JP3421125B2 - Object position detection device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an object position detecting device which is attached to a crane and detects an object at a distant position by using light or ultrasonic waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a conventional object position detecting device,
Steelmaking coils produced at steelmaking factories (hereinafter referred to as coils)
A coil position detection device used when automatically transporting a tongue by an overhead crane will be described.

When a coil carried into a coil yard by a truck is automatically lifted by an overhead crane, it is necessary to accurately detect the position and size of the coil in order to accurately guide the overhead crane to the coil. As a coil position detecting device for this purpose, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-16239
There is an invention described in Japanese Patent No. 5 publication. The coil position detecting device of the invention includes a laser light source, two scanning mirrors for scanning spot light of the laser light source in a vertical or horizontal direction of the coil,
It consists of two TV cameras that shoot the spotlight that illuminates the coil, and these are installed on an overhead crane. Then, the coil position is converted into three-dimensional position coordinates by this method, and the coil position is calculated.

That is, the laser light is scanned with the laser light source positioned right above the coil to be detected, and the two TV cameras provided on the light receiving axis inclined with respect to the light projecting axis. It constitutes a laser rangefinder that receives reflected light and measures the distance to the reflection point. When measuring the position of the coil using the laser range finder, it is necessary to scan the coil with laser light in the horizontal axis direction and the vertical axis direction of the coil. Scanning in the horizontal and vertical directions is performed by swinging the laser rangefinder.

[0005]

In the coil position measuring device using the laser beam as described above, the data necessary for measuring the coil position can be obtained. However, in order to swing the laser beam, it requires a swing time and a long measurement time. In addition to the complicated structure of the measuring device, there is a problem that the life of the laser light source is shortened due to vibrations and the like caused by swinging of the head. In addition, since the position of the laser light source in the horizontal direction and the center position of the hanger do not match, if the detection coil is placed at the end inside the coil yard, the coil position cannot be detected even if it is hung by the hanger. There was a case that arises.

Further, the coil position measuring device does not have a function of detecting a pre-insertion in the space above the coil when the coil is hoisted by the crane and in the hoisting position when hoisting the coil to a predetermined position. Therefore, in order to confirm the above, it is necessary to add a confirmation device separately to the hanging device or the like. For this reason, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the structure becomes complicated.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and accurately detects an object position without changing the direction of irradiation of light or ultrasonic waves and with a simple structure without being restricted by the side dimension of the crane. An object of the present invention is to provide an object position detecting device which can easily confirm that there is no pre-filled object when the object is lifted or lowered by a crane.

[0008]

An object position detecting device according to the present invention is a device mounted on a crane that lifts and conveys an object, and outputs one or a plurality of lights or ultrasonic waves.
Force, while receiving the reflected light or reflected wave reflected by the object
Distance meter that measures the distance to the object and the measurement result of the distance meter
Is input and the crane is operated to activate light or ultrasonic waves.
Based on the distance distribution data to the object obtained in the process of scanning
And a calculation unit that calculates the position of the object to be transported.
The range finder has a pedestal whose surface is inclined so that light or ultrasonic waves are output toward the vicinity of the intersection of the vertical line passing through the hanging tool center of the crane and the object or the mounting surface of the object.
It is characterized by being attached to the club of the crane through .

Further, regarding the range finder, the measurement of the range finder is performed.
Lowering the object hung by the above-mentioned hanging equipment based on the fixed result
Configuration that has a function to determine whether there is a first-come item in the place
Including those that have become .

Further, regarding the distance meter, the measurement of the distance meter is performed.
Configuration and having a function of determining whether each has the first-in first material to a location down of the object hanging on the upper space and the hangers of the object lifting by the lifting device on the basis of the result
Includes what has become .

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An object position detecting apparatus according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an apparatus of the present invention) will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view for explaining one usage state of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the operation in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a side view of a different embodiment of FIG. 5 is a front view for explaining problems caused by the irradiation direction of laser light, FIG. 6 is a front view for explaining different usage states of the device of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a side view of the same, and FIG. 8 is an operation in FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation different from FIG.

