JP2021084746A - Automatic operation control system of tower crane - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automatic operation control system of an accurate, fast, and safe tower crane by automatically measuring a pick-up position and a mounting position of a suspended load by the tower crane and by grasping the situation around the suspended load.SOLUTION: A tower crane 5 lifts a suspended load 2 via a lifting tool 22 on which a control unit 7 is mounted. The control unit 7 comprises: a first measuring system to grasp a position of the suspended load 2 based on positioning information from a satellite by a satellite positioning antenna; and a second measuring system to recognize the position and a shape of the suspended load 2 based on measurement information measured by a stereo camera and a three-dimensional object recognition sensor. The control unit performs an automatic operation control for the picking-up and the mounting of the suspended load 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic operation control system for a tower crane, and in particular, an automatic operation control for a tower crane that automatically measures and controls the loading position and mounting position of a suspended load by the tower crane at a construction site. Regarding the system.

At construction sites, problems such as the rapid aging of construction workers, labor shortages, and an increase in foreign workers are becoming more serious. In particular, tower crane operators who require skillful work and experience must ensure the safety of tower crane work. In addition, rapid operation is required due to the accurate operation technology of the tower crane. Furthermore, as with the tower crane operator, the assistants who are placed near the suspended load and notify the tower crane operator of the status of the suspended load and instruct the operation of the suspended load are also aging, labor shortage, and foreign workers. Problems such as an increase in the number of cranes are becoming more serious.

The tower crane at the construction site is operated by a skilled operator by visual inspection and past experience so that there is no "swing" due to crane operation or collision between the suspended load and the building. Alternatively, the tower crane is controlled while relying on the above-mentioned assistant for operating the tower crane.

On the other hand, at construction sites, efforts aimed at automating tower crane operations have been proposed as a countermeasure against the above-mentioned shortage of skilled tower crane operators. In particular, it is aimed at completely automating the work at the time of unloading or installing the suspended load of the tower crane, which requires an assistant for the operation of the tower crane. For that purpose, it is important to establish a technique for accurately and quickly recognizing the loading position or mounting position of the suspended load at the time of loading or mounting the suspended load by the tower crane.

Patent Document 1 discloses a tower crane that eliminates the danger of work by automating the movement of the boom of the tower crane, and an operation method thereof. Here, a tower crane that can eliminate the danger of work by automating the movement of the boom of the tower crane and its operation method are disclosed. This tower crane has a receiving device that receives a signal from the transmitting device, a control device that is connected to the receiving device and controls the boom to move on the transmitting device, and a boom vertical movement driven by this control device. It has a drive device for unloading, a drive device for moving the boom rotation, and a remote control device connected to the control device to control the hoisting and lowering of the hook. It is described that the movement is automated to improve the work efficiency of operation.

Patent Document 2 discloses a tower crane device capable of constantly grasping the position of a suspended load and enabling automatic operation. Here, the all-around prism provided in the hook block is tracked by the total station provided in the crane body to grasp the three-dimensional position of the hook block, and the three-dimensional position of the hook block is fed back to put the hook block in a predetermined position. It is described that it is provided with a control device to operate.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-278581 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-80881

As a technique for recognizing the loading position or mounting position of the suspended load by the tower crane, a method of recognizing the loading position or mounting position of the suspended load by using the positioning data from the artificial satellite can be considered. Further, a method of mounting a stereo camera and a three-dimensional object recognition sensor on a tower crane to measure the loading position or the mounting position of a suspended load is being developed.

However, the measuring means that receives the positioning data from this artificial satellite and positions the loading position or mounting position of the suspended load is affected by multipath in the vicinity of the building where the tower crane is installed, and the field of view of the sky. There is a problem that the positioning accuracy is lowered because the space is narrow.

On the other hand, the measuring means using a stereo camera and a three-dimensional object recognition sensor is suitable for highly accurate control of the position of a nearby suspended load and the surrounding conditions, but quickly recognizes the position of an object and the surrounding conditions. There is a problem that it is not suitable for things.

The purpose of the present application is to solve such a problem, automatically measure the loading position and mounting position of the suspended load by the tower crane, grasp the situation around the suspended load, and accurately, quickly and safely automatically measure the tower crane. It is to control the operation.

In order to achieve the above object, in the tower crane automatic operation control system according to the present invention, the tower crane at the construction site lifts the suspended load via a lifting jig on which the control unit is mounted, and the control unit is a satellite. The first measurement system that grasps the position and surrounding conditions of the suspended load based on the positioning information from the satellite received by the positioning antenna, and the position and surroundings of the suspended load based on the measurement information measured by the stereoscopic camera and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor. It is provided with a second measurement system for grasping the situation of the above, and is characterized in that the loading and unloading of the suspended load is automatically controlled by the first measurement system or the second measurement system.

