Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6209232
-
Patent Number
6,209,232
-
Date Filed
Friday, April 10, 199826 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 3, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 037 348
- 037 382
- 037 195
- 414 699
- 414 694
- 701 50
- 356 301
- 356 400
- 356 1411
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A construction machine (10) with a laser measuring instrument which includes a construction machine body, a working apparatus, and a manually operable member for driving a cylinder apparatus of the working apparatus to operate a plurality of arm members and an end working member is constructed such that it comprises an array type laser receiver (114) mounted on the arm member positioned on the free end side for receiving a laser beam parallel to an aimed floor face irradiated from a laser apparatus (120) disposed at a position spaced away from the construction machine (10): posture detection structure (3-1 to 3-3, 4) for detecting a posture of the construction machine, and control structure (2) for controlling the working apparatus based on a result of detection by the posture detection structure (3-1 to 3-3, 4) so that the array type laser receiver (114) may receive the laser beam from the laser apparatus (120) at a predetermined angle. Consequently, the working member can be driven automatically and accurately so that the laser beam may be received at the right angle.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a construction machine with a laser measuring instrument, and more particularly to a construction machine with a laser measuring instrument suitable for use for measurement of a finished floor face.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, as shown in
FIG. 8. a
construction machine (working machine)
115
such as a hydraulic excavator includes a lower traveling member
100
including a right track
100
R and a left track
100
L which can be driven independently of each other, and a working machine body section (working machine body)
102
with an operator cab
101
mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane on the lower traveling member
100
. Further, a boom
103
is mounted for pivotal motion in a vertical direction on the working machine body section
102
, and a stick
104
is mounted for pivotal motion similarly in a vertical direction on the boom
103
.
A pair of boom driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus (liquid pressure cylinder apparatus)
105
(only one is shown in
FIG. 8
) for driving the boom
103
are provided in a juxtaposed relationship between the working machine body section
102
and the boom
103
, and a stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus (liquid pressure cylinder apparatus)
106
for driving the stick
104
is provided between the boom
103
and the stick
104
.
It is to be noted that a bucket
108
which is driven by a hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
is removably mounted at an end of the stick
104
.
Further, the left track
100
L and the right track
100
R mentioned above include traveling motors
109
L and
109
R (refer to
FIG. 10
) serving as power sources independent of each other, respectively, and a revolving movement by the working machine body section
102
, a pivotal movement by the boom
103
and the stick
104
and driving of the bucket
108
are operated under the control of a hydraulic control circuit apparatus
111
hereinafter described with reference to
FIG. 10
as a hydraulic pump is driven by an engine (internal combustion engine) not shown.
By the way, the operator cab
101
is constructed in such a manner as shown, for example, in FIG.
9
. The operator cab
101
includes a seat
101
A on which an operator is to be seated, a left lever
101
B, a right lever
101
C, a console
101
D, a left pedal
101
L, a right pedal
101
R, an instrument panel
101
E and a safety lock lever
101
F.
Here, the left lever
101
B, right lever
101
C, left pedal
101
L and right pedal
101
R mentioned above are provided to control movements of the working machine
115
(traveling, revolving movement, pivotal movement of the boom, pivotal movement of the stick or pivotal movement of the bucket).
For example, if an operator manually operates the left and right levers
101
B and
101
C forwardly or rearwardly and leftwardly or rightwardly, then the hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
to
110
are driven under the control of the hydraulic control circuit apparatus
111
so that a revolving movement, a pivotal movement of the boom, a pivotal movement of the stick or a pivotal movement of the bucket can be performed.
In the meantime, if the left pedal
101
L is treadled down, then the amount of the treadling movement is transmitted to the left side traveling motor
109
L via the hydraulic control circuit apparatus
111
to drive the left track
100
L to rotate, but if the right pedal
101
R is treadled down, then the amount of the treadling movement is transmitted to the right track
100
R via the hydraulic control circuit apparatus
111
to drive the right track
100
R to rotate so that the working machine
115
can travel (travel straightforwardly, travel along a leftwardly or rightwardly curved line or turn backwardly).
