JPH09193078A - Camera direction control device of remote control machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably secure safety at turning time only by a single camera without using even an operation lever to operate a head. SOLUTION: A pan head 81 on which an angular velocity detector 19 and a camera 8 are installed, is installed on an upper turning body 12 of a hydraulic shovel 1, and a video signal of the camera 8 is transmitted to a monitor 9 of a remote place. An operator of the remote place performs remote control on the hydraulic shovel 1 through an operation side controller 4, a wireless machine 6 and a car body side controller 5. The car body side controller 5 inputs a detecting value of the angular velocity detector 19, and drives the pan head 81 by an angle according to turning angular velocity of the upper turning body 12. Therefore, the camera 8 can take a photograph by turning ahead of the turning direction as the turning angular velocity is fast, and the operator can more safely perform remote control while looking at the monitor 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera direction control device for a remote-controlled machine, which is provided in a remotely-controlled machine and controls the direction of a camera for photographing a predetermined location required for the remote control.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Working machines such as hydraulic excavators, hydraulic cranes, and bulldozers are usually operated by operators, but are used in dangerous places such as disaster areas and basements, in high-temperature environments, and in environments where dust is generated. In a poor environment, the operator does not board and the work machine is unmanned (remotely operated) by an operator at a remote location. In this case, there is no problem when the operator can see the work site, but when the operator cannot see it sufficiently or at all, remote control is performed while watching the image of the camera installed in the work site or the work machine. Conventionally, several methods have been proposed as methods of using such a camera. These methods are listed below.

(1) A plurality of cameras are installed at a work site, images of each camera are displayed on a monitor at a remote place, and an operator performs remote control while watching these images. (2) One camera is attached to the platform, and the operator operates the platform from a remote location to aim the camera at a desired position and obtain an image of the camera. (3) For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-78308, a plurality of cameras are installed in a traveling vehicle, and two cameras are switched and selected by interlocking with a steering operation lever. See the two images by the left and right eyes. (4) An image of a desired location is always displayed on one monitor by automatically tracking a predetermined location with a single camera. The automatic tracking technique is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-205494. (5) For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-110548, one camera is attached to a traveling vehicle via a platform, and the camera is rotated by an amount obtained by adding a predetermined angle to the steering amount. Aim the camera in the direction of travel.

[0004]

The method described in the above (1) can grasp a considerably large area of a work site, but a large number of cameras are required to cope with various works of a work machine. Therefore, a communication line and a monitor are also required, which leads to an increase in cost, and a plurality of monitors must be seen around, which deteriorates the operability of remote control. Since the method described in (2) above uses one camera and one monitor, the problem of cost in (1) above can be avoided, but it is for operating the platform separately from the operating lever of the working machine. Since the operation lever of must be operated, the operability of remote control deteriorates significantly. The method described in (3) above reduces the number of communication lines of the camera, does not require an operating lever for operating the platform, and eliminates the need to watch the monitor, but the number of cameras is large. In addition, since the images viewed by the operator are discontinuous when the cameras are switched, it becomes temporarily impossible to know where the operator is looking, and the operability of remote control deteriorates. The method described in (4) above requires only one camera and one monitor, and does not require operation of the pan head. However, the points that need to be monitored during work are not limited to the working part, and for example, during turning, to ensure safety,
It is necessary to look ahead of the turning direction, not the working part. Automatic tracking cannot handle such a necessary situation. In the method described in (5) above, when turning, it is possible to see the other side of the turning direction, but the other side that should be seen is fixed, and even if it is necessary to see the other side, this cannot be seen. , There is a risk that safety will not be fully ensured.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art and to reliably ensure safety during turning without using only one camera and operating lever for operating the platform. (EN) Provided is a camera direction control device for a remote control machine capable of

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a revolving structure, a platform mounted on the revolving structure, and a camera mounted on the platform, and a remote point. In a remote control machine that receives a video signal transmitted from the camera on a monitor installed in the remote control machine and remotely controls the revolving structure while watching the image displayed on the monitor, An angular velocity detector for detecting a rotational angular velocity, and a control means for controlling the angle or the angular velocity of the platform in the turning direction of the swinging body according to the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detector are provided. .

