CN116997698A

CN116997698A - Excavator

Info

Publication number: CN116997698A
Application number: CN202280021816.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴春男
Original assignee: Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd
Priority date: 2021-03-17
Filing date: 2022-03-17
Publication date: 2023-11-03
Also published as: DE112022001571T5; JPWO2022196776A1; WO2022196776A1; US20230417024A1

Abstract

An excavator (100) is provided with: a lower traveling body (1); an upper revolving body (3) rotatably mounted on the lower traveling body (1); and a controller (30) provided to the upper revolving unit (3). The controller (30) is configured to identify a location of an object of the backfill action and generate a target location related to the backfill action. The controller (30) can change the target position according to the shape of the sand at the position of the object of the backfilling action.

Description

Excavator

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an excavator.

Background

Conventionally, a hydraulic shovel having a semi-autonomous excavation control system mounted thereon has been known (refer to patent document 1). The excavation control system is configured to execute an autonomous boom-up swing operation when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

Technical literature of the prior art

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2011-514456

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem to be solved by the invention

However, the excavation control systems described above are not configured to perform autonomous backfill actions. Therefore, the excavation control system cannot improve the efficiency of the backfilling operation.

Accordingly, it is preferable to provide an excavator capable of improving the efficiency of the backfilling work.

Means for solving the technical problems

An excavator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a lower traveling body; an upper revolving body rotatably mounted on the lower traveling body; and a control device mounted on the upper revolving body, wherein the control device is configured to recognize a position of an object of the backfilling operation and generate a target position related to the backfilling operation.

Effects of the invention

The method can improve the efficiency of backfilling operation.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a side view of an excavator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 1B is a plan view of an excavator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a hydraulic system mounted on an excavator.

FIG. 3A is a diagram of a portion of a hydraulic system associated with the operation of an arm cylinder.

Fig. 3B is a diagram of a portion of a hydraulic system associated with the operation of a swing hydraulic motor.

Fig. 3C is a diagram of a portion of a hydraulic system associated with operation of a boom cylinder.

FIG. 3D is a diagram of a portion of a hydraulic system associated with operation of a bucket cylinder.

Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of a controller.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an autonomous control function.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an autonomous control function.

FIG. 7A is a top view of an excavator performing a backfill action.

Fig. 7B is a top view of an excavator performing a backfill action.

FIG. 7C is a top view of an excavator performing a backfill action.

Fig. 8A is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of the backfilling operation.

Fig. 8B is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of the backfilling operation.

Fig. 8C is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of the backfilling operation.

Fig. 9A is a cross-sectional view of a pit being backfilled.

Fig. 9B is a cross-sectional view of the pit being backfilled.

FIG. 10A is a top view of an excavator performing another backfill action.

Fig. 10B is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of another backfill operation.

FIG. 11 is a top view of an excavator performing yet another backfill action.

Fig. 12A is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of still another backfill operation.

Fig. 12B is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of still another backfill operation.

Fig. 12C is a cross-sectional view of a pit that is the object of still another backfill operation.

Detailed Description

First, an excavator 100 as an excavator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1A and 1B. Fig. 1A is a side view of the shovel 100, and fig. 1B is a top view of the shovel 100.

In the present embodiment, the lower traveling body 1 of the shovel 100 includes a crawler 1C. The crawler belt 1C is driven by a hydraulic motor 2M for traveling mounted on the lower traveling body 1. Specifically, the crawler belt 1C includes a left crawler belt 1CL and a right crawler belt 1CR. The left crawler belt 1CL is driven by a left travel hydraulic motor 2ML, and the right crawler belt 1CR is driven by a right travel hydraulic motor 2 MR.

An upper revolving structure 3 is rotatably mounted on the lower traveling structure 1 via a revolving mechanism 2. The turning mechanism 2 is driven by a turning hydraulic motor 2A mounted on the upper turning body 3. However, the hydraulic motor 2A for turning may be a motor generator for turning as an electric actuator.

A boom 4 is attached to the upper revolving unit 3. An arm 5 is attached to the tip end of the boom 4, and a bucket 6 as a termination attachment is attached to the tip end of the arm 5. The boom 4, the arm 5, and the bucket 6 constitute an excavating attachment AT as an example of an attachment. The boom 4 is driven by a boom cylinder 7, the arm 5 is driven by an arm cylinder 8, and the bucket 6 is driven by a bucket cylinder 9.

The boom 4 is supported so as to be rotatable up and down with respect to the upper revolving unit 3. A boom angle sensor S1 is attached to the boom 4. The boom angle sensor S1 is capable of detecting a boom angle β, which is a rotation angle of the boom 4 ₁ . Angle beta of boom ₁ For example, the rising angle from the state where the boom 4 is lowered to the maximum extent. Thus, the boom angle β ₁ The maximum is achieved when the boom 4 is lifted to the maximum.

The arm 5 is supported rotatably with respect to the boom 4. An arm angle sensor S2 is attached to the arm 5. The arm angle sensor S2 can detect an arm angle β, which is a rotation angle of the arm 5 ₂ . Angle beta of bucket rod ₂ For example, the opening angle from the state where the arm 5 is maximally retracted. Thus, the arm angle beta ₂ The maximum is achieved when the arm 5 is maximally opened.

The bucket 6 is supported rotatably with respect to the arm 5. A bucket angle sensor S3 is attached to the bucket 6. The bucket angle sensor S3 can detect the bucket angle β, which is the rotation angle of the bucket 6 ₃ . Bucket angle beta ₃ The opening angle is the opening angle from the state where the bucket 6 is maximally retracted. Thus, bucket angle β ₃ The maximum is achieved when the bucket 6 is maximally opened.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the boom angle sensor S1, the arm angle sensor S2, and the bucket angle sensor S3 are each composed of a combination of an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. However, the boom angle sensor S1, the arm angle sensor S2, and the bucket angle sensor S3 may be each composed of only an acceleration sensor. The boom angle sensor S1 may be a stroke sensor attached to the boom cylinder 7, or may be a rotary encoder, a potentiometer, an inertial measurement unit, or the like. The same applies to the arm angle sensor S2 and the bucket angle sensor S3.

A cab 10 serving as a cockpit is provided on the upper revolving structure 3, and one or more power sources are mounted thereon. In the present embodiment, an engine 11 as a power source is mounted on the upper revolving unit 3. An object detection device 70, an imaging device 80, a body inclination sensor S4, a rotational angular velocity sensor S5, and the like are attached to the upper revolving unit 3. The operation device 26, the controller 30, the display device D1, the audio output device D2, and the like are provided in the cab 10. In the present specification, for convenience, the side of the upper revolving structure 3 to which the excavation attachment AT is attached is referred to as the front side, and the side to which the counterweight is attached is referred to as the rear side.

The object detection device 70 is configured to detect an object existing around the shovel 100. The object is, for example, a person, an animal, a vehicle, a construction machine, a building, a wall, a fence, a pit, or the like. The object detection device 70 is, for example, an ultrasonic sensor, millimeter wave radar, stereo camera, LIDAR, range image sensor, infrared sensor, or the like. In the present embodiment, the object detection device 70 includes a front sensor 70F attached to the front end of the upper surface of the cab 10, a rear sensor 70B attached to the rear end of the upper surface of the upper revolving unit 3, a left sensor 70L attached to the left end of the upper surface of the upper revolving unit 3, and a right sensor 70R attached to the right end of the upper surface of the upper revolving unit 3. Each sensor is constituted by a LIDAR.

The object detection device 70 may be independent of the shovel 100. At this time, the controller 30 may acquire an image of the work site around the excavator output by the object detection device 70 via the communication device. Specifically, the object detection device 70 may be mounted on an aerial multi-rotor helicopter, an iron tower or a pole provided on a work site, or the like. The controller 30 may acquire information on the work site from the captured image of the work site observed from above.

The object detection device 70 may be configured to detect a predetermined object in a predetermined area around the shovel 100. That is, the object detection device 70 may be configured to be able to identify the kind of the object. For example, the object detection device 70 may be configured to be able to distinguish between a person and an object other than a person (a dump truck, a utility pole, a fence, a pit, a sandy mountain, or the like). The object detection device 70 may be configured to calculate a distance from the object detection device 70 or the shovel 100 to the identified object. Thus, in the case where the object to be identified is a terrain, the object detection device 70 can identify the distance from the object detection device 70 or the shovel 100 to each measurement position of the terrain to be measured, and can also identify the uneven shape of the terrain to be measured. Even when a pit exists in the topography of the measurement target, the object detection device 70 can recognize the shape (area, depth, etc.) and position of the pit.

The imaging device 80 is configured to capture the surroundings of the shovel 100. In the present embodiment, the imaging device 80 includes a rear camera 80B attached to the rear end of the upper surface of the upper revolving unit 3, a front camera 80F attached to the front end of the upper surface of the cab 10, a left camera 80L attached to the left end of the upper surface of the upper revolving unit 3, and a right camera 80R attached to the right end of the upper surface of the upper revolving unit 3.

The rear camera 80B is disposed adjacent to the rear sensor 70B, the front camera 80F is disposed adjacent to the front sensor 70F, the left camera 80L is disposed adjacent to the left sensor 70L, and the right camera 80R is disposed adjacent to the right sensor 70R.

The image captured by the image capturing device 80 is displayed on the display device D1. The image pickup device 80 may be configured to display a viewpoint-converted image such as an overhead image on the display device D1. The overhead image is generated by, for example, synthesizing images output from the rear camera 80B, the left camera 80L, and the right camera 80R, respectively.

The image pickup device 80 may also be used as the object detection device 70. At this time, the object detection device 70 may be omitted.

The body inclination sensor S4 is configured to detect an inclination of the upper revolving unit 3 with respect to a predetermined plane. In the present embodiment, the body inclination sensor S4 is an acceleration sensor that detects an inclination angle of the upper revolving structure 3 about the front-rear axis and an inclination angle about the left-right axis with respect to the virtual horizontal plane. The front-rear axis and the left-right axis of the upper revolving structure 3 are, for example, orthogonal to each other and pass through a point on the revolving axis of the shovel 100, that is, the shovel center point.

The rotational angular velocity sensor S5 is configured to detect the rotational angular velocity of the upper revolving unit 3. In the present embodiment, the rotational angular velocity sensor S5 is a gyro sensor. The rotational angular velocity sensor S5 may be a resolver, a rotary encoder, or the like. The revolution speed sensor S5 can detect the revolution speed. The revolution speed may be calculated from the revolution angular speed.

