JP7135629B2 - Operation support device for forklift - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a forklift operation support device.

The fork positioning support device for a forklift disclosed in Patent Document 1 accepts designation of a target point for moving the tip of the fork in the image displayed on the display, calculates the distance from the reference point of the tip of the fork to the target point, It tracks the target point in the updated stereo image and outputs the calculated distance to the display. Specifically, dotted line arrows corresponding to distances on the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis are displayed on the screen.

JP 2013-86959 A

However, when supporting the operation of a forklift, in order to display the distance from the reference point of the tip of the fork to the target point, even if dotted arrows corresponding to the distances of the x-, y-, and z-axes are displayed on the screen, , it is difficult for the operator to correctly operate the tip of the fork to the target point.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an operation support device for a forklift that allows the forklift to be easily arranged in a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture with respect to an object to be handled.

In the invention according to claim 1, there is provided an operation support device for a forklift that assists operation when operating a forklift, comprising: a camera mounted on the forklift for imaging the surroundings of the forklift; It is a gist of the present invention to provide guide means for informing a boundary between said straight movement and said turn so that it can face the cargo handling object by turning at an angle.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the guiding means informs the boundary between straight and turning where the vehicle can face the cargo handling object by turning at a designated steering angle after going straight. Therefore, the forklift can be easily arranged at a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture with respect to the object to be handled.

As described in claim 2, in the forklift operation support device according to claim 1, the guide means may superimpose a guideline indicating the boundary on the image captured by the camera on the display unit.

As described in claim 3, in the forklift operation support device according to claim 1, the guide means captures the image captured by the camera and forms a virtual space by image recognition to determine the position of the object to be handled. and the position of the forklift is recognized, and the arrival of the forklift at the boundary is notified by voice.

As recited in claim 4, in the forklift operation support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the guide means is such that the front end surface of the pallet and the forward direction of the forklift are parallel. It is better to guide

As described in claim 5, in the forklift operation support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the forklift operation support device is used in a forklift remote control system, The forklift remote control system includes the forklift and a remote control device, the forklift includes a cargo handling device on a machine base and a vehicle communication unit, and the remote control device communicates with the vehicle communication unit wirelessly. It is preferable to have an operation device communication unit for communication and to be used to remotely control travel of the forklift and cargo handling by the cargo handling device.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a forklift can be easily arrange|positioned so that it may take a predetermined attitude|position with respect to a cargo handling object at a predetermined position.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the forklift remote control system; A schematic side view of a reach-type forklift. Schematic plan view of a reach-type forklift. The top view for demonstrating a guideline. (a) is a schematic plan view for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a work place, and (b) is a diagram for explaining contents displayed on a display unit. (a) is a schematic plan view for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a work place, and (b) is a diagram for explaining contents displayed on a display unit. (a) is a schematic plan view for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a work place, and (b) is a diagram for explaining contents displayed on a display unit. A schematic plan view for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a workshop. The top view for demonstrating a guideline. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a workshop and the content displayed on a display unit; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a workshop and the content displayed on a display unit; A schematic plan view for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a workshop. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a reach-type forklift truck and a pallet in a workshop and the content displayed on a display unit;

(First embodiment)
An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, the forklift operation support device is used in a forklift remote control system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the forklift remote control system 10 includes a reach-type forklift 20 and a remote control device 40 used to remotely control travel and cargo handling of the reach-type forklift 20 . A reach-type forklift 20 is arranged at a work place. Then, using the remote control device 40, the reach-type forklift 20 in the workplace can be remotely controlled from the control room.
As shown in FIG. 5(a), a reach-type forklift 20 is positioned at a distance D1 from a pallet 80 in a workplace. From this state, the operator remotely operates the reach-type forklift 20 to move the reach-type forklift 20 closer to the pallet 80 and insert the forks into the pallet holes 80a. The pallet 80 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, one of the two orthogonal surfaces is the front end surface Spf, the other is the side surface, and the line formed by the side surfaces is the side surface line Lps.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a machine base 21 of a reach-type forklift 20 is provided with a cargo handling device 22 . The cargo handling device 22 includes a pair of reach legs 23 extending forward. Each reach leg 23 is provided with a front wheel 24 . That is, a pair of left and right front wheels 24 are provided on the front side of the machine base 21 . A rear wheel 25 is provided on the rear side of the machine base 21 . In this embodiment, the rear wheels 25 serve as steering wheels and driving wheels.