For example, if both of the right track
100
R and the left track
100
L are rotated at an equal speed in a forward direction, then the working machine
115
advances straightforwardly, but if the left track
100
L is rotated at a higher speed than the right track
100
R, then the working machine
115
advances along a leftwardly curved line. However, if the right track
100
R is rotated at a higher speed than the left track
100
L, then the working machine
115
advances along a rightwardly curved line, but if both of the right track
100
R and the left track
100
L are rotated at an equal speed in a reverse direction, then the working machine
115
can travel backwardly.
It is to be noted that the aforementioned revolving movement signifies a rotational movement of the working machine body section
102
by a revolving motor
110
which is hereinafter described with reference to FIG.
10
.
By the way, the hydraulic control circuit apparatus
111
mentioned above includes, as shown in
FIG. 10
, hydraulic control valves
111
-
1
to
111
-
6
for transmitting control amounts to the hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
to
107
, traveling motors
109
L and
109
R and revolving motor
110
, respectively.
The control valve
111
-
1
is switched by a pilot hydraulic pressure received from the right lever
101
C via a pilot oil path
112
-
1
to control the hydraulic pressure of the boom driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
via an oil path
113
-
1
to drive the boom driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
to extend or contract to drive the boom
103
.
Similarly, the control valve
111
-
2
is switched by a pilot hydraulic pressure received from the right lever
101
C via a pilot oil path
112
-
2
to control the hydraulic pressure acting upon the hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
via an oil path
113
-
2
to drive the hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
to extend or contract to drive the bucket
108
.
Meanwhile, the control valve
111
-
3
receives a pilot hydraulic pressure from the left pedal
101
L via a pilot oil path
112
-
3
to control the hydraulic pressure at the left side traveling motor
109
L through an oil path
113
-
3
to drive the left track
100
L to rotate.
Similarly, the control valve
111
-
4
receives a pilot hydraulic pressure from the right pedal
101
R via a pilot oil path
112
-
4
to control the hydraulic pressure at the right side traveling motor
109
R via an oil path
113
-
4
to drive the right track
100
R to rotate.
Further, the control valve
111
-
5
receives a pilot hydraulic pressure from the left lever
101
B through a pilot oil path
112
-
5
to control the hydraulic pressure at the revolving motor
110
via an oil path
113
-
5
to drive the working machine body section
102
to rotate.
Meanwhile, the control valve
111
-
6
is switched by a pilot hydraulic pressure received from the left lever
101
B via a pilot oil path
112
-
6
to control the hydraulic pressure acting upon the stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
106
via an oil path
113
-
6
to drive the stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
106
to extend or contract to drive the stick
104
.
It is to be noted that the oil paths
113
-
1
to
113
-
6
described above are communicated with the hydraulic pump which is driven by the engine not shown and a reservoir tank via the hydraulic control valves
111
-
1
to
111
-
6
, and also the pilot oil paths
112
-
1
to
112
-
6
are communicated with the hydraulic pump and the reservoir tank mentioned above.
By such a construction as described above, in order to operate the boom
13
, the stick
104
or the bucket
108
, the levers
101
B and/or
101
C as boom operating members, stick operating members or bucket operating members in the operator cab
101
are suitably manually operated forwardly or backwardly and leftwardly or rightwardly to cause a pilot hydraulic pressure to act upon the control valve
111
-
1
,
111
-
6
or
111
-
2
via the pilot oil path
112
-
1
,
112
-
6
or
112
-
2
to drive the boom driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
, the stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
106
or the bucket driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
to extend or contract.
Consequently, for example, if the boom driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
is driven to extend or contract, then a boom raising operation (in a direction indicated by an arrow mark a) or a boom lowering operation (in a direction indicated by an arrow mark b) can be performed. Or, if the stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
106
is driven to extend or contract, then a stick-out movement (in a direction indicated by an arrow mark c) or a stick-in movement (in a direction indicated by an arrow mark d) can be performed. Further, if the hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
is driven to extend or contract, then a bucket dumping movement (opening movement, in a direction indicated by an arrow mark e) or a bucket curling operation (dragging-in movement, in a direction indicated by an arrow mark f) can be performed.
Accordingly, by using the working machine
115
and moving the end of a blade of the bucket
108
along a predetermined locus, various working operations such as, for example, excavation, loading or floor face finishing can be performed.