Hereinafter, the boom angle sensor S1, the arm angle sensor S2, the bucket angle sensor S3, the body inclination sensor S4, and the pivot angular velocity sensor S5 are also referred to as attitude detection devices, respectively.

The display device D1 is a device for displaying information. The sound output device D2 is a device that outputs sound. The operating device 26 is a device for an operator to operate the actuator.

The controller 30 is a control device for controlling the shovel 100. In the present embodiment, the controller 30 is configured by a computer including a CPU, a volatile memory device, a nonvolatile memory device, and the like. The controller 30 reads out programs corresponding to the respective functions from the nonvolatile memory device, loads the programs into the volatile memory device, and causes the CPU to execute corresponding processes. The functions include, for example, an equipment guide function for guiding a manual operation of the shovel 100 by an operator and an equipment control function for automatically supporting the manual operation of the shovel 100 by the operator.

Next, a configuration example of a hydraulic system mounted on the shovel 100 will be described with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a hydraulic system mounted on the shovel 100. In fig. 2, the mechanical power transmission line, the hydraulic oil line, the pilot line, and the electric control line are indicated by double lines, solid lines, broken lines, and dotted lines, respectively.

The hydraulic system of the shovel 100 mainly includes an engine 11, a regulator 13, a main pump 14, a pilot pump 15, a control valve unit 17, an operation device 26, a discharge pressure sensor 28, an operation pressure sensor 29, a controller 30, and the like.

In fig. 2, the hydraulic system circulates hydraulic oil from the main pump 14 driven by the engine 11 to the hydraulic oil tank via the intermediate bypass line 40 or the parallel line 42.

The engine 11 is a drive source of the shovel 100. In the present embodiment, the engine 11 is, for example, a diesel engine that operates so as to maintain a predetermined rotational speed. The output shafts of the engine 11 are coupled to the input shafts of the main pump 14 and the pilot pump 15, respectively.

The main pump 14 is configured to supply hydraulic oil to the control valve unit 17 via a hydraulic oil line. In the present embodiment, the main pump 14 is a swash plate type variable capacity hydraulic pump.

The regulator 13 is configured to control the discharge amount (displacement) of the main pump 14. In the present embodiment, the regulator 13 controls the discharge amount (displacement) of the main pump 14 by adjusting the swash plate tilting angle of the main pump 14 in accordance with a control command from the controller 30.

The pilot pump 15 is configured to supply hydraulic oil to a hydraulic control device including an operation device 26 via a pilot line. In the present embodiment, the pilot pump 15 is a fixed displacement hydraulic pump. However, the pilot pump 15 may be omitted. At this time, the function performed by the pilot pump 15 may be realized by the main pump 14. That is, the main pump 14 may have a function of supplying the hydraulic oil to the operation device 26 or the like after the pressure of the hydraulic oil is reduced by the restrictor or the like, in addition to the function of supplying the hydraulic oil to the control valve unit 17.

The control valve unit 17 is configured to control the flow of the working oil in the hydraulic system. In the present embodiment, the control valve unit 17 includes control valves 171 to 176. The control valve 175 includes a control valve 175L and a control valve 175R, and the control valve 176 includes a control valve 176L and a control valve 176R. The control valve unit 17 is capable of selectively supplying the hydraulic oil discharged from the main pump 14 to one or more hydraulic actuators through the control valves 171 to 176. The control valves 171 to 176 control the flow rate of the hydraulic oil flowing from the main pump 14 to the hydraulic actuator and the flow rate of the hydraulic oil flowing from the hydraulic actuator to the hydraulic oil tank. The hydraulic actuators include a boom cylinder 7, an arm cylinder 8, a bucket cylinder 9, a left travel hydraulic motor 2ML, a right travel hydraulic motor 2MR, and a swing hydraulic motor 2A.

The operating device 26 is a device for an operator to operate the actuator. The actuator includes at least one of a hydraulic actuator and an electric actuator. In the present embodiment, the operation device 26 supplies the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the pilot port of the corresponding control valve in the control valve unit 17 via the pilot line. The pressure (pilot pressure) of the hydraulic oil supplied to each pilot port corresponds to the operation direction and the operation amount of a lever or a pedal (not shown) of the operation device 26 corresponding to each hydraulic actuator. However, the operation device 26 may be an electric operation device instead of the hydraulic operation device as described above. At this time, the control valve in the control valve unit 17 may be a solenoid spool valve.

The discharge pressure sensor 28 is configured to detect the discharge pressure of the main pump 14. In the present embodiment, the discharge pressure sensor 28 outputs the detected value to the controller 30.

The operation pressure sensor 29 is configured to detect the operation content of the operation device 26 performed by the operator. In the present embodiment, the operation pressure sensor 29 detects the operation direction and the operation amount of the operation device 26 corresponding to each actuator as a pressure (operation pressure), and outputs the detected values as operation data to the controller 30. As for the operation content of the operation device 26, other sensors than the operation pressure sensor may be used for detection.

The main pump 14 includes a left main pump 14L and a right main pump 14R. The left main pump 14L is configured to circulate hydraulic oil to the hydraulic oil tank via the left intermediate bypass line 40L or the left parallel line 42L. The right main pump 14R is configured to circulate hydraulic oil to the hydraulic oil tank via the right intermediate bypass line 40R or the right parallel line 42R.

The left intermediate bypass line 40L is a hydraulic line passing through control valves 171, 173, 175L, and 176L disposed in the control valve unit 17. The right intermediate bypass line 40R is a hydraulic line passing through control valves 172, 174, 175R, and 176R disposed in the control valve unit 17.

The control valve 171 is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L to the left traveling hydraulic motor 2ML and discharge hydraulic oil discharged from the left traveling hydraulic motor 2ML to the hydraulic oil tank.

The control valve 172 is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the right main pump 14R to the right traveling hydraulic motor 2MR and discharge hydraulic oil discharged from the right traveling hydraulic motor 2MR to the hydraulic oil tank.

The control valve 173 is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L to the turning hydraulic motor 2A and discharge hydraulic oil discharged from the turning hydraulic motor 2A to the hydraulic oil tank.

The control valve 174 is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the right main pump 14R to the bucket cylinder 9 and discharge hydraulic oil in the bucket cylinder 9 to the hydraulic oil tank.

The control valve 175L is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L to the boom cylinder 7. The control valve 175R is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the right main pump 14R to the boom cylinder 7 and discharge hydraulic oil in the boom cylinder 7 to the hydraulic oil tank.

The control valve 176L is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L to the arm cylinder 8 and discharge hydraulic oil in the arm cylinder 8 to the hydraulic oil tank.

The control valve 176R is a spool valve for switching the flow of hydraulic oil so as to supply hydraulic oil discharged from the right main pump 14R to the arm cylinder 8 and discharge hydraulic oil in the arm cylinder 8 to the hydraulic oil tank.

The left parallel line 42L is a hydraulic line connected in parallel with the left intermediate bypass line 40L. When the flow of the hydraulic oil through the left intermediate bypass line 40L is restricted or shut off by any one of the control valves 171, 173, or 175L, the left parallel line 42L can supply the hydraulic oil to the control valve further downstream. The right parallel line 42R is a working oil line connected in parallel with the right intermediate bypass line 40R. When the flow of the hydraulic oil through the right intermediate bypass line 40R is restricted or shut off by any one of the control valves 172, 174, or 175R, the right parallel line 42R can supply the hydraulic oil to the control valve further downstream.

The regulator 13 includes a left regulator 13L and a right regulator 13R. The left regulator 13L controls the discharge amount of the left main pump 14L by regulating the swash plate tilting angle of the left main pump 14L according to the discharge pressure of the left main pump 14L. Specifically, the left regulator 13L reduces the discharge amount by, for example, regulating the swash plate tilting angle of the left main pump 14L in accordance with an increase in the discharge pressure of the left main pump 14L. The same applies to the right adjuster 13R. This is to prevent the suction power (e.g., suction horsepower) of the main pump 14, which is represented by the product of the discharge pressure and the discharge amount, from exceeding the output power (e.g., output horsepower) of the engine 11.

The operating device 26 includes a left operating lever 26L, a right operating lever 26R, and a travel lever 26D. The walking bar 26D includes a left walking bar 26DL and a right walking bar 26DR.

The left operation lever 26L is one of the operation levers, and is used for the swing operation and the operation of the arm 5. When the left operation lever 26L is operated in the forward and backward direction, the control pressure corresponding to the lever operation amount is applied to the pilot port of the control valve 176 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. When the operation is performed in the left-right direction, the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 causes a control pressure corresponding to the lever operation amount to act on the pilot port of the control valve 173.

Specifically, when the boom retracting direction is operated, the left operation lever 26L introduces the hydraulic oil to the right pilot port of the control valve 176L, and introduces the hydraulic oil to the left pilot port of the control valve 176R. When the operation is performed in the arm opening direction, the left operation lever 26L introduces hydraulic oil to the left pilot port of the control valve 176L and hydraulic oil to the right pilot port of the control valve 176R. When the left turning direction is operated, the left operation lever 26L introduces hydraulic oil to the left pilot port of the control valve 173, and when the right turning direction is operated, the left operation lever 26L introduces hydraulic oil to the right pilot port of the control valve 173.

The right operation lever 26R is one of the operation levers, and is used for the operation of the boom 4 and the operation of the bucket 6. When the operation is performed in the forward and backward direction, the right operation lever 26R causes a control pressure corresponding to the lever operation amount to act on the pilot port of the control valve 175 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. When the operation is performed in the left-right direction, the control pressure corresponding to the lever operation amount is applied to the pilot port of the control valve 174 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15.

Specifically, when the boom lowering direction is operated, the right operation lever 26R introduces hydraulic oil to the right pilot port of the control valve 175R. When the boom raising direction is operated, the right control lever 26R introduces hydraulic oil to the right pilot port of the control valve 175L and hydraulic oil to the left pilot port of the control valve 175R. When the operation is performed in the bucket retracting direction, the right operation lever 26R introduces the hydraulic oil to the left pilot port of the control valve 174, and when the operation is performed in the bucket opening direction, the right operation lever 26R introduces the hydraulic oil to the right pilot port of the control valve 174.

