JPH0731023A - Method and system for high position work - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To alleviate the burden on an operator at the time of distribution wiring work by grasping the position of a high position working truck at an arbitrary parking position relative to a working object and correcting the working environmental information appropriately thereby conducting the work autonomously. CONSTITUTION:Necessary instructions are stored in a task planner 1. At a work site, relative distance between a working object and a high position working system is measured by a distance measuring means 4. The task planner 1 then determines the elements of a coordinate conversion matrix between the high position working system and the working object and converts the knowledge, stored on a component coordinate system with reference to the working object, into values on a system coordinate system with reference to the high position working system using the coordinate conversion matrix. Operational input of an operator is then converted into an operational instruction of the working machine with reference to concrete knowledge corresponding to the working environment of a working environment data base 2 and a generalized satisfactory conditional formula. The operational instruction is down loaded to a controller 5 which operates the high position system 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an aerial work apparatus and method for safely performing high-voltage hot line work such as a distribution line by remote control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to improve the work safety conditions for hot line work in distribution work, a work robot is mounted on the tip of the boom of an aerial work vehicle and the passenger seat of this vehicle is modified, or A ground-operated robot system is being introduced, which remotely operates a robot operation panel installed on the ground to carry out live work at high altitudes. In order to actually perform work using such a ground-operated robot, the operator conventionally turns, expands and contracts, while looking at the TV for monitoring.
By operating the boom such as ups and downs, the working base installed at the tip of the boom is brought close to the work target, and then the work manipulator installed on the working base is remotely operated to perform the actual power distribution work. FIG. 17 is a schematic view of a conventional device, in which 30 is a boom, 31 is a working base, 32 and 33 are right ITV cameras, left ITV cameras, 36 is a stereoscopic camera, 37 is a cabin, 38 is a crane, and 39.
Is a working manipulator.

[0003]

In the method of performing remote work while observing the surveillance TV as described above, not only the view is very limited but also the image is reduced. It is difficult to accurately grasp the work environment of. Further, the operation of the work arm needs to be instructed by the operator one by one through the control arm, and the operator needs to pay close attention so as not to destroy each other in the work in which the work arm contacts the work object. .
As a result, the components such as the boom, the manipulator for work, and the crane are adjusted to the work position by trial and error, which causes a problem that not only the work ability is bad but also the operator is burdened with a lot. Further, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform automatic work because the relative position to the object changes depending on the parking position of the work vehicle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the work environment information input to the control device by grasping the relative position of the work target (mounting pole (electric pole)) at an arbitrary parking position of the aerial work vehicle. Work autonomously by referring to
It is an object of the present invention to provide an aerial work apparatus and a method thereof that can reduce the burden on the operator in power distribution work and contribute to the improvement of work efficiency.

[0004]

An aerial work apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is an aerial work apparatus in which a working base is attached to the tip of an insulating boom provided so that the height position of the tip can be adjusted. A means for measuring the distance to the work target, and a task planner for generating an operation command using the work position coordinates obtained from the measurement result of the distance measuring means and the information of the work environment database in accordance with the work procedure of the high-altitude work device, A work environment database that stores work environment information related to the work object and work state, a state monitoring unit that monitors the work environment and updates the stored contents of the work environment base whenever the work environment changes, and a boom or working base according to an operation command. And a controller for operating the work equipment installed in. An aerial work apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention is
The task planner is provided with a conversion unit for converting the component coordinate system into the work position coordinate of the system coordinate system of the work machine for high places, based on the position coordinate of the work target object obtained from the measurement result of the distance measuring unit. The aerial work apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention corrects the work position coordinates stored in the work environment database by the state monitoring unit to the actual work position coordinates obtained by the output from the distance measuring means. Equipped with means. An aerial work apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention stores a work environment database storing work environment information in a removable external storage medium, and can recall information created in advance from the external storage medium each time work is performed. Made possible The high-altitude work apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention sends data relating to the work status to the work office via the communication means for centralized management. An aerial work method according to claim 6 of the present invention is
Coordinate conversion between the work target and the aerial work automatic device by stopping the work device at a high position close to a predetermined position with respect to the work target and measuring each of the relative distances using a distance measuring unit. The relative position relationship between the component coordinate system on the work side and the system coordinate system on the high-altitude work automatic device side is obtained by automatically performing the boom or work equipment work procedure according to the positional relationship based on this coordinate conversion. Then, it is operated via the controller.

