JPH07121149B2 - Remote control device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a remote control device for remotely controlling a movable control object, which is a cargo handling machine such as a crane, by a weak radio wave.

[Conventional technology]

For example, a weak radio wave of high frequency is used as a radio wave when remotely controlling a cargo handling machine such as a crane as a moving control object from a remote location by radio, but its level is about the same as the ambient noise level. Become.

By the way, for example, when remotely controlling a crane as a moving control object, an omnidirectional whip antenna 1 as shown in FIG. 5 is conventionally used as an antenna for receiving a weak radio wave transmitted from a transmitter on the operator side. Was used more. Then, the radio wave received by the whip antenna 1 is amplified by the high-frequency amplifier circuit 3 via the coaxial cable 2, and this signal is mixed with the signal from the local oscillation circuit 5 in the mixing section 4 and frequency-converted, Detected by the detection unit 6,
The operation of the moving control body is controlled based on the detected signal.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, when the above-mentioned whip antenna 1 is used as a receiving antenna, there is a problem in that the directional characteristics of the whip antenna 1 cause radio waves to be received from all directions, resulting in a decrease in gain as a whole. Therefore, it is possible to use a directional antenna such as the Yagi antenna to solve the above-mentioned problem, but the polarization direction of the radio wave that can be efficiently received by any of the above-mentioned antennas is fixed in one direction,
It was not very efficient in a place where the direction of polarization changes due to many reflections of radio waves, such as the place where a crane is actually installed.

Also, since any of the above antennas has a protruding structure,
There is a problem in that it is troublesome to install on a crane that is moved and steered in various directions and is an obstacle.

Further, in the case where only one of the above-mentioned antennas is provided in the crane, which is the movable control object, there is a problem that a fading phenomenon may occur at the time of reception, causing a momentary interruption of the signal.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to reduce fading and perform spatial reception of radio waves with a high gain, and to prevent a malfunction from being generated by a moving control body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote layer vertical device which can be remotely controlled and which can be attached with an antenna so as not to hinder the movement of a moving control body.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

To achieve the above object, the remote control device according to the present invention comprises:
In a remote control device for remotely controlling a movable control object 7 using radio waves, at least two or more planar antennas 10 mounted on the movable control element and radio waves from the respective antennas are selectively captured and detected. A detector 17 and an error detector for checking whether or not the detection signal output by the detector connected to any one of the planar antennas is normal.
18, and when the error verification unit determines that there is an abnormality, the power supply to the signal route from the connected planar antenna is cut off and switched to the power supply to the signal route from another planar antenna, and the normal When the determination is made, the switching means 19 is provided for outputting the detection signal of the signal route determined to be normal as a signal for remotely controlling the movable control body.

[Operation] When a transmission radio wave for remotely controlling the moving control target 7 is output from the transmitting device 8, this transmission radio wave is transmitted to the moving control target 7.
It is received by any one of the two or more planar antennas 10 mounted on the power receiving antenna. The signal received by any one of the planar antennas 10 is detected by the detection unit 17 and then the error detection unit 18
Is used to verify whether or not the detected signal is normal.
When the verification result is determined to be abnormal, the switching means 19 cuts off the power supply to the signal route from the currently connected planar antenna and switches to the power supply to the signal route from another planar antenna. On the other hand, when the verification result is determined to be normal, the detection signal of the signal route that is determined to be normal is output from the error verification unit 18 as a signal for remotely controlling the moving manipulator 7.

〔Example〕

1 (a) and 1 (b) are a front view and a side view showing an overall structure of a movable control body operated by a remote control device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an inside of a receiving device in the remote control vertical device. It is a figure which shows a structure.

The remote control device according to this embodiment remotely controls a cargo handling machine such as a crane as the moving control object 7 by a weak radio wave, and transmits the transmitter 8 operated by the operator and the radio wave of the transmitter 8. The receiving device 9 for receiving is generally configured.

The transmitting device 8 operates the switches and levers to operate the crane body 7a as the movable control body 7 in the traveling direction shown in FIG. 1 and also to the cargo handling section 7b provided on the crane body 7a.
Is transmitted from the antenna for moving in the horizontal and vertical directions indicated by the arrow in FIG.

The receiving device 9 includes an antenna 10 that receives a weak radio wave transmitted by the transmitting device 8 and a receiver 11 that processes the radio wave received by the antenna 10.