The walking bar 26D is used for the operation of the crawler belt 1C. Specifically, the left walking bar 26DL is used for the operation of the left crawler belt 1 CL. The left travel bar 26DL may be configured to be interlocked with the left travel pedal. When the left traveling rod 26DL is operated in the forward and backward direction, the control pressure corresponding to the rod operation amount is applied to the pilot port of the control valve 171 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. The right walking bar 26DR is used for the operation of the right track 1 CR. The right travel bar 26DR may be configured to be interlocked with a right travel pedal. When the lever is operated in the forward and backward direction, the right traveling lever 26DR causes a control pressure corresponding to the lever operation amount to act on the pilot port of the control valve 172 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15.

The discharge pressure sensor 28 includes a discharge pressure sensor 28L and a discharge pressure sensor 28R. The discharge pressure sensor 28L detects the discharge pressure of the left main pump 14L, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The same applies to the discharge pressure sensor 28R.

The operation pressure sensors 29 include operation pressure sensors 29LA, 29LB, 29RA, 29RB, 29DL, 29DR. The operation pressure sensor 29LA detects the operation content of the left operation lever 26L by the operator in the front-rear direction in the form of pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The operation content is, for example, a lever operation direction, a lever operation amount (lever operation angle), and the like.

Similarly, the operation pressure sensor 29LB detects the operation content of the left operation lever 26L in the left-right direction by the operator as pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The operation pressure sensor 29RA detects the operation content of the right operation lever 26R by the operator in the front-rear direction in the form of pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The operation pressure sensor 29RB detects the operation content of the right operation lever 26R by the operator in the left-right direction as pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The operation pressure sensor 29DL detects the operation content of the left travel bar 26DL in the front-rear direction by the operator in the form of pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The operation pressure sensor 29DR detects the operation content of the right walking lever 26DR by the operator in the front-rear direction in the form of pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30.

The controller 30 receives an output of the operation pressure sensor 29 and outputs a control instruction to the regulator 13 as needed to change the discharge amount of the main pump 14. The controller 30 receives the output of the control pressure sensor 19 provided upstream of the throttle 18, and outputs a control command to the regulator 13 as needed to change the discharge amount of the main pump 14. The throttle 18 includes a left throttle 18L and a right throttle 18R, and the control pressure sensor 19 includes a left control pressure sensor 19L and a right control pressure sensor 19R.

In the left intermediate bypass line 40L, a left throttle 18L is disposed between the control valve 176L located furthest downstream and the hydraulic oil tank. Therefore, the flow of the hydraulic oil discharged by the left main pump 14L is restricted by the left throttle 18L. Also, the left throttle 18L generates a control pressure for controlling the left regulator 13L. The left control pressure sensor 19L is a sensor for detecting the control pressure, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30. The controller 30 controls the discharge amount of the left main pump 14L by adjusting the swash plate tilting angle of the left main pump 14L according to the control pressure. The controller 30 decreases the discharge amount of the left main pump 14L as the control pressure increases, and increases the discharge amount of the left main pump 14L as the control pressure decreases. The discharge amount of the right main pump 14R is similarly controlled.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, in the standby state in which none of the hydraulic actuators in the shovel 100 is operated, the hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L reaches the left throttle 18L through the left intermediate bypass line 40L. The flow of hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L increases the control pressure generated upstream of the left throttle 18L. As a result, the controller 30 reduces the discharge amount of the left main pump 14L to the allowable minimum discharge amount, thereby suppressing the pressure loss (pumping loss) when the hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L passes through the left intermediate bypass line 40L. On the other hand, when any one of the hydraulic actuators is operated, the hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L flows into the hydraulic actuator to be operated via the control valve corresponding to the hydraulic actuator to be operated. The flow of hydraulic oil discharged from the left main pump 14L reduces or eliminates the amount reaching the left throttle 18L, and reduces the control pressure generated upstream of the left throttle 18L. As a result, the controller 30 increases the discharge amount of the left main pump 14L so that enough hydraulic oil flows into the hydraulic actuator to be operated, thereby ensuring the driving of the hydraulic actuator to be operated. In addition, the controller 30 similarly controls the discharge amount of the right main pump 14R.

According to the above configuration, the hydraulic system of fig. 2 can suppress unnecessary power consumption associated with the main pump 14 in the standby state. Unnecessary energy consumption includes pumping loss in the intermediate bypass line 40 caused by the hydraulic oil discharged from the main pump 14. In addition, when the hydraulic actuator is operated, the hydraulic system of fig. 2 can reliably supply a necessary and sufficient amount of hydraulic oil from the main pump 14 to the hydraulic actuator of the work object.

Next, a configuration for the controller 30 to operate the actuator by the device control function will be described with reference to fig. 3A to 3D. Fig. 3A to 3D are diagrams showing a part of the hydraulic system extracted. Specifically, fig. 3A is a drawing in which a hydraulic system portion related to the operation of arm cylinder 8 is extracted, and fig. 3B is a drawing in which a hydraulic system portion related to the operation of boom cylinder 7 is extracted. Fig. 3C is a drawing in which a hydraulic system portion related to the operation of the bucket cylinder 9 is extracted, and fig. 3D is a drawing in which a hydraulic system portion related to the operation of the swing hydraulic motor 2A is extracted.

As shown in fig. 3A to 3D, the hydraulic system includes a proportional valve 31. The proportional valve 31 includes proportional valves 31AL to 31DL and 31AR to 31DR.

The proportional valve 31 functions as a control valve for controlling the device. The proportional valve 31 is disposed in a pipe line connecting the pilot pump 15 and a pilot port of a corresponding control valve in the control valve unit 17, and is configured to be capable of changing a flow path area of the pipe line. In the present embodiment, the proportional valve 31 operates in accordance with a control command output from the controller 30. Therefore, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the pilot port of the corresponding control valve in the control valve unit 17 via the proportional valve 31 regardless of the operation device 26 by the operator. The controller 30 can cause the pilot pressure generated by the proportional valve 31 to act on the pilot port of the corresponding control valve.

With this configuration, even when the specific operation device 26 is not operated, the controller 30 can operate the hydraulic actuator corresponding to the specific operation device 26. Even when the specific operation device 26 is operated, the controller 30 can forcibly stop the operation of the hydraulic actuator corresponding to the specific operation device 26.

For example, as shown in fig. 3A, a left lever 26L is used to operate the arm 5. Specifically, the left operation lever 26L causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation in the front-rear direction to act on the pilot port of the control valve 176 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. More specifically, when the operation is performed in the arm retracting direction (backward direction), the left operation lever 26L causes the pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the right pilot port of the control valve 176L and the left pilot port of the control valve 176R. When the operation is performed in the arm opening direction (forward direction), the left operation lever 26L causes the pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the left pilot port of the control valve 176L and the right pilot port of the control valve 176R.

A switch NS is provided on the left lever 26L. In the present embodiment, the switch NS is a push button switch provided at the front end of the left lever 26L. The operator can operate the left operation lever 26L while pressing the switch NS. The switch NS may be provided on the right lever 26R or may be provided at another position in the cab 10.

The operation pressure sensor 29LA detects the operation content of the left operation lever 26L in the front-rear direction by the operator, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30.

The proportional valve 31AL operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of control valve 176L and the left pilot port of control valve 176R via proportional valve 31AL is adjusted. The proportional valve 31AR operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 176L and the right pilot port of the control valve 176R via the proportional valve 31AR is adjusted. Proportional valve 31AL can adjust the pilot pressure so that control valve 176L and control valve 176R can stop at any valve positions. Similarly, the pilot pressure can be adjusted by the proportional valve 31AR so that the control valve 176L and the control valve 176R can be stopped at any valve positions.

With this configuration, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 176L and the left pilot port of the control valve 176R via the proportional valve 31AL in response to the arm retraction operation performed by the operator. Further, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 176L and the left pilot port of the control valve 176R via the proportional valve 31AL regardless of the arm retraction operation performed by the operator. That is, controller 30 can retract stick 5 in accordance with the stick retraction operation performed by the operator or irrespective of the stick retraction operation performed by the operator.

Further, in response to the arm opening operation by the operator, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 176L and the right pilot port of the control valve 176R via the proportional valve 31 AR. Further, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 176L and the right pilot port of the control valve 176R via the proportional valve 31AR regardless of the arm opening operation performed by the operator. That is, controller 30 can open arm 5 in accordance with the arm opening operation by the operator or irrespective of the arm opening operation by the operator.

With this configuration, even when the operator performs the arm retraction operation, the controller 30 can reduce the pilot pressure acting on the closing side pilot port of the control valve 176 (the left side pilot port of the control valve 176L and the right side pilot port of the control valve 176R) as needed, and forcibly stop the retraction operation of the arm 5. The same applies to the case where the opening operation of the arm 5 is forcibly stopped when the operator performs the arm opening operation.

Alternatively, even when the operator performs the arm retracting operation, the controller 30 may control the proportional valve 31AR to increase the pilot pressure acting on the open-side pilot port (the right-side pilot port of the control valve 176L and the left-side pilot port of the control valve 176R) of the control valve 176 located on the opposite side to the closed-side pilot port of the control valve 176 as needed, and forcibly return the control valve 176 to the neutral position, thereby forcibly stopping the retracting operation of the arm 5. The same applies to the case where the opening operation of the arm 5 is forcibly stopped when the operator performs the arm opening operation.

The explanation of the following fig. 3B to 3D will be omitted, but the same applies to the case where the operation of the boom 4 is forcibly stopped when the boom raising operation or the boom lowering operation is performed by the operator, the case where the operation of the bucket 6 is forcibly stopped when the bucket retracting operation or the bucket opening operation is performed by the operator, and the case where the turning operation of the upper turning body 3 is forcibly stopped when the turning operation is performed by the operator. The same applies to the case where the travel operation of the lower travel body 1 is forcibly stopped when the operator performs the travel operation.

Further, as shown in fig. 3B, the right operation lever 26R is used to operate the boom 4. Specifically, the right operation lever 26R causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation in the front-rear direction to act on the pilot port of the control valve 175 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. More specifically, when the boom raising direction (backward direction) is operated, the right operation lever 26R causes the pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the right pilot port of the control valve 175L and the left pilot port of the control valve 175R. When the boom lowering direction (forward direction) is operated, the right operation lever 26R causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the right pilot port of the control valve 175R.