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a camera direction control device of a remotely operated hydraulic shovel according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a hydraulic excavator, which includes a lower traveling body 11, an upper revolving superstructure 12, a boom 13, an arm 14,
It is constituted by a bucket 15. 13S, 14S, 15
S is a boom cylinder, an arm cylinder, and a bucket cylinder, respectively. Reference numeral 16 denotes a control valve group composed of control valves for individually controlling the driving of the hydraulic cylinders, and reference numeral 17 denotes a proportional valve group composed of proportional valves that provide a drive signal to each control valve. A boom angle detector 18 detects the rotation angle of the boom 13 and outputs an electric signal proportional to the rotation angle. Although an arm angle detector for detecting the rotation angle of the arm and a bucket angle detector for detecting the rotation angle of the bucket are also provided, their illustration is omitted. Reference numeral 19 is an angular velocity detector for detecting the turning angular velocity of the upper revolving superstructure 12, which is constituted by using a gyro and outputs an electric signal proportional to the detected angular velocity ω. Where θ is the detected boom angle, arm angle,
It represents the detection signal of the bucket angle.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a group of operating levers installed at a remote place away from the hydraulic excavator 1, each hydraulic cylinder of the hydraulic excavator 1, a traveling motor for traveling the lower traveling body 11, and a revolving motor for pivoting the upper revolving superstructure 12. Etc. to operate the hydraulic actuator. Reference numeral 4 denotes an operation-side controller which is installed in a remote place and is constituted by a computer. The A / D converter 41 converts a signal of the operation amount and operation direction of each operation lever of the operation lever group 3 into a digital value. A CPU 42 for performing control; a ROM 43 for storing a processing procedure of the CPU 42; a RAM 44 for storing results of arithmetic control;
And a communication interface 45.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a vehicle body-side controller mounted on the hydraulic excavator 1 and configured by a computer, and includes a communication interface 51, a CPU 52 for performing required arithmetic control,
ROM 53 for storing the processing procedure of PU 52, RAM 54 for storing the results of operation control, etc., D / A converters 55 and 57
And A / D converters 56 and 58. RO
In M53, the attitude of the hydraulic excavator 1 is set to the A / D converter 58.
Attitude calculation program for calculating based on the detection signal θ of each angle detector input via the lever conversion table that converts the operation amount and operation direction of each operation lever into the drive signal of each proportional valve according to these Etc. are stored. The converted drive signal is output to each proportional valve via the D / A converter 57. The camera control program, camera platform drive program, and camera platform rotation angle table will be described later.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a wireless device for wirelessly transmitting and receiving signals between the operation-side controller 4 and the vehicle-side controller 5. Reference numeral 8 denotes a camera mounted on the upper swing body 12 of the excavator 1 via a camera platform 81. The camera platform 81 includes two motors (not shown) and encoders for detecting the rotation angles of these motors. By driving one of the motors, the camera 8 is tilted in the vertical direction (in a plane parallel to the paper). By driving the other motor, the camera 8 can be rotated in the horizontal direction (in a plane perpendicular to the paper). Reference numeral 9 denotes a monitor which is provided at a remote place and displays an image captured by the camera 8, and 10 denotes a wireless device which wirelessly transmits and receives the video signal of the camera 8.

The ROM 5 of the vehicle-side controller 5
The camera control program stored in the camera 3 is a program for controlling the attitude of the camera 8, and the camera platform control program is configured to convert a signal from an encoder of the camera platform 81 into an A / D converter 5.
6 via the D / A converter 55 so that the camera posture is in accordance with the camera control program.
The pan head rotation angle table, which is a program for giving a drive signal to the motor, is a table that stores the relationship between the angular velocity of the upper swing body and the pan head rotation angle, which will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hydraulic excavator 1. In this figure, the same parts as those shown in FIG. F is the viewing angle of the camera 8, A is the turning direction of the upper swing body 12, and B ₁ is the direction of the camera 8 when the upper swing body 12 is stopped. Camera 8 is in direction B ₁
The bucket, which is the working unit, is positioned substantially at the center of the visual field of the camera 8 when facing the camera. B ₂
Indicates the direction of the camera 8 when the camera platform 81 is driven as described while the upper swing body 12 is swinging, and ψ is the direction B ₁
The angle between the direction and the direction B ₂ is shown. In the present embodiment, when the upper swing body 12 turns, the camera 8 is automatically oriented in the direction B ₂ (the direction ahead of the turning direction A) according to the turning angular velocity.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. FIG. 3 is a view showing the relationship between the angular velocity of the upper swing body and the rotation angle of the platform, in which the horizontal axis represents the upper swing angular velocity and the vertical axis represents the platform rotation angle. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the range in which the angular velocity of the upper swing body 12 is ω ₀ to −ω ₀ is a dead zone, and the platform 81 does not rotate in this range. When the angular velocity is a value exceeding ω ₁ (−ω ₁ ), the platform rotation angle is constant at the angle ψ ₁ (−ψ ₁ ). Then, the angular velocity is ω ₀ (−ω ₀ ) to ω ₁ (−ω ₁
In the range of), the platform rotation angle increases or decreases in proportion to the angular velocity. Such a relationship between the angular velocity of the upper swing body and the pan / tilt head rotation angle is stored in the pan / tilt head rotation angle table of the ROM 53 of the vehicle body side controller 5.