The cargo handling device 22 includes a two-stage mast 26 . The mast 26 has an outer mast 27 and an inner mast 28 .
The cargo handling device 22 includes a pair of forks 31 and a lift bracket 32 that fixes the forks 31 to the mast 26 . The fork 31 and the lift bracket 32 move up and down as the inner mast 28 moves up and down.

The reach-type forklift 20 is equipped with various actuators. Specifically, for example, a travel motor 33 that drives the rear wheels 25 as a travel actuator, a lift cylinder 29 that is connected to the inner mast 28 that is a lifting actuator, and a reach cylinder 30 that is connected to the mast 26 as a reach actuator. etc. The inner mast 28 moves up and down by supplying and discharging working oil to the lift cylinder 29 . The mast 26 moves along the reach leg 23 by supplying and discharging working oil to the reach cylinder 30 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the reach-type forklift 20 includes a controller 51, a wireless unit 52 as a vehicle communication unit, an image processing unit 53, a wireless device 54 as a vehicle communication unit, and an in-vehicle It has a camera 71 .

The remote control device 40 has a controller 61 , an operation unit 62 , a display unit (monitor) 63 , wireless devices 64 and 65 as operation device communication units, and an image processing unit 66 . The remote control device 40 includes a controller 61 , an operation section 62 , a display section (monitor) 63 and an image processing section 66 as the control room side equipment 60 .

The radio 64 of the remote control device 40 is located at the workplace. Also, the wireless device 65 of the remote control device 40 is arranged in the workplace. A controller 61 placed in the operation room is connected to a wireless device 64 placed in the workshop via a wire L1. The controller 61 is connected to a wireless device 65 placed in the workplace via a wire L2.

In the workplace, the radio 64 of the remote controller 40 and the radio unit 52 of the forklift-mounted equipment 50 can communicate bidirectionally. In addition, wireless communication can be performed from the wireless device 54 of the equipment 50 mounted on the forklift to the wireless device 65 of the remote control device 40 in the workplace.

Thus, the reach forklift 20 has a radio unit 52 and a radio 54, and the remote control device 40 has radios 64, 65 that communicate with the radio unit 52 and the radio 54 by radio.

A controller 61 of the remote control device 40 is connected to an operation section 62 , a display section (monitor) 63 and an image processing section 66 . The operation unit 62 is for remote control of the reach-type forklift 20 by the operator, and the operation contents of the reach-type forklift 20 by the operator (lift, reach, tilt operation command values, speed, acceleration, steering corner operation command value, etc.) is sent to the controller 61 . The controller 61 wirelessly transmits vehicle control signals such as lift, reach, and tilt operation command values and speed, acceleration, and steering angle operation command values to the wireless unit 52 of the forklift-mounted device 50 via the wireless device 64. do.

In the forklift-mounted equipment 50, the controller 51, the wireless unit 52, and the image processing section 53 are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other (for example, CAN communication). The controller 51 can drive travel system actuators (travel motor 33, steering motor (not shown), etc.) and cargo handling system actuators (lift cylinder 29, reach cylinder 30, tilt cylinder (not shown), etc.) according to instructions from the remote control device 40 side. can.

The wireless unit 52 wirelessly transmits vehicle information such as vehicle speed of the reach-type forklift 20 and abnormality information (such as obstacle detection information) to the controller 61 via the wireless device 64 .
In FIG. 1 , a controller 61 can remotely control traveling of the reach-type forklift 20 and cargo handling by the cargo handling device 22 via a wireless device 64 , a wireless unit 52 and the controller 51 .

In the remote control device 40 , when the operator performs a desired operation using the operation unit 62 , the operation content is sent to the reach-type forklift 20 via the wireless device 64 by the controller 61 . In the reach-type forklift 20, the wireless unit 52 receives the operation details from the remote control device 40, and the actuator section is driven by the controller 51 to perform a desired operation.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , an on-vehicle camera 71 is attached to the base 21 of the reach-type forklift 20 so as to face forward, and the on-board camera 71 captures an image of the reach-type forklift 20 . Specifically, the in-vehicle camera 71 captures an image of the forward direction of the reach-type forklift 20 .