The operation pressure sensor 29RA detects the operation content of the right operation lever 26R in the front-rear direction by the operator, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30.

The proportional valve 31BL operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 175L and the left pilot port of the control valve 175R via the proportional valve 31BL is adjusted. The proportional valve 31BR operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 175R via the proportional valve 31BR is adjusted. The proportional valve 31BL can adjust the pilot pressure so that the control valve 175L and the control valve 175R can stop at arbitrary valve positions. The pilot pressure of proportional valve 31BR can be adjusted so that control valve 175R can stop at an arbitrary valve position.

With this configuration, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 175L and the left pilot port of the control valve 175R via the proportional valve 31BL in response to the boom raising operation performed by the operator. The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 175L and the left pilot port of the control valve 175R via the proportional valve 31BL regardless of the boom raising operation performed by the operator. That is, the controller 30 can lift the boom 4 according to the boom lifting operation performed by the operator or irrespective of the boom lifting operation performed by the operator.

Further, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 175R via the proportional valve 31BR in response to the boom lowering operation performed by the operator. The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 175R via the proportional valve 31BR regardless of the boom lowering operation performed by the operator. That is, the controller 30 can lower the boom 4 in accordance with the boom lowering operation performed by the operator or irrespective of the boom lowering operation performed by the operator.

As shown in fig. 3C, the right lever 26R is also used to operate the bucket 6. Specifically, the right operation lever 26R causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation in the left-right direction to act on the pilot port of the control valve 174 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. More specifically, when the bucket retracting direction (left direction) is operated, the right operation lever 26R causes the pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the left pilot port of the control valve 174. When the operation is performed in the bucket opening direction (right direction), the right operation lever 26R causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the right pilot port of the control valve 174.

The operation pressure sensor 29RB detects the operation content of the right operation lever 26R by the operator in the left-right direction, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30.

The proportional valve 31CL operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 174 via the proportional valve 31CL is adjusted. The proportional valve 31CR operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 174 via the proportional valve 31CR is adjusted. The pilot pressure of the proportional valve 31CL can be adjusted so that the control valve 174 can be stopped at an arbitrary valve position. Similarly, the pilot pressure can be adjusted by proportional valve 31CR so that control valve 174 can stop at an arbitrary valve position.

With this configuration, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 174 via the proportional valve 31CL in response to the bucket retraction operation by the operator. The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 174 via the proportional valve 31CL regardless of the bucket retraction operation by the operator. That is, the controller 30 can retract the bucket 6 in accordance with or irrespective of the bucket retraction operation by the operator.

Further, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 174 via the proportional valve 31CR in response to the bucket opening operation by the operator. The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 174 via the proportional valve 31CR regardless of the bucket opening operation by the operator. That is, the controller 30 can open the bucket 6 in accordance with or irrespective of the bucket opening operation by the operator.

As shown in fig. 3D, the left lever 26L is also used to operate the swing mechanism 2. Specifically, the left operation lever 26L causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation in the left-right direction to act on the pilot port of the control valve 173 by the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15. More specifically, when the left turning direction (left direction) is operated, the left operation lever 26L causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the left pilot port of the control valve 173. When the right turning direction (right direction) is operated, the left operation lever 26L causes a pilot pressure corresponding to the operation amount to act on the right pilot port of the control valve 173.

The operation pressure sensor 29LB detects the operation content of the left operation lever 26L in the left-right direction by the operator, and outputs the detected value to the controller 30.

The proportional valve 31DL operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 173 via the proportional valve 31DL is adjusted. The proportional valve 31DR operates in accordance with a control command (current command) output from the controller 30. The pilot pressure generated by the hydraulic oil introduced from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 173 via the proportional valve 31DR is adjusted. The pilot pressure of the proportional valve 31DL can be adjusted so that the control valve 173 can be stopped at an arbitrary valve position. Similarly, the pilot pressure can be adjusted by proportional valve 31DR so that control valve 173 can stop at an arbitrary valve position.

With this configuration, the controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 173 via the proportional valve 31DL in response to the left turning operation by the operator. The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the left pilot port of the control valve 173 via the proportional valve 31DL regardless of the left turning operation by the operator. That is, the controller 30 can turn the turning mechanism 2 to the left in accordance with the left turning operation by the operator or irrespective of the left turning operation by the operator.

The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 173 via the proportional valve 31DR in response to the right turning operation by the operator. The controller 30 can supply the hydraulic oil discharged from the pilot pump 15 to the right pilot port of the control valve 173 via the proportional valve 31DR regardless of the right turning operation by the operator. That is, the controller 30 can turn the turning mechanism 2 to the right in accordance with the right turning operation by the operator or irrespective of the right turning operation by the operator.

The shovel 100 may have a structure for automatically advancing/automatically retracting the lower traveling body 1. At this time, the hydraulic system portion related to the operation of the left traveling hydraulic motor 2ML and the hydraulic system portion related to the operation of the right traveling hydraulic motor 2MR may be configured to be the same as the hydraulic system portion related to the operation of the boom cylinder 7 or the like.

Further, although the description has been made regarding the electric lever as the mode of the operation device 26, a hydraulic lever may be used instead of the electric lever. At this time, the lever operation amount of the hydraulic lever may be detected in the form of pressure by a pressure sensor and input to the controller 30. Further, electromagnetic valves may be disposed between the operation device 26 as a hydraulic operation lever and the pilot ports of the control valves. The solenoid valve is configured to operate in response to an electrical signal from the controller 30. With this configuration, when the manual operation using the operation device 26 as a hydraulic operation lever is performed, the operation device 26 increases or decreases the pilot pressure according to the lever operation amount, and each control valve can be moved. Further, each control valve may be constituted by a solenoid spool valve. At this time, the electromagnetic spool valve operates according to an electric signal from the controller 30 corresponding to the lever operation amount of the electric lever.

Next, the function of the controller 30 will be described with reference to fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram of the controller 30. In the example of fig. 4, the controller 30 is configured as follows: the control command can be output to the proportional valve 31, the display device D1, the audio output device D2, and the like by performing various calculations upon receiving signals output from the posture detection device, the operation device 26, the object detection device 70, the imaging device 80, the switch NS, and the like. The posture detection device includes, for example, a boom angle sensor S1, an arm angle sensor S2, a bucket angle sensor S3, a body inclination sensor S4, and a swing angular velocity sensor S5. The controller 30 has a track generation unit 30A and an autonomous control unit 30B as functional blocks. Each functional block may be constituted by hardware or software.

The track generation unit 30A is configured to generate a target track, which is a track drawn by a predetermined portion of the shovel 100 when the shovel 100 is autonomously operated. The predetermined portion is, for example, a cutting edge of the bucket 6, a predetermined point located on the rear surface of the bucket 6, or the like. In the present embodiment, the trajectory generation unit 30A generates a target trajectory to be used when the autonomous control unit 30B autonomously operates the shovel 100. Specifically, the track generation unit 30A generates a target track from the output of at least one of the object detection device 70 and the imaging device 80.

The autonomous control unit 30B is configured to autonomously operate the shovel 100. In the present embodiment, the autonomous control unit 30B is configured as follows: when the predetermined start condition is satisfied, a predetermined portion of the shovel 100 is moved along the target track generated by the track generating unit 30A. Specifically, when the operation device 26 is operated with the switch NS pressed, the autonomous control unit 30B autonomously operates the shovel 100 to move a predetermined portion of the shovel 100 along the target track. For example, when left operation lever 26L is operated in the arm opening direction with switch NS pressed, autonomous control unit 30B autonomously operates excavation attachment AT to move the cutting edge of bucket 6 along the target track. Regardless of whether or not the operation device 26 is operated, when the switch NS is pressed, the autonomous control unit 30B may autonomously operate the shovel 100 so that a predetermined portion of the shovel 100 moves along the target track.

Next, an example of a function (hereinafter, referred to as an "autonomous control function") of the controller 30 to autonomously control the operation of the accessory device will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 and 6 are block diagrams of autonomous control functions.

First, as shown in fig. 5, the controller 30 determines a target moving speed and a target moving direction according to an operation tendency. The operation tendency is determined, for example, from the lever operation amount. The target moving speed is a target value of the moving speed of the control reference point, and the target moving direction is a target value of the moving direction of the control reference point. The control reference point is, for example, a cutting edge of the bucket 6 or a predetermined point located on the back surface of the bucket 6. The control reference point being dependent on, for example, boom angle beta ₁ Angle beta of bucket rod ₂ Bucket angle beta ₃ Angle of rotation alpha ₁ To calculate.

Then, the controller 30 calculates three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, ye r, zer) of the control reference point after a unit time has elapsed, based on the target moving speed, the target moving direction, and the three-dimensional coordinates (Xe, ye, ze) of the control reference point. The three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) of the control reference point after the lapse of the unit time are, for example, coordinates on the target orbit. The unit time is, for example, a time corresponding to an integer multiple of the control period.

The target track may be, for example, a target track related to a backfill action performed in a backfill pit job, i.e., a backfill job. The backfilling operation includes an operation of discharging the sand taken into the bucket 6 into the pit, an operation of pushing the sand around the pit with the bucket 6 and dropping the sand into the pit, and the like. Typically, the backfill action is a compound action including a bucket opening action and an arm opening action. At this time, the target track may be calculated from at least one of the opening shape of the pit, the depth of the pit, the volume of sand that has been discharged into the pit, the volume of sand that has been taken into the bucket 6, and the like, for example. The shape of the pit, the depth of the pit, the volume of the sand that has been discharged into the pit, and the volume of the sand that has been taken into the bucket 6 can be derived from the output of at least one of the object detection device 70 and the image pickup device 80, for example. The target track may be set such that, for example, the variation in depth of each portion of the pit does not significantly increase. That is, the target track may be set so as not to concentrate only a part of the backfill pit. Instead, the target track may be set to concentrate only a part of the backfill pit.

Typically, the target track is calculated before the backfill action begins and will not change until the backfill action ends. However, the target track may also be changed when the backfilling action is performed. That is, the content of the backfilling operation may be changed.