The antenna 10 is a crane main body as a moving control body 7 in a traveling direction that requires a communication distance to receive radio waves.
It is installed on both sides of 7a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna 10 has an antenna element 10a attached to a tray-shaped resin cover 10b, and is composed of a planar antenna such as a microstrip antenna or an inverted F-type antenna. Further, the plane of polarization of the antenna 10 operates as a circularly polarized wave, and it is possible to receive a radio wave whose polarization direction changes due to random reflection. Further, the antenna 10 has a pair of first high-frequency amplifier circuits 13 and 13 incorporated therein for compensating for the loss of radio waves when transmitting to the receiver 11 via the coaxial cable 12. In addition, the coaxial cable 12 has a first high-frequency amplifier circuit 13
The power supply for driving the is superposed. This allows
A separate power supply for the first high-frequency amplifier circuit 13 is unnecessary, and the configuration is simplified.

In this way, the antenna 10 is arranged on both sides of the crane body 7a, which is the movable control body 7, so that its directivity is oriented in the traveling direction of the crane body 7a, which is required to secure a communication distance. It is possible to reduce the reception of noise from immediately below the crane body 7a. Further, at the same time, the outputs of the antennas 10 and 10 arranged apart from each other are connected to the mixing unit by selecting the one having a better reception state according to the error verification result of the receiver 11 which will be described later. Can be reduced.

Further, since the receiving surface 10a of the antenna 10 used has a planar shape, the directivity is directed over a certain range as shown in FIG. 4, and spatial radio waves can be received. .

The receiver 11 processes radio waves transmitted from the first high frequency amplification circuit 13 of the antenna 10 via the coaxial cable 12, and includes a pair of second high frequency amplification circuits 14 and 14, a mixing unit 15, and a local unit. The oscillation unit 16, the detection unit 17, the error verification unit 18, and the switching unit 19 are provided.

More specifically, first, the second high-frequency amplifier circuits 14,14
Then, the high-frequency radio waves transmitted from the first high-frequency amplifier circuits 13 and 13 are amplified and output to the mixing unit 15. The mixing section 15 mixes the signals from the second high-frequency amplifier circuits 14 and 14 with the signal from the local oscillation circuit 16, converts the frequency, and outputs the result to the detection section 17. The detection unit 17 takes out the intermediate frequency signal supplied from the mixing unit and performs FM detection, and the detected signal controls the movement of the crane body 7a as the moving control body 7 via the error verification unit 18. Is transmitted to each drive mechanism (not shown) of the crane, and as a result, the crane body 7a and the cargo handling section 7b move in the directions specified by the transmitter (traveling direction, lateral direction, vertical direction). Controlled.

Here, even if a predetermined time set in advance elapses, the detection unit 17
If the correct signal is not output from the error tester
18 judges that this state is an error and disconnects the currently connected signal route from the power source to switch the contacts 19a and 19b.

That is, the error verification unit 18 connects and disconnects the power source according to the strength of the received radio wave, and the signal route selection control is performed so that the strong radio wave can always be received based on the output after the error verification.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the antennas 10 are mounted in pairs on both sides of the crane body 7a as the movable control body 7. However, if it is desired to further extend the reception range, the plurality of antennas 10 should be separated by a certain distance. You may make it arrange | position.

Further, although the crane has been described as an example of the movable control object 7 to be remotely controlled, the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to other machines.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the remote control device of the present invention, the detection signal determined to be normal after verification is used as a signal for remotely controlling the mobile control object regardless of the position of the mobile control object. Since it is used, malfunction can be prevented. Moreover, since the flat plane antenna is used as the antenna for receiving the radio wave, the antenna can be attached so as not to hinder the movement of the movable control body.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a) and 1 (b) are a front view and a side view showing an overall structure of a movable control body operated by a remote control device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal configuration of a receiving device in the remote control device. FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are a front view and a side view of the plane antenna of the remote control device, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing directional characteristics of the plane antenna of the remote control device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional remote control device. 9 ... Receiving device, 10 ... Antenna (planar antenna), 11 ... Receiver, 12 ... Coaxial cable.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device for remotely controlling a movable control body (7) using radio waves, comprising: at least two or more planar antennas (10) mounted on the movable control body; A detection unit (17) that selectively captures and detects radio waves, and an error verification unit (18) that verifies whether the detection signal output from the detection unit connected to any one of the planar antennas is normal. When the error verification unit determines that there is an abnormality, the power supply to the signal route from the connected planar antenna is cut off and switched to the power supply to the signal route from another planar antenna, and it is determined to be normal. Sometimes, the remote control device further comprises a switching means (19) for outputting a detection signal of a signal route determined to be normal as a signal for remotely controlling the movable control object.