The relationship between the angular velocity of the upper swing body and the rotation angle of the pan head shown in FIG. 3 will be further described with reference to FIG. 4 in connection with the actual driving of the upper swing body 12. 4A is a diagram showing a change in the angular velocity of the upper swing body, FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a change in the platform rotation angle, and FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a display screen of the monitor 9. is there. When the upper swing body 12 starts to swing and its angular velocity is less than ω ₀ as shown in FIG.
4B, the pan head rotation angle ψ is 0, and as shown in FIG. 4C, the image 15E of the bucket 15 is displayed at the center position C of the monitor 9. As described above, by stopping the camera 8 while the angular velocity of the upper swing body 12 is small, the field of view of the camera moves finely (the image displayed on the monitor 9 moves finely) during the fine operation, which is an obstacle to the operator. To prevent the movement of the head 81
It is possible to eliminate the useless rotation of.

When the angular velocity of the upper swing body 12 reaches ω ₀ at time t ₁ , the platform 81 rotates and the upper swing body 12 is rotated.
The head rotation angle ψ also increases as the angular velocity of increases. As a result, the camera 8 is directed further ahead in the turning direction by an amount proportional to the turning speed of the upper swing body 12, and the operator can confirm the safety in the turning direction with a margin, and even when an obstacle exists, This can be discovered very quickly, and the turning stop can be immediately taken.

When the angular velocity reaches ω ₁ at time t ₂ , the pan head rotation angle reaches the maximum value ψ ₁ , and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4A, the angular velocity of the upper swing body 12 exceeds ω ₁ . However, the pan head rotation angle remains at the maximum value ψ ₁ . In this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the camera 8 is facing forward in the turning direction. Therefore, as shown in (c) of FIG. Will be located on the left edge of the screen. In other words, the platform rotation angle ψ ₁ is selected as the angle at which the image 15E of the bucket 15 is located at the end of the monitor 9. As a result, the bucket image 15E does not disappear from the monitor during turning, and the operator can reliably grasp the state of the turning destination in relation to the bucket 15.

When the angular velocity of the upper swing body 12 decreases to ω ₁ or less at time t ₃ , the platform rotation angle ψ is also shown in FIG. 4 (b).
As shown in FIG. 4, when the angular velocity of the upper swing body 12 becomes less than ω _{1 at} time t ₃ , the platform rotation angle becomes 0, and the bucket image 15E on the monitor 9 is shown in FIG. Return to the center position C as shown in (c).

Next, the processing of the vehicle body side controller 5 for performing the above operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the CPU 52 uses the angular velocity detector 19
Detection signal (turning angular velocity) ω through the A / D converter 58 (step S ₁ shown in FIG. 5), and it is determined whether the loaded turning angular velocity ω is the same as the previously loaded turning angular velocity (step S). ₂ ). When it is determined that they are the same, the process returns to step S ₁ , and when it is determined that they are different, the pan head rotation angle ψ corresponding to the turning angular velocity fetched at that time is stored in the ROM.
Read from the 53 camera rotation angle table of (Step S _3),
A drive command is output to the motor of the platform 81 via the D / A converter 55 (step S ₄ ), and the encoder value resulting from the rotation is fetched via the A / D converter 56 (step S ₄ ).
₅ ), the pan head rotation angle ψ that the encoder value read out earlier
Determines whether reached (Step S _6), repeats the processing of steps S ₄ ~ Step S ₆ if not reached. By this processing, when the pan head rotation angle reaches the read angle ψ, the CPU
52 motor is stopped (Step S ₇₎ of the pan head 81, the process returns to step S _1, the same process is repeated again.

When the speed of the upper revolving superstructure 12 increases and the turning angular velocity exceeds ω _1, as described above, the pan head rotation angle read in step S ₃ becomes ψ ₁ constant, and the cloud When the platform 81 reaches the angle φ ₁ , the platform 81 is stopped and the state is maintained. When the upper swing body 12 decelerates and the turning angular velocity becomes ω ₁ or less, the platform rotation angle read in step S ₃ becomes a value according to the turning angular velocity, and when the turning angular velocity is decelerated to ω ₀ , the procedure is performed. The pan / tilt head rotation angle read out in S ₃ becomes 0, the pan / tilt head 81 returns to the initial position, and the processes of steps S ₁ and S ₂ are repeated in this state. Since the platform rotation angle is not changed during the period in which the turning angular velocity is constant, the processes in and after step S ₅ are unnecessary, and the processes in steps S ₁ and S ₂ are repeated.

