Excavator and Excavator Operation System

This application is based upon and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-073441, filed on Apr. 30, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to an excavator and an excavator operation system.

Hydraulic excavators with a machine control function for the drive mechanism have been known in the related art. The machine control function for the hydraulic excavator described in the related art includes automatic work machine stop control, automatic ground leveling support control, slewing alignment control, traveling alignment control, automatic operation control, and the like.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an excavator is provided. The excavator includes:

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an excavator operation system is provided. The excavator operation system includes:

It is desirable that when earth and sand overflows on both sides of a bucket when excavating a construction surface by an excavator, a width of overlapping a range excavated by the next excavation work after finishing one excavation work with a range excavated by the previous excavation work increases, and work efficiency is reduced.

The present disclosure provides an excavator and an excavator operation system capable of improving work efficiency.

According to the above aspects of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an excavator and an excavator operation system capable of improving work efficiency.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are merely examples and do not limit the invention. All features and combinations thereof in the embodiments of the present disclosure are not necessarily essential to the invention. In the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals, and redundant description thereof may be omitted.

First, an excavator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to.is a side view illustrating an excavator according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of the excavatorillustrated in. In, the mechanical power transmission system, the hydraulic fluid line, the pilot line, and the electric control system are indicated by a double line, a thick solid line, a thick broken line, and a dotted line, respectively.

The excavatoraccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a lower traveling body, an upper slewing bodyslewably provided on the lower traveling body, and an attachment AT provided on the upper slewing body. The attachment AT includes a bucketrotatable around a first axis Aalong a width direction Dw, and a rotator R. As will be described in detail later, the excavatoraccording to the present embodiment is characterized in that the bucketis rotated around a second axis Aalong a longitudinal direction Dby the rotator R to cause the earth and sand to overflow to one side of the bucketwhen the bucketexcavates the construction surface. Hereinafter, the configuration of each part of the excavatoraccording to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

The lower traveling bodyincludes, for example, a pair of left and right crawlersC. In particular, the crawlersC include a left crawlerCL and a right crawlerCR. The left crawlerCL is driven by a left traveling hydraulic motorML, and the right crawlerCR is driven by a right traveling hydraulic motorMR. The left traveling hydraulic motorML is a traveling drive part that drives the left crawlerCL as a driven part, and can rotate the left crawlerCL. The right traveling hydraulic motorMR is a traveling drive part that drives the right crawlerCR as a driven part, and can rotate the right crawlerCR. The traveling drive part may be an electric motor.

The upper slewing bodyis mounted on the lower traveling bodyvia a slewing mechanism, and is thereby slewably provided on the lower traveling body. The attachment AT for performing various operations is attached to the center of the front portion of the upper slewing body, and an operation cabin which an operator of the excavatorsits is provided on the left side of the front portion of the upper slewing body. The operation cabis also called a cabin or a cab. However, when the excavatoris remotely operated or when the excavatoris operated by fully automatic driving, the operation cabmay be omitted.

The front side of the excavator(upper slewing body) corresponds to a side on which the attachment AT is attached to the upper slewing bodywhen the excavatoris viewed from directly above along the slewing axis of the upper slewing body. The left side, the right side, and the rear side of the excavator(upper slewing body) correspond to the left side, the right side, and the rear side, respectively, as viewed from the operator seated on the operator's seat in the operation cab.

The attachment AT includes, for example, an armand a boomin addition to the bucketand the rotator R described above. The armis configured to support the bucketvia, for example, an arm top pin provided at the tip of the armso that the bucketis rotatable around a first axis Aparallel to the width direction Dw. The boomis configured to support the armvia a boom top pin provided at the tip of the boom, for example, so that the armis rotatable around a third axis Aparallel to the first axis A. The boomis attached to the upper slewing bodyvia, for example, a boom foot pin provided on the upper slewing bodyso as to be rotatable around a fourth axis Aparallel to the first axis A.