By the way, for example, in order to measure the accuracy of a floor face V at a location where excavating and floor face finishing operations have been performed by the working machine
115
described above with respect to an aimed floor face W by the hydraulic excavator itself as seen in
FIG. 11
, operating members such as the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
are set at predetermined positions using a laser beam irradiated in parallel to the aimed floor face W from the outside of the construction machine.
In particular, an operator of the construction machine manually operates the levers
101
B and/or
101
C to drive the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
so that the laser beam may be received at a predetermined angle (for example, at the right angle) by a laser receiver mounted on the working machine
115
Consequently, by setting, by manual operations, the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
at such positions that the laser beam parallel to the aimed floor face W may be received at the predetermined angle by the laser receiver, the accuracy of the finished floor face can be measured.
However, when the accuracy of the floor face V at the location at which the working operation has been performed is measured by the hydraulic excavator itself using such a technique as described above, since the positions of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
are set while the operator visually observers the receiving angle of the laser beam at the laser receiver from within the operator cab
101
, depending upon the mounted location of the laser receiver, it is difficult to visually observe whether or not the receiving angle of the laser beam at the laser receiver is accurately equal to the predetermined angle.
Accordingly, there is a subject that the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
as the operating members cannot be accurately set at the positions mentioned above, and an error in measurement sometimes occurs also upon measurement of the accuracy of the finished floor face.
Further, the operator must manually operate the levers
101
B and/or
101
C as manually operable members to drive the three operating members of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
, and there is another subject that a technique in manual operation for position setting for measurement is very difficult.
The present invention has been made in view of such subjects as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a construction machine with a laser measuring instrument by which operating members can be driven so that a laser beam can be received at the right angle automatically and accurately.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
To this end, a construction machine with a laser measuring instrument of the present invention which includes a construction machine body, a working apparatus provided on the construction machine body and including a plurality of arm members connected to each other like an arm for performing a desired working operation, an end working member mounted for pivotal motion on one of the arm members which is positioned on a free end side of the arm, and a cylinder apparatus for driving the arm members and the end working member, and a manually operable member for driving the cylinder apparatus of the working apparatus to operate the plurality of arm members and end working member, is characterized in that it comprises an array type laser receiver mounted on the arm member positioned on the free end side of the arm for receiving a laser beam parallel to an aimed floor face irradiated from a laser apparatus disposed at a position spaced away from the construction machine, posture detection means for detecting a posture of the construction machine, and control means for controlling the working apparatus based on a result of detection by the posture detection means so that the array type laser receiver may receive the laser beam from the laser apparatus at a predetermined angle.
Further, the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument may be constructed such that the posture detection means includes an inclination angle sensor for detecting an inclination angle of the construction machine body, and a plurality of angle sensors for detecting angles of the plurality of arm members and end working member.
Furthermore, the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument may be constructed such that the control means includes a setting unit in which an installation condition of the laser apparatus is set, a posture calculation section for calculating, based on the installation condition of the laser apparatus set by the setting unit and the result of detection by the posture detection means, a posture of the construction machine with which the array type laser receiver can receive the laser beam from the laser apparatus at the predetermined angle, and a control section for controlling the working apparatus in response to a manual operation of the manually operable member which operates a particular one of the arm members so that the construction machine may have the posture calculated by the posture calculation section.
In this instance, the posture calculation section may be constructed such that it calibrates a difference between an installation height of the laser apparatus and a height of a laser light receiving point in a condition wherein the end working member contacts with the floor face to calculate the posture of the construction machine
Meanwhile, another construction machine with a laser measuring instrument of the present invention which includes a construction machine body, a working apparatus provided on the construction machine body and including a plurality of working members for performing a desired operation, and a working apparatus operating member for operating the plurality of working members of the working apparatus, is characterized in that it comprises an array type laser receiver mounted on the working apparatus for receiving a laser beam parallel to an aimed floor face irradiated from a laser apparatus disposed at a position spaced away from the construction machine, posture detection means for detecting a posture of the construction machine, and control means for controlling the working apparatus based on a result of detection by the posture detection means so that the array type laser receiver may receive the laser beam from the laser apparatus at a predetermined angle.
