body for turning to the crawler. A turning lever 102 is provided in a driver seat of the upper turning body. A correction part 104 holds a different correction characteristic on right turning and left turning, and corrects a turning command value ωcorresponding to an operation quantity of the turning lever 102 in response to the correction characteristic corresponding to the direction. A turning device 300 turns the upper turning body based on a corrected turning command value ω.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an excavator.

  The excavator includes a traveling body called a crawler, an upper swing body, a swing device that rotates the upper swing body with respect to the travel body, and an attachment attached to the upper swing body. In the hydraulic excavator, hydraulic pressure is used as the power of the upper swing body, the power of the arm, boom, and bucket.

  FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a cockpit 100 of an excavator. In the cockpit, a turning lever 102 operated by an operator (operator) is provided. The operation method of the turning lever 102 differs depending on the standard and the manufacturer. For example, in lateral turning, turning the turning lever in the left direction turns left, and turning the turning lever in the right direction turns right. The turning device detects the operation amount, that is, the inclination of the turning lever 102, sets a target speed according to the operation amount, and feedback-controls the torque of the turning motor so that the actual speed of the turning body matches the target speed. . Depending on the standard, the right lever 103 may be assigned to swivel lever operation.

  Construction machines such as excavators are used by unspecified operators, but their operating characteristics are designed assuming a virtual operator. As a result, a certain operator may feel that the responsiveness is bad, or conversely, a certain operator may feel that the responsiveness is too good. If the operator's operation intention (sense) is different from the actual motion of the swivel body, the work efficiency is deteriorated and hunting or the like may be caused, which may affect comfort or safety. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose related technologies.

JP 2009-68197 A JP 2010-007265 A

As a result of examining the swivel lever, the present inventor has come to recognize the following problems.
FIG. 1B is a view showing a turning lever 102 of a horizontal turning type. The swivel lever 102 is not necessarily designed to be favorable from an ergonomic point of view. As an example, when the turning lever 102 of the lateral turning type is operated with the left hand of the operator, the right turning is the action of moving the left hand inward (i), and the left turning is the action of moving the left hand outward (ii) However, for many humans, the force applied differs depending on whether it is tilted inward or outward, and as a result, the speed of tilting the lever is different. Even if the operator intends to incline the same angle, the actual inclination may differ depending on whether the operator is tilted inward or outward. In this way, even for a certain operator, it is possible that the senses differ between right turn and left turn. The same problem can occur with the vertical turning type turning lever when it is tilted to the back side and when it is tilted to the near side. It should be noted that such a problem should not be regarded as a general recognition of those skilled in the art, but is uniquely recognized by the inventor.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and one of exemplary purposes of an embodiment thereof is to provide an excavator having a turning operation characteristic adapted to an operator's sense.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an excavator. The excavator has a crawler, an upper swing body that turns with respect to the crawler, a swing lever that is provided in the driver seat of the upper swing body, and different correction characteristics regarding the right turn and the left turn. A correction unit that corrects a turning command value corresponding to the operation amount according to a correction characteristic corresponding to a direction, and a turning device that turns the upper turning body based on the corrected turning command value.
According to this aspect, it is possible to correct the deviation between the left turn and the right turn due to the structure of the turning lever and the asymmetry of the movement of the operator, and the left turn and the right turn can be performed with the same feeling.

A predetermined standard operation including an operation corresponding to a right turn and an operation corresponding to a left turn may be defined. In the calibration mode, the correction unit acquires a turning command value when the operator operates the turning lever with the intention of performing the standard operation, and obtains the obtained turning command value and a correct turning command to be obtained as a result of the standard operation. The correction characteristics may be updated based on the relationship between the standard command values that are values.
Thereby, the optimal turning operation characteristic for each operator can be realized.

Another embodiment of the present invention is also an excavator. The excavator includes a crawler, an upper revolving unit that revolves with respect to the crawler, a revolving lever provided in a driver seat of the upper revolving unit, and an upper revolving unit according to a control command corresponding to an operation amount of the revolving lever. A turning device for turning and a correction unit are provided. A predetermined standard operation including an operation corresponding to a right turn and an operation corresponding to a left turn is defined. The correction unit (i) obtains a turning command value when the operator operates the turning lever with the intention of performing the standard operation in the calibration mode, and should obtain the obtained turning command value and the result of the standard operation. A correction characteristic is generated based on the relationship of the standard command value which is a correct turning command value, and (ii) in the normal work mode, the turning command value is corrected based on the correction characteristic and output to the turning device.
Thereby, the optimal turning operation characteristic for each operator can be realized.