[0005]

In the aerial work apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, necessary instructions are stored in the task planner. And in actual work at the site, the relative distance between the work object and the aerial work device is measured by the distance measuring means, and the elements of the coordinate conversion matrix between the aerial work device and the work object are measured. Using this coordinate transformation matrix, the knowledge stored in the component coordinate system based on the work target is converted to the value in the system coordinate system based on the work device at high altitude, and the operator's operation input is converted into the work environment. (Knowledge) Converts into machine operation commands by referring to specific knowledge according to the work environment of the database and generalized satisfaction condition formulas, and downloads them to the controller to let the aerial work equipment perform the work. . And while the aerial work equipment executes a series of work,
From the signals from various sensors equipped in the aerial work equipment and the progress status of equipment operation commands, confirm the changes in the work environment that should be monitored, and rewrite and change the knowledge about the environmental status in the knowledge database one after another. The task planner is used to determine an operation instruction (task instruction or primitive task instruction) for a work procedure to be executed next. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the aerial work apparatus, the component coordinate system is converted into the system coordinate of the aerial work apparatus by using the conversion means based on the position coordinates of the work target obtained from the measurement result by the distance measuring means. It is designed to be converted into work position coordinates of the system. The high-altitude work apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention uses the work position coordinates stored in the work environment database. The actual work position coordinates obtained from the output from the distance measuring means are updated. An aerial work apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention sends data relating to the work status to a work office for centralized management. In the aerial work method according to claim 6 of the present invention, when performing work on an object to be worked with the aerial work device, a motion locus (target position) is a coordinate fixed with the aerial work device as a reference. It is necessary to describe it on the system (system coordinate system). However, the relative position relationship between the aerial work device and the work object changes due to the movement of the aerial work device, and even if the aerial work device is installed at a place having the same positional relationship, the positional error Therefore, it is not possible to describe the motion trajectory of the operating device in advance in the system coordinate system. Therefore, after fixing (parking) the high-altitude work device to an arbitrary position, the distance measurement sensor is used to measure the distance to the real object, and the work environment model in the work environment database is matched with the real environment. .
That is, the coordinate conversion is performed between the work target and the system coordinate system to obtain the relative positional relationship, and the work command of the operating device is created based on this.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An aerial work apparatus or a method therefor according to claim 1 or 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram, and 1 is a task planner, which is a part for automatically generating an operation command (robot control program) of a work device from an operation input given by an operator. The task planner 1 stores a conditional expression, which is a work procedure that must be satisfied in order to execute the instruction given by the operator, in the form of a generalized logical expression. Further, the instructions to be executed to satisfy each term of the satisfaction conditional expression are also stored correspondingly. Reference numeral 2 is a work environment database (knowledge database), which stores knowledge about working devices at high places and work objects and knowledge about their current states, and also relates to a unit work procedure used when decomposing the task instructions into primitive task instructions. The knowledge, the knowledge about the operation procedure in which the content procedure of the primitive task instruction is described by the robot control instruction, and the knowledge used as the argument of the robot control instruction are stored. The knowledge database 2 has a hierarchical structure, in which the parent frame stores the knowledge about the object in the object reference coordinates in the component coordinate system, and the child frame stores each element of the work object. Knowledge is stored about the work object reference coordinates in the parts coordinate system. And this child frame can further have the child frame if needed. For example, when considering a distribution pole, the parent frame describes a reference point of the pole, the origin and direction of the reference coordinates, a list of constituent parts such as arms, and insulators. Further, the component parts form a dedicated database for each component part as a child frame.

A state monitoring unit 3 monitors work by an aerial work apparatus by signals of various sensors equipped on the apparatus, and responds to the knowledge database 2 each time the state of each work environment changes at each work stage. Correct and rewrite knowledge about environmental conditions. Reference numeral 4 is a distance measuring means for measuring the distance between the high-altitude work automatic device and the work object by using the principle of triangulation. The controller 5 is a control unit that actually operates the constituent devices of the aerial work automatic device such as the boom, the manipulator for work, and the crane. The controller 5 operates the constituent devices such as the boom, work manipulator, and crane according to the operation command from the task planner 1. The desired work operation is performed. Therefore, for example, in the work of replacing the insulator, the work procedure varies depending on the environmental condition around the work equipment at a high place, but the knowledge obtained by referring to the world model unique to each distribution pole and the logic generalized to the task planner 1 It is possible to automatically generate a work equipment operation command (robot control program) adapted to the pillar by adding a specific condition regarding the environmental condition to the work procedure stored as the formula. Therefore, the components such as the boom, the manipulator for work, and the crane work autonomously according to the working environment.