Accordingly, with the construction machines with a laser measuring instrument of the present invention, since the control means can control the working apparatus automatically and accurately based on a result of detection from the posture detection means so that the array type laser receiver can receive the laser beam from the laser apparatus at the right angle, there is an advantage that, while facilitating manual operations of an operator, measurement of a finished floor can be performed with a high degree of accuracy without being influenced by an inclination of the construction machine body.
Further, since the posture calculation section calibrates the difference between the installation height of the laser apparatus and the height of the laser light receiving point in a condition wherein the end working member contacts with the floor face to calculate the posture of the construction machine, measurement of the position of the blade end of the bucket can be performed using only detection information from the posture detection means, and also there is an advantage that measurement is facilitated very much.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a block diagram illustrating functions of a construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to an embodiment;
FIGS. 2 and 3
are schematic side elevational views showing appearances of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 4
is a view showing a hydraulic control circuit apparatus employed in the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 5
is a schematic side elevational view illustrating operation of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 6
is a flow chart illustrating operation of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 7
is a view illustrating actions and effects of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 8
is a schematic side elevational view showing a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator;
FIG. 9
is a schematic perspective view, partly in section, showing an operator cab of a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator:
FIG. 10
is a view illustrating a hydraulic control circuit apparatus for use with a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator: and
FIG. 11
is a view schematically illustrating an accuracy of a floor face at a location at which a working operation has been performed with respect to an aimed floor face.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In the following, an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1
to
7
show a construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
FIG. 1
is a block diagram illustrating functions of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment,
FIGS. 2
,
3
and
5
are schematic side elevational views showing appearances of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment,
FIG. 4
is a view showing a hydraulic control circuit apparatus employed in the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment,
FIG. 6
is a flow chart illustrating operation of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment, and
FIG. 7
is a view illustrating actions and effects of the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment.
The construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment has a basic construction basically similar to that described hereinabove with reference to FIG.
8
. It is to be noted that same reference symbols in
FIGS. 1
to
7
as those in
FIGS. 8
to
10
denote similar elements.
In particular, also the construction machine
10
with a laser measuring instrument according to the present embodiment includes, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, a construction machine body
11
including a lower traveling member
100
as a traveling section having tracks
100
L and
100
R and a working machine body section
102
as an upper body member provided on the lower traveling member
100
, a boom
103
and a stick
104
as an arm member provided on the construction machine body
11
, a bucket
108
as an end working member mounted for pivotal motion on the stick
104
, and cylinder apparatus
105
to
107
for driving the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
mentioned above.
Accordingly, a working apparatus
12
is formed from the construction machine body
11
, boom
103
, stick
104
, bucket
108
and cylinder apparatus
105
to
107
mentioned above.
Further, the construction machine
10
shown in
FIGS. 2
,
3
and
5
includes, as described hereinabove with reference to
FIG. 9
, levers
101
B and
10
C as manually operable members for operating the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
by driving the cylinder apparatus
105
to
107
of the working apparatus
12
.
The boom
103
and the stick
104
as an arm member are provided on the construction machine body
11
and connected to each other like an arm so as to perform a desired working operation, and the bucket
108
as an end working member is mounted for pivotal motion on the stick
104
as an arm member positioned on the free end side.
The stick
104
has, similarly to that described hereinabove with reference to
FIG. 8
, a light receiver
114
mounted thereon in such a manner as to receive a laser beam L irradiated in parallel to an aimed floor face W from a laser transmitter (laser apparatus)
120
as a laser apparatus disposed at a position spaced away from the construction machine
10
. It is to be noted that the light receiver
114
is formed from an array type laser receiver wherein a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in an array
Further, Further, while the construction machine according to the present embodiment includes pilot pressure control valves
5
-
1
,
5
-
2
and
5
-
4
as solenoid valves for controlling operations of the boom
103
, stick
104
, bucket
108
and so forth, a control system for controlling pilot pressures for the pilot pressure control valves
5
-
1
,
5
-
2
and
5
-
4
has such a construction as shown, for example, in FIG.
1
.
Here, reference numeral
1
denotes a setting section, and this setting section
1
includes an installation condition setting unit (setting unit)
1
a
for setting installation conditions of the laser transmitter
120
when, for example, the accuracy of a finished floor face is to be measured, and further includes a measuring switch
1
b
for starting actual measurement. The aimed angle setting unit
1
a
is provided, for example, on an instrument panel
101
E in the operator cab
101
while the measuring switch
1
b
can be provided, for example, on one of the manually operable levers
101
B and
101
C.