  The standard operation may include an operation of tilting the turning lever at the same speed with respect to the direction corresponding to the left turn and the direction corresponding to the right turn. Thereby, the acceleration of the left turn and the acceleration of the right turn can be made uniform.

  The standard operation may include an operation of tilting the turning lever by the same amount with respect to the direction corresponding to the left turn and the direction corresponding to the right turn.

  Note that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention replaced with each other among methods, apparatuses, systems, and the like are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a turning operation characteristic adapted to an operator's sense.

FIG. 1A is a view showing a cockpit of an excavator, and FIG. 1B is a view showing a lateral turning type turning lever. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the shovel which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the rotating shaft of the shovel which concerns on embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating examples of correction characteristics of left turn and right turn. It is a flowchart which shows a calibration operation | movement. It is a wave form diagram which shows 1st calibration. FIG. 7A is a waveform diagram showing the second calibration, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a correction table.

  The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The embodiments do not limit the invention but are exemplifications, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the excavator 1 according to the embodiment. The excavator 1 mainly includes a crawler (also referred to as a travel mechanism) 2 and an upper swing body (hereinafter also simply referred to as a swing body) 4 that is rotatably mounted on the crawler 2 via a swing mechanism 3. Yes.

  The revolving body 4 is attached with a boom 5, an arm 6 linked to the tip of the boom 5, and a bucket 10 linked to the tip of the arm 6. The bucket 10 is a facility for capturing suspended loads such as earth and sand and steel materials. The boom 5, the arm 6, and the bucket 10 are collectively referred to as an attachment 12, and are hydraulically driven by the boom cylinder 7, the arm cylinder 8, and the bucket cylinder 9, respectively. Further, the revolving body 4 is provided with a power source such as a driver's cab 4a for accommodating a driver who operates the position of the bucket 10, excitation operation and release operation, and an engine 11 for generating hydraulic pressure. The engine 11 is composed of, for example, a diesel engine.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control system for the swing axis of the excavator 1 according to the embodiment. The shovel 1 includes a turning lever 102, a correction unit 104, and a turning device 300.

The turning lever 102 is used when the turning body 4 is turned. The direction in which the turning lever 102 is tilted corresponds to the turning direction, and the tilted angle (operation amount) is the turning command value of the turning body 4. In the present embodiment, as an example, the turning command value is a speed command value ω _CNT that instructs the turning speed of the turning body 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. The correction unit 104 holds different correction characteristics for the right turn and the left turn, and corrects the speed command value ω _CNT corresponding to the operation amount of the turning lever 102 according to the corresponding one of the left and right correction characteristics. To do.

The turning device 300 turns the turning body 4 based on the corrected front speed command value ω _REF . The turning device 300 includes a turning motor 302, a driving means 304, a rotation detecting means 306, and a turning axis controller 310. The rotational motion of the swing motor 302 is transmitted to the swing body 4 via a swing shaft mechanism including a speed reducer 308. The rotation detection unit 306 detects the turning speed ω _FB of the turning body 4. The rotation detection unit 306 may directly detect the rotation speed of the swing body 4 or indirectly detect the rotation speed of the swing motor 302 and multiply the reduction ratio of the speed reducer 308 to indirectly determine the rotation speed of the swing body 4. May be detected automatically.

The swing axis controller 310 feedback-controls the torque command value τ _REF of the swing motor 302 so that the speed detection value ω _FB indicating the actual speed of the swing body 4 matches the speed command value ω _REF that is the target speed. The driving unit 304 drives the turning motor 302 based on the torque command value τ _REF . In the hybrid excavator, the turning motor 302 is an electric motor, and the driving means 304 is an inverter. In the hydraulic excavator, the turning motor 302 is a hydraulic motor, and the driving means 304 corresponds to a control valve.

The swing axis controller 310 is, for example, a PI (proportional / integral) controller, and includes a subtractor 312 and a PI compensator 314. The subtractor 312 detects an error between the speed command value ω _REF and the speed detection value ω _FB . The PI compensator 314 performs a proportional / integral operation on the error to generate a torque command value τ _REF . The PI compensator 314 may use another type of compensator such as a PID compensator or a P compensator.

Next, correction characteristics of the correction unit 104 will be described.
For example, consider a left lever / horizontal turning lever. The right turn corresponds to the action of moving the left hand inward (i), and the left turn corresponds to the action of moving the left hand outward (ii). Sometimes the force is applied differently, and as a result, the speed at which the lever is tilted is different. Specifically, it is easier to apply force when the left arm is tilted inward during a right turn than when the left arm is tilted outward during a left turn. Therefore, if the control characteristics are designed based on the right turn, the left turn responsiveness will be felt poor. On the other hand, if the control characteristics are designed based on the left turn, the right turn response will feel too agile.