In the following description, the object to be detected is a coil as described above. The device 50 of the present invention is mounted on the overhead crane 20 and includes a range finder 30 and a calculation unit 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coils 10 and 11 are placed on a trailer 12, carried into a coil yard, and automatically lifted from the trailer 12 by an overhead crane 20.

It is assumed that the traveling direction of the overhead crane 20 is X, the transverse direction perpendicular to the traveling direction is Y, and the height direction is Z. Trailer 1
2 is loaded in the Y direction, and the coil 10 on the trailer 12,
11 are juxtaposed on the central axis of the trailer 12 with their central axes oriented in the substantially Y direction, and each of them is positioned and fixed by a skid 13 on the trailer 12. The overhead crane 20 includes a girder 21 that travels in the X direction, a club 22 that traverses in the Y direction, and a coil suspension 23 that moves up and down in the Z direction.

The range finder 30 is, for example, a laser range finder and is integrally mounted on the club 22 with the frame 35 tilted. Then, one or a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of laser beams 311, 312, 313, 31
One or a plurality of laser light sources 321 and 32 for irradiating 4 (hereinafter referred to as reference numeral 31) diagonally downward
2, 323, 324 (hereinafter collectively referred to as reference numeral 32), and the laser light 31 receives one or a plurality of reflected lights 33 reflected by the coils 10, 11, etc. 1
And a plurality of light-receiving units 34 (all are collectively referred to as reference numerals).

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the irradiation direction of the laser beam 31 is near the intersection P of the vertical line L passing through the center of the coil suspension 23 and the coil or at the intersection Q of the trailer 12.
The tilt angle of the range finder 30 is set by the gantry 35 so as to be close to it.

The arithmetic unit 40 has a built-in microcomputer and is electrically connected to the light receiving unit 34 via a flexible cable (not shown). The calculation unit 40 has a function of calculating the distance to each of the coils 10 and 11 by the triangulation method based on the angle at which the laser light 31 and the reflected light 33 intersect.

To detect the coils 10 and 11, the club 22 is made to traverse in the Y direction and the laser light 31 is applied to the pallet 1.
Scan across coils 10, 11 on 2. The reflected light 33 reflected by the coils 10, 11 and the like is received by the light receiving unit 34. The arithmetic unit 40 temporarily stores the distance distribution data to each coil obtained by the scanning in the memory of the microcomputer.

Then, after the scanning is completed, based on the data in the memory,
Data necessary for carrying the coil by the overhead crane 20, that is, the number of coils, the size of each coil, the width of each coil, the accurate center coordinates of each coil, etc. are calculated. The calculation result is reported to a host computer or crane controller not shown.

Next, the operation of detecting the coil position of the device 50 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Below, S1, S
2, ... Indicate the step numbers. (1) A trailer 1 on which the coils 10 and 11 are placed based on a command from a host computer or crane controller
When 2 enters the coil yard, the overhead crane 20 traverses the club 22, moves the distance meter 30 to the distance distribution data collection start position up to the trailer 12, and the following operation starts.

(2) The laser light source is turned on (S1). (3) The club 22 traverses in the Y direction, and the laser light 31 starts scanning (S2). (4) The distance meter 30 collects distance data of the coil 10. At the same time, the distance data is stored in the memory of the arithmetic unit 40 (S3).

At this time, since the laser light 31 is irradiated obliquely downward toward the point P or the point Q, the position where the laser light 31 irradiates the coil 10 and the central position of the suspender 23 substantially coincide with each other. Therefore, the center position of the suspender 23 is hardly displaced from the reflection point of the reflected light 33. (5) Then, the laser beam 31 irradiates the coil 11 according to the above. At this time, even when the coil 11 is placed near the end of the crane building, the laser beam 31 can irradiate the coil 11. Therefore, if the coil is within a range that can be grasped by the suspending tool 23, the irradiation position and the central position of the suspending tool 23 match, so that the position can be accurately detected.

(6) When the scanning is completed (S4), the laser light source 32 is turned off (S5). (7) The calculation unit 40 calculates the coil position by the microcomputer based on the obtained distance distribution data (S6), reports the result to the host computer or crane controller (S7), and stops the above operations. . The host computer or crane controller controls the overhead crane 20 based on the report, and automatically hoists and transports the desired coil via the hoisting tool 23.

