The present invention relates to a bulldozer.
A technique is known for capturing images of the surroundings of a bulldozer with a camera attached to the bulldozer and displaying the images taken by the camera on a display (“Remote Control Robot “Robo Q” for Bulldozer” [online], Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan), Regional Development Bureau of Kyushu Region, Kyushu Technical Office. Two cameras are attached to the roof of the cab of the bulldozer and the cameras capture images in front and to the rear of the bulldozer in this technique.
In order to know the progress of work by the blade of a bulldozer, it is preferable to obtain images near the lower edge on the right and left of the blade. Moreover, in order to realize the traveling state of a bulldozer, it is preferable to obtain images of the rotation conditions of the crawler belts. In particular, if the conditions near the lower edge on the right and left of the blade and the rotation conditions of the crawler belts can be displayed on the same screen, the progress of work and the traveling state can be easily understood.
However, the right and left lower edges of the blade and the right and left crawler belts are positioned to the outside of the cab in the vehicle width direction. As a result, it is difficult to capture images of the right and left lower edges of the blade and the right and left crawler belts on both sides at the same time while capturing images of the blade in the front with a camera attached to the roof as in the above-mentioned technique.
An object of the present invention is to easily understand the progress of work and the traveling state with a camera attached to a bulldozer.
A bulldozer according to a first aspect includes a vehicle body, a blade, a left crawler belt, a right crawler belt, a first camera, a second camera, and a display. The blade is disposed in front of the vehicle body. The left crawler belt is disposed to the left of the vehicle body. The right crawler belt is disposed to the right of the vehicle body. The first camera is disposed to the left of the vehicle body and is disposed so that the first optical axis of the first camera faces forward and downward. The first camera is arranged to capture a first image of a gap between a lower edge of the blade and the left crawler belt. The second camera is disposed to the right of the vehicle body and is disposed so that the second optical axis of the second camera faces forward and downward. The second camera is arranged to capture a second image of a gap between a lower edge of the blade and the right crawler belt. The display is configured to display the first and second images side-by-side.
A bulldozer according to a second aspect includes a vehicle body, a blade, a crawler belt, and a camera. The blade is disposed in front of the vehicle body. The crawler belt is disposed to the vehicle body. The camera is disposed on the vehicle body. An optical axis of the camera faces forward and downward. The camera is arranged to capture an image of a gap between a lower edge of the blade and the crawler belt.
The progress of work and the traveling state can be easily understood from the images captured by the first camera and the second camera in the bulldozer body according to the present aspect.
According to the present invention, the progress of work and the traveling state can be easily understood with a camera attached to a bulldozer.
The following is a description of a bulldozer according to the present exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings.
The vehicle body 2 includes an engine compartment 5 and a cab 6. The engine compartment 5 is provided in the front portion of the vehicle body 2. The engine compartment 5 is disposed to the rear of the blade 3. An engine 21 (see
The left and right crawler belts 10a and 10b are devices for causing the bulldozer 1 to travel. The left crawler belt 10a is disposed to the left of the vehicle body 2. The right crawler belt 10b is disposed to the right of the vehicle body 2. The left and right crawler belts 10a and 10b are driven by a driving power from the engine 21, whereby the bulldozer 1 travels.
The blade 3 is disposed in front of the vehicle body 2. The blade 3 is supported by a left arm 7a and a right arm 7b. The left arm 7a is attached to the left side portion of the vehicle body 2. The right arm 7b is attached to the right side portion of the vehicle body 2.
The bulldozer 1 includes left and right lift cylinders 8a and 8b and left and right tilt cylinders 9a and 9b. The left and right lift cylinders 8a and 8b and the left and right tilt cylinders 9a and 9b are hydraulic cylinders and extend and contract due to hydraulic fluid discharged from a hydraulic pump 22 (see
The left tilt cylinder 9a is connected to the blade 3 and the left arm 7a. The right tilt cylinder 9b is connected to the blade 3 and the right arm 7b. The left and right tilt cylinders 9a and 9b move the blade 3 to the left and right.
The ripper device 4 is disposed to the rear of the vehicle body 2. The ripper device 4 is attached to the rear portion of the vehicle body 2. The ripper device 4 includes hydraulic cylinders 11a-11d and a shank 12. The hydraulic cylinders 11a-11d are driven by hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic pump 22 and consequently move the shank 12 up and down. The ripper device 4 may be omitted.