The correction characteristic of the correction unit 104 is provided to solve this problem. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating examples of correction characteristics of left turn and right turn. The upper part shows the correction gain G, and the lower part shows the input / output characteristics of the correction unit 104. The amount of operation is shown as + for the direction to tilt to the left and-for the direction to tilt to the right. For example, in the standard turning lever 102, the speed command value ω _CNT is substantially proportional to the operation amount (lever inclination), but a dead zone (play) is provided in the vicinity of zero of the operation amount.

  Since it is easy to apply force to the turning lever 102 when turning left, the correction gain G is set smaller than a reference value (for example, 1) as shown in FIG. On the other hand, since it is difficult to apply force to the turning lever 102 when turning right, the correction gain G is set larger than a reference value (for example, 1) as shown in FIG.

For example, the correction unit 104 holds the upper correction gain G as the correction characteristic, and multiplies the speed command value ω _CNT from the turning lever 102 by the correction gain G to generate the speed command value ω _REF. Good. Or the correction | amendment part 104 hold _| maintains the relationship between speed command value (omega) _CNT and (omega) _REF as shown in a lower stage, and may correct | amend with reference to this table.

The above is the configuration of the excavator 1 according to the embodiment.
According to the shovel 1, by providing the correction unit 104 having different correction characteristics for the left turn and the right turn, even if the turning lever 102 that is not necessarily preferable from an ergonomic point of view due to the asymmetry is used. An operation feeling suitable for the operator's feeling can be realized.

  In the embodiment, the horizontal turning type turning lever has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the shovel 1 including the vertical turning turning lever. For example, if the swivel lever has a shape or structure that is easy to apply force when tilted to the back and difficult to apply force when tilted forward, different correction characteristics are prepared for each operation direction, that is, the swivel direction. In addition, it is possible to realize an operation feeling adapted to the operator's feeling.

  Some shovels can be switched between a vertical turning mode and a horizontal turning mode by a switching switch provided separately from the turning lever. In this case, a correction characteristic may be prepared for each mode.

  The correction characteristics may be determined on the assumption of a standard operator at the time of shipment. However, the difference in feeling when the swivel lever 102 is tilted inward and outward is different for each operator. Is assumed. From this point of view, the excavator 1 according to the embodiment is provided with a calibration function (training function), and it is possible to generate a correction characteristic suitable for an actual individual operator.

  The shovel 1 can be set to a calibration mode for calibrating correction characteristics in addition to a work mode for performing actual work. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the calibration operation. In the calibration mode, the shovel 1 has a standard operation defined in advance. The standard operation includes an operation corresponding to the right turn and an operation corresponding to the same left turn. The shovel 1 prompts the operator to input a standard operation (S100).

  From another viewpoint, the excavator 1 has a standard motion of the revolving structure 4 corresponding to the standard operation. Step S100 is equivalent to prompting the operator to perform an operation input such that the swing body 4 performs a standard motion.

Subsequently, the operator operates the turning lever with the intention of performing the standard operation (S102). The correction unit 104 acquires the speed command value (turn command value) ω _CNT output from the turn lever 102 at this time (S104). The corrector 104 defines a correct turning command value (standard command value) ω _REF to be obtained as a result of the standard operation. The correction unit 104 generates or updates correction characteristics based on the relationship between the acquired operation input ω _CNT and the standard command value ω _REF .

  As a result, it is possible to generate a correction characteristic suitable for an actual individual operator.

Next, a specific example of calibration will be described.
FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing the first calibration. REF indicates standard operation. For example, the standard operation includes operations REF + and REF− that tilt the turning lever at the same speed for each of the left turn and the right turn.

Dashed lines OP + and OP− are operation inputs when the lever is operated with the consciousness of the operator performing standard operations. The relationship between ω _CNT and ω _REF at this time is shown in the lower part. The correction unit 104 generates correction characteristics so that the lower ω _{REF +} is input to the turning device 300 when the upper operation input OP + is input. Further, the correction unit 104 generates a correction characteristic so that the lower ω _REF− is input to the turning device 300 when the upper operation input OP− is input.

  According to this calibration, the acceleration of the left turn and the acceleration of the right turn can be made uniform. When the excavator can switch between the vertical turning mode and the horizontal turning mode, the calibration may be performed after setting the mode to be used.

