JPH09270945A - Camera visual field angle controller for remote control machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a camera visual field angle controller for the remote control machine, in which a motion of a video image on a monitor is suppressed and then the operation by the operator is facilitated. SOLUTION: A universal head 81 with a camera 8 mounted thereon is fitted to an upper turning body 12 of a hydraulic shovel 1, and a video signal of the camera 8 is sent to a monitor 9 at a remote location. The operator at a remote location controls remotely the hydraulic shovel 1 through an operator side controller 4, a radio equipment 6 and a vehicle body side controller 5. he vehicle body side controller 5 at first extends the visual field angle when a direction of a tip 15a of a bucket 15 with respect to the camera 8 is at the outside of a range of the visual field angle of the camera 8, and the direction of the camera 8 is changed when the direction is still at the outside of the visual field angle even if the field angle is maximized. Thus, the motion of the camera 8, that is, the motion of a video image on the monitor 9 is suppressed to the utmost, so as to allow the operator to easily view the video image thereby facilitating the operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a camera view angle control device for a remote control machine, which is provided in a remotely controlled machine and controls a view angle of a camera for photographing a predetermined portion required for 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, in such remote control, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in JP-A-310395, a manipulator that is remotely controlled, a camera that monitors the manipulator, a platform that controls the direction of the camera, and a control device that is installed at a remote position and that controls the manipulator. , Equipped with a monitor arranged near the control device for displaying the image of the camera, and when the predetermined work point on the manipulator changes, the camera automatically changes its direction to the work point. , A so-called automatic tracking device was used.

[0003]

Since such an automatic tracking device uses only one camera and one monitor, the cost in remote control can be reduced, and the operator who remotely controls can be controlled. Also, since there is no need to control the platform, it has the advantage of being able to concentrate on remote control of the machine and facilitating control. However, in the automatic tracking device, since the camera follows the movement of the predetermined point, if the predetermined point is a gradual movement, no particular inconvenience occurs, but if the movement of the predetermined point is fast. Or when the direction changes rapidly,
The image on the monitor also moves according to this, which makes it very difficult for the operator to see, and there is the problem that remote control is also difficult.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art and to suppress the movement of the image on the monitor.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a camera view angle control device for a remote control machine that can facilitate the operator's control.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a working mechanism and a camera mounted on a platform for photographing a predetermined portion of the working mechanism and installed at a remote location. In a remote control machine that receives a video signal transmitted from the camera on a monitor and remotely controls the working mechanism while watching the image displayed on the monitor, the direction of a predetermined point of the working mechanism viewed from the camera is Judgment means for judging whether or not it is within the range of the viewing angle of the camera, and when this judgment means judges that the direction of the predetermined point is not within the range of the viewing angle of the camera, the viewing angle of the camera The viewing angle changing means for changing the viewing angle and the maximum viewing angle by the viewing angle changing means when the judging means judges that the direction of the predetermined point is not within the viewing angle range of the camera. And drives the camera platform, characterized in that the direction of the camera is the predetermined point is provided a camera direction changing means for changing to fall within the field of view.

[0006]

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 view angle control device for a remote-controlled hydraulic excavator 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 structure 12, a boom 13, and an arm 1.
4 and the bucket 15. The boom 13, the arm 14, and the bucket 15 form a working mechanism. Fifteen
a indicates the tip of the 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. In addition, θ is a total of detection signals of the boom angle, the arm angle, and the bucket angle detected by the boom angle detector 18, the arm angle detector (not shown), and the bucket angle detector (not shown). Represent.

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 body 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 which is mounted on the hydraulic excavator 1 and is composed of a computer, and includes a communication interface 51, a CPU 52 for performing necessary arithmetic control, and a C.
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.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a wireless device for wirelessly transmitting and receiving signals between the operation side controller 4 and the vehicle body 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 8 has a zoom control function (viewing angle control function) by driving a built-in motor (not shown). The camera platform 81 is composed of two motors (not shown) and encoders for detecting the rotation angles of these motors, and drives one of the motors to move the camera 8 in the vertical direction (in a plane parallel to the paper). By tilting and driving the other motor, the camera 8 can be rotated in the horizontal direction (in a plane perpendicular to the plane of 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.