Particularly, the aimed angle setting unit
1
a
described above sets the angle of the aimed floor face as an angle of the laser beam L irradiated from the laser transmitter
120
and the installation height of the laser transmitter
120
as installation conditions.
Furthermore, reference symbols
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
denote each an angle sensor, and the angle sensor
3
-
1
detects the angle of the boom
103
with respect to the working machine body section
102
based on a driving condition of the boom driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
105
. The angle sensor
3
-
2
detects an angle of the stick
104
with respect to the boom
103
based on a driving condition of the stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
106
. The angle sensor
3
-
3
detects an angle of the bucket
108
with respect to the stick
104
based on a driving condition of the hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
.
Meanwhile, reference numeral
4
denotes an inclination angle sensor, and this inclination angle sensor
4
detects an inclination of the construction machine
10
itself, that is, an inclination angle of the construction machine body
11
with respect to the horizontal plane, and the inclination angle sensor
4
and the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
described above function as posture detection means for detecting the posture of the construction machine
10
.
A controller
2
controls driving of the working apparatus
12
based on angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
, an inclination of the construction machine
10
itself detected by the inclination angle sensor
4
and angle information of the aimed floor face from the setting section
1
so that the array type laser receiver
114
can receive the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
at a predetermined angle (for example, at the right angle), and the controller
2
and the setting section
1
described above function as control means.
In other words, the controller
2
calculates, based on the detection information of the sensors described above, angles of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
with which the array type laser receiver
114
can receive the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
at the right angle, and controls the pilot pressure control valves
5
-
1
,
5
-
2
and
5
-
4
so that the calculated angles of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
may be reached.
It is to be noted that, in this instance, the boom
103
is driven in response to a manual operation of the operator side, and the controller
2
can calculate angles of the stick
104
and the bucket
108
to be controlled in response to the driven condition of the boom
103
and control the pilot pressure control valves
5
-
1
,
5
-
2
and
5
-
3
based on a result of the calculation.
In particular, the controller
2
has a function as a posture calculation section for calculating, based on the installation conditions of the laser transmitter
120
set by the installation condition setting unit
1
a
and the result of detection by the sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
and
4
described above, a posture of the construction machine
10
with which the array type laser receiver
114
can receive the laser beam from the laser transmitter
120
at the right angle and has another function as a control section for controlling the stick
104
and the bucket
108
in response to a manual operation of the lever
101
B, which operates the boom
103
as a particular arm member, so that the construction machine
10
may have the posture calculated by the controller
2
.
It is to be noted that the construction machine shown in
FIG. 2
shows a case wherein the working apparatus
12
is controlled to be driven so that the array type laser receiver
114
may receive the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
at the right angle, and the construction machine in
FIG. 3
shows another case wherein the working apparatus
12
is controlled to be driven so that the array type laser receiver
114
may receive the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
at an angle other than the right angle.
Meanwhile, the pilot pressure control valves
5
-
1
,
5
-
2
and
5
-
4
are interposed in pilot oil paths
112
-
1
,
112
-
2
,
112
-
5
and
112
-
6
as shown in
FIG. 4
, respectively, and control pilot hydraulic pressures to be supplied to hydraulic control valves
111
-
1
,
111
-
2
,
111
-
5
and
111
-
6
in accordance with control information from the controller
2
. Consequently, the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
are controlled to be driven in response to control signals from the controller
2
.
It is to be noted that, in
FIG. 2
, reference symbol
103
A denotes a boom foot pin which connects the boom
103
for pivotal motion to the construction machine body
11
, and the posture of the construction machine
10
can be calculated from angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
with respect to an origin provided by the position of the boom foot pin
103
A.
In the construction machine with a laser measuring instrument according to the embodiment of the present invention having the construction described above, if an excavating or floor face finishing operation (slope face shaping operation) is performed by the construction machine
10
, then the construction machine
10
can measure an accuracy of a floor face a(ground surface) V at a location for which the working operation has been performed with respect to the aimed floor face W.
Here, it is assumed that the laser transmitter
120
is set so that it may irradiate the laser beam L parallel to the angle α of an aimed floor face at the height H from the aimed floor face.