Then, the controller 30 generates command values β concerning the rotations of the boom 4, the arm 5, and the bucket 6 based on the calculated three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) _1r 、β _2r Beta and beta _3r And command value α related to rotation of upper rotation body 3 _1r . Command value beta _1r For example, the boom angle beta when alignment of the control reference point to the three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) is achieved ₁ . Similarly, the command value β _2r Representing arm angle beta when alignment of control reference points to three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) is achieved ₂ Command value beta _3r Representing bucket angle beta when alignment of control reference points to three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) is achieved ₃ Command value alpha _1r Representing the angle of revolution alpha when the alignment of the control datum point to the three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) is achieved ₁ 。

Command value β related to rotation of bucket 6 _3r May be altered when the backfill action is performed. For example, when the depth of the pit of the backfilled portion becomes smaller than the desired depth, the command value β _3r Can be adjusted to be smaller. That is, typically, the command value β _3r Controlled by open loop control, butThe feedback control may be performed based on the depth of the pit at the portion where the backfilling is performed.

Then, as shown in fig. 6, the controller 30 operates the boom cylinder 7, the arm cylinder 8, the bucket cylinder 9, and the swing hydraulic motor 2A so as to adjust the boom angle β ₁ Angle beta of bucket rod ₂ Bucket angle beta ₃ Angle of rotation alpha ₁ Respectively become the generated command value beta ₁ r、β ₂ r、β ₃ r and alpha ₁ r. In addition, the rotation angle alpha ₁ For example, the rotational angular velocity can be calculated from the output of the rotational angular velocity sensor S5.

Specifically, the controller 30 generates a value corresponding to the boom angle β ₁ Current value and command value beta of (2) ₁ Difference Δβ between r ₁ Is a pilot pressure command for the boom cylinder. Then, a control current corresponding to the boom cylinder pilot pressure command is output to the boom control mechanism 31B. The boom control mechanism 31B is configured to be able to cause a pilot pressure corresponding to a control current corresponding to a boom cylinder pilot pressure command to act on a control valve 175 serving as a boom control valve. The boom control mechanism 31B may be, for example, a proportional valve 31BL and a proportional valve 31BR in fig. 3B.

Then, control valve 175 receiving the pilot pressure generated by boom control mechanism 31B causes the hydraulic oil discharged by main pump 14 to flow into boom cylinder 7 in the flow direction and flow rate corresponding to the pilot pressure.

At this time, controller 30 may generate a boom spool control command based on the spool displacement amount of control valve 175 detected by boom spool displacement sensor S7. The boom spool displacement sensor S7 is a sensor that detects the displacement amount of the spool constituting the control valve 175. Then, the controller 30 may output a control current corresponding to the boom spool control command to the boom control mechanism 31B. At this time, the boom control mechanism 31B causes a pilot pressure corresponding to a control current corresponding to a boom spool control command to act on the control valve 175.

The boom cylinder 7 expands and contracts by the hydraulic oil supplied via the control valve 175. The boom angle sensor S1 detects a boom angle β of the boom 4 operated by the telescopic boom cylinder 7 ₁ 。

The controller 30 then feeds back the passiveBoom angle beta detected by boom angle sensor S1 ₁ Boom angle β used for generating boom cylinder pilot pressure command ₁ Is a current value of (c).

The above description relates to the base of the command value beta ₁ r, but the same applies to the operation of the boom 4 based on the command value β ₂ r is based on the command value β by the operation of the arm 5 ₃ r, and based on the command value α ₁ r, the upper revolving unit 3. Further, arm control mechanism 31A is configured to be able to cause a pilot pressure corresponding to a control current corresponding to an arm cylinder pilot pressure command to act on control valve 176 serving as an arm control valve. The arm control mechanism 31A may be, for example, a proportional valve 31AL and a proportional valve 31AR in fig. 3A. The bucket control mechanism 31C is configured to be able to cause a pilot pressure corresponding to a control current corresponding to a bucket cylinder pilot pressure command to act on a control valve 174 serving as the bucket control valve. The bucket control mechanism 31C may be, for example, a proportional valve 31CL and a proportional valve 31CR in fig. 3C. The swing control mechanism 31D is configured to be able to cause a pilot pressure corresponding to a control current corresponding to a swing hydraulic motor pilot pressure command to act on the control valve 173 serving as the swing control valve. The swing control mechanism 31D may be, for example, a proportional valve 31DL and a proportional valve 31DR in fig. 3D. The arm spool displacement sensor S8 is a sensor that detects the displacement amount of the spool constituting the control valve 176, the bucket spool displacement sensor S9 is a sensor that detects the displacement amount of the spool constituting the control valve 174, and the rotary spool displacement sensor S6 is a sensor that detects the displacement amount of the spool constituting the control valve 173.

As shown in fig. 5, the controller 30 may use the pump discharge amount deriving units CP1, CP2, CP3, and CP4 from the command value β ₁ r、β ₂ r、β ₃ r and alpha ₁ And r derives the pump discharge amount. In the present embodiment, the pump discharge amount deriving units CP1, CP2, CP3, and CP4 use a reference table or the like registered in advance from the command value β ₁ r、β ₂ r、β ₃ r and alpha ₁ And r derives the pump discharge amount. The pump discharge amounts derived by the pump discharge amount deriving units CP1, CP2, CP3, and CP4 are added together and input to the pump flow rate calculating unit as the total pump discharge amount. Pump flow rate calculation unitThe discharge amount of the main pump 14 is controlled based on the input total pump discharge amount. In the present embodiment, the pump flow rate calculation unit changes the swash plate tilting angle of the main pump 14 according to the total pump discharge amount to control the discharge amount of the main pump 14.

In this way, the controller 30 can simultaneously perform the opening control of the boom control valve 175, the arm control valve 176, the bucket control valve 174, and the swing control valve 173, and the discharge amount control of the main pump 14. Therefore, the controller 30 can supply an appropriate amount of hydraulic oil to each of the boom cylinder 7, the arm cylinder 8, the bucket cylinder 9, and the swing hydraulic motor 2A.

The controller 30 calculates the three-dimensional coordinates (Xer, yer, zer) and commands the value β _1r 、β _2r 、β _3r Alpha and alpha _1r As one control cycle, the autonomous control is executed by repeating the control cycle, together with the generation of the main pump 14 and the determination of the discharge amount. Further, the controller 30 can improve the accuracy of the autonomous control by performing feedback control on the control reference point based on the outputs of the boom angle sensor S1, the arm angle sensor S2, the bucket angle sensor S3, and the pivot angular velocity sensor S5. Specifically, the controller 30 can improve the accuracy of the autonomous control by feedback-controlling the flow rates of the hydraulic oil flowing into the boom cylinder 7, the arm cylinder 8, the bucket cylinder 9, and the swing hydraulic motor 2A, respectively.

Further, the controller 30 may be configured to monitor the distance between the bucket 6 and the surrounding obstacle so that the bucket 6 does not contact the surrounding obstacle when the autonomous control related to the backfilling action is performed. For example, when it is determined from the outputs of the posture detection device and the object detection device 70 that the distance between each of one or more predetermined points in the bucket 6 and the surrounding obstacle is smaller than a predetermined value, the controller 30 may stop the operation of the excavation attachment AT.

Next, an example of autonomous control related to the backfilling operation will be described with reference to fig. 7A to 7C and fig. 8A to 8C. Fig. 7A to 7C are plan views of the shovel 100 that performs the backfilling operation and the pit HL that is the object of the backfilling operation. Fig. 8A to 8C are cross-sectional views of the pit HL. The controller 30 recognizes the position of the pit HL as the object of the backfilling action (backfill object position), and generates a target track from the sandy mountain (excavation completion position) to the pit HL.

The excavation completion position may be set to a position of the bucket 6 when sand is taken into the bucket 6. Alternatively, the excavation completion position may be set to a position of the bucket 6 when the bucket 6 is lifted only by a predetermined height set in advance from a position of the bucket 6 when the sand is taken into the bucket 6.

The controller 30 can recognize the shape (opening area, depth, etc.) of the pit HL or the position of the pit HL from the output of the object detection device 70, and can set a target position for the backfilling operation. The controller 30 may recognize the uneven shape of the terrain from the output of the object detection device 70, and may display the recognized uneven shape on the display device D1. At this time, the controller 30 may display a frame, a mark, or the like for an image of the pit HL, the concave-convex shape, or the like (hereinafter, referred to as "pit HL, or the like") displayed on the display device D1 so that the operator of the shovel 100 can recognize the same. In addition, the image of the pit HL or the like includes a captured image output by the image capturing device 80 (object detecting device 70). Then, by inputting (selecting) the pit HL or the like as the recognition target by the operator setting, the controller 30 can set the target position for the pit HL or the like. Then, the operator can select an image such as pit HL as a backfill target from the captured images displayed on the display device D1, and set the image as a target position. At this time, the actual position displayed in the topographic region of the display device D1 and the position of the image in the display region of the display device D1 are associated with each other. Accordingly, by selecting a predetermined portion in the display area of the display device D1 by the operator, the controller 30 can recognize the actual position of the pit HL with respect to the shovel 100 and set the target position of backfilling.

Thereby, the controller 30 generates a track up to the set target position as a target track. Typically, the target position is set above the bottom surface of the pit HL. In general, the target position is set inside the outline of the pit HL.

Specifically, fig. 7A and 8A show the states when the first backfill operation by autonomous control is completed. The excavator graphic represented by the broken line of fig. 7A shows the state of the excavator 100 after the completion of the first excavation action by the manual operation and before the start of the first backfill action. Sand R1 represents sand discharged into pit HL by the first backfill action. The sand R1 is discharged, for example, into a portion of the pit HL furthest from the shovel 100. In the state shown in fig. 7A and 8A, the controller 30 generates a target track between the positions of the farthest portions of the sandy soil mountain and the pit HL. The controller 30 may change the target position each time a backfill action is performed. Thereby, the target position and the target track in the second or third backfill operation are changed. The timing of changing the target position and the target track may be changed according to the shape (size, depth, etc.) of the pit HL.

Fig. 7B and 8B show the states when the second backfill operation by autonomous control is completed. The excavator graphic represented by the broken line of fig. 7B shows the state of the excavator 100 after the completion of the second excavation action by the manual operation and before the start of the second backfill action. Sand R2 represents sand discharged into pit HL by the second backfill action. Sand R2 is dumped into, for example, a portion of pit HL that is closer to excavator 100 than sand R1 so that it is adjacent to sand R1. In the state shown in fig. 7B and 8B, the controller 30 updates the target track generated in the state shown in fig. 7A and 8A.