The bulldozer 1 includes a roll over protective structure (ROPS) 13. The ROPS 13 is erected on the upper surface of the vehicle body 2 and is disposed so as to surround the cab 6 from the left and right sides and from above. The ROPS 13 includes a left pillar portion 13a, a right pillar portion 13b, and a beam portion 13c. The left pillar portion 13a is disposed to the left of the cab 6 and extends in the up-down direction. The right pillar portion 13b is disposed to the right of the cab 6 and extends in the up-down direction. The beam portion 13c is disposed above the cab 6 and connects the left pillar portion 13a and the right pillar portion 13b. The ROPS 13 is a gate-like frame that covers the cab in the left and right directions.
A plurality of left indicator lamps 14 and a plurality of right indicator lamps 15 are attached to the ROPS 13. The indicator lamps 14 and 15 are rotating lamps. However, the left indicator lamps 14 and the right indicator lamps 15 may be a type of indicator lamp other than a rotating lamp. The plurality of left indicator lamps 14 are attached to the left pillar portion 13a and are disposed in the up-down direction. As illustrated in
The plurality of right indicator lamps 15 are attached to the right pillar portion 13b and are disposed in the up-down direction. The plurality of right indicator lamps 15 are attached to the right pillar portion 13b via a second bracket 54. The second bracket 54 protrudes upward from the ROPS 13.
The bulldozer 1 includes a work implement control valve 24 and a hydraulic actuator 25. The hydraulic actuator 25 is driven by hydraulic fluid discharged from the hydraulic pump 22. The hydraulic actuator 25 includes the above-mentioned left and right lift cylinders 8a and 8b and the left and right tilt cylinders 9a and 9b. Moreover, the hydraulic actuator 25 includes the hydraulic cylinders 11a-11d of the ripper device 4. The work implement control valve 24 controls the supply and exhaust of the hydraulic fluid to and from the hydraulic actuator 25.
The bulldozer 1 includes a power transmission device 26 and a clutch control valve 27. The power transmission device 26 includes, for example, a transmission and a torque converter. The clutch control valve 27 controls the switching of a speed change clutch, a forward/reverse clutch, and a steering clutch and the like included in the power transmission device 26.
The bulldozer 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment is a vehicle that can be operated remotely. As illustrated in
The on-board controller 28 is configured with a computation device, such as a CPU, and a memory, such as a RAM or a ROM, or a storage device, such as a hard disk. The on-board controller 28 is programmed to control the bulldozer 1 on the basis of operation signals from the remote operating device 30.
The remote operating device 30 includes a remote controller 32 and an operating member 33. The remote controller 32 is configured with a computation device, such as a CPU, and a memory, such as a RAM or a ROM, or a storage device, such as a hard disk.
The operating member 33 is operated by an operator. For example, the operating member 33 includes a deceleration operating member for adjusting the output of the engine 21. The operating member 33 includes a blade operating member for operating the blade 3. The operating member 33 includes a ripper operating member for operating the ripper device 4. The operating member 33 includes a steering operating member for changing the traveling direction of the bulldozer 1 to the right and left. The deceleration operating member, the blade operating member, the ripper operating member, and the steering operating member may be a pedal, a lever, a wheel, a button, or a switch and the like.
The remote controller 32 transmits operation signals which indicate an operation by the operating member 33 to the on-board controller 28 of the bulldozer 1 via the communication devices 31 and 29. The on-board controller 28 controls the above-mentioned devices and the control valves in response to the received operation signals. For example, the on-board controller 28 controls the engine 21 in response to the operation of the deceleration operating member. As a result, the engine rotation speed is controlled. The on-board controller 28 controls the work implement control valve 24 in response to the operation of the blade operating member or the ripper operating member. As a result, the actions of the blade 3 or the ripper device 4 are controlled.
The bulldozer 1 includes a plurality of cameras 41-46 for capturing images of the surroundings of the bulldozer 1. The plurality of cameras 41-46 include a middle front camera 41, a rear camera 42, a left side camera 43 (third camera), a right side camera 44 (fourth camera), a left front camera 45 (first camera), and a right front camera 46 (second camera).
The middle front camera 41 captures images in front of the bulldozer 1. As illustrated in
The left side camera 43 captures images to the left of the bulldozer 1. The left side camera 43 is attached to the left pillar portion 13a. As illustrated in
The right side camera 44 captures images to the right of the bulldozer 1. As illustrated in
An optical axis Ax3 of the left side camera 43 extends to the left as seen in a plan view of the vehicle. An optical axis Ax4 of the right side camera 44 extends to the right as seen in a plan view of the vehicle.