First, an operator of the construction machine
10
sets, prior to measurement of the floor face finishing accuracy mentioned above, the distance H between the ground surface and the laser together with the angle α mentioned above as an installation condition of the laser transmitter
120
to the controller
2
via the installation condition setting unit
1
a
(step S
1
).
Here, when measurement of the finished floor face is to be started, the operator manually operates the switch
1
b
. When the controller
2
receives, from the switch
1
b
described above, a signal representing that measurement should be started (YES route of step S
2
), the controller
2
receives angle detection information of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
from the three angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
and body inclination angle detection information from the inclination angle sensor
4
and detects the posture of the construction machine
10
at present from the detection information (step S
3
).
The controller
2
calculates, based on the posture of the construction machine
10
at present detected as described above and the angle α from the above-described setting section
1
a
, postures of the stick
104
and the bucket
108
with which the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
may be incident at the right angle to the array type laser receiver
114
and controls the pilot pressure control valves
5
-
2
and
5
-
4
so that the stick
104
and the bucket
108
may have the thus calculated postures (step S
4
).
In particular, if the pilot pressures are controlled by the pilot pressure control valves
5
-
2
and
5
-
4
, then the stick driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
106
and the bucket driving hydraulic cylinder apparatus
107
are driven under the control the hydraulic control circuit apparatus
111
so that the stick
104
and the bucket
108
are positioned to the postures described above.
After the stick
104
and the bucket
108
are driven so that the array type laser receiver
114
may receive the laser beam L at the right angle in this manner, the operator manually operates the lever
100
C to drive the boom
103
so that the bucket blade end (bucket tip) may be contacted with a point for measurement.
In this instance, the controller
2
controls the stick
104
and the bucket
108
to be driven in response to a movement of the boom
103
so that the angle formed by the array type laser receiver
114
and the incident laser beam L may maintain the right angle (step S
5
).
In other words, the operator can set the position of the working apparatus
12
only by an upward or downward movement of the boom
103
via the lever
101
C so that the laser beam L may be received accurately by the array type laser receiver
114
.
Thereafter, if the bucket tip is adjusted to (contacted with) the point for measurement by a manual operation by the operator, then the array type laser receiver
114
transfers position information of the light receiving point (height information K from the lower end of the array type laser receiver
114
; refer to
FIG. 2
) to the controller
2
.
The controller
2
adds the position information of the light receiving point and length information J from the bucket tip to the lower end of the array type laser receiver
114
(refer to
FIG. 2
) to calculate the height M of the laser light receiving point from the actual position of the ground surface with which the bucket tip is contacted (step S
6
).
The controller
2
compares the thus calculated value M with the height H of the laser beam L from the aimed floor face set by the installation condition setting unit la in advance (step S
7
), and displays the difference between the heights M and H mentioned above as a comparison result on the instrument panel
101
E and can determine the difference as a measurement result of the accuracy of the finished floor face (step S
8
).
Thereafter, the height y from the bucket tip contacting point to the boom foot position in a condition wherein the construction machine
10
is in an arbitrary posture is measured based on the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
and length information of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
inputted in advance as seen in
FIG. 2
,
3
or
5
(step S
9
).
In particular, by using this value y, a value equivalent to the value M which makes a reference for comparison when the accuracy of the finished floor face is measured in a condition wherein the construction machine
10
is in an arbitrary posture can be calculated, and the accuracy of the finished floor face can be measured through comparison of this value equivalent to M and H described above.
In this instance, when the height M from the bucket tip contacting point to the laser light receiving point when the blade end (bucket tip) of the bucket
108
is contacted with the actual floor face in a condition wherein the laser beam L is received at the right angle by the laser receiver
114
and the height y from the bucket tip contacting point to the boom foot position calculated from the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
at the point of time are different from each other, the controller
2
calculates the difference E=M−y between them (from the NO route of step S
10
to step S
11
).
By using this value E, the origin when the accuracy of the finished floor face is to be measured can be calibrated from the boom foot position to the laser light receiving position. In other words, the value y+E obtained by adding the value E mentioned above to y calculated from the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
in a condition wherein the construction machine
10
is in an arbitrary posture can be determined as the height (value equivalent to M mentioned above) from the bucket tip contacting point to the height of the laser light receiving position.