FIG. 7A is a waveform diagram showing the second calibration. In the second calibration, the standard operation includes an operation of tilting the turning lever by the same amount with respect to the direction corresponding to the left turn and the direction corresponding to the right turn. In FIG. 7A, the vertical axis represents the lever tilt, which is the amount of operation of the turning lever 102, and the horizontal axis represents time. The operation amount (angle) is normalized. In the second calibration, the following standard operation is instructed to the operator.
(I) Please tilt it 10% to the right.
(Ii) Tilt to the left 10% and stop.
(Iii) Tilt to the right by 50% and stop.
(Iv) Please tilt it 50% to the left.
(V) Please tilt it 90% to the right.
(Vi) Please tilt it 90% to the left.
FIG. 7A shows an operation input when the operator operates the lever in accordance with the standard operation instruction. FIG. 7B shows a correction table obtained as a result of the operation input in FIG.

  According to the second calibration, the acceleration of the left turn and the speed of the right turn can be made uniform. When the excavator can switch between the vertical turning mode and the horizontal turning mode, the calibration may be performed after setting the mode to be used.

  The standard operation is not particularly limited, and may include a more complicated operation or a combination of a plurality of operations.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. is there. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described.

(First modification)
In the embodiment, the operation amount to the turning lever 102 is the turning command value of the turning body 4, and the turning command value is the speed command value ω _CNT instructing the turning speed of the turning body 4. Is not limited to that. The turning command value may be other characteristics such as a torque command and a horsepower command in addition to the speed command. As for feedback, instead of speed feedback, feedback control of torque and horsepower may be performed.

(Second modification)
In the embodiment, the hybrid excavator has been described as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to a hydraulic excavator that uses a hydraulic motor as turning power. In this modification, regarding correction by the correction unit 104, control by a control valve is interposed instead of motor control. For example, as a correction for the turning command to the hydraulic motor, the opening amount of the spool may be physically different between the left and right. Alternatively, when an electronic lever is used, correction by software may be performed in the process of calculating the spool drive command from the operation amount. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that correction processing can be performed by various methods regardless of whether the motor is an electric motor or a hydraulic motor.

  Although the present invention has been described using specific terms based on the embodiments, the embodiments only illustrate the principles and applications of the present invention, and the embodiments are defined in the claims. Many variations and modifications of the arrangement are permitted without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Excavator, 2 ... Crawler, 2A, 2B ... Travel hydraulic motor, 3 ... Turning mechanism, 4 ... Turning body, 4a ... Driver's cab, 5 ... Boom, 6 ... Arm, 7 ... Boom cylinder, 8 ... Arm cylinder, 9 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Bucket cylinder, 10 ... Bucket, 11 ... Engine, 12 ... Attachment, 102 ... Turning lever, 104 ... Correction part, 300 ... Turning device, 302 ... Turning motor, 304 ... Driving means, 306 ... Rotation detecting means, 308 ... Deceleration 310, swivel axis controller, 312 ... subtractor, 314 ... PI compensator.

Claims (5)

Crawler,
An upper revolving structure that revolves relative to the crawler;
A turning lever provided in a driver seat of the upper turning body;
A correction unit that holds different correction characteristics regarding right turn and left turn, and corrects a turn command value according to the operation amount of the turn lever according to the corresponding correction characteristic;
A turning device for turning the upper turning body based on the corrected turning command value;
An excavator characterized by comprising:   In the calibration mode, the correction unit performs the turning command when the operator operates the turning lever with the intention of performing a predetermined standard operation including an operation corresponding to a right turn and an operation corresponding to a left turn. 2. The correction characteristic is updated based on a relationship between the acquired turning command value and a standard command value that is a correct turning command value to be obtained as a result of the standard operation. The excavator described. Crawler,
An upper revolving structure that revolves relative to the crawler;
A turning lever provided in a driver seat of the upper turning body;
A turning device for turning the upper turning body according to a turning command value corresponding to an operation amount of the turning lever;
(I) The operator acquires and acquires the turning command value when the operator operates the turning lever with the intention of performing a predetermined standard operation including an operation corresponding to a right turn and an operation corresponding to a left turn. A correction characteristic is generated based on a relationship between the turning command value and a standard command value that is a correct turning command value to be obtained as a result of the standard operation, and (ii) during normal work, based on the correction characteristic. A correction unit that corrects the turning command value and outputs the correction value to the turning device;
An excavator characterized by comprising:   4. The shovel according to claim 2, wherein the standard operation includes an operation of tilting the turning lever at the same speed with respect to a direction corresponding to a left turn and a direction corresponding to a right turn.   The said standard operation includes the operation | movement which inclines the said turning lever only by the same amount with respect to each of the direction corresponding to left turn, and the direction corresponding to right turn. Excavator.

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