In the reach-type forklift 20 , an image picked up by the vehicle-mounted camera 71 is sent by the controller 51 to the remote control device 40 via the image processing section 53 and the wireless device 54 . In the remote control device 40 , the camera image from the reach-type forklift 20 is received by the wireless device 65 and displayed on the display section 63 by the controller 61 . FIG. 5B shows the screen of the display section 63. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 5B, the display unit 63 is a desktop display and has a display screen 63a.

An image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera 71 is displayed on the display unit 63 provided in the remote control device 40 . The operator operates while viewing the image of the vehicle-mounted camera 71 on the display unit 63 .

The guideline can be superimposed on the camera image by the image processing unit 66 . The guideline Lg1 shown in FIG. 4 is for informing the boundary between straight running and turning that can face the pallet 80 by turning at a specified steering angle after running straight. If the Lps overlap (match), rotate.

A guideline Lg1 for notifying the boundary between going straight and turning by being superimposed on the camera image will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the guideline Lg1 is a straight line extending left and right at a point a distance A forward from the front wheel axle center O1, where A=L-(W/2). Here, L is the case where the vehicle is turned backward by 90° with a constant steering angle as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. is the straight movement distance (=turning radius) of the front wheel axle center O1. L is uniquely determined by the steering angle. A representative steering angle is set in advance (a plurality of steering angles may be set and their boundaries may be superimposed at the same time). W is the palette width, and a representative value is set in advance (a plurality of values may be set so that selection can be made).

Next, the action will be described.
Now, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the reach-type forklift 20 is positioned at a distance D1 from the pallet 80. As shown in FIG. From this state, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the reach-type forklift 20 advances straight to approach the pallet 80 by a distance D2 and is positioned at a location away from the pallet 80 by a distance D3. Further, from this state, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the reach-type forklift truck 20 advances straight to approach the pallet 80 by a distance D4 and is positioned at a location away from the pallet 80 by a distance D5. From this state, as shown in FIG. 8, the reach-type forklift 20 is turned at a specified steering angle (for example, 80°) so that the pallet 80 as a cargo handling object is placed in a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture. Arranged to face the pallet 80. - 特許庁In this state, the left and right forks 31 of the reach-type forklift 20 are separated from the left and right pallet holes 80a of the pallet 80 by a predetermined distance. Therefore, by moving the left and right forks 31 forward from the state shown in FIG. 8, the left and right forks 31 can be inserted into the left and right pallet holes 80a.

When operating the reach forklift 20, the following operation assistance is provided.
When the reach-type forklift truck 20 shown in FIG. 5(a) is positioned at a distance D1 from the pallet 80, the guideline Lg1 is displayed on the display unit 63 as shown in FIG. 5(b). The camera image is displayed while displaying. The guideline Lg1 is a guideline for a short distance ahead of the distance reference lines, and when turning at a steering angle (for example, 80°) specified to face the pallet 80, it is possible to go straight (see FIG. 7A) and turn. (See FIG. 8). In FIG. 5(b), the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 are largely separated.

When the reach-type forklift truck 20 shown in FIG. 6(a) is positioned at a distance D3 from the pallet 80, the guide line Lg1 is displayed on the display unit 63 as shown in FIG. 6(b). The camera image is displayed while displaying. At this time, the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 are still separated.

When the reach-type forklift truck 20 shown in FIG. 7(a) is positioned at a distance D5 from the pallet 80, the guide line Lg1 is displayed on the display unit 63 as shown in FIG. 7(b). The camera image is displayed while displaying. At this time, the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 overlap (match).

In this way, when the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 overlap (match), the vehicle turns at a designated steering angle (for example, 80°). As a result, it can face the pallet 80 as shown in FIG.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the controller 61 informs the boundary between straight movement and turning where the vehicle can face the pallet 80 as a cargo handling object by turning at a specified steering angle after going straight. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), in a state in which the front and rear of the reach-type forklift 20 (machine base 21) is aligned with the front end surface Spf of the pallet 80, the rudder With a constant angle of 80°, the reach-type forklift 20 is turned to face the pallet 80 as shown in FIG.

