JP2022180525A - Work support system, work support method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and flexibly introduce a function of machine guidance and to upgrade the function of machine guidance as required.

SOLUTION: A work support system 1 that supports operator's work by machine guidance function comprises sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C that are held by movable units 4, 5, and 6 of a construction machine 2 and acquire posture information of the movable units 4, 5, and 6, a control unit 12 that collects posture information acquired by the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C through data communication with the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C, a mobile information terminal device 13 that calculates the amount of movement up to the construction target based on the posture information collected by the control unit 12, and a notification unit 14 for notifying the operator of the construction machine 2 of the movable amount up to the construction target calculated by the portable information terminal device 13.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a work support system and work support method, and can be applied to, for example, a hydraulic excavator.

Conventionally, construction machines (so-called ICT construction machines) incorporating a machine guidance function have been provided.
Here, machine guidance is a technology that supports the operation of construction machinery by providing information up to the construction target value to the operator using measurement technology such as a total station (TS) and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). is. According to this machine guidance, it is possible to appropriately support the work of the operator and improve work efficiency, safety and work accuracy.
Regarding such an ICT construction machine, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200003 proposes a device for accurately grasping the inclination of the construction machine.

JP 2019-105160 A

By the way, in construction machinery, it is desired that the machine guidance function can be introduced easily and flexibly, and furthermore, the machine guidance function can be upgraded as necessary.
However, in conventional construction machines, it is difficult to easily and flexibly introduce the machine guidance function, and furthermore, to upgrade the machine guidance function as necessary.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and is a work support system and work support system that can easily and flexibly introduce machine guidance functions and further upgrade the machine guidance functions as necessary. The purpose is to propose a support method.

In order to solve such a problem, the invention of claim 1 has the following configuration in a work support system that supports an operator's work using a machine guidance function.
In the hydraulic excavator work support system that supports the operator's work with the machine guidance function,
a sensor unit that is held by a movable portion of the hydraulic excavator and acquires posture information of the movable portion ;
A sensor that is held by a main body of the hydraulic excavator and acquires posture information of the main body is provided, and the posture information acquired by the sensor unit is collected by wireless communication with the sensor unit , and the posture of the main body acquired by the sensor. a control unit that outputs information together with wireless communication ;
a mobile information terminal device that calculates a movable amount to an excavation target based on the posture information output by the control unit;
and a notification unit that notifies an operator of the hydraulic excavator of the movable amount up to the excavation target calculated by the portable information terminal device.
The movable part is a boom, an arm, a bucket,
The cutting target is a cutting depth based on the construction start position,
the movable amount is a deviation from the current position of the bucket to the cutting target;
When the hydraulic excavator in a predetermined posture at the construction start position is taken as a reference posture, the portable information terminal device, based on the variation of the posture information with respect to the reference posture information, which is the posture information acquired at the reference posture, A current position and the movable amount of the bucket are calculated.

According to the configuration of claim 1, by calculating the movable amount up to the construction target by the portable information terminal device, it is possible to easily upgrade the software and hardware used for this arithmetic processing. In addition, it is possible to install, replace, or add a sensor unit as required. With these, the machine guidance function can be easily and flexibly introduced, and the machine guidance function can be upgraded as necessary.

According to the present invention, the machine guidance function can be introduced easily and flexibly, and the machine guidance function can be upgraded as necessary.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the work assistance system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. 2 is a block diagram of the work support system of FIG. 1; FIG. It is a top view which shows a notification part.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a work support system 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram.
This work support system 1 supports the work of an operator who operates a hydraulic excavator 2, which is a construction machine, using a machine guidance function.
Here, the hydraulic excavator 2 is provided with a boom 4, an arm 5, and a bucket 6 in sequence on a main body 3 that self-propelled on an endless track. The support target by the work support system 1 is not limited to the hydraulic excavator, and various construction machines used for civil engineering and construction work, such as construction machines used for ground improvement, can be widely applied.

The work support system 1 includes sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C, a control unit 12, a mobile information terminal device 13, and a notification unit .
Here, the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C are provided on the boom 4, the arm 5, and the bucket 6, which are movable portions of the hydraulic excavator 2, respectively, acquire posture information, and output it to the control unit 12. FIG. Here, the posture information is information that enables detection of the posture of each movable part, and three-dimensional acceleration and angular velocity information are applied in this embodiment.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C are each provided with a three-dimensional sensor 21 capable of acquiring the three-dimensional acceleration and angular velocity information. A battery 22, a controller 23, and a data communication unit 24 are also provided, and operate by the power of the battery 22. Under the control of the controller 23, the sensor 21 acquires posture information, and the data communication unit 24 wirelessly communicates with the control unit 12. Send out. As described above, the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C can be installed at desired locations without needing to provide cables for power supply and data communication by operating with the power of the battery 22 and transmitting the posture information by wireless communication. In this way, the work support system 1 can easily introduce the machine guidance function to an existing machine tool, and further improve the machine guidance function.