Fig. 7C and 8C show the state when the third backfill operation by autonomous control is completed. The excavator graphic represented by the broken line of fig. 7C shows the state of the excavator 100 after the completion of the third excavation action by the manual operation and before the start of the third backfill action. Sand R3 represents sand discharged into pit HL by the third backfill action. Sand R3 is dumped into, for example, a portion of pit HL that is closer to excavator 100 than sand R2 so that it is adjacent to sand R2. In the state shown in fig. 7C and 8C, the controller 30 updates the target track updated in the state shown in fig. 7B and 8B. In addition, the controller 30 can recognize the shape of the sand falling into the pit HL from the output from the image pickup device 80 (object detection device 70). For example, the controller 30 may estimate the shape of the sand falling into the pit HL from the shape of the pit HL, the characteristics of the sand, the falling position, and the like. In this way, the controller 30 can change the target position in the next backfilling operation by grasping the shape of the sand falling into the pit HL.

The operator of the shovel 100 presses the switch NS to perform the first backfilling operation by the autonomous control at a timing before starting the first backfilling operation even when the state of the shovel 100 becomes the state indicated by the broken line in fig. 7A. In the example shown in fig. 7A to 7C and fig. 8A to 8C, the shovel 100 is configured to perform the backfilling operation when the switch NS is pressed, but may be configured to perform the backfilling operation when the left lever 26L is operated in the rightward turning direction with the switch NS pressed.

In the example shown in fig. 7A, the target track for the first backfill action is generated from the current position AP1 of the cutting edge of the bucket 6 and the position BP1 of the cutting edge of the bucket 6 at the completion of the first backfill action. The position BP1 is set such that the cutting edge of the bucket 6 is located directly above the center point of the sand R1, for example. The sand R1 is a predetermined sand put into the pit HL by the first backfill operation.

The controller 30 then uses the calculated target trajectory to perform the first backfill action by autonomous control. Specifically, the controller 30 automatically turns the upper turning body 3 to the right and automatically expands and contracts the excavation attachment AT so that the trajectory described by the cutting edge of the bucket 6 follows the target trajectory.

After the completion of the first backfilling action by the autonomous control, the operator of the shovel 100 performs an intermediate action including a left-hand turning action by a manual operation to bring the bucket 6 close to the sandy soil hill F1 shown in fig. 7A. This intermediate operation for moving the cutting edge of the bucket 6 from the position at which the backfilling operation is completed to the position at which the next excavating operation is started may be performed autonomously without manual operation by the operator, or semi-autonomously to support manual operation by the operator. In the case of autonomously performing this intermediate operation, a target track for this intermediate operation is generated from the current cutting edge position BP1 of the bucket 6 and the cutting edge position DP1 of the bucket 6 at the time of starting the second excavation operation. The position DP1 is set to be located directly above the center point of the sandy mountain F1, for example. The semi-autonomous operation is different from the autonomous operation in that the operation is performed by a manual operation of an operation lever by an operator, but is the same as the autonomous operation in that the cutting edge of the bucket 6 is moved along a target track.

Then, the operator takes in the earth and sand constituting the earth and sand mountain F1 into the bucket 6 according to the excavating operation performed by the manual operation. Then, the operator presses the switch NS to execute the second backfill operation by the autonomous control at a timing after the end of the excavation operation, even when the state of the shovel 100 becomes the state indicated by the broken line in fig. 7B.

In the example shown in fig. 7B, the target track for the second backfill action is generated from the current position AP2 of the cutting edge of the bucket 6 and the position BP2 of the cutting edge of the bucket 6 at the completion of the second backfill action. The position BP2 is set such that the cutting edge of the bucket 6 is located directly above the center point of the sand R2, for example. The sand R2 is a predetermined sand put into the pit HL by the second backfill operation.

The controller 30 then uses the calculated target trajectory to perform a second backfill action by autonomous control. Specifically, the controller 30 automatically turns the upper turning body 3 to the right and automatically expands and contracts the excavation attachment AT so that the trajectory described by the cutting edge of the bucket 6 follows the target trajectory.

After the completion of the second backfilling action by the autonomous control, the operator of the shovel 100 performs an intermediate action including a left-hand turning action by a manual operation to bring the bucket 6 close to the sandy soil mountain F2 shown in fig. 7B. The intermediate operation may be performed autonomously without manual operation by the operator, or semi-autonomously to support manual operation by the operator. In the case of autonomously performing this intermediate operation, a target track for this intermediate operation is generated from the current cutting edge position BP2 of the bucket 6 and the cutting edge position DP2 of the bucket 6 at the time of starting the third excavating operation. The position DP2 is set to be located directly above the center point of the sandy mountain F2, for example.

Then, the operator takes in the earth and sand constituting the earth and sand mountain F2 into the bucket 6 according to the excavating operation performed by the manual operation. Then, the operator presses the switch NS to execute the third backfilling operation by the autonomous control at a timing after the end of the excavation operation, even when the state of the shovel 100 becomes the state indicated by the broken line in fig. 7C.

In this way, the controller 30 can reduce the burden on the operator related to the backfilling operation by the manual operation by autonomously performing the backfilling operation. In the above embodiment, the intermediate operation and the excavation operation are performed by the manual operation of the operator, but at least one of the intermediate operation and the excavation operation may be performed autonomously or semi-autonomously by the controller 30 as in the backfill operation.

Next, an example of the leveling operation performed after the pit HL is backfilled will be described with reference to fig. 9A and 9B. Fig. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views of the pit HL to be backfilled, and correspond to fig. 8A to 8C. Specifically, fig. 9A and 9B show a state in which sand in the pit HL is backfilled by a plurality of backfill actions. More specifically, fig. 9A shows the state of sand in the pit HL before the leveling operation is performed, and fig. 9B shows the state of sand in the pit HL after the leveling operation is performed. In fig. 9A and 9B, for clarity, a diagonal line pattern is marked on the foundation around the pit HL, and a dot pattern is marked on the sand backfilled into the pit HL.

In the present embodiment, the controller 30 is configured to set the height of the target surface TS before the backfilling operation is performed. The target surface TS is an imaginary surface, typically an imaginary horizontal surface, corresponding to the ground surface formed when the pit HL as the backfill target is backfilled with sand. The controller 30 detects the pit HL and the surrounding surface CS that is the ground around the pit HL, for example, from the output of the object detection device 70. The controller 30 sets the height of the target surface TS based on the detected height of the surrounding surface CS. Typically, the height of the target surface TS is set to be the same as the height of the surrounding surface CS. The one-dot chain line shown in fig. 9A and 9B indicates the target surface TS.

Then, the controller 30 determines whether the pit HL is backfilled with sand, for example, based on the output of the object detection device 70. In the example shown in fig. 9A and 9B, when the entire target surface TS is buried in the sand, the controller 30 determines that the pit HL is backfilled with the sand. Further, the controller 30 performs an autonomous leveling operation when it is determined that the pit HL is backfilled with sand. In addition, the backfill action performed before the leveling action is performed in such a manner that the height of the sand backfilled into the pit HL is slightly higher than the height of the target surface TS.

If it is determined that pit HL is backfilled with sand, controller 30 generates a target track along target surface TS, and automatically moves the cutting edge of bucket 6 along the target track in a direction away from shovel 100, thereby performing a leveling operation. At this time, the leveling operation is a composite operation including an arm opening operation. Fig. 9A shows the position of the bucket 6 at the start of the leveling operation, and fig. 9B shows the position of the bucket 6 at the completion of the leveling operation. The controller 30 may set the target surface TS according to the height of the terrain adjacent to the pit HL. Alternatively, the controller 30 may set the target surface TS according to the height of the sand or the shape of the sand backfilled into the pit HL. Alternatively, the controller 30 may set the target surface TS based on a construction plan (design data).

With this structure, the controller 30 can planarize the surface of the sand backfilled into the pit HL so that the surface of the sand backfilled into the pit HL becomes a state free from irregularities. The controller 30 can set the height of the surface of the sand backfilled into the pit HL to be substantially the same as the height of the surrounding surface CS.

Next, another example of autonomous control related to the backfill operation will be described with reference to fig. 10A and 10B. Fig. 10A is a plan view of the shovel 100 and the pit HL to be backfilled when the backfilling operation is performed, and corresponds to fig. 7A to 7C. Fig. 10B is a sectional view of the pit HL, and corresponds to fig. 8A to 8C.

In the example shown in fig. 10A and 10B, the controller 30 is configured as follows: in the case where the sand backfilled into the pit HL is located within a prescribed distance from the pit HL, the sand is pushed into the pit HL by pushing the sand away with the bucket 6 without lifting the sand with the bucket 6. In the example shown in fig. 10A and 10B, the controller 30 autonomously performs a pushing-out operation for pushing out sand constituting the sand hill F10 located within a prescribed distance from the pit HL, using the back face BF of the bucket 6. In fig. 10A, the range of the predetermined distance is a range Z1 surrounded by a broken line.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 10B, the controller 30 autonomously operates the excavation attachment AT to push the sand constituting the sand hill F10 into the pit HL by the two backfill actions (pushing-away actions).

For example, the controller 30 recognizes the position and shape of the sandy mountain F10 based on the output of the object detection device 70. Further, the controller 30 generates a target track TL for pushing the sand constituting the sand hill F10 into the pit HL, based on the recognized position and shape of the sand hill F10. At this time, the controller 30 may calculate the volume or weight of the sand constituting the sand hill F10, or the like. The volume or weight of the sand that can be pushed by one pushing action is limited, and a target track can be generated so as not to exceed the limit.

In fig. 10B, the target track TL1, which is a part of the target track TL for the first push-away action, is indicated by a one-dot chain line, and the target track TL2, which is a part of the target track TL for the second push-away action, is indicated by a two-dot chain line. In fig. 10A and 10B, the state of the bucket 6 at the time of completion of the first pushing-open operation is shown by a solid line, and the state of the bucket 6 at the time of start of the first pushing-open operation is shown by a bucket figure 6A drawn by a broken line. In fig. 10B, the sand F10T pushed into the pit HL by the first push-out operation is indicated by a solid line, and the portion F10T1 corresponding to the sand F10T in the sand hill F10 before the start of the first push-out operation is indicated by a broken line, among the sand constituting the sand hill F10.

The sand F10B that remains as it is from among the sand constituting the sand hill F10 after the first pushing-out operation is pushed into the pit HL by the second pushing-out operation, that is, by operating the cutting edge of the bucket 6 along the target track TL2 from the side closer to the shovel 100 to the side farther therefrom.