The bucketis an example of a work tool (end attachment). The bucketis used for, for example, excavation work. Instead of the bucket, another work tool may be attached to the distal end of the armdepending on the work content or the like. The other work tool may be, for example, another type of bucket such as a large bucket, a slope bucket, or a dredging bucket. The attachment AT includes, for example, a tilt rotator TR. The tilt rotator TR is constituted by, for example, the rotator R and a tilt mechanism T.

The tilt mechanism T includes, for example, a base portion T, a tilt axis T, a support plate T, and a tilt actuator T. The base portion Tis connected to the distal end of the armvia an arm top pin so as to be rotatable around the first axis A, and the tilt axis Tis connected to the base portion T. The support plate Tis slewably supported with respect to the base portion Tvia the tilt axis T, and the tilt actuator Tchange the tilt angle of the support plate T. The tilt actuator Tis constituted by, for example, hydraulic cylinders disposed on both sides of the tilt axis T.

The rotator R includes, for example, a rotator motor R, a rotator shaft R, and a coupling portion R. The rotator motor Ris fixed to, for example, a support plate Tof the tilt mechanism T. When the attachment AT does not include the tilt mechanism T, the rotator motor Rmay be fixed to a base portion connected to the arm, for example, similarly to the base portion Tof the tilt mechanism T. One end of the rotator shaft Ris connected to a rotation shaft of the rotator motor R, and the other end of the rotator shaft is fixed to the coupling portion R. The coupling portion Ris connected to an end portion of the bucketon the opposite side to the claw tip in the longitudinal direction Dof the bucket.

The bucketis attached to the armvia, for example, the tilt mechanism T so as to be rotatable around a fifth axis Aorthogonal to the first axis Aand the second axis A. The bucketis attached to the armvia, for example, the rotator R so as to be rotatable around the second axis Aextending along the longitudinal direction Dof the bucket.

A length L of the bucketis, for example, a horizontal dimension from the claw tip of the bucketto the end portion on the opposite side thereof measured in a direction orthogonal to the width direction Dw of the bucketwhen the bucketis placed on a horizontal surface in a state where the back surface of the bucketis on the lower side. The length L of the bucketmay be, for example, a horizontal dimension from the claw tip of the bucketto the end portion on the opposite side thereof measured in a direction orthogonal to the width direction Dw of the bucketwhen the bucketis placed on a horizontal surface in a state where the opening of the bucketis directed downward.

The longitudinal direction Dof the bucketis, for example, a direction in which the length L of the bucketis measured. The direction along the longitudinal direction Dincludes, for example, a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction Dand a direction forming an acute angle equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction D. The predetermined angle can be set to any angle such as 45°, 30°, 10°, or 5°.

A width W of the bucketis, for example, the maximum dimension from one end to the other end of the bucketin a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction Dof the bucketand crossing the opening of the bucket. The width direction Dw of the bucketis, for example, a direction in which the width W of the bucketis measured, and is a direction parallel to the width direction or the left-right direction of the upper slewing body.

The excavatoraccording to the present embodiment includes, for example, a controllerconfigured to control an operation of each part of the excavatorincluding the rotation of the bucketby the rotator R. The controlleris an example of a control device, and is configured by a computer including a CPU, a volatile storage device, a nonvolatile storage device, various input/output interfaces, and the like, for example. The controllerreads the program from the nonvolatile storage device, loads the program into the volatile storage device, and causes the CPU to execute the program, thereby implementing various functions.

The controlleris configured to be able to control the excavatorby implementing various functions. The various functions include, for example, a machine guidance function of guiding the manual operation of the excavatorby the operator. The various functions may include, for example, a contact avoidance function of automatically or autonomously operating or stopping the excavatorin order to avoid contact between the excavatorand an object present in the monitoring range around the excavator.