Here, the ROM 5 of the vehicle body side controller 5
The attitude calculation program stored in 3 is a program for sequentially calculating the position of the tip 15a of the bucket 15 and the turning angle of the upper-part turning body 12 based on the measurement value θ of each angle meter. Note that the posture calculation by the posture calculation program is well known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-104731. Lever conversion table is operation lever group 3
Table of signals to each proportional valve corresponding to the operation signal of each operation lever of, the camera direction calculation program is based on the angle obtained by inputting the signal from the encoder of the platform 81 via the A / D converter 56. The program for calculating the current direction of the camera 8, the camera platform control program, inputs the signal from the encoder of the camera platform 81 via the A / D converter 56, and performs D / A conversion so as to obtain a desired camera posture. It is a program for giving a drive signal to the motor of the platform 81 via the instrument 55. The viewing angle control program is a program for controlling the viewing angle of the camera 8, the details of which will be described later.

FIG. 2 shows the viewing angle and the tip 15a of the bucket 15.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the hydraulic excavator for explaining the relationship with In this figure, the same parts as those shown in FIG. C is a line indicating the direction of the camera 8, B is a line indicating the direction of the tip 15a of the bucket 15, 2
The angle 2Φ between the two broken lines is the viewing angle of the camera 8, and φ is the tip 1
The angle of 5a with respect to line B is shown.

In the present embodiment, as will be described later, it is determined whether or not the direction B of the tip 15a is within the range of the viewing angle 2Φ. For this determination, polar coordinates O _C whose origin is the focal point of the camera 8 are set. The polar coordinates O _C are coordinates in which the angle to the left and right (the surface perpendicular to the paper surface) with respect to the line C is α, the angle with respect to the line C (the surface along the paper surface) is φ, and the distance from the origin is r.

Next, the operation based on the viewing angle control program of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the CPU 52 of the vehicle body controller 5
Calculates the direction of the tip 15a of the bucket 15 (angle φ with the line C) (step S ₁ ). This calculation makes tip 15
The current position of a is represented by the angle φ. Next, CPU
In 52, the current angle φ obtained is the viewing angle 2Φ (−Φ to Φ).
It is determined whether or not it is within (step S ₂ ). While the angle φ is within the viewing angle 2Φ, the processes of steps S ₁ and S ₂ are repeated.
If it is found in the process of step S ₂ that the angle φ has deviated from the range of the viewing angle 2Φ due to the movement of the tip 15a, the CPU 52
Represents the current viewing angle (-Φ ~ Φ) with a new viewing angle (-Φ _max
˜Φ _max ), which is input to the camera 8 via the D / A converter 55 to activate the viewing angle control function built in the camera 8.

Even if the bucket 15 is out of the field of view of the camera and is no longer displayed on the monitor 9, the process of step S ₃ is performed.
The camera 8 is a process in which the viewing angle is first expanded without moving the camera 8 so as to capture the bucket in the field of view of the camera 8. If the bucket 15 is captured in the field of view by this processing, the viewing angle is simply expanded. Therefore, the image of the bucket 15 is displayed in the display screen while the display of the monitor 9 remains stationary.

In step S ₄ , it is a process of determining whether or not the front end 15a is included in the viewing angle expanded in the process of step S _3. If the front end 15a is included, the processes in and after step S ₁ are executed. repeat. When the tip 15a is not in the viewing angle is changed in a direction in which the tip 15a in the direction of the first camera 8 enters the field of view (Step S _5). The changing direction is the direction of the sign of the angle φ of the tip 15a. The direction of the change of the camera 8 is also polar since it is the direction of change of the line C is changed, thus CPU52 calculates the angle φ of the tip 15a in the modified polar coordinate (Step S _6), the processing to Step S ₂ return.

In the above description, an example in which the viewing angle Φ is set to Φ _max in the process of step S ₃ has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the viewing angle is expanded by a predetermined unit amount. angle φ is determined whether there are any within the range of viewing angles, repeat this process until the viewing angle [Phi _max, may be changed to the direction of the first camera 8 when it is viewing angle [Phi _max .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the tip 15a of the bucket 15 is not always tracked, and when the tip 15a is out of the field of view of the camera 8, the field of view is first widened to obtain the maximum field of view. Since the direction of the camera 8 is moved toward the tip 15a for the first time when the tip 15a is out of the range of the field of view of the camera 8, the movement of the camera 8, that is, the movement of the image on the monitor 9 can be suppressed as much as possible. ,
As a result, the operator can easily see the image on the monitor 9, and the remote control can be performed more easily.