By performing the pushing-away action as described above, the controller 30 can push sand, which is located relatively close to the pit HL, into the pit HL. In the above example, the controller 30 is configured to perform the pushing-out operation for causing the sand to fall into the pit HL by using the back face BF of the bucket 6, but may be configured to perform the pushing-out operation for causing the sand to fall into the pit HL by using the front face or the side face of the bucket 6. For example, the controller 30 may be configured as follows: in the case where the sand constituting the sand hill F11 located on the +x side (side away from the shovel 100) of the pit HL within the range Z1 is made to fall into the pit HL, a push-away operation for making the sand fall into the pit HL is performed with the front face of the bucket 6.

The controller 30 may be configured as follows: when the sand backfilled into the pit HL is located outside the predetermined distance from the pit HL, the sand taken into the bucket 6 by the excavation operation and lifted up is discharged into the pit HL as described with reference to fig. 7A to 7C and fig. 8A to 8C. Specifically, the controller 30 may be configured as follows: with respect to the sand hill F12 located outside the range Z1, the sand constituting the sand hill F12, which is taken into the bucket 6 by the digging action and lifted up, is discharged into the pit HL by the autonomous backfilling action.

In the example shown in fig. 10A and 10B, the controller 30 is configured to perform the pushing-away operation when the switch NS is pressed, but may be configured to perform the pushing-away operation when the left operation lever 26L is operated in the arm opening direction in a state where the switch NS is pressed.

Next, a backfilling operation (pushing-open operation) of dropping sand into the pit HL by the side surface of the bucket 6 will be described with reference to fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a plan view of the shovel 100 and the pit HL to be the object of the backfilling operation (pushing operation) when the backfilling operation (pushing operation) is performed, and corresponds to fig. 10A.

In the example shown in fig. 11, the controller 30 is configured as follows: as in the case of the example shown in fig. 10A and 10B, when the sand backfilled into the pit HL is located within a predetermined distance from the pit HL, the sand is pushed into the pit HL by pushing the sand away with the bucket 6 without lifting the sand with the bucket 6. The controller 30 is configured as follows: when the sand backfilled into the pit HL is located outside the predetermined distance from the pit HL, as described with reference to fig. 7A to 7C and fig. 8A to 8C, the sand is taken into the bucket 6 by the excavation operation and lifted, and then the sand taken into the bucket 6 is discharged into the pit HL.

In the example shown in fig. 11, the controller 30 autonomously performs a pushing-out action for pushing out sand constituting the sand hill F13 located within a prescribed distance from the pit HL, using the side face SF (left side face LSF) of the bucket 6. In fig. 11, the range of the predetermined distance is a range Z1 surrounded by a broken line.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 11, the controller 30 is configured to autonomously turn the upper turning body 3 left to push the sand constituting the sand hill F13 into the pit HL by the two backfilling operations (pushing operations).

For example, the controller 30 recognizes the position and shape of the sandy mountain F13 based on the output of the object detection device 70. Further, the controller 30 generates a target track TL for pushing the sand constituting the sand hill F13 into the pit HL, based on the recognized position and shape of the sand hill F13. At this time, the controller 30 may calculate the volume or weight of the sand constituting the sand hill F13, or the like. The volume or weight of the sand that can be pushed by one pushing action is limited, and the target track TL can be generated so as not to exceed the limit.

The target track TL3, which is a part of the target track TL for the first push-away action, is indicated by a one-dot chain line in fig. 11. In fig. 11, the state of the bucket 6 at the completion of the first pushing-open operation is shown by a solid line, and the position of the bucket 6 at the start of the first pushing-open operation is shown by a bucket figure 6B drawn by a broken line. In fig. 11, the solid line indicates that the sand F13T in the pit HL is pushed in by the first pushing-out operation from among the sand constituting the sand mountain F13, and the solid line indicates that the sand F13B remains as it is even after the first pushing-out operation from among the sand constituting the sand mountain F10.

The sand F13T is pushed into the pit HL by the first pushing-open action, that is, by causing the cutting edge of the bucket 6 to act from right to left along the target track TL 3.

The sand F13B is pushed into the pit HL by a second pushing-out action, i.e., by causing the cutting edge of the bucket 6 to move from right to left along a target track (not shown) for the second pushing-out action.

By performing a push-away action including a swing action as described above, the controller 30 can push sand located relatively close to the pit HL into the pit HL. In the above example, the controller 30 is configured to perform the pushing-out operation for causing the sand to fall into the pit HL by using the left side surface LSF of the bucket 6, but may be configured to perform the pushing-out operation for causing the sand to fall into the pit HL by using the right side surface of the bucket 6. For example, the controller 30 may be configured as follows: in the case where the sand constituting the sand mountain located on the +y side of the pit HL in the range Z1 is made to fall into the pit HL, a pushing-away operation for making the sand fall into the pit HL is performed with the right side surface of the bucket 6.

Next, another example of the autonomous control related to the backfill operation will be described with reference to fig. 12A to 12C. Fig. 12A to 12C are cross-sectional views of the pit HL, and correspond to fig. 9A and 9B. Specifically, fig. 12A to 12C show a state where the sand GR in the pit HL is backfilled by a plurality of backfilling operations. More specifically, fig. 12A shows the state of the sand GR in the pit HL before the penultimate backfill operation (push operation), fig. 12B shows the state of the sand in the pit HL after the penultimate backfill operation (push operation), and fig. 12C shows the state of the sand in the pit HL after the final backfill operation (push operation).

In the example shown in fig. 12A to 12C, the controller 30 is configured to set the height of the target surface TS before the backfilling operation is performed. The target surface TS is an imaginary surface, typically an imaginary horizontal surface, corresponding to the ground surface formed when the pit HL as the backfill target is backfilled with sand. The controller 30 detects the pit HL and the surrounding surface CS that is the ground around the pit HL, for example, from the output of the object detection device 70. The controller 30 sets the height of the target surface TS based on the detected height of the surrounding surface CS. Typically, the height of the target surface TS is set to be the same as the height of the surrounding surface CS. The lower one-dot chain line shown in fig. 12A indicates the target surface TS.

The controller 30 determines whether or not a sand mountain is present within a predetermined distance from the pit HL, for example, based on the output of the object detection device 70. When a sand hill exists within a predetermined distance from pit HL, controller 30 calculates the volume of sand constituting the sand hill from the output of object detection device 70, for example. A sand mountain existing within a predetermined distance from the pit HL is a sand mountain in which sand constituting the sand mountain is pushed into the pit HL by a push-away operation, and is hereinafter also referred to as an "adjacent sand mountain". In the example shown in fig. 12A to 12C, the controller 30 recognizes that Sha Tushan F14 exists as an adjacent sandy mountain on the-X side (side close to the shovel 100) of the pit HL. Accordingly, the controller 30 calculates the volume of sand constituting the sand hill F14.

The controller 30 calculates the volume of sand (required volume) required for completely backfilling the pit HL from the output of the object detection device 70, for example, each time the backfilling operation is completed. The volume required corresponds to the volume of space within pit HL below target surface TS (except for the volume of the portion that has been backfilled with sand). The controller 30 determines whether or not the volume of the sand constituting the adjacent Sha Tushan (sand hill F14) is equal to or larger than the required volume. In addition, controller 30 is typically configured to adjust the volume of sand backfilled into pit HL by a previous backfill action to approximately equal the desired volume to the volume of the adjacent sand hill.

When it is determined that the volume of the sand constituting the adjacent Sha Tushan (sand hill F14) is equal to or greater than the required volume, the controller 30 executes an autonomous pushing-away operation as an autonomous backfilling operation.

Specifically, the controller 30 generates a target track TL for pushing the sand constituting the sand mountain F14 into the pit HL according to the position and shape of Sha Tushan F14. At this time, the controller 30 may set a target position for the pit HL and generate a target track TL.

The target track TL4, which is a part of the target track TL for the penultimate push-away operation, is indicated by a one-dot chain line in fig. 12A and 12B. In fig. 12B and 12C, the target track TL5 that is a part of the target track TL for the last push-out operation is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

In fig. 12A, the state of the bucket 6 at the start of the penultimate pushing operation is shown by a solid line. In fig. 12B, the state of the bucket 6 at the start of the last pushing-out operation is shown by a solid line, and the sand F14T pushed into the pit HL by the penultimate pushing-out operation from among the sand constituting the sand hill F14 is shown by a sparse dot pattern. In fig. 12C, the state of the bucket 6 at the completion of the last pushing operation is shown by a solid line. In fig. 12A to 12C, for clarity, the sand GR and the sand hill F14 (except for the sand F14T) are marked with dense dot patterns, and the foundation around the pit HL is marked with diagonal line patterns.

Of the sand soil constituting the sand hill F14 as shown in fig. 12B, the sand soil F14B remaining as it is after the penultimate pushing-out operation is pushed into the pit HL by the final pushing-out operation, that is, by moving the cutting edge of the bucket 6 along the target track TL5 from the side closer to the shovel 100 to the side farther therefrom as shown in fig. 12C.

By performing the pushing-away action as described above, the controller 30 can flatten the surface of the sand backfilled into the pit HL while pushing the sand located relatively close to the pit HL into the pit HL, so that the surface of the sand backfilled into the pit HL becomes a state free from irregularities. The controller 30 can set the height of the surface of the sand backfilled into the pit HL to be substantially the same as the height of the surrounding surface CS. In the example shown in fig. 12A to 12C, the controller 30 is configured to perform the leveling operation while performing the pushing-off operation for causing the sand to fall into the pit HL by using the back face BF of the bucket 6, but may be configured to perform the leveling operation while performing the pushing-off operation for causing the sand to fall into the pit HL by using the front face or the side face of the bucket 6.

In this way, the controller 30 can reduce the burden on the operator concerning the backfilling operation and the leveling operation by the manual operation by autonomously and simultaneously performing the backfilling operation and the leveling operation. Further, the controller 30 can improve the efficiency of the backfilling operation as compared with the case where the backfilling operation and the leveling operation are separately performed.

As described above, the shovel 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a lower traveling body 1; an upper revolving unit 3 rotatably mounted on the lower traveling unit 1; and a controller 30 as a control device provided in the upper revolving unit 3. The controller 30 is configured to start an autonomous backfilling operation by the shovel 100 when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

The predetermined conditions are, for example, the following conditions: the predetermined switch is operated or the operation lever is operated in a predetermined direction in a predetermined operation mode.