Next, a specific example of the high-altitude work apparatus will be described below. FIG. 2 shows an example of a work environment in which a arm 9 is attached to an electric pole 7 via an arm tie 8, and the arm 9 is provided with insulators 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d and 10e. is there. Then, in the present embodiment, "automatic attachment work of the insulator to the armhole" will be described. When performing work on a work target as shown in FIG. 2 at a high work position (hereinafter referred to as a system), the motion locus is on a coordinate system (system coordinate system) fixed to the base of the system. Need to be described.
However, since the relative positional relationship between the system and the work object changes due to the movement of the system, and even if the system is installed in the place of the same positional relationship every time, the positional error is included. The motion locus of cannot be described in the system coordinate system. Therefore, after the system is parked at an arbitrary position, a distance sensor is used to measure the distance to the actual object, and the working environment model in the environmental knowledge database is matched with the actual environment. The working environment model in the environmental knowledge database is shown in Fig. 3.
It is expressed as. In addition, 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d
， 11e is insulator mounting hole, 12 is arm tie mounting hole, 13
Is a telephone pole mounting hole. For example, regarding arm 9 of (a),
The length L1 × L2 × L3cm, weight addition to such Wkg, 5 one hole 11a ～11E position and orientation AT ^H1 to A mounting insulators
T ^H5 (here, T ^Y indicates the position of the origin of the coordinate system Σ ^Y as seen on the coordinate system Σ X and the direction of each coordinate system.), The position and direction of the hole 12 for mounting the arm tie AT ^H6 , and the hole 13 for mounting on the utility pole. The position and direction AT ^H0 are described on the coordinate system ΣA (component coordinate system) fixed on the arm.

In the actual field work, the operator first inputs a work command in step S1 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Next, step S2
At, the relative distance between the work object and the aerial work automatic device is measured by the distance measuring means, and the coordinate conversion between the aerial work automatic device and the work object is performed, so that the system coordinate system and arm The relative positional relationship with the parts coordinate system of is obtained, and as a result, the position of each part on the armrest represented on the system coordinate system
You can get the posture. Based on this, the task planner automatically generates a component device operation command (robot control program) for attaching the insulator to the armband while referring to the environmental knowledge database and the work knowledge database. In step S3, in the case of the work of attaching the insulator A to the armhole, first, the operation trajectory of the work manipulator for gripping the insulator A and the work manipulator for inserting the bolt of the insulator A into the armhole are described. Described in the form of a robot control program, which determines the hand trajectory and the force application of the hand, the hand trajectory of the work manipulator for fitting and tightening the nut and the force application of the hand, and the control rules for each operation. To be done. By downloading this to the controller, the high-altitude work apparatus is made to perform work.

When it is finally confirmed that the work is completed, the system updates the environment data in the environment knowledge database in order to make the work environment model correspond to the change of the actual environment.
When mounting another insulator, for example, the operator inputs "attach insulator B to the armhole" and the like, and the work is performed in the same manner as insulator A. However, in this case, since the accurate position / orientation of the arm is already known, the insulator mounting work is started immediately when the operator's instruction is input.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples of knowledge about work procedures described in the work knowledge database. Note that FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are combined into one figure, but are shown separately for convenience of description. These pieces of knowledge are hierarchically organized and stored in the database. The work procedure [K1] such as the work of attaching the insulator to the armhole is the upper knowledge, and the work described in the upper knowledge is the lower knowledge. Specific execution procedures [K2 to K4] of each operation appearing in the procedure are described. FIG. 7 shows an example of knowledge about the shape and position of the work target described in the environmental knowledge database. Here, in addition to the shape / dimension data of each part of each work target part, position data and the like necessary for handling the part such as the current position, mounting position, and stock position are also described.

Next, claims 2 and 3 of the aerial work apparatus of the present invention.
An example according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 8 shows a structure of a positioning device for an aerial work apparatus according to the present invention. An ITV camera mounted on the same coordinates as a work manipulator.
It is composed of a control device which recognizes a pixel at a specific position P on the CCDs 32 and 33 and measures the distance by the principle of triangulation. In FIG. 8, (a) is a schematic plan view of the high-altitude work apparatus, which is installed at a predetermined distance from the utility pole 20. As shown in the figure, there is a working base 31 at the end of the boom 30, which includes a right ITV camera 32 and a left IT.
A V camera 33 is attached. And 34 is a right camera monitor and 35 is a left camera monitor, and the same utility pole 20 is shown as in the figure. FIG. 9 is a distribution line route map in which parameters for allowing the work manipulator to approach each of the pillars are described.