In other words, the controller
2
can calibrate the difference E between the height M from the bucket contacting point to the laser light receiving point and the height y from the bucket tip contacting point to the boom foot position calculated from the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
in a condition wherein the blade end (bucket tip) of the bucket
108
actually contacts with the actual floor face while the laser beam L is being received at the right angle by the laser receiver
114
to calculate the posture of the construction machine
10
.
In particular, as seen in
FIG. 5
, the controller
2
can calculate the difference E between the height y from the origin provided by the position of the boom foot pin
103
A to the bucket tip contacted with the ground surface and the height M from the laser light receiving point to the bucket tip and calibrate the origin for posture calculation of the construction machine
10
described above by using this value E (step S
11
).
When the origin for posture calculation is calibrated in this manner or the values M and y mentioned above are equal to each other (YES route of step S
10
), by detecting the postures of the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
based on the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
and the inclination angle sensor
4
without measuring the light receiving position of the laser beam L, the accuracy of an arbitrary position on the finished floor face can be measured (step S
12
).
In particular, the accuracy of the finished floor face can be measured by comparing the value y+E obtained by adding the value E mentioned above to the height y from the bucket tip contacting point to the boom foot position and the reference height H from the aimed floor face based on the information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
in a condition wherein the bucket tip is contacted with the ground surface at an arbitrary position on the finished floor face with each other to discriminate whether or not the finished floor face is finished at the same level with the aimed floor face.
In other words, since the posture of the construction machine
10
can be detected only from the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
described above, even if the array type laser receiver
114
does not receive the laser beam L at the right angle, the value y+E equivalent to the height M from the bucket tip to the laser light receiving point can be calculated, and consequently, measurement using the laser beam L (measurement of the position of the bucket tip) can be performed in an arbitrary posture of the construction machine
10
by performing calibration of the displacement from the floor face of the construction machine
10
(calibration of the origin for posture calculation) can be performed.
It is to be noted that, if the construction machine
10
moves after calibration of the origin for posture calculation is performed, then in order to effect measurement of the finished ground floor at the position after the movement, such calibration of the position of the origin as described above must be performed again.
In particular, for example, if the construction machine
10
first performs measurement at a position Q and then moves to another position P as seen in FIG.
7
and tries to effect measurement, then since the positional relationship between the aimed floor face and the construction machine
10
changes, measurement of the position of the bucket tip cannot be performed only with the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
.
In this instance, after the construction machine
10
moves, the accuracy of the finished floor face can be measured readily by performing calibration of the origin for posture calculation described above in accordance with the necessity after the position of the working apparatus
12
with which the laser beam L enters the array type laser receiver
114
at the right angle is set using the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
.
It is to be noted that, where measurement of the accuracy of the finished floor face using the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
described above is performed principally, the measurement of the finished floor face using the laser receiver
114
(steps S
7
and S
8
) can be omitted suitably.
In this manner, with the construction machine with a laser measuring machine according the embodiment of the present invention, since the controller
2
can control the working apparatus
12
automatically and accurately based on a result of detection from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
and the inclination angle sensor
4
so that the array type laser receiver
114
may receive the laser beam L from the laser transmitter
120
at the right angle, there is an advantage that, while facilitating manual operations of an operator (only upward or downward movement of the boom
103
), measurement of the finished floor face (measurement of the position of the bucket tip) can be performed with a high degree of accuracy without being influenced by the inclination of the construction machine body
11
.
Further, since the controller
2
calibrates the difference between the installation height H of the laser transmitter
120
and the height M of the laser light receiving point in a condition wherein the bucket
108
contacts with the floor face to calculate the posture of the construction machine
10
, measurement of the position of the blade end of the bucket can be performed using only the detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
, and there is another advantage that measurement is facilitated remarkably.
It is to be noted that, while, in the embodiment described above, the array type laser receiver
114
is mounted on the stick
104
, the mounted position of the array type laser receiver
114
is not limited to this, and the array type laser receiver
114
may be mounted at an arbitrary position on the boom
103
, stick
104
or bucket
108
as the working apparatus
12
.
Further, while, in the embodiment described above, a case wherein a hydraulic excavator is applied L as the construction machine
10
is described in detail, it is a matter of course that the present invention can be applied to any other construction machine than this.
