JPH07304385A - Lighting system for construction machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically control the working lamp of a construction machine according to the brightness on the periphery. CONSTITUTION:A working lamp is installed on the boom 5 of a front working mechanism, and light is irradiated toward the peripheral part, having the region where work is carried out actually as center, and a working lamp 11 which irradiates light toward the front part of the vehicle is installed in the vicinity of the driver's room 3 of an upper part turning body 2. In order to control the working lamps 10 and 11, an illuminance sensor 20a is installed at the front part on the roof of the driver's room 3, and an illuminance sensor 20b is installed at the position nearly symmetrical to the illuminance sensor 20a, for the turning center of the upper part turning body 2, and each illuminance signal supplied from the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b is inputted into a controller, and each turning-ON/OFF of the working lamps 10 and 11 and the adjustment for the supplied voltage are carried out, and the lighting with the proper light quantity for the working region is enabled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an illuminating device for illuminating a work area in a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator for excavating work outdoors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a construction machine, for example, in a hydraulic excavator, an upper revolving structure is rotatably mounted on a lower traveling structure, and an operator's cab for an operator is installed on the upper revolving structure and a front working mechanism is connected. It is configured to be provided. The front working mechanism has a boom connected to an upper swing body so that it can be lifted and lowered, and an arm connected to the tip of the boom so as to be vertically rotatable. Attachments are connected. By operating this front work mechanism, work such as excavation of earth and sand is performed.

The hydraulic excavator having the above structure is usually designed to work outdoors, and in particular, work is often carried out at night when traffic is light, such as repairing roads in urban areas. Since it is necessary to illuminate the work area, the hydraulic excavator is equipped with a lighting device. The lighting device includes three or more work lights, which are lit by using a battery mounted on a vehicle as a power source, for example, positions on the left and right sides of a cab in a frame of an upper swing body and a boom in a front work mechanism. Set up,
The illuminating light is applied to the entire work area, and the operator's front view is ensured. These work lights are controlled to flash by a work light flashing control switch on the operation panel provided in the driver's cab. The lights are individually controlled to blink.

[0004]

As described above, if the operator operates the switch to blink the work light, there are the following problems.

First of all, when performing work from night to early morning, it is necessary to illuminate the work light by turning on the work light at night. There is no need for lighting. However, since it becomes brighter gradually from the dawn to the sunrise, there is a possibility that work may be continued while overlooking the lighting of the work light, and power may be wasted.

Further, when performing work while traveling a vehicle, when going back and forth between a bright place and a dark place, for example, between a shaded portion of a building and a portion where sunlight is radiated. In the case of performing work while reciprocating with or moving the vehicle inside or outside the tunnel, it is normally preferable to control the blinking of the work light each time, but from the complexity of switch operation, etc. Proper operation of the lighting device is often not performed, such as performing work with the work light always on, or performing work without turning on the work light despite the workability being reduced. .
In the first place, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of operability, etc. to manually control the plurality of work lights so that optimum lighting is performed according to the ambient brightness.

Further, in recent years, various switches have been provided on the operation panel from the viewpoint of increasing the functions of construction machines such as hydraulic excavators, improving safety and controllability, saving energy, etc. There is a tendency to configure to control various members, and if a plurality of switches for controlling the blinking of the work light are provided, the configuration of the operation panel becomes complicated and large by that amount. It becomes a restriction for installation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to enable a work lamp to be automatically blinked according to the ambient brightness. .

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an illuminating device of the present invention is mounted on an upper swing body of a construction machine to illuminate a work area, and one or more work lights. The illuminance sensor is provided at least near the driver's cab of the body, and a controller that controls the work light based on a signal from the illuminance sensor is featured.

[0010]

When the construction machine is operated outdoors to perform work such as excavation of earth and sand, the illuminance sensor constantly detects the ambient brightness. Then, it is detected that the illuminance sensor is dark, the signal is input to the controller, the work light is automatically turned on based on the output signal from the controller, and the brightness of the work area is also increased. The work light goes out. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the situation in which power is wasted by continuing to work while overlooking the lighting of the work light, even though there is sufficient brightness for the work. it can. Further, even when performing work while repeatedly reciprocating between a bright place and a dark place, the work light blinks in a quick response to the ambient brightness.