As a result, the reach-type forklift 20 can be guided to a desired position and a desired posture (machine base orientation) in the relative positional relationship between the pallet 80 as a cargo handling object and the reach-type forklift 20 . In other words, the reach-type forklift 20 can be easily arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the pallet 80 in a predetermined posture.

explain in detail.
As shown in FIG. 8, a guideline Lg1 for starting turning is displayed in order to make the base 21 of the reach-type forklift 20 face the pallet 80 by remote control. After moving forward from the state of FIG. 5(a) as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 7(a), it can face the pallet 80 as shown in FIG. 8 by a simple turning operation. That is, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 overlap, the pallet 80 can be faced by turning.

Therefore, even a beginner can operate like an expert. In addition, since forward movement and turning are performed separately, the pallet 80 can be directly faced with a simple operation.
According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) As a configuration of a forklift operation support device that assists operation when operating the reach-type forklift 20, an in-vehicle camera 71 mounted on the reach-type forklift 20 and imaging the surroundings of the reach-type forklift 20 A controller 61 as a guide means for notifying the boundary between straight movement and turning so that the cargo handling object (pallet 80) can face the object (pallet 80) by turning at a designated steering angle (fixed steering angle, for example, 80°). . Therefore, the reach-type forklift 20 can be easily arranged in a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture with respect to the cargo handling object (pallet 80).

(2) The controller 61 as a guiding means superimposes the guideline Lg1 indicating the boundary on the image captured by the camera 71 on the display section 63, so that it is reliable.
(3) The forklift operation support device is used in the forklift remote control system 10 , and the forklift remote control system 10 includes a reach-type forklift 20 and a remote control device 40 . The reach-type forklift 20 includes a cargo handling device 22 on a machine base 21, and a wireless unit 52 and a wireless device 54 as vehicle communication units. It has radios 64 and 65 as operation device communication units, and is used to remotely control travel of the reach-type forklift 20 and cargo handling by the cargo handling device 22 . Therefore, when remote-controlled, the reach-type forklift 20 can be easily arranged at a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture with respect to the cargo handling object (pallet 80).

(Second embodiment)
Next, the second embodiment will be described, focusing on differences from the first embodiment.
In this embodiment, the image processing unit 66 can further superimpose a guideline Lg10 for tilt correction on the camera image, as shown in FIG. The tilt correction guideline Lg10 is a straight line extending in the straight traveling direction and separated by a distance α in the turning direction. The distance α is set to an appropriate value in advance. When the distance α is 0, it becomes the vehicle width extension line.

A specific description will be given below.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the reach-type forklift 20 goes straight ahead for a distance D10 from a place away from the pallet 80 and then goes straight for a distance D11 and turns, the angle formed by the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 is If θ is not zero and the machine base 21 is tilted with respect to the pallet 80, it cannot face the pallet 80 even if it turns. That is, the left fork 31 and the left pallet hole 80a are displaced by a predetermined amount ΔL.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the position of the machine base 21 in the horizontal direction with respect to the pallet 80 is shifted by a shift amount D21 from the optimum distance D20 on the side approaching the pallet 80, and on the side away from the pallet 80 If the pallet 80 is deviated by the amount of deviation D22, even if the guideline Lg1 and the side line Lps of the pallet 80 are aligned, the pallet 80 cannot be arranged in a predetermined position and in a predetermined posture. In this way, it is desirable to face the pallet 80 by turning at a constant steering angle. I can't face it.

As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is necessary to perform fine adjustment by steering while advancing toward the pallet 80, which complicates the operation.
In this embodiment, a first step guideline Lg10 (see FIG. 13) for correcting the inclination of the pallet 80 and machine base 21 is displayed. The guideline Lg10 extends toward the machine base 21 . Then, the front end face Spf of the pallet 80 is made to match the guideline Lg10 for the first step (see FIG. 13).