With the above configuration, the automatic operation control system for the tower crane at the construction site is provided with a first measurement system based on positioning information from satellites and a second measurement system based on measurement information by a three-dimensional camera and a three-dimensional object recognition sensor. ing. That is, two different measurement systems can be switched or used together. In this way, by making the best use of the characteristics of each measurement system, it is possible to accurately measure the suspended load, the unloading position, and the unloading position, and to control the operation of the tower crane quickly, accurately, and safely.

Further, in the automatic operation control system of the tower crane, the satellite positioning antenna of the first measurement system is attached to the upper part of the control unit to receive the positioning information from the satellite, and the stereoscopic camera and the three-dimensional object recognition of the second measurement system are received. It is preferable that the sensor grasps the suspended load and the surrounding conditions through the opening provided in the support material at the lower part of the control unit. In this way, the control unit can receive the positioning data from the satellite by the first measurement system by installing the satellite positioning antenna on the upper part of the control unit, and can also receive the positioning data from the satellite without interference or interference. And the mounting position can be measured without interference or interference by a camera or the like mounted on the lower part of the control unit.

In addition, the automatic operation control system of the tower crane determines the loading position or mounting position of the suspended load based on the positioning information of the first measurement system until the control unit reaches the loading position or the vicinity of the mounting position of the suspended load. After reaching the vicinity, it is preferable to switch to the measurement information of the second measurement system. As a result, for example, when the accuracy of grasping the position of the suspended load by the first measurement system deteriorates due to the influence of the multi-pass, the measurement system selection unit switches to the second measurement system, and the suspended load position, the loading position and The mounting position can be grasped quickly and accurately, and the operation of the tower crane can be safely controlled by remote control.

In addition, the automatic operation control system of the tower crane determines the loading position or mounting position of the suspended load based on the positioning information of the first measurement system until the control unit reaches the loading position or the mounting position of the suspended load. After reaching the vicinity, it is preferable to use the measurement information of the second measurement system and the positioning information of the first measurement system together. As a result, the characteristics of the first measurement system, which is not highly accurate in position but allows quick approach to the suspended load, and the second measurement system, which is highly accurate in position but inferior in speed, are utilized to provide the suspended load. The loading position and mounting position can be grasped quickly and accurately, and the operation of the tower crane can be safely controlled by remote control.

Further, it is preferable that the automatic operation control system of the tower crane switches the control unit to the measurement information of the second measurement system when the positioning information of the first measurement system is affected by the multipath. As a result, the influence of multipath can be avoided and the operation of the tower crane can be safely controlled by remote control.

Further, in the automatic operation control system of the tower crane, it is preferable that the control unit is held by a lifting jig suspended from the tower crane, and the lifting jig suspends the suspended load from above. The control unit can receive the positioning data from the satellite by the first measurement system by installing the satellite positioning antenna on the upper part of the control unit without interference or interference, and also can set the suspended load position, the loading position and the mounting position. Measurement can be performed without interference or interference by a camera or the like attached to the bottom of the control unit.

Further, the automatic operation control system of the tower crane can calculate the height position of the suspended load by measuring the height position of a predetermined point of the control unit and correcting the height of the lifting jig. In this way, in this automatic operation control system in which the height position of the suspended load varies depending on the type of suspended load, the height position is set at a predetermined point of the control unit via a lifting jig having a fixed height. This makes it possible to make this automatic operation control system function regardless of the type of suspended load.

As described above, according to the automatic operation control system of the tower crane according to the present invention, the loading position and the mounting position of the suspended load by the tower crane are automatically measured, the situation around the suspended load is grasped, and the tower crane is used. Accurate, quick and safe automatic driving control can be performed.

It is an overall explanatory view which shows the outline of the automatic operation control system of a tower crane at the construction site which concerns on this invention, and the stage of lifting by a tower crane. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of a suspended load, a control unit, and a lifting jig. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the suspended control unit. The cross-sectional view of the control unit of FIG. 3 is shown. It is explanatory drawing about a stereo camera and a three-dimensional object recognition sensor. It is a system diagram which controls a tower crane based on the positioning data of a 1st measurement system and the measurement data of a 2nd measurement system.