The predetermined switch is, for example, a switch NS provided on the operation lever. The predetermined operation mode is, for example, a backfill mode. An operator of the shovel 100 can switch the operation mode of the shovel 100 between the normal mode and the backfill mode by operating the switch NS, for example. When the operation mode of the shovel 100 is the backfill mode, the operator can perform the autonomous backfill operation shown in fig. 7A to 7C by operating the left lever 26L in the left turning direction, or can perform the autonomous backfill operation (pushing operation) shown in fig. 10A and 10B by operating the left lever 26L in the arm opening direction, for example.

This structure can improve the efficiency of the backfilling operation compared with the backfilling operation performed according to the manual operation of the operation lever. Further, this structure can reduce the burden on the operator of the shovel 100 related to the backfilling work.

The backfilling operation may include AT least one of an operation of the excavation attachment AT attached to the upper revolving structure 3 and a revolving operation of the upper revolving structure 3. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7A to 7C, the backfill operation may include at least one of a boom raising operation, a boom lowering operation, an arm opening operation, an arm retracting operation, a bucket opening operation, a bucket retracting operation, a left turning operation, and a right turning operation. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 10A and 10B, the backfill action may not include a swing action. Alternatively, the backfill action may not include an action of excavating the attachment AT. The backfilling operation may include at least one of an operation of pushing the sand with the front surface of the bucket 6, an operation of pushing the sand with the side surface SF of the bucket 6, and an operation of pushing the sand with the back surface BF of the bucket 6.

This structure can autonomously perform an appropriate backfill operation corresponding to the positional relationship between the pit to be backfilled and the sand hill to be backfilled, for example, and thus can further improve the efficiency of the backfill operation.

The controller 30 may be configured to determine the position of the ground object to be backfilled based on the output of the object detection device 70. The ground object to be backfilled is, for example, a pit to be backfilled, a sandy mountain to be backfilled, or the like. For example, the controller 30 may be configured to determine the position of the object to be backfilled from the image captured by the imaging device 80. Alternatively, the controller 30 may be configured to determine the position of the ground object to be backfilled based on the distance information measured by the LID AR. At this time, the controller 30 may be configured to recognize at least one of the shape, depth, and volume of the pit to be backfilled, the shape, height, and volume of the sandy mountain to be backfilled, and the progress status of the backfilling operation, based on the output of the object detection device 70.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, nor is it limited to what is exemplified below. The above-described embodiments may be applied to various modifications, substitutions, and the like without departing from the scope of the present invention. The features described separately may be combined as long as there is no technical conflict.

For example, in the above embodiment, the controller 30 is configured as follows: by autonomously or semi-autonomously performing the backfilling action or the like, the burden on the operator of the driver seated in the cab 10 can be reduced. However, autonomous or semi-autonomous actions by the controller 30 may also be applicable to remotely operated shovels. At this time, the controller 30 can reduce the burden on a remote operator sitting in a remote operation room connected to the shovel 100 via wireless communication by autonomously or semi-autonomously performing a backfilling operation or the like.

Further, the controller 30 may be configured to recognize the positional relationship between the shovel 100 and the pit HL based on the output of the object detection device 70. At this time, the controller 30 can determine the position of the pit HL from the output of the positioning device (GNSS or the like) mounted on the shovel 100. Further, the controller 30 may be configured to recognize the positional relationship between the shovel 100 and the sandy mountain based on the output of the object detection device 70. At this time, the controller 30 can determine the position of the sandy mountain from the output of the positioning device mounted on the shovel 100.

Further, the controller 30 may be configured as follows: when the position, shape, and the like of the pit to be the object of the backfilling operation are preset in the construction plan (design data), the position of the pit HL is identified from the construction plan input by communication or the like. Similarly, the controller 30 may be configured as follows: when the position of the sand hill to be the object of the backfilling operation is preset in the construction plan (design data), the position of the sand hill is identified from the construction plan input by communication or the like. In this way, the controller 30 can control the position of the bucket 6 by comparing the control reference point calculated from the output of the positioning device (GNSS or the like) or the attitude sensor or the like mounted on the shovel 100 with the position (target position) of the earth-sand mountain, pit HL or the like on the construction plan.

The present application claims priority based on japanese patent application No. 2021-044182 filed on 3/17 of 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Symbol description

1-lower traveling body, 1C-crawler, 1 CL-left crawler, 1 CR-right crawler, 2-turning mechanism, 2A-turning hydraulic motor, 2M-traveling hydraulic motor, 2 ML-left traveling hydraulic motor, 2 MR-right traveling hydraulic motor, 3-upper turning body, 4-boom, 5-arm, 6-bucket, 7-boom cylinder, 8-arm cylinder, 9-bucket cylinder, 10-cab, 11-engine, 13-regulator, 14-main pump, 15-pilot pump, 17-control valve unit, 18-restrictor, 19-control pressure sensor, 26-operating device, 26D-traveling bar, 26 DL-left traveling bar, 26 DR-right traveling bar, 26L-left operating bar, 26R-right operating bar, 28L, 28R-discharge pressure sensor, 29, 29DL, 29DR, 29LA, 29LB, 29RA, 29 RB-operating pressure sensors, 30-controller, 30A-track generation section, 30B-autonomous control section, 31 AL-31 DL, 31 AR-31 DR-proportional valve, 40-intermediate bypass line, 42-parallel line, 70-object detection device, 70F-front side sensor, 70B-rear side sensor, 70L-left side sensor, 70R-right side sensor, 80-camera device, 80B-rear side camera, 80F-front side camera, 80L-left side camera, 80R-right side camera, 100-shovel, 171-176-control valve, AT-shovel attachment, D1-display device, D2-sound output device, f1, F2, F10-F14-Sha Tushan, NS-switch, S1-swing arm angle sensor, S2-arm angle sensor, S3-bucket angle sensor, S4-fuselage inclination sensor, S5-swing angular velocity sensor, S6-swing spool displacement sensor, S7-swing arm spool displacement sensor, S8-arm spool displacement sensor, S9-bucket spool displacement sensor, TL 1-TL 5-target track.

Claim (modification according to treaty 19)

1. An excavator, comprising:

a lower traveling body;

an upper revolving body rotatably mounted on the lower traveling body; a kind of electronic device with high-pressure air-conditioning system

A control device provided on the upper revolving body,

the control device is configured to identify a location of an object of the backfill action and generate a target location related to the backfill action.

2. The excavator of claim 1, wherein,

the control means changes the target position according to the shape of the sand at the position of the object.

3. The excavator of claim 1, wherein,

the control device changes the action content according to the height of the sand at the position of the object.

4. (delete)

5. (delete)

6. The excavator according to claim 1, wherein,

the control device is configured to start an autonomous backfilling operation by the shovel when a predetermined condition is satisfied,

the prescribed conditions are as follows: the predetermined switch is operated or the operation lever is operated in a predetermined direction in a predetermined operation mode.

7. (delete)

8. The excavator according to claim 1, wherein,

the backfilling action includes a pushing action of pushing the sand with the bucket without lifting the sand with the bucket,

The pushing action includes at least one of a pushing action of pushing the sand with the front face of the bucket, a pushing action of pushing the sand with the side face of the bucket, and a pushing action of pushing the sand with the back face of the bucket.

9. The shovel according to claim 1, further comprising an object detection device attached to the upper revolving structure,

the control device is configured to determine a position of an object to be the backfill operation based on an output of the object detection device.

10. (additional) the shovel according to claim 1, wherein,

the control device performs a leveling action of leveling the surface of the sand when backfilling the pit.

11. (additional) the shovel according to claim 8, wherein,

the control means performs a levelling action simultaneously with the pushing action.

12. (additional) the shovel according to claim 1, wherein,

the control device sets a virtual surface corresponding to a ground surface formed at the time of backfilling as a target surface, generates a target track along the target surface, and executes a leveling operation by moving the bucket along the target track.

13. (additional) the shovel according to claim 12, wherein,

The height of the target surface is set according to the height of the ground around the pit.

14. (additional) the shovel according to claim 8, wherein,

the control means performs the pushing-open action in the case where the object is present within a range of a prescribed distance from the pit to be backfilled, and performs the backfill action including the digging action in the case where the object is present outside a range of a prescribed distance from the pit to be backfilled.

15. (additional) the shovel according to claim 8, wherein,

in the case where the object is present within a prescribed distance from the pit to be backfilled, the control means backfills the object into the pit by a plurality of the pushing-open actions.

16. (additional) the shovel according to claim 8, wherein,

the control means generates a target track for the pushing action based on the limitation of the volume or weight of sand that can be pushed by the pushing action once.

17. (additional) the shovel according to claim 8, further comprising an object detection device attached to the upper revolving structure,

the control device calculates, as a required volume, a volume of the object located within a predetermined distance from a pit and a volume of sand required for backfilling the pit from an output of the object detection device, performs the backfilling operation including a digging operation when the volume of the object is smaller than the required volume, and performs the pushing operation when the volume of the object is equal to or greater than the required volume.

18. (additional) the shovel according to claim 1, further comprising an object detection device attached to the upper revolving structure,

the control means identifies an opening area or depth of a pit to be backfilled from an output of the object detection means, and sets the target position according to the opening area or the depth.

Claims

1. An excavator, comprising:

a lower traveling body;

A control device provided on the upper revolving body,

2. The excavator of claim 1, wherein,

3. The excavator of claim 1, wherein,

4. An excavator, comprising:

a lower traveling body;

A control device provided on the upper revolving body,

The control device is configured to generate a target track corresponding to a shape of an object to be worked.

5. An excavator, comprising:

a lower traveling body;

A control device mounted on the upper revolving body,

the control device is configured to start an autonomous backfilling operation by the shovel when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

6. The excavator of claim 5, wherein,

7. The excavator of claim 5, wherein,

the backfilling operation includes at least one of an operation of an attachment attached to the upper slewing body and a slewing operation of the upper slewing body.

8. The excavator of claim 5, wherein,

the backfilling action includes at least one of an action of pushing sand with a front face of a bucket, an action of pushing sand with a side face of a bucket, and an action of pushing sand with a back face of the bucket.

9. The excavator according to claim 5, further comprising an object detection device mounted to the upper revolving structure,