The left front camera 45 captures images in the left front direction of the bulldozer 1 including the left edge portion of the blade 3.
The left front camera 45 is disposed at the same height as the left side camera 43. However, the left front camera 45 may be disposed at a height that is different from that of the left side camera 43. The left front camera 45 is disposed higher than the upper edge of a window of the cab 6. However, the left front camera 45 may be disposed in a position at or below the upper edge of the window of the cab 6.
As illustrated in
An optical axis Ax5 of the left front camera 45 extends toward the front as seen in the plan view of the bulldozer 1. However, the optical axis Ax5 of the left front camera 45 may be inclined to the left or right with respect to the straight forward direction as seen in the plan view of the bulldozer 1. In
As illustrated in
The right front camera 46 captures images in the right front direction of the bulldozer 1 including the right edge portion of the blade 3. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The on-board controller 28 obtains image data captured by the plurality of cameras 41-46. The on-board controller 28 transmits the image data to the remote controller 32 via the communication devices 29 and 31. The remote controller 32 is programmed to display images showing the surroundings of the bulldozer 1 on the display 34 on the basis of the image data from the plurality of cameras 41-46. The remote controller 32 receives the image data captured by the plurality of cameras 41-46 in real time and can display the image data as a moving image on the display 34.
As illustrated in
The image Imb captured by the right front camera 46 includes a portion of the upper edge 3a, a portion of a right side edge 3d, and a portion of a lower edge 3c of the blade 3. The image Imb captured by the right front camera 46 includes the front portion of the right crawler belt 10b and the right side surface 2b of the vehicle body 2. The image Imb captured by the right front camera 46 includes the gap between the lower edge 3c of the blade 3 and the front edge of the right crawler belt 10b. Therefore, the image Imb captured by the right front camera 46 includes the ground surface Gb between the blade 3 and the right crawler belt 10b.
The left front camera 45 is attached to the left pillar portion 13a at a position further to the left than the cab 6 in the bulldozer 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment as discussed above. The right front camera 46 is attached to the right pillar portion 13b positioned further to the right than the cab 6. As a result, the left front camera 45 and the right front camera 46 can be positioned to the outside in the left-right direction in comparison to when the left front camera 45 and the right front camera 46 are attached to the roof of the cab 6. As a result, images of the vicinity of the left lower edge of the blade 3 and the rotating conditions of the left crawler belt 10a as well as in front of the bulldozer 1 can be easily captured by the left front camera 45. Moreover, images in the vicinity of the right lower edge of the blade 3 and the rotating conditions of the right crawler belt 10b as well as in front of the bulldozer 1 can be easily captured by the right front camera 46. Therefore, the progress of work and the traveling state can be easily understood from the images captured by the left front camera 45 and the right front camera 46.
Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the present invention is not limited to the above exemplary embodiments and various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.
The bulldozer 1 is not limited to a vehicle that is operated remotely. The bulldozer 1 may be operated with operating members disposed in the cab 6.
The number of cameras is not limited to four. The number of cameras may be less than four or greater than four.
The left front camera 45 may be positioned further to the rear than the left side camera 43. The right front camera 46 may be positioned further to the rear than the right side camera 44.
The left front camera 45 may overlap the left pillar portion 13a as seen in the side view of the bulldozer 1. The right front camera 46 may overlap the right pillar portion 13b as seen in the side view of the bulldozer 1. The left front camera 45 and the right front camera 46 may be disposed at the same height as the beam portion 13c.
The left front camera 45 may be positioned higher than the roof of the cab 6. The right front camera 46 may be positioned higher than the roof of the cab 6. In this case, the left front camera 45 is preferably positioned so that images of the ground surface Ga between the blade 3 and the left crawler belt 10a can be captured as illustrated in
A control system for displaying the images of the cameras on the display 34 may be provided in addition to the remote operating device 30. As illustrated in
According to the present invention, the progress of work and the traveling state can be easily understood with a camera attached to a bulldozer.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/386,488, filed Apr. 17, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/503,440, filed Feb. 13, 2017, which is a U.S. National stage application of International Application No. PCT/JP2016/076634, filed on Sep. 9, 2016. The entire disclosures of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 15/503,440 and 16/386,488 and International Application No. PCT/JP2016/076634 are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200002915 A1 | Jan 2020 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16386488 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 16565617 | US | |
Parent | 15503440 | US | |
Child | 16386488 | US |