FIG. 4 shows a case in which the gantry 35 is tilted in both the X and Y directions. The laser beam 31 is inclined with respect to the vertical line in both the X direction and the Y direction, but the operation is similar to the above.

In the above item (4), the laser beam 31 is directed to the point P.
Alternatively, if the light is not irradiated downward toward the point Q and is irradiated directly below toward the ground as in the conventional technique, the following problems occur. That is, when the trailer 12 is stopped at the right end of the coil yard as shown in FIG. 5, the coil 11 can be transported by the crane lifting device 23, but the laser light 3
1 cannot illuminate the coil 11. Therefore, the position of the coil 11 cannot be detected. However, according to the device of the present invention, the position of the coil 11 can be measured as in the above item (5), so that the position measurable range of the coil can be widened.

Next, in the case where the coils placed on the trailer are hoisted and conveyed, and the coils are piled up in the coil storage space,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. The same reference numerals are used for those having the same functions as those in FIGS. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the coils 101 and 10 according to the coils 10 and 11 are used.
2, 104 and the like are fixedly arranged by the skid 14 in the coil storage space with their central axes oriented in the substantially Y direction.

The coil 103 is arranged so as to be superposed on the upper space of the coils 101, 102, that is, the place A shown by the broken lines in FIGS. 6 and 7 according to an instruction from the host computer or the crane controller. 6 and 7 show the coil 103
Shows a state in which the vehicle has been lifted from the trailer 12 via a hanger 23 and has been automatically conveyed to the coil storage place by the overhead crane 20.

The pre-insertion checking operation of the device 50 of the present invention in the above state will be described with reference to FIG. (8) When the coil 103 is instructed to be transferred from the host computer or the crane controller, the overhead crane 20 starts and the coil 103 is lifted from the trailer 12 (S11).

(9) Next, it is conveyed to the instructed unloading position (S12), and when it reaches the space position above the unloading place A (S13), the unloading place A of the coil 103 is confirmed (S14). That is, in accordance with the above, the laser light source 32 is turned on and scanning is performed while irradiating the laser light 31.

Since the coil 103 is not yet placed in the predetermined unloading place A in the places shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the coils 101, 102 and 104 are measured by the laser rangefinder 30. If there is a foreign substance such as a coil that has been pre-inserted in the unloading place A, the distance to the foreign substance is measured, and the presence of the foreign substance can be easily known by comparing the measured distances.

(10) Based on the measurement result of the range finder 30, the arithmetic unit 40 judges whether or not there is a foreign matter pre-inserted in the unloading place A (S15). If YES, that is, there is no pre-insertion and there is no problem. For example, the coil 103 is lowered to a predetermined place A (S16), and a series of operations is stopped. (11) If there is an abnormality such as the presence of a pre-filled material such as another coil in the unloading place, the situation is reported to the host computer or the crane controller (S17), and an instruction from the host computer or the like is obtained. The coil 103
The confirmation of the unloading place (S14) may be performed during the transportation to the instructed unloading position (S12).

Next, a different operation of the device 50 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. (12) When the coil 103 is instructed to be transferred by the host computer or the like, the overhead crane 20 starts and moves to the hoisting position of the transfer coil (S21).

(13) Next, it is measured by the laser distance meter 30 whether or not there is another coil previously put in the space above the position of the hoisting coil that has received the conveyance instruction (S2).
2), YES, that is, if there is no pre-inserted coil, the arithmetic unit 40
When the judgment is made, the suspending tool 23 is lowered and the carrying coil 103 is suspended (S23). Then, it is conveyed to the designated lowering position (S24), and when it reaches the designated position (S25), the coil lowering place A is confirmed in the same manner as described above (S26).

(14) The arithmetic unit 40 determines whether or not there is no problem in the unloading place by the same procedure as described above (S2
7) If there is no problem, lower the coil 103 to a predetermined lowering place A (S28) and stop the series of operations.

(15) In step S22, NO,
In other words, if another coil exists on top of the coil that received the transfer instruction, the coil that received the transfer instruction cannot be lifted, so report the abnormality to the host computer, etc. (S29). (16) In step S27, if NO, that is, if there is a problem, according to the above, after reporting the abnormality, the host computer is instructed (S30). Note that step S22 is performed as described above.
May be performed at the same time as step S21, and confirmation of the coil unloading place (S26) may be performed at the same time as steps S24 and S25.