Next, the operation of the positioning device for an aerial work apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The aerial work apparatus is stopped at the work place as shown in FIG. In this case two IT
The V-cameras 32 and 33 can obtain the state of the turret 20 like the monitors 34 and 35, respectively, and the turret seen from the coordinate system installed on the working base 31 by using the position of the specific position P on the left and right monitors. Calculate the distance and bearing up to 20. This specific position P may be obtained by image processing, or a crosshair for coordinate measurement is generated in each of the left and right images, and the crosshair is operated by using a tracking ball or the like and designated according to the measurement object. Good.
The coordinates when the specific position P is shown at the position of the monitor image 40 as shown in FIG. 11 by image processing or manual operation are (n
H, nV), the horizontal angle θH and the vertical angle θV describing the optical axis of the camera are

## EQU1 ## θH = tan ^-1 (nH * k / f) θV = tan ^-1 (nV * k / f) where nH and nV are pixels from the center of the camera. k: width of 1 pixel. f: focal length of the optical lens. Note that (a) is a view of the image seen from the front, and (b) is a view of the image seen in a perspective manner.

Assuming that the optical axis of the camera has a camera interval of 2d as shown in FIG. 12 and the optical axis is aligned with the position of h, its elevation angle θ0 is θ0 = tan ^-1 (h / d). And the angle with the object is θL, θR, θL = θ0 − θH
L, θR = θ0 + θHR, the distance LCL between the left ITV camera and the object is LCL = 2d sin θR / sin (π− (θL +
θR)), and the three-dimensional position (XP, YP, ZP) of the object PT viewed from the ITV camera coordinate system is, XP = L
CL cos θL + d, YP = LCL sin θL, ZP = LCL tan
θV. Next, in order to convert the position shown in the ITV camera coordinate system to the system coordinate system P1 of the aerial work apparatus shown in FIG. 13, P1 (X, Y, Z) = TRAN (XP0, YP0, Z
It is possible by performing coordinate conversion of (P0) + ROT (θZ). As described above, in step F1, the relative distance to the pillar can be calculated in the system coordinate system of the high-altitude work apparatus.

Next, in step F2, the installation position 01 (longitude / latitude) and incoming direction of the utility pole 20 shown in FIG. 13 are calculated from the route map (see FIG. 9) showing the incoming state of the distribution line from the pole 20. Search for θ1. After that, in step F3, an azimuth measuring device mounted on the high-altitude work apparatus, for example, a G. P. S (Gl
Obal Positioning System) to measure absolute azimuth θ2. Next, the absolute azimuth θ2 and step F of the work implement
The absolute position of the work equipment and poles calculated in 1 is used to determine the absolute position of the equipment, and the boom is extended to the robot installation position indicated on the route map. By guiding the working manipulator in this way, it becomes possible to guide the manipulator from the direction in which there is no interference. Further, since a route map is prepared for each pillar, if there are many interfering substances such as telephone cables in the city, a passage point other than the final installation position may be provided on the map to finely control the locus of the boom.

Next, a method of correcting the position with respect to the component coordinate system necessary for the operation of the task planner will be described. Although the boom 30 moves to the position shown in FIG. 14 by the previous operation of the work implement at high places, it is necessary to correct the origin of the knowledge database required by the task planner depending on the position accuracy of the boom and the like. FIG. 15 shows an example of the image of the work target after the work manipulator has been positioned. Matching between the work environment model and the real environment is performed by using the insulator vertices (P3, P4,
A point in space is identified using three or more points in P5).
This identification work can be carried out without specifying the insulator, for example, by marking the arm part and recognizing it, or by capturing a characteristic point of the arm part by a laser range finder. In step F5, the work position is corrected by matching the work environment model with the actual environment, and then the control is passed to the task planner. According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the work manipulator is set in the work area from an aerial work vehicle stopped at an arbitrary position without interfering with the auxiliary equipment such as the environment attached to the distribution line or the electric pole, and is automatically set by the task planner. Work can be performed smoothly.

Next, an embodiment of an aerial work apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention will be described below. The normal operation method of the work environment database will be described with reference to FIG. The same database required for the target work is created in the central device of the base station 51 before the work is started, only the data related to the work area is stored in the external storage medium, for example, the IC card 50, and the work is performed. When the knowledge is updated, it is recorded in the same storage medium, and the work environment database of the base station is updated after the work. According to the present embodiment, since only the work environment database required for work is stored in the high-altitude work device, it is not necessary to prepare a large-capacity recording medium for the control device, and the work plan created by the base station There is an effect that can be thoroughly up to the end.