According to the above embodiment, any movement of the tip 15a of the bucket 15 can be dealt with. By the way, in the work by the hydraulic excavator, there is a work in which the tip end 15a of the bucket 15 repeats almost the same movement. As an example of such an operation, there is an operation in which the earth and sand excavated by the bucket 15 are carried to a truck to be discharged, and this operation is repeated. In this work, the tip 1 when excavating
The operation range of 5a and the operation range of the tip 15a at the time of dumping are within substantially constant ranges. This is shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the bucket tip angle φ, where the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents the bucket tip angle. When performing a specific work, for example, the above-mentioned excavation, the angle φ in polar coordinates of the tip 15a hardly deviates from the angle range shown by the broken line in the figure. Therefore,
For such work, if the viewing angle 2Φ of the camera 8 is set within the range of the broken line in the figure, it becomes almost unnecessary to change the direction of the camera 8.

From the above, a specific work is actually performed for a predetermined time, and the angle φ of the tip 15a during that time is actually performed.
Are sequentially stored, the maximum value and the minimum value of the stored angle φ are searched for, and this is stored as the viewing angle 2Φ, so that when the specific work is performed next time, the stored viewing angle is stored. If 2Φ is taken out and used, the situation of changing the direction of the camera 8 hardly occurs. For example, drilling described above, in the work of Hodo, for creating stored viewing angle 2 [phi drilling (referred to as 2 [phi _A), and for creating the stored viewing angle 2 [phi Hodo a (referred to as 2 [phi _B) Used for each work. That is, since the excavation point and the track position are almost constant, it is determined whether the bucket 15 is in the excavation position or the dumping position by taking in the turning angle of the upper swing body 12, and when the bucket 15 is in the excavation position. Takes the viewing angle 2Φ _A from the storage unit and uses it as the viewing angle of the camera 8, and when it is at the dumping position, takes the viewing angle 2Φ _B from the storage unit and uses it as the viewing angle of the camera 8.

The specific work includes not only excavation and dumping but also various other works, and the work by fine operation is within a limited range of movement of a predetermined portion of the work mechanism. Therefore, the above means for the viewing angle can be applied.

By doing so, not only the same effect as that of the previous embodiment is obtained, but also the effect that it is almost unnecessary to change the direction of the camera 8 is obtained. Especially when this is applied to fine operation, the viewing angle can be automatically reduced (zoomed up),
The working portion can be observed better, and the fine operation can be performed easily and accurately.

In the above description of the embodiment, a hydraulic excavator was used as an example of a remote control machine, but the present invention can be applied to machines other than hydraulic excavators. Further, in the specific work type or the specific work mode such as the fine operation, the example in which the viewing angle is stored in advance and used in the control mechanism of the viewing angle control of the camera has been described. It is not necessary to use it in the control mechanism of the angle control, and it can be used independently from the control mechanism.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the predetermined point of the working mechanism is not always tracked, and when the predetermined point is out of the field of view of the camera, the viewing angle is first widened to obtain the maximum viewing angle. I also tried to move the direction of the camera for the first time when the predetermined point is out of the range of the field of view of the camera,
The movement of the camera, that is, the movement of the image on the monitor can be suppressed as much as possible, which makes it easier for the operator to see the image on the monitor and further facilitates the remote control.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a camera viewing angle control device for a remote-controlled hydraulic excavator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the hydraulic excavator for explaining the relationship between the viewing angle and the tip of the bucket.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the angle of the bucket tip.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 hydraulic excavator 4 operation side controller 5 vehicle body side controller 8 camera 9 monitor 15 bucket 15a bucket tip 81 pan head

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A monitor equipped with a work mechanism and a camera mounted on a platform for photographing a predetermined portion of the work mechanism, wherein a monitor installed at a remote location receives a video signal transmitted from the camera and monitors the monitor. In a remote control machine that remotely controls the working mechanism while watching the image displayed on the screen, it is determined whether the direction of a predetermined point of the working mechanism viewed from the camera is within the range of the viewing angle of the camera. The determining means, the viewing angle changing means for changing the viewing angle of the camera when the direction of the predetermined point is not within the range of the viewing angle of the camera, and the viewing angle changing means When it is determined that the direction of the predetermined point is not within the range of the viewing angle of the camera in the state of the viewing angle, the platform is driven and the direction of the camera is set within the field of view. A camera viewing angle control device for a remote-controlled machine, comprising: a camera direction changing means for changing the camera to enter the camera. 2. The camera view angle control device for a remote control machine according to claim 1, wherein the view angle of the camera is predetermined according to a work type or a work mode of the remote control machine.