The excavatoraccording to the present embodiment includes, for example, a slewing hydraulic motorA as an actuating device for slewing the upper slewing bodymounted on the lower traveling bodyvia the slewing mechanism. The excavatoraccording to the present embodiment includes, for example, a bucket cylinder, an arm cylinder, and a boom cylinderas actuators configured to rotate the bucket, the arm, and the boomaround the first axis A, the third axis A, and the fourth axis A, respectively.

The bucket cylinder, the arm cylinder, and the boom cylinderare, for example, hydraulic cylinders. The slewing hydraulic motorA, the left traveling hydraulic motorML, the right traveling hydraulic motorMR, the boom cylinder, the arm cylinder, and the bucket cylinderare hydraulic actuators driven by the hydraulic fluid discharged from the hydraulic pumps. In the excavator, all or some of the driven parts such as the lower traveling body, the upper slewing body, the boom, the arm, and the bucketmay be electrically driven. That is, the excavatormay be a hybrid excavator, an electric excavator, or the like in which all or some of the driven parts are driven by electric actuators.

The excavatoraccording to the present embodiment includes, for example, a boom angle sensor S, an arm angle sensor S, a bucket angle sensor S, a bucket rotation sensor SR, and a bucket tilt sensor ST. These angle sensors may be, for example, a rotary encoder, an acceleration sensor, a six axis sensor, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), or the like, or may be a potentiometer using a variable resistor, a cylinder stroke sensor configured to detect a stroke amount of a hydraulic cylinder, or the like.

The boom angle sensor Sdetects a boom angle which is a rotation angle of the boomaround the fourth axis A. The arm angle sensor Sdetects an arm angle which is a rotation angle of the armaround the third axis A. The bucket angle sensor Sdetects a bucket angle that is a rotation angle of the bucketaround the first axis A. The bucket rotation sensor SR detects a bucket rotation angle which is a rotation angle of the second axis Aof the bucket. The bucket tilt sensor ST detects a bucket tilt angle which is a rotation angle of the bucketaround the fifth axis A. Signals related to the rotation angles around the respective axes detected by these angle sensors are incorporated into the controller.

The excavatoraccording to the present embodiment includes, for example, a body inclination sensor S, a slewing sensor S, an imaging device S, a positioning device PS, and a communication device CD.

The body inclination sensor Sdetects an inclination state of the machine (the lower traveling bodyor the upper slewing body) with respect to a horizontal plane. The body inclination sensor Sis attached to, for example, the upper slewing body, and detects inclination angles of the excavator(that is, the upper slewing body) around two axes in the front-rear direction and the right-left direction. The body inclination sensor Smay be, for example, an accelerometer, a six axis sensor, or an IMU. A detection signal corresponding to the inclination angle by the body inclination sensor Sis incorporated into the controller.

The slewing sensor Soutputs information on the slewing of the upper slewing body. The slewing sensor Sdetects, for example, a slewing angular velocity of the upper slewing bodywith respect to the lower traveling body. The slewing sensor Smay detect a turning angle. The slewing sensor Smay be, for example, a gyro sensor, a resolver, or a rotary encoder. A detection signal corresponding to the slewing angle or slewing angular velocity of the upper slewing bodyby the slewing sensor Sis incorporated into the controller.

The imaging device Sis provided in the upper slewing bodyor the operation cab, images the periphery of the excavator, and acquires image information representing the periphery of the excavator. In the illustrated example, the imaging device Sincludes a front camera SF, a left camera SL, a right camera SR, and a rear camera SB.

The front camera SF is a camera configured to image the front of the excavator, and is attached to the outside of the operation cab, such as the roof of the operation cabor the side surface of the boom. Note that the front camera SF may be attached to the inside of the operation cab, such as the ceiling of the operation cab, for example. The left camera SL is a camera configured to image the left side of the excavator, the right camera SR is a camera configured to image the right side of the excavator, and the rear camera SB is a camera configured to image the right side of the excavator. Specifically, each of the front camera SF, the left camera SL, the right camera SR, and the rear camera SB is a monocular wide-angle camera including an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS, and outputs a captured image to a display device D(see). Information on the image captured by the imaging device Sis incorporated into the controller.