(Automatic driving control system)
Hereinafter, the automatic operation control system 1 of the tower crane 5 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the schematic configuration of the automatic operation control system 1 of the tower crane 5 at the construction site 30 and the basic transportation routes related to the transportation of the suspended load 2 in stages 1 to 6. In FIG. 1, the stage numbers are indicated by circled numbers, and in the specification, they are indicated by "stages 1 to 6". Further, in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the suspended load 2 is carried into the construction site 30 by the transport truck 6 and the suspended load 2 is attached to the upper part of the building 24 by the tower crane 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, generally, in the transport route of the suspended load 2 at the construction site 30, the suspended load 2 is first carried into the construction site 30 by the transport truck 6 (stage 1), and then loaded by the tower crane 5. It is lifted above the picking position 3 by the hook 25 to a predetermined height (stage 2), and further lifted by the tower crane 5 to the upper part of the construction 24 at the mounting position 4 (stage 3). Then, the suspended load 2 is directed to a desired mounting direction (stage 4), descends while maintaining the mounting direction (stage 5), and is mounted on the upper part of the construction 24 at a predetermined mounting position 4 (stage). 6). The suspended load 2 is connected to the lifting wire 23 of the tower crane 5 via a lifting jig 22 and lifted. Then, the control unit 7 is attached to the lifting jig 22 to control the position and direction of the suspended load 2, and the suspended load 2 and the surrounding conditions are recognized. The control unit 7 is also referred to as a control unit or a core control unit, and is a collection of equipment and sensors related to the transportation of the suspended load 2 by the tower crane 5. The suspended load 2 is not limited to the one carried into the construction site 30 by the transport truck 6, and may be the suspended load 2 brought to the construction site 30 by another heavy machine or the like. Further, the lifting jig 22 may be of another type, and the lifting method of the lifting load 2 may be another method. Further, each stage 1 to 6 is not limited to this, and may be another carry-in route.

(Controller unit)
FIG. 2 shows the mutual positional relationship between the suspended load 2, the control unit 7, and the lifting jig 22 of the tower crane 5. FIG. 2A shows a case where the suspended load 2 is “picked up” from the transport truck 6 by the tower crane 5 in the stage 1. Further, FIG. 2B shows a case where the suspended load 2 is "mounted" at a predetermined position of the building 24 by the tower crane 5 at the stage 6. The control unit 7 is a box-shaped unit, and a device such as a camera or a sensor is built in the control unit 7 and is arranged above the suspended load 2. As a result, data such as the position and direction of the suspended load 2 positioned by the artificial satellite 27 is transmitted to the control unit 7 of the tower crane 5 by the first measurement system 8. The suspended load 2 is suspended from the tower crane 5 by a lifting wire 23 attached to the lifting jig 22. The height position (h1, h2) of the suspended load 2 is based on, for example, the height (h1) from the ground 29 to the center point of the control unit 7 when the load is taken in FIG. 2A. Further, when mounting in FIG. 2B, the height (h2) from the top of the building 24 to the center point of the control unit 7 is used as a reference. However, the reference point such as the ground 29 or the top of the building 24 is not limited to this, and may be any other measurable reference point. By this measurement, the height position of the suspended load 2 can be accurately grasped, and the suspended load 2 can be automatically operated by the tower crane 5.

(Position measurement system)
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configurations of the first measurement system 8 and the second measurement system 10 (see FIG. 6) mounted on the suspended control unit 7, and FIG. 4 shows the control unit 7 of FIG. A cross-sectional view is shown. Two satellite positioning antennas 9 for receiving positioning data transmitted from the artificial satellite 27 are provided above the control unit 7, and the three-dimensional positions of the suspended load 2 and the like are continuously positioned in real time. In this way, by mounting the two satellite positioning antennas 9 on the upper part of the control unit 7, the suspended load 2 can be positioned by the first measurement system 8. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a stereo camera 11 and a three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12 according to the second measurement system 10 are mounted on the lower part of the control unit 7, and an opening provided in the bottom plate 28 of the control unit 7. Through 26, the distance to the suspended load 2 from which the stereo camera 11 and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12 are lifted, and the situation around the loading position 3 and the mounting position 4 of the suspended load 2 are measured.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the stereo camera 11 and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12. FIG. 5A shows an embodiment of the stereo camera 11. FIG. 5B shows an embodiment of the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12. The stereo camera 11 is also referred to as a stereo camera, and measures the distance (L) to a predetermined suspended load 2 by two cameras separated by a width (W) and recognizes the position and shape thereof. The three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12, also called 3D-LiDER, uses an electromagnetic wave having a wavelength shorter than that of a radar to measure scattered light for laser irradiation that emits pulsed light, and determines the distance to an object at a long distance. The shape of the object is analyzed, and the positions of the members near the loading position 3 and the mounting position 4 of the suspended load 2 are measured. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5B, it is possible to seamlessly detect the shape of an object over 24 scan positions at an opening angle of 120 ° and an elevation angle of 15 °. Therefore, even a moving object can be scanned and measured. This 3D-LiDER technology is mainly used for sensors for automatic driving of automobiles and the like, but in the present invention, this technology is applied to the automatic driving control system 1 of a tower crane 5 at a construction site 30.