Next, FIG. 16 shows an embodiment of an aerial work apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention. An emergency operation method of the work environment database will be described with reference to FIG. If a sudden power distribution work occurs in another area during operation, the work environment database related to the work is transmitted from the central device of the base station to the aerial work automatic device by data transmission via wireless communication means. Carry out. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to speedily respond to the work that occurs suddenly, and for the automatic operation failure that occurred during normal operation, the base station searches the pillar data of the same configuration and transmits the data to the site. There is an effect that the continuation can be performed. In addition, the progress of the work performed in each place can be grasped at the base station, and the total work period can be shortened by the agile operation of the work equipment at high places.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to autonomously perform power distribution work and the like, and the operator only needs to monitor the progress of the work, and the burden of operating the automatic machine can be greatly reduced. It has the effect of improving work efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a work environment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of “work of attaching the insulator to the armhole” in the work environment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a work environment model of “work of attaching an insulator to the armhole”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of knowledge development related to a work procedure of “work of attaching insulator to armhole”.

FIG. 6 is an example diagram of knowledge development regarding a work procedure of “work of attaching an insulator to a armhole”.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram of a notation of a work environment model of “work of attaching an insulator to a armhole”.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a positioning device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of notation of installation conditions of each pillar.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for guiding an aerial work automatic device to a work area.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an angle formed by the monitoring target with the optical axis of the ITV camera.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a positional relationship between a monitoring target and a camera base.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a positional relationship between an aerial work automatic device and a pillar.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a method of guiding a work target to the vicinity thereof.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a conversion method between a robot coordinate system and a component coordinate system.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a means for transmitting work environment data to an aerial work automatic device.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a conventional high-altitude work apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 task planner 2 working environment database 3 condition monitoring unit 4 distance measuring means 5 controller 6 high altitude system 7 utility pole 8 arm tie 9 armor 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10e insulator 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e insulator mounting hole 12 Arm tie mounting hole 13 Power pole mounting hole 20 Mounting pole 30 Boom 31 Working base 32 Right ITV camera 33 Left ITV camera 34 Right camera monitor 35 Left camera monitor 36 Stereoscopic camera 37 Cabin 38 Crane 39 Working manipulator 40 Image example 50 IC card 51 base station

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yuji Takiguchi 2-4 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Toshiba Keihin Office (72) Inventor Koichiro Suenaga 2--4, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Address: Toshiba Keihin Office (72) Inventor Hirokazu Sato 1 Komukai Toshiba-cho, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Toshiba Research and Development Center (72) Inventor Taku Yoshimi Komukai-shi, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 1 Toshiba Corporation R & D Center (72) Inventor Kyo Tatsuno City Komukai Toshiba-cho, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture 1 Toshiba Research and Development Center (72) Inventor Yukio Asari Small, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Mukai Toshiba Town 1 Stock Company Toshiba Research and Development Center

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A distance measuring means for measuring a distance to an object to be worked in an aerial work apparatus in which a working base provided with working equipment is attached to the end of a boom whose height and position can be adjusted. Based on a work environment database that stores work environment information related to the object and work state in a component coordinate system, and an aerial work device obtained by output from the distance measuring means according to a work procedure stored in advance in accordance with an operation input. And a task planner that creates an operation command using the work position coordinates converted to the system coordinate system and the work environment information from the work environment database, and a controller that operates the boom or the work equipment according to the operation command from the task planner. Check the status conversion of the work environment from the work status and correct the work environment information in the work environment database at any time. Aerial work apparatus comprising a status monitoring unit for 2. The aerial work apparatus according to claim 1,
The task planner includes a conversion unit that converts a component coordinate system into a work position coordinate of a system coordinate system of the aerial work apparatus, based on the position coordinate of the work target obtained from the measurement result of the distance measuring unit. Work equipment for high places. 3. The high-altitude work apparatus according to claim 1,
The aerial work apparatus, wherein the state monitoring unit includes correction means for updating the work position coordinates stored in the work environment database to the actual work position coordinates obtained from the output from the distance measuring means. 4. A work object provided on an aerial work device,
An aerial work apparatus characterized in that all or part of the work environment information of a work environment database that stores work environment information related to a work state in a component coordinate system is stored in an external storage medium. 5. A work object provided on an aerial work apparatus,
An aerial work apparatus, wherein all or a part of the work environment information of a work environment database that stores work environment information related to a work state in a component coordinate system is transmitted / received to / from a central device of a work office via a communication means. 6. A work position coordinate obtained by measuring a distance to a work object and converting the measurement result into a system coordinate system, calling work environment information relating to the work object and work state from a work environment database, and responding to an operation input. The operation command to the boom or the work equipment is created according to the work procedure stored in advance, the boom or the work equipment is operated according to the operation instruction, and the work environment state conversion is confirmed from the work status to confirm the work environment database. Work method in high places, characterized in that the work environment information of the above is corrected at any time.