Furthermore, while, in the present embodiment, the controller
2
controls the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
so that the laser beam L may be received at the right angle by the laser receiver
114
, the control is not limited to this, and the boom
103
, stick
104
and bucket
108
may be controlled so that the laser beam L may be received at an angle other than the right angle by the laser receiver
114
.
In this instance, when measurement of the position of the blade end of the bucket is performed based on the angle detection information from the angle sensors
3
-
1
to
3
-
3
, a trigonometric function may be used suitably to effect measurement of a finished floor face similar to that in the case of the present embodiment described above.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION
Where the present invention is used when measurement of a finished floor face is to be performed, since a working apparatus can be controlled automatically and accurately so that an array type laser receiver may receive a laser beam from a laser apparatus at the right angle, measurement of the finished floor face can be performed with a high degree of accuracy without being influenced by an inclination of the body of the construction machine while facilitating manual operations of an operator. Accordingly, the present invention contributes to improvement in accuracy in measurement of such a finished floor face, and it is considered that the utility of the present invention is very high.
Claims
- 1. A method for measuring the finishing accuracy of a floor face which is smoothed by a construction machine, said construction machine including a machine body and a working apparatus mounted on the machine body and including a plurality of arm members pivotally connected end to end for performing a desired working operation, an end working member pivotally connected to a distal-end arm member, and driving apparatus for driving the arm members and the end working member,said method comprising: (a) detecting angles of the arm members and the end working member with respect to the machine body, and detecting an angle of the machine body with respect to a reference plane or line; (b) calculating an angle of one of the arm members, which pivotally supports the end working member, with respect to the reference plane or line based on information of the angles detected in said step (a): (c) controlling the posture of each of the arm members in such a manner that the angle of the individual arm member, which has been calculated in said step (b), is maintained at a predetermined angle, and bringing the lower end of the end working member into a contact with the floor face smoothed by the construction machine; (d) receiving, with the condition obtained in said step (c) being maintained, the laser beam irradiated from a laser apparatus disposed at a fixed position remote from the construction machine, by an array type laser receiver mounted on the distal-end arm member; and (e) determining a degree of the finishing accuracy of the smoothed floor face by comparing the height of the smoothed floor face with a predetermined target floor height based on information on where said laser beam has been received in said array type laser receiver.
- 2. An apparatus for measuring the finishing accuracy of a floor face, which is smoothed by a construction machine, said construction machine including a machine body, and a working apparatus mounted on the machine body and including a plurality of arm members pivotally connected end to end for performing a desired working operation, an end working member pivotally connected to a distal-end arm member, and a driving apparatus for driving the arm members and the end working member,said apparatus for measuring the finishing accuracy of a floor face comprising: detecting means for detecting angles of the arm members and the end working member with respect to the machine body, and detecting an angle of the machine body with respect to a reference plane or line; calculating means for calculating an angle of one of the arm members, which pivotally supports the end working member, with respect to the reference plane or line based on information of the angles detected by said detecting means; controlling means for controlling the posture of each of the arm members in such a manner that the angle of the individual arm member, which as been calculated by said calculating means, is maintained at a predetermined angle, and bringing the lower end of the end working member into a contact with the floor face smoothed by the construction machine; receiving means for receiving, with the condition obtained by said controlling means being maintained, the laser beam irradiated from a laser apparatus disposed at a fixed position remote from the construction machine, by an array type laser receiver mounted on the distal-end arm member; and determining means for determining a degree of the finishing accuracy of the smoothed floor face by comparing the height of the smoothed floor face with a predetermined target floor height based on information on where said laser beam has been received in said array type laser receiver.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
8-234525 |
Sep 1996 |
JP |
|
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
102e Date |
371c Date |
PCT/JP97/00819 |
|
WO |
00 |
4/10/1998 |
4/10/1998 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO98/10147 |
3/12/1998 |
WO |
A |
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
Number |
Date |
Country |
3-295933 |
Dec 1991 |
JP |
3-295934 |
Dec 1991 |
JP |
3-295935 |
Dec 1991 |
JP |
4-161525 |
Jun 1992 |
JP |
4-106229 |
Aug 1992 |
JP |
6-146334 |
May 1994 |
JP |
7-216930 |
Aug 1995 |
JP |