As a work light, which has a large maximum light amount,
If the amount of illumination light is variable and the controller can adjust the amount of light from the work lights, it is possible to illuminate with an appropriate amount of light, and the number of work lights itself can be reduced. The device configuration has become simpler,
The chance of failure is reduced.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a hydraulic excavator as an example of a construction machine. In the figure, 1 is a lower traveling body consisting of left and right crawler tracks, 2 is an upper revolving structure mounted on the lower traveling body 1 so as to be rotatable, 3 is a driver's cab, and 4 is a front working mechanism. The front working mechanism 4 is a boom 5 provided on the upper swing body 2 so as to be able to move up and down, an arm 6 rotatably connected to the tip of the boom 5 in the up-down direction, and a front attachment connected to the tip of the arm 6. The bucket 7, the boom 7, the arm 6 and the bucket 7
Are a boom cylinder 5a and an arm cylinder 6a, respectively.
And is driven by the bucket cylinder 7a.

In order to illuminate the work area when working under a condition where sunlight cannot be obtained by the hydraulic excavator such as night work or the brightness of the sunlight is not sufficient,
A lighting device is provided. This illuminating device is equipped with work lights 10 and 11 powered by a battery (not shown) mounted on a vehicle. The work light 10 is attached to a side surface portion of the boom 5 at an intermediate portion thereof.
0 is to irradiate the illumination light toward the peripheral part around the area where the front work mechanism 4 is actually working. Further, the work lamp 11 is the upper swing body 2
The illumination light is emitted toward the front of the vehicle in the vicinity of the position where the driver's cab 3 is disposed in the frame, so that the front view is secured. Here, the work lamp 11 can illuminate the work lamp 10 with an amount of illumination light which is about twice or more, and the amount of illumination light can be made variable.

Therefore, FIG. 2 shows the structure of the work lamp 10.
In the figure, reference numeral 12 indicates a housing that houses the work lamp 10, and a transparent plate 13 is mounted on the front surface of the housing 12. Rotating shafts 14, 14 are connected to the left and right of the housing 12, and the rotating shafts 14 are connected to a support 15 formed in a substantially U shape so that the angle can be adjusted. And the support 15 is the mounting plate 16
The support 15 is fixed to the boom 5. Further, the work lamp 11 is also configured in the same manner, and its support is fixed to the frame of the upper swing body 2.

By the way, the control relating to the blinking of the work lights 10 and 11 and the adjustment of the amount of illumination light of the work light 11 is not performed manually by an operator, but is detected automatically by controlling the ambient brightness. Is configured. For this purpose, an illuminance sensor such as a CdS or other photoelectric illuminometer is used, and the illuminance sensor is mounted on the vehicle at least at one location, preferably at two or more locations. When two illuminance sensors are provided, one illuminance sensor 20a is arranged in the vicinity of the cab 3 such as the front position of the upper swing body 2, that is, the front position of the roof of the cab 3, and the other illuminance sensor 20a. The sensor 20b is arranged at a rear position of the upper swing body 2, that is, a position substantially symmetrical to the illuminance sensor 20a with respect to the swing center of the upper swing body 2. Other than these, the upper revolving structure 2 may be mounted on both left and right sides.

The illuminance sensors 20a and 20b are for outputting voltage signals (or current signals) according to the amount of received light as illuminance signals. These illuminance signals are, as shown in FIG. Entered in. here,
When the hydraulic excavator performs work in an open area in the field, the output signals of the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b are substantially equal to each other, but depending on the situation, there is a large difference in brightness between the front and the rear of the vehicle. Sometimes. Therefore,
In the controller 21, the work lamp 10 is turned on and off based on the detection signal of whichever of the illuminance signals detected by the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b is lower (that is, darker).
Then, ON / OFF of the work lamp 11 and control of the supply voltage thereto are controlled.