(System configuration of measurement system)
FIG. 6 shows the system configurations of the first measurement system 8 and the second measurement system 10 in a block diagram. The first measurement system 8 is a satellite positioning data receiving unit 16b that receives satellite positioning data transmitted from the satellite positioning data transmitting unit 16a of the artificial satellite 27 by the satellite positioning antenna 9, and the position data of the suspended load 2 from the received positioning data. It is composed of a control unit 7a for calculating the above and a tower crane control unit 21a for controlling the operation of the tower crane 5. Further, the control unit 7a includes a suspended load position detecting unit 13 that detects the position of the suspended load 2 or the like from the height of the suspended load 2 from the ground 29 or a predetermined position. The suspended load position detecting unit 13 coordinates the suspended load height measuring unit 13a that calculates the height of the suspended load 2 by the radio altimeter 31, and the positioning information measured from the longitude and latitude of the suspended load 2. It is composed of a suspended load position coordinate conversion unit 13b that converts to XYZ coordinates. The radio altimeter 31 measures the altitude from the ground by measuring the reflection time from the target using radio waves. In the first measurement system 8, the influence of "multipath", which is a phenomenon such as reflection caused by having two or more propagation paths when a radio signal propagates in space, is likely to occur on the ground or in the vicinity of a building. Further, since the field of view in the sky is narrow, it is necessary to supplement the positioning data transmitted from the artificial satellite 27, and in that case, the positioning accuracy may be lowered.

Further, the second measurement system 10 is based on the measurement information transmission unit 20a for transmitting the measurement data measured by the three-dimensional camera 11 and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12, the measurement information receiving unit 20b for receiving the measurement data, and the received measurement data. It is composed of a control unit 7b that calculates position data of the suspended load 2 and a tower crane control unit 21b that controls the operation of the tower crane 5. The control unit 7b includes a suspended load position detecting unit 13, and further, the suspended load position detecting unit 13 is composed of a suspended load height measuring unit 13a, a loading position measuring unit 17, and a mounting position measuring unit 18. The suspended load position coordinate conversion unit 13b measures the three-dimensional coordinate data (X, Y, Z) measured by the stereo camera 11 and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12. The unloading position measuring unit 17 identifies the unloading position 3 of the suspended load 2 by the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12. Further, the mounting position measuring unit 18 identifies the loading position 3 of the suspended load 2 by the three-dimensional object recognition sensor 12.

(Selection of measurement system)
The measurement system selection unit 19 selects either the first measurement system 8 or the second measurement system 10 as the measurement system. For example, in the vicinity of the loading position 3 and the mounting position 4, a second measurement system 10 capable of performing more detailed work quickly and accurately is used. On the other hand, when the suspended load 2 is held sideways at a position other than the unloading position 3 or the mounting position 4, or when the unloading position 3 or the mounting position 4 is quickly approached, the first measurement system 8 is used. Specifically, it is said that the second measurement system 10 is preferable within about 30 m from the unloading position 3 and the mounting position 4, and the first measurement system 8 is preferable when it exceeds about 30 m from the unloading position 3 and the mounting position 4. ing. Therefore, it is preferable that the second measurement system 10 is adopted in the stages 1 and 6 and the first measurement system 8 is adopted in the stages 2 to 5 in the transport route of the suspended load 2 at the construction site 30 described above.

The measurement system selection unit 19 suspends the measurement system switching unit 14 for switching between the first measurement system 8 and the second measurement system 10 and the conditions for switching between the first measurement system 8 and the second measurement system 10 as weather conditions. It is composed of a measurement system adjusting unit 15 that determines from the type and size of the load 2, the type of stage, and the like. In order for such a hybrid measurement system to function, it is necessary to switch between the first measurement system 8 and the second measurement system 10 in the middle of the above-mentioned transport route of the suspended load 2, and the past experience and the past Judgment conditions must be determined based on the actual results of.

