Working machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020048871-A1
Application number	US-201816606835-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 24, 2018
Priority date	Aug 24, 2017
Publication date	Feb 13, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

Work efficiency is improved while necessary and sufficient monitoring on the surroundings of a working machine is performed. A working machine includes an undercarriage 132 on which an upperstructure 131 including a front working device is mounted in a swingable manner, and includes a surrounding monitoring device 200 that monitors surroundings. The surrounding monitoring device 200 has an information controller 161 that: sets a working region by use of terrain data and work states received from sensors detecting work states of the front working device of the working machine; calculates proximity for each of the obstacles around the working machine by use of the working regions and relative positions of each of obstacles and the working machine, the obstacles being detected by an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles around the working machine; and outputs a control instruction in accordance with the proximity.

First claim

1 . A working machine, in which an upperstructure including a front working device is mounted to be capable of swinging relative to an undercarriage, the working machine comprising a surrounding monitoring device that monitors surroundings,
wherein the surrounding monitoring device has an information controller that:
sets a working region by use of terrain data and a work states received from sensors detecting the work states of the front working device of the working machine;
calculates a proximity for each of the obstacles around the working machine by use of the working regions set and relative positions of each of obstacles and the working machine, the obstacles being detected by an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles around the working machine; and
outputs a control instruction in accordance with the proximity.

2 . The working machine according to claim 1 ,
wherein the information controller sets, as the working region, interiors of reachable regions when the upperstructure swings under a condition where the front working device maintains the work state, and in a case where the obstacle exists in one of the working regions, the information controller calculates the proximity in accordance with the relative positions.

3 . The working machine according to claim 2 ,
wherein the work state includes a position in a horizontal plane of a distal end of the front working device, the information controller further includes a reliability evaluation section to evaluate a degree of reliability of the terrain data, and the information controller sets, as a working region candidate, a region with the degree of reliability of less than a predetermined degree located inside a circumference in the horizontal plane, the circumference being centered at a swing center of the working machine and having, as a radius, a line segment from the swing center to a position of the distal end.

4 . The working machine according to claim 3 ,
wherein the terrain data includes a height of a terrain around the working machine, the work state includes a height of a lowermost end of the front working device, and the information controller sets, as non-working regions, high-altitude regions of regions with the degree of reliability of a predetermined degree or greater located inside the circumference, the high-altitude regions being regions each in which the height of the terrain is higher than the height of the lowermost end.

5 . The working machine according to claim 4 ,
wherein the terrain data further include material data which is data used to specify a hardness of the terrain for each terrain, and the information controller does not set, as the non-working regions, a region of which a hardness is determined from the material data to be less than a predetermined hardness, even if the region is one of the high-altitude regions.

6 . The working machine according to claim 5 ,
wherein the information controller sets, as a non-working region, a region of the high-altitude regions, the region is located farther away from the working machine in a radius direction than a region set as one of the non-working regions.

7 . The working machine according to claim 2 ,
wherein the proximity has a plurality of levels, the information controllers sets, to a highest level, the proximity of the obstacle located in the working region and in a predefined first range, and the first range is a region which the front working device in the working region reaches within a predetermined time period.

8 . The working machine according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one of a monitor and a buzzer as an output device,
wherein the control instruction is an instruction to produce warning output from the output device.

9 . The working machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a controller that controls swinging of the upperstructure,
wherein the control instruction is a swing inhibiting instruction to the controller.

Assignees

• Hitachi Construction Mach Co

Inventors

• Nishizawa Tadashi
• Sakamoto Hiroshi
• Naka Takuya

Classifications

• E02F3/435

  for dipper-arms, backhoes or the like · CPC title

• B60Q5/006

  indicating risk of collision between vehicles or with pedestrians · CPC title

• E02F9/24

  Safety devices {, e.g. for preventing overload (E02F9/226 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• E02F9/262 Primary

  with follow-up actions to control the work tool, e.g. controller · CPC title

• E02F9/26

  Indicating devices {(E02F5/145 takes precedence)} · CPC title