More specifically, an IMU (INERTIAL MEASUREMENT UNIT) sensor is applied to the sensor 21, and BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) is applied to wireless communication in the data communication unit . Various configurations capable of detecting the orientation can be widely applied to the sensor 21 . Moreover, the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C can be attached to various parts that can sufficiently detect the posture, and may be attached only to the bucket 6 if practically sufficient. Also in wireless communication, various configurations capable of data communication can be widely applied.

The control unit 12 is provided in the main body of the hydraulic excavator 2, collects posture information acquired by the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C through data communication with the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C, and outputs the information to the portable information terminal device 13. do.
Here, the control unit 12 (FIG. 2) includes a sensor 31 similar to the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C, a controller 33, and a data communication unit . The control unit 12 activates operations according to instructions from the portable information terminal device 13 and activates the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C under the control of the controller 33 . Also, the posture information acquired by the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C is collected, the posture information is acquired by the sensor 31, and the posture information and the posture information acquired by the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C are transmitted through the data communication unit 34 to the portable information terminal device. 13. It also acquires notification information output from the mobile information terminal device 13 via the data communication unit 34 and outputs it to the notification unit 14 .
Note that the control unit 12 may omit the sensor 31 if practically sufficient.

The portable information terminal device 13 is a so-called smart phone or a tablet terminal. By executing application software related to the work support system 1, posture information obtained by the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C obtained via the control unit 12, and posture information obtained by the sensor 31 The amount of movement of the hydraulic excavator 2 to the construction target is calculated based on the acquired posture information.

More specifically, the mobile information terminal device 13 includes a data communication section 43 having a data communication function through wireless communication with the control section 12 and a data communication function with a server on the network. The portable information terminal device 13 acquires posture information from the control unit 12 through the data communication unit 43 and further outputs notification information to the notification unit 14 to the control unit 12 . Furthermore, the data communication unit 43 downloads application software for building and upgrading the work support system 1 .

The mobile information terminal device 13 records and retains the application software acquired by the data communication unit 43 in the storage unit 42 such as a non-volatile memory. Further, the application software of the work support system 1 held in the storage unit 42 is executed by the arithmetic processing unit 41 such as a central processing unit (CPU) by the operation of the operator.
Thereby, the arithmetic processing unit 41 detects the inclination of the main body 3 from the posture information acquired in the reference posture (for example, the posture in which the bucket 6 is placed on the ground surface at the start of construction). Also, the current position of the bucket 6 is calculated by calculating the change in the posture (movable amount) of each movable part based on the change in each posture information from this reference posture.
The arithmetic processing unit 41 calculates the current position of the bucket 6 from the attitude information in this manner, and accepts the setting of the construction start position, for example, by placing the bucket 6 on the ground surface at the start of construction. Further, the bucket 6 is moved from this construction start position to temporarily excavate to the construction target, and the setting of the construction target is accepted. It should be noted that the setting of the construction start position and the construction target may be received by numerical values such as the depth of excavation, and various methods can be widely applied.
The arithmetic processing unit 41 sequentially calculates the current position of the bucket 6 based on the posture information sequentially input from the control unit 12, and calculates the deviation (difference value) from the construction target, thereby calculating the movable amount to the construction target. do. In addition, the notification unit 14 notifies the operator of the hydraulic excavator 2 of the calculated movable amount up to the construction target via the control unit 12 .
The arithmetic processing unit 41 sequentially displays the movable amount calculation results up to the construction target on the display unit 44 such as a liquid crystal display panel. In this case, it may be displayed in the same manner as the notification unit 14, which will be described later.