In the illustrated example, the front camera SF is attached to the roof of the operation cab, the left camera SL is attached to the left end of the upper surface of the upper slewing body, the right camera SR is attached to the right end of the upper surface of the upper slewing body, and the rear camera SB is attached to the rear end of the upper surface of the upper slewing body.

The imaging device Smay be attached to the upper slewing bodyand may form an object detection device configured to detect an object around the excavator. The object is, for example, a person, an animal, a vehicle, a construction machine, a building, a hole, or the like. The object detection device may be configured to be able to detect a person and an object other than a person in a distinguishable manner. That is, the object detection device may be configured to function as a human detection device.

The object detection device may be configured by a device other than a camera. For example, the object detection device may be a LiDAR. The LiDAR is, for example, a device capable of measuring a distance between a point group of one million or more points within a monitoring range and the LiDAR (laser source). The object detection device may be another device capable of measuring a distance to an object, such as a stereo camera, a range image camera, or a millimeter wave radar. When a millimeter wave radar or the like is used as the object detection device, the object detection device may derive a distance and an orientation of an object by transmitting a large number of signals (laser light or the like) toward the object and receiving the reflected signals. Alternatively, the object detection device may be a combination of two or more types of devices. For example, the object detection device may be a combination of an imaging device and a LiDAR, a combination of an imaging device and a millimeter wave radar, or a combination of an imaging device and a stereo camera.

The positioning device PS measures the position of the upper slewing body. The positioning device PS is, for example, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) compass, and detects the position and orientation of the upper slewing body. Detection signals corresponding to the position and orientation of the upper slewing bodyare incorporated into the controller. The function of detecting the orientation of the upper slewing bodymay be implemented by an orientation sensor attached to the upper slewing body.

The communication device CD communicates with an external device through a communication network including a mobile communication network, a satellite communication network, the Internet, or the like. The communication device CD may be a mobile communication module compliant with a mobile communication standard such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), 4G (4th Generation), or 5G (5th Generation), a communication module compliant with a short-range wireless communication standard such as Wi-Fi (Registered Trademark) or Bluetooth (Registered Trademark), or a satellite communications module for connecting to a satellite communication network.

The excavatoroperates the actuator in response to an operation of an operator in the operation cab, and operates the driven parts such as the lower traveling body, the upper slewing body, the boom, the arm, and the bucket. The excavatormay be configured to be remotely operated from the outside of the excavator. When the excavatoris remotely operated, the inside of the operation cabmay be in an unmanned state. The excavatormay automatically operate the actuator independent of the content of the operation by the operator. Thus, the excavatorimplements a function of automatically operating at least some of the driven parts such as the lower traveling body, the upper slewing body, the boom, the arm, and the bucket, that is, a so-called “machine control function”.

As illustrated in, the drive system of the excavatorincludes, for example, an engine, a regulator, a main pump, a pilot pump, a control valve unit, a discharge pressure sensor, and a valve. A hydraulic drive system of the excavatorincludes hydraulic actuators such as the slewing hydraulic motorA, the left traveling hydraulic motorML, the right traveling hydraulic motorMR, the boom cylinder, the arm cylinder, the bucket cylinder, the tilt actuator T, and the rotator motor R.

The engineis an example of a power source of the excavator, and is mounted on, for example, a rear portion of the upper slewing body. The power source of the excavatormay be a combination of a power source such as a battery or a fuel cell and an electric motor. Specifically, the enginerotates at a constant target rotation speed set in advance under direct or indirect control of the controller, and drives the main pumpand the pilot pump. The engineis, for example, a diesel engine using diesel as fuel. The enginemay be a gasoline engine, a hydrogen engine, or the like.

The regulatorcontrols the discharge amount of the main pump. For example, the regulatorcontrols the discharge amount of the main pumpby adjusting the angle (tilting angle) of the swash plate of the main pumpin response to a control command from the controller.