As described above, in this embodiment, the pan head rotation angle with respect to the forward direction of the turning direction is determined according to the turning angular velocity of the upper-part turning body 12. Therefore, if the turning angular velocity is large, the camera 8 is directed further forward. As a result, an obstacle existing ahead of the turning direction can be swiftly found, a collision accident can be reliably avoided, and safety can be ensured.
Further, when the turning angular velocity is less than ω ₀ , the pan head 81 is stopped, so that it is possible to prevent the field of view of the camera from moving finely during the fine operation to hinder the operator's eyes and to facilitate the operation. At the same time, it is possible to prevent unnecessary rotation of the platform 81 due to the fine movement. Furthermore, when the turning angular velocity exceeds ω ₁ , the pan head rotation angle is kept at a constant value ψ ₁ , so that the bucket image 15E does not disappear from the monitor during turning, and the operator does not associate with the bucket 15. In, it is possible to surely grasp the state of the turning destination.

In the above description of the embodiment, the pan head rotation angle is determined with respect to the turning angular velocity, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the pan head angular velocity may be determined with respect to the turning angular velocity. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the turning angular velocity of the upper-part turning body and the platform angular velocity in this case. In this figure, the horizontal axis represents the turning angular velocity and the vertical axis represents the platform angular velocity. As is clear from the figure, as in the above-described embodiment, the dead zone is set for the pan head angular velocity for a small turning angular velocity, and the upper limit is set for the pan head angular velocity for a large turning angular velocity. The above relationship between the turning angular velocity and the platform angular velocity is stored in the ROM as in the case of the above embodiment.

In the description of the above embodiment, an example in which the relationship between the turning angular velocity and the pan head rotation angle (pan head angular speed) has the relationship shown in FIG. 3 (FIG. 6) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. And can be set to any other appropriate relationship,
Alternatively, the set relationship can be changed. Alternatively, RAM or EEPROM may be used as the memory.

Further, in the above description of the embodiment, the upper revolving structure of the hydraulic excavator has been described as an example, but it is obvious that it can also be applied to other working machines, and the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 6 was used. It can also be applied to a vehicle that is remotely controlled as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 110548. Thus, when applied to a vehicle, the angular velocity detector may be attached to the vehicle body (turning body). When turning a vehicle, the turning angular velocity of the vehicle body also changes according to the speed of the vehicle, so when the speed of the vehicle is high, it is possible to see ahead of the bending direction accordingly, and it is possible to ensure safety. ,further,
The same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained at low speed and high speed.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the angle or angular velocity of the platform in the turning direction is controlled according to the detection value of the angular velocity detector attached to the revolving structure.
If the turning angular velocity is high, an obstacle existing ahead of the turning direction can be found earlier, a collision accident can be surely avoided, and safety can be secured.

Further, if the platform is stopped when the turning angular velocity is small, it is possible to prevent the field of view of the camera from moving finely during the fine operation to obstruct the operator's eyes, and to facilitate the operation. It is possible to eliminate unnecessary rotation of the platform due to the operation.

Further, if the pan head rotation angle is kept at a constant value when the turning angular velocity exceeds a predetermined value, the image of the remote controlled object does not disappear from the monitor during turning, and the operator is concerned. It is possible to surely grasp the state of the turning destination in relation to the object.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a camera direction control device of a remotely operated hydraulic shovel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a hydraulic excavator.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between an upper revolving structure angular velocity and a platform rotation angle.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the angular velocity of the upper swing body and the rotation angle of the platform in relation to actual driving of the upper swing body.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between an upper revolving structure angular velocity and a platform angular velocity.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 hydraulic excavator 4 operation side controller 5 vehicle body side controller 8 camera 9 monitor 12 upper swing body 19 angular velocity detector 81 pan head

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Seiji Yamashita 650, Kazunachi-cho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. Tsuchiura factory

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A revolving structure, a platform mounted on the revolving platform, and a camera mounted on the platform, and a monitor installed at a remote location receives a video signal transmitted from the camera. Then, in a remote control machine for remotely controlling the revolving superstructure while watching the image displayed on the monitor, an angular velocity detector attached to the revolving superstructure for detecting the rotational angular velocity of the revolving superstructure, and the angular velocity detector detects the angular velocity. And a control means for controlling the angle or the angular velocity of the platform in the turning direction of the swinging body according to the determined angular velocity. 2. The camera direction control device for a remote control machine according to claim 1, wherein the revolving structure is a revolving structure for a working machine. 3. The camera direction control device according to claim 1, wherein the revolving structure is a vehicle body of a traveling vehicle. 4. The remote control according to claim 1, wherein the control means holds the platform in a stopped state when the absolute value of the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detector is less than a predetermined value. Machine camera direction control device. 5. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means holds the platform at a constant angle when the absolute value of the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detector is a predetermined value or more, or the constant angular velocity. A camera direction control device for a remote-controlled machine, characterized by being driven by.