The control unit 7 stays in the vicinity of the loading position 3 or the mounting position 4 of the suspended load 2 based on the positioning information of the first measurement system 8 until it reaches the vicinity of the loading position 3 or the mounting position 4 of the suspended load 2. After reaching the point, the information may be switched to the measurement information of the second measurement system 10. Further, the control unit 7 is located at the loading position 3 or the mounting position 4 of the suspended load 2 based on the positioning information of the first measurement system 8 until it reaches the vicinity of the loading position 3 or the mounting position 4 of the suspended load 2. After reaching the vicinity, the measurement information of the second measurement system 10 and the positioning information of the first measurement system 8 may be used together. Further, the control unit 7 may switch to the measurement information of the second measurement system 10 when the positioning information of the first measurement system 8 is affected by the multipath.

In this way, the measurement system selection unit 19 searches for the best measurement system according to the situation at that time and applies it to the operation of the tower crane 5. The history of the measurement system of the measurement system selection unit 19 is preferably stored in the database of the automatic operation control system 1 together with the weather conditions, the multipath status, the type, size, weight, etc. of the suspended load 2.

The configuration, shape, size, and arrangement of the automatic operation control system 1 described in the above embodiments are only schematically shown to the extent that the present invention can be understood and implemented. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and can be changed to various forms as long as it does not deviate from the scope of the technical idea shown in the claims.

1 Automatic operation control system, 2 Suspended load, 3 Loading position, 4 Mounting position, 5 Tower crane, 6 Transport truck, 7 Control unit, 7a Control unit (1st measurement system), 7b Control unit (2nd measurement system) , 8 1st measurement system, 9 satellite positioning antenna, 10 2nd measurement system, 11 3D camera (stereo camera), 12 3D object recognition sensor (3D-LiDER), 13 Suspended load position detector, 13a Suspended load height Measurement unit, 13b Suspended load position coordinate conversion unit, 14 Measurement system switching unit, 15 Measurement system adjustment unit, 16a Satellite positioning data transmission unit, 16b Satellite positioning data reception unit, 17 Loading position measurement unit, 18 Mounting position measurement unit, 19 Measurement system selection unit, 20a measurement information transmission unit, 20b measurement information reception unit, 21a, 21b tower crane control unit, 22 lifting jig, 23 lifting wire, 24 construction, 25 hook, 26 opening, 27 artificial satellite, 28 Bottom plate, 29 Ground, 30 Construction site, 31 Radio altitude meter, h1 Height from the ground to the center point of the control unit, h2 Height from the top of the building to the center point of the control unit, L Distance to the suspended load, W The width of the 3D camera.

Claims (7)

A tower crane at a construction site lifts a suspended load via a lifting jig equipped with a control unit.
The control unit includes a first measurement system that grasps the position of the suspended load and the surrounding conditions based on the positioning information from the satellite received by the satellite positioning antenna.
It is equipped with a second measurement system that grasps the position of the suspended load and the surrounding conditions based on the measurement information measured by the stereo camera and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor.
An automatic operation control system for a tower crane, characterized in that the loading and unloading of the suspended load is automatically controlled by the first measurement system or the second measurement system. The automatic operation control system for a tower crane according to claim 1, wherein the satellite positioning antenna of the first measurement system is attached to an upper portion of the control unit to receive positioning information from the satellite.
The stereo camera and the three-dimensional object recognition sensor of the second measurement system of the tower crane are characterized in that the suspended load and the surrounding conditions are grasped through an opening provided in a support member at the lower part of the control unit. Automatic operation control system. The automatic operation control system for a tower crane according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit uses the positioning information of the first measurement system until it reaches the vicinity of the loading position or the mounting position of the suspended load. Based on this, an automatic operation control system for a tower crane, characterized in that the information is switched to the measurement information of the second measurement system after reaching the loading position or the vicinity of the mounting position of the suspended load. The automatic operation control system for a tower crane according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit makes the first measurement until it reaches the vicinity of the loading position or the mounting position of the suspended load. Based on the positioning information of the system, after reaching the loading position or the vicinity of the mounting position of the suspended load, the measurement information of the second measurement system and the positioning information of the first measurement system are used together. Automatic operation control system for tower cranes. The automatic operation control system for a tower crane according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit is the first measurement system when the positioning information of the first measurement system is affected by the multi-pass. 2 An automatic operation control system for tower cranes, which is characterized by switching to the measurement information of the measurement system. The automatic operation control system for a tower crane according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control unit is held by a lifting jig suspended from the tower crane, and the lifting jig is the lifting jig. An automatic operation control system for tower cranes, which is characterized by suspending suspended loads from above. The automatic operation control system for a tower crane according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the height position of the suspended load is obtained by measuring the height position of a predetermined point of the control unit and lifting the suspended load. An automatic operation control system for tower cranes, which is characterized by correcting the height of the jig and calculating it.

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