Specifically, the processing of the following first step and second step is executed.
At the first step, the controller 61 displays a guideline Lg10 for correcting the tilt θ of the pallet 80 and the machine base 21, as shown in FIG. Then, correction is performed according to the guide display, and as shown in FIG. 13, the front end surface Spf of the pallet 80 and the guideline Lg10 are aligned so that the pallet 80 and the machine base 21 are adjusted to be parallel.

In the second step, the controller 61 turns at a constant steering angle (for example, 80°) to face the pallet 80 as shown in FIG.
According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(4) The controller 61 as a guide means guides the front end face Spf of the pallet 80 and the reach-type forklift 20 (machine base 21) so that the direction of straight movement is parallel. can be matched.

Embodiments are not limited to the above, and may be embodied as follows, for example.
○ The specified steering angle may be a constant steering angle and may be other than 80°.
○ The controller 61 as a guide means captures the image captured by the camera 71, forms a virtual space by image recognition, recognizes the position and posture of the object to be handled, and virtualizes in FIG. 1 that the forklift has reached the boundary. The notification may be made by voice from the voice notification unit 67 indicated by the line. Similarly, the controller 61 as a guidance means for notifying the inclination by voice instead of superimposing the guideline Lg10 takes in the image captured by the camera 71, forms a virtual space by image recognition, and determines the position and posture of the cargo handling object. The tilt correction may be recognized and reported by voice from the voice reporting section 67 indicated by the phantom line in FIG.

Specifically, when there is no guideline, it is as follows.
A camera image is taken in, a virtual space is formed by image recognition, the position and attitude of the pallet 80 are recognized, and when the front end surface Spf of the pallet 80 and the guideline (Lg10) match, a sound is given. In addition, when the vehicle reaches the boundary between going straight and turning, it will give an audible message “Please turn at a steering angle of 80°”, and will notify you again when the turning is finished.

○ The object to be handled is not limited to the pallet 80. For example, it may be a load or the like that is transferred by a forklift.
○ The number of in-vehicle cameras does not matter.

○ In addition to the in-vehicle camera, a camera may be installed on the equipment side (infrastructure side), and the surroundings may be captured by the infrastructure camera and the camera image may be used.
○ Although the forklift was a reach-type forklift, it is not limited to this, and a forklift other than a reach-type forklift may be used. For example, a forklift or the like that clamps a roll may be used.

○ The operation support device for forklifts was used for the remote control system for forklifts, but it is not limited to this. For example, you may use it for a manned forklift. That is, instead of providing an unmanned forklift equipped with a camera and a remote control device having a display, for example, the present invention may be applied to a manned forklift equipped with a camera and a display.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Remote control system for forklifts, 20... Reach-type forklift, 21... Machine base, 22... Cargo-handling apparatus, 40... Remote control apparatus, 52... Wireless unit, 54... Wireless device, 61... Controller, 64, 65... Wireless device , 71... In-vehicle camera, 80... Pallet, Lg1... Guideline, Spf... Front end face.

Claims (3)

A forklift operation support device for supporting operation when operating a forklift,
a camera mounted on the forklift for imaging the surroundings of the forklift;
superimposing a first guideline extending in the straight direction of the forklift on the image captured by the camera in the display unit in order to guide the front end face of the pallet and the straight direction of the forklift to be parallel, In order to inform the boundary between the straight movement and the turning where the cargo handling object can be directly faced by turning at a specified steering angle after going straight, the display section displays a second display indicating the boundary between the straight movement and the turning. guide means for superimposing a guideline on an image captured by the camera ;
An operation support device for a forklift, comprising: The guide means captures the image captured by the camera, forms a virtual space by image recognition, recognizes the position and posture of the cargo handling object, and notifies by voice that the forklift has reached the boundary. The operation support device for a forklift according to claim 1. The forklift operation support device is used in a forklift remote control system,
The forklift remote control system includes the forklift and a remote control device,
The forklift has a cargo handling device on its platform and a vehicle communication unit,
2. The remote control device has a control device communication unit that performs wireless communication with the vehicle communication unit, and is used to remotely control traveling of the forklift and cargo handling by the cargo handling device. The operation support device for a forklift according to claim 2.

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