Generally, the above items (11), (15), and (1)
The abnormal phenomenon of the presence of the pre-filled material described in the item 6) may occur when a manual operation is performed by a person for some reason during the automatic operation of the overhead crane 20. Therefore, in such a case, stop the automatic operation once,
It is good to recover the abnormal phenomenon with human intervention.

In this embodiment, a plurality of laser light sources 32 are provided and the calculation accuracy is improved based on a plurality of distance distribution data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only one laser light source is provided. The laser light source may be caused to scan along the central axis of the coil. Needless to say, the same function can be obtained by using other light or ultrasonic waves instead of the laser light.

In this embodiment, the distance meter 30 is used as the club 2
Although an example in which the movable rail is integrally mounted on the girder 2 via the gantry 35 has been described, the moving rail is attached to the lower surface of the girder 21 or an appropriate position in the Y direction over substantially the entire length of the girder to provide a moving means. According to the above, the range finder may be attached to the moving rail at an angle and moved along the same.

[0040]

As described above, the object according to the present invention
When using the position detection device,
The rangefinder is attached to the club of the crane.
Therefore, unlike the conventional example, swing the rangefinder
The structure is simpler than the conventional one.
Measurement time is shortened. Moreover, there is no vibration associated with swinging.
As a result, the life of the rangefinder also increases.

In addition, light or ultrasonic waves may be generated in the hanging device of the crane.
Near the intersection of the vertical line passing through the heart and the object or the mounting surface of the object
Since has a configuration that is always output to, if an object is located in a range grasp in sling crane <br/>, to detect the position accurately without being limited by the deviation size of the crane It enables the position detection range may turn wider than before.

Furthermore, the object which is hoisted by the hoisting equipment of the crane .
Space below the body or above the object to be hung with a hanger
It has a function to judge whether or not there is pre-filled
Therefore, a separate part is added to detect the first-arrival item.
There is no need. Use an object to hang or suspend objects
When lifting, make sure that there are no pre-filled items before transporting.
Since it can be performed, there is an advantage that the reliability of transportation can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a usage state of an object position detecting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing another embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating a problem caused by a laser light irradiation direction.

FIG. 6 is a front view for explaining different usage states of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation different from that in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 11 coils 20 overhead crane 21 girder 22 clubs 23 Hanging equipment 30 rangefinder 31 laser light 32 laser light source 34 Light receiving part 35 pedestal 40 arithmetic unit 50 Object position detector 101, 102, 103, 104 coils

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-5-39189 (JP, A) JP-A-5-246687 (JP, A) JP-A-6-32586 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 157603 (JP, A) JP 52-141974 (JP, A) JP 56-52388 (JP, A) JP 5-39190 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01B 11/00 G01B 17/00 G01B 21/00 B66C 13/22

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An object position detecting device mounted on a crane that lifts and conveys an object, comprising one or a plurality of objects.
While outputting light or ultrasonic waves, the reflected light or
Is a rangefinder that measures the distance to the object by receiving the reflected wave,
The measurement result of the rangefinder is input and the crane is operated.
Distance to the object obtained in the process of scanning with light or ultrasonic waves
Calculate the position of the object to be transported based on the distribution data
The distance meter is provided with an arithmetic unit, and the distance meter outputs a surface such that light or ultrasonic waves are output toward a vicinity of an intersection of a vertical line passing through the center of the hanging device of the crane and the object or the mounting surface of the object. Up
Mounted on a crane club via a tilted mount
Object position detecting apparatus characterized by being. 2. The object position detecting device according to claim 1 , wherein the arithmetic unit has a pre-insertion at a lowering position of the object hung by the hanging tool based on the measurement result of the range finder. An object position detecting device having a function of determining whether or not it is. 3. The object position detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the computing unit is lifted by the hanging space and the space above the object that is lifted by the hanging device based on the measurement result of the range finder. An object position detecting device having a function of determining whether or not there is a pre-filled object in each of the lowered positions of the object.