The main pumpis mounted, for example, on the rear portion of the upper slewing bodysimilarly to the engine, and supplies the hydraulic fluid to the control valve unitthrough the hydraulic fluid line. In the illustrated example, the main pumpis a variable displacement hydraulic pump.

The control valve unitis one of hydraulic control devices that control a hydraulic system in the excavator. In the illustrated example, the control valve unitincludes control valvesto. The control valve unitis configured to be able to selectively supply the hydraulic fluid discharged by the main pumpto one or a plurality of hydraulic actuators through the control valvesto. The control valvestocontrol the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid flowing from the main pumpto the hydraulic actuator and the flow rate of the hydraulic fluid flowing from the hydraulic actuator to the hydraulic fluid tank.

The hydraulic actuators include the boom cylinder, the arm cylinder, the bucket cylinder, the tilt actuator T, the left traveling hydraulic motorML, the right traveling hydraulic motorMR, the slewing hydraulic motorA, and the rotator motor R. Specifically, the control valvecorresponds to the boom cylinder, the control valvecorresponds to the arm cylinder, the control valvecorresponds to the bucket cylinder, and the control valvecorresponds to the tilt actuator T. The control valvecorresponds to the right traveling hydraulic motorMR, the control valvecorresponds to the left traveling hydraulic motorML, the control valvecorresponds to the slewing hydraulic motorA, and the control valvecorresponds to the rotator motor R.

The pilot pumpis an example of a pilot pressure generation device and is configured to be able to supply the hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic control device via a pilot line. In the illustrated example, the pilot pumpis a fixed displacement hydraulic pump. However, the pilot pressure generation device may be implemented by the main pump. That is, the main pumpmay have a function of supplying the hydraulic fluid to various hydraulic control devices via the pilot line, in addition to the function of supplying the hydraulic fluid to the control valve unitvia the hydraulic fluid line. In this case, the pilot pumpmay be omitted.

The discharge pressure sensoris configured to detect the discharge pressure of the main pump. In the illustrated example, the discharge pressure sensoroutputs the detected value to the controller.

The excavatorincludes, for example, an operation deviceincluding an operation sensorconfigured to detect operation amounts of the boom, the arm, and the bucketby the operator. The operation deviceis a device used by an operator to operate the actuator. The actuator may be a hydraulic actuator or an electric actuator. The operation deviceincludes, for example, a left operation lever, a right operation lever, a left travel pedal, a right travel pedal, a left travel lever, a right travel lever, a left operation pedal, a right operation pedal, a left operation switch, a right operation switch, and the like.

The operation sensoris configured to detect the content of an operation performed by the operator using the operation device. In the present embodiment, the operation sensordetects the operation direction and the operation amount of the operation devicecorresponding to each of the actuators, and outputs the detected values to the controller. In the illustrated example, the controllercan control the opening area of the valvein accordance with the output of the operation sensor. The controllersupplies the hydraulic fluid discharged from the pilot pumpto the pilot port of the corresponding control valve in the control valve unit. The pressure of the hydraulic fluid (pilot pressure) supplied to each of the pilot ports is, in principle, a pressure corresponding to the operation direction and the operation amount of the operation devicecorresponding to each of the hydraulic actuators. In this way, the operating deviceis configured to be able to supply the hydraulic fluid discharged by the pilot pumpto the pilot port of the corresponding control valve in the control valve unit.

The operator can drive the arm cylinderand the slewing hydraulic motorA by operating the left operation lever of the operation devicewith the left hand, for example. The operator can also drive the boom cylinderand the bucket cylinderby operating the right operation lever of the operation devicewith the right hand, for example. The operator can also drive the left traveling hydraulic motorML by operating the left traveling pedal of the operation devicewith the left foot, for example. Further, the operator can drive the right traveling hydraulic motorMR by operating the right traveling pedal of the operation devicewith the right foot, for example.