Therefore, the controller 21 selects the darker illuminance signal from the illuminance signals output from the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b, and the level setter 2.
3 and a subtractor 24, of the output signals of the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b selected by the selection circuit 22, the one with lower illuminance, that is, the darker one is selected, and the level of this signal is subtracted. The signal level 24 is subtracted from the signal level preset by the level setter 23. The output signal from the subtractor 24 is input to the lighting control circuit 25 that controls the blinking of the work light 10, and the lighting / light amount control circuit 26 that controls the blinking and the light amount of the work light 11.
Is also entered.

When the illuminance signals are output from the illuminance sensors 20a, 20b, the darker illuminance signal is selected by the selection circuit 22, and the subtractor 24 determines the signal level of the level setter 23. If it is subtracted and is higher than the set signal level, that is, if the ambient brightness is sufficient to perform the work, the work lights 10 and 11 are not lit together. However, the surroundings became dark and the illuminance sensor 2
When the signal levels of 0a and 20b fall below the level set by the level setter 23, a signal is first transmitted to the lighting control circuit 25 and the work lamp 10 is turned on. In addition, the subtractor 24 is only enough to interfere with the work only by turning on the work lamp 10 when the ambient illuminance further decreases.
When the output signal from the lamp decreases, the decrease of the signal level is taken into the lighting / light quantity control circuit 26, the lighting of the work lamp 11 is started, and further, the working light 11 is lit with the light quantity corresponding to the decrease of the signal level. There is.

The present embodiment is configured as described above, and when the hydraulic excavator performs work in the daytime in a situation where there is sufficient brightness, the work lights 10 and 11 are turned off. Held in. At dusk, that is, when it becomes twilight and the surrounding darkness increases, the visibility deteriorates. Therefore, when it becomes dark to some extent, the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b detect that it is dark, and the work lamps 10 and 11 are turned on. Here, since it gradually becomes darker as daytime shifts to twilight, when the darkness reaches a certain level, the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b detect the situation and the lighting control circuit 25 in the controller 21 On the basis of the above command, first, the work lamp 10 is turned on to illuminate a portion where work such as excavation is actually performed, thereby ensuring the smoothness of the work. Then, at a stage before the visibility gets worse to the extent that it becomes darker, hindering work, or the safety of workers working around the vehicle cannot be ensured, the lighting / light quantity control circuit 26 The work lamp 11 is turned on based on the signal of.
Here, since the work lamp 11 has a variable amount of illumination light, after the light is turned on, the amount of illumination light is increased continuously or stepwise as the sunlight decreases and becomes dark. Then, when a complete sunset state is reached, the illumination light of the work lamp 11 becomes maximum, and the work area can be illuminated brightly together with the work lamp 10 that is already turned on.

Here, illuminance sensors 20a and 20b are provided in the front and rear portions of the upper swing body 2, and these illuminance sensors 20a and 20b are provided.
The signal with the lower illuminance of the detection signals of a and 20b is selected by the selection circuit 22, and the control of the work lights 10 and 11 based on this selection circuit 22 is as follows. It is a matter of consideration. That is, in a place where a light-shielding object such as a structure is interposed, when the entire surroundings are getting dark to some extent due to weather conditions such as twilight, cloudy weather, rain, etc., in a place where the sunlight is blocked by the light-shielding object, There are situations where lighting is needed and where it is not, it is not necessary. Since the upper revolving structure 2 appropriately revolves during work, when revolving,
It is necessary to prevent the occurrence of a situation where the visibility is suddenly deteriorated extremely. For this reason, the darkness in the direction opposite to the direction of the cab 3 is detected, and when it is dark enough to interfere with the work, the work lights 10 and 11 are turned on. In addition, at night, etc., the illumination is illuminated not only by the vehicle side but also by the external illumination lamp installed at the work site. Sensitive to Normally, the illumination from the external illumination lamp is applied to the front of the work, and the light from the external illumination lamp may be directly incident on the illuminance sensor 20a on the cab 3 side, but the illuminance on the opposite side is not. Sensor 20
Since there is little possibility that the light of the external illumination light enters b, and there is almost no case where the light from the external illumination light directly enters both the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b, the external illumination light is used. It is possible to prevent erroneous detection of illuminance.