Here, the notification unit 14 is configured to notify the operator of the movable amount to the construction target calculated by the portable information terminal device 13 in the driver's seat of the hydraulic excavator 2. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. , a segmented display unit.
That is, the notification unit 14 is formed by arranging rectangular segments S11 to S16 and S21 to S26 in two rows L1 and L2 in the vertical direction at regular intervals. The central segments S13, S14, S23, and S24 of each row L1 and L2 are formed with a green emission color, and the segments S11, S12, S21, and S22 above the segments S13, S14, S23, and S24 have a yellow emission color. , and segments S15, S16, S25, and S26 below segments S13, S14, S23, and S24 are formed with a red emission color.
The notification unit 14 lights the central segments S13, S14, S23, and S24 when the movable amount to the construction target is equal to or less than a certain value. Moreover, when the movable amount to the construction target is large and it is necessary to move the bucket 6 further, the segments S11 or S12 and S21 or S22 are lit according to the movable amount. Moreover, when the movable amount to the construction target is a negative value and the bucket 6 is moving beyond the construction target, the segment S15 or S16, S25 or S26 is lit according to the excess amount to the construction target.
In addition, the notifying unit 14 makes the intervals of the threshold values for determining the lighting of the segments S11 to S16 and S21 to S26 smaller in the segments S21 to S26 of the right row L2 than in the segments S11 to S16 of the left row L1. , so that the left column L1 and the right column L2 can be used for coarse adjustment and fine adjustment.

Note that the notification unit 14 may notify the movable amount by a numerical value, or may notify by voice or alarm sound. Further, the mobile information terminal device 13 may drive the notification unit 14 directly, or the display unit 44 of the mobile information terminal device 13 may be used as the notification unit 14 .

According to the above configuration, the mobile information terminal device 13 calculates the movable amount up to the construction target, so that the software and hardware used for this arithmetic processing can be easily upgraded. In addition, it is possible to mount, replace, or add the sensor units 11A, 11B, and 11C as required. With these, the machine guidance function can be easily and flexibly introduced, and the machine guidance function can be upgraded as necessary.
Further, the work history can be recorded and saved by using the communication function of the portable information terminal device 13, or by storing it in the storage unit 42, and can be utilized for business management and the like. In addition, the function of the portable information terminal device 13 can be used to obtain posture information, current position information, illuminance information inside and outside the vehicle, and the like, which can further improve convenience.

In addition, by collecting posture information through wireless data communication with the sensor unit, installation and replacement of the sensor unit can be simplified, making it easy to introduce the machine guidance function to existing machine tools. Furthermore, it is possible to improve the function of machine guidance.

[Other embodiments]
Although specific configurations suitable for implementing the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention can be variously modified in the configuration of the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 work support system 2 hydraulic excavator 3 main body 4 boom 5 arm 6 bucket 11A, 11B, 11C sensor section 12 control section 13 personal digital assistant device 14 notification section 21, 31 sensor 22 battery 23, 33 controller 24, 34, 43 data communication Unit 41 Arithmetic processing unit 42 Storage unit 44 Display unit S11 to S16, S21 to S26 Segment

Claims (5)

In the hydraulic excavator work support system that supports the operator's work with the machine guidance function,
a sensor unit that is detachably provided on a movable portion extending from the main body of the hydraulic excavator to the bucket and acquires posture information of the movable portion;
A sensor is provided on a main body of the hydraulic excavator and acquires posture information of the main body, and the posture information acquired by the sensor unit is collected by wireless communication with the sensor unit , and the posture information of the main body acquired by the sensor. A control unit that outputs by wireless communication together with
a mobile information terminal device that executes application software that calculates a movable amount to an excavation target based on the posture information output by the control unit;
a notification unit that notifies an operator of the hydraulic excavator of the movable amount up to the excavation target calculated by the portable information terminal device;
The sensor unit is provided at least on the bucket,
The mobile information terminal device communicates with a server on a network and is configured to be able to upgrade the application software according to the installation configuration of the sensor unit,
The cutting target is a cutting depth based on the construction start position ,
the movable amount is a deviation from the current position of the bucket to the cutting target;
When the hydraulic excavator in a predetermined posture at the construction start position is taken as a reference posture, the portable information terminal device, based on the variation of the posture information with respect to the reference posture information, which is the posture information acquired at the reference posture, calculating the current position and the movable amount of the bucket;
Work support system. The mobile information terminal device receives the setting of the cutting target based on the cutting depth when temporary cutting is performed by moving the bucket with the hydraulic excavator.
The work support system according to claim 1. The mobile information terminal activates the operation of the control unit,
The control unit activates the operation of the sensor unit,
The work support system according to claim 1 or 2. The mobile information terminal comprises the notification unit,
The work support system according to claim 3. When the movable amount up to the cutting target is less than a predetermined value, and when the movable amount up to the cutting target is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the notification unit indicates that the movable amount up to the cutting target is a negative value exceeding the cutting target. In the event of a
The work support system according to claim 1.

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