On the other hand, when the work by the hydraulic excavator is performed from night to morning, the brightness gradually increases at the dawn before and after sunrise. Therefore, in order to eliminate the waste of electric power, the work lights 10 and 11 decrease the illumination light amount as the brightness increases, and when the work lights 10 and 11 have such brightness that they do not interfere with the work, the work lights 10 and 11 are turned off. There must be. As described above, the illuminance sensors 20a, 20
Since the ambient brightness is always detected by b, the ON / OFF control of the work lights 10 and 11 and the light amount of the work light 11 are invited, so that the optimum brightness can be obtained according to the ambient brightness. It is possible to illuminate the state, and to prevent consumption of power more than necessary.

Further, even during the daytime work, if the operator reciprocates between a dark place such as a structure or a tunnel and a bright place outside with some time, the user enters a dark place. Occasionally, the illuminance sensors 20a and 20b detect it, the work lights 10 and 11 are automatically turned on to illuminate the surroundings, and when the work lights 10 and 11 move to an open part, the work lights 10 , 11 are turned off so that useless energy is not consumed. Therefore, the operator does not need to frequently operate the lighting switch.

As described above, by using the work lamp 10 whose ON / OFF is controlled and the work lamp 11 which can adjust not only ON / OFF but also the amount of illumination light, the illumination for the work area is always in the most appropriate state. Therefore, it is possible to illuminate with a large number of work lights in order to adjust the amount of illumination light, and to individually turn these work lights on and off.
Since the number of work lights can be reduced as compared with the control light, the frequency of replacement due to life etc. can be reduced. In addition, since it is not necessary to control the work lights 10 and 11 by operating the switches, the cab 3
The number of switches on the operation panel provided inside can be reduced, the size can be reduced, and a space for providing other switches can be secured.

In the above-described embodiment, the work light 10 is arranged on the boom 5 and the work light 11 is arranged near the cab 3. However, in order to effectively illuminate the work area, It is sufficient to provide only one working light, and it is also possible to provide another working light as required. Further, the work lamp 10 is controlled to be turned on and off, and the work lamp 11 is configured not only to be turned on and off but also to be able to adjust the amount of illumination light. However, both the work lamps 10 and 11 are turned on and off. To configure
Further, both the work lights 10 and 11 may be capable of adjusting the amount of illumination light.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, one or a plurality of work lights provided in the upper swing body of the construction machine and illuminating the work area are provided at least near the driver's cab in the upper swing body. Since the control is performed by the controller connected to the sensor, the work light is automatically blinked according to the ambient brightness, and the work area can always be illuminated most appropriately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a hydraulic excavator as a construction machine equipped with a lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a work light.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a work light control mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lower traveling body 2 Upper revolving structure 3 Driver's cab 4 Front working mechanism 5 Boom 10, 11 Work light 20a, 20b Illuminance sensor 21 Controller 22 Selection circuit 23 Level setting device 24 Subtractor 25 Lighting control circuit 26 Lighting / light intensity control circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A work light or lights mounted on an upper revolving structure of a construction machine to illuminate a work area, an illuminance sensor provided at least near a driver's cab in the upper revolving structure, and a signal from the illuminance sensor. An illumination device for a construction machine, comprising: a controller that controls the work light based on the above. 2. The illumination light amount of at least one of the work lights is variable, and the controller controls blinking of the work light based on a signal from the illuminance sensor. The lighting device for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is configured to adjust a light amount of a work light whose light amount is variable. 3. The work light is attached to a position near the driver's cab of the upper swing body and a boom, and the illuminance sensor is provided at a position near the driver's cab and a position on the opposite side thereof.
The lighting device for a construction machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the work light is controlled based on these two illuminance sensors.