JPH08307740A - Video transmission system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a remote control system for a work vehicle that eliminates the entanglement of video cables and facilitates the orientation work of millimeter-wave communication units. [Structure] A camera installed on an upper part of the work vehicle 1 or the like for capturing an image of a work site, a rotary shaft 15 rotatably erected on the upper part of the work vehicle 1, etc., and installed on an upper end of the rotary shaft 15. An image transmission system comprising a swivel base 19 and a millimeter wave communication unit 21 installed on the swivel base 19 to wirelessly transmit an image of the camera to a base station, the sliding system rotating together with the rotary shaft 15. Ring 29 and the rotary shaft 1
5, a slip ring 33 including a fixed ring 31 arranged around the axis of 5 and slidingly contacting the sliding ring 29 is provided, and the camera and the millimeter wave communication unit 21 are connected via the slip ring 33 by a video cable. It is a configuration.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video transmission system for wirelessly transmitting a video from a camera, which captures a dangerous work site where people cannot enter, to a base station or the like by a millimeter wave communication unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a dangerous area where a person cannot enter, various operations are performed by unmanned operation of a work vehicle such as a hydraulic excavator by wireless remote control. In addition, a camera is installed inside the driver's seat of an unmanned work vehicle to capture the work status, and the images captured by this camera are relayed to a millimeter-wave communication unit that is installed on the work vehicle so that it can turn. It is transmitted through a paso ring line composed of a millimeter wave communication unit installed in a car or the like. To install the millimeter-wave communication unit on a work vehicle, for example, in the case of a hydraulic excavator, a mounting column is installed on the hood of the upper swing body of the hydraulic excavator, and a bearing is mounted above the mounting column via a bearing. A swivel is installed by connecting with a flexible shaft, and a millimeter wave communication unit equipped with an antenna is installed on the swivel. Then, the camera installed inside the driver's seat is connected to the millimeter wave communication unit installed outside the driver's seat through a video cable, and the image of the camera is sent to the millimeter wave communication unit through the video cable. It is designed to be wirelessly transmitted to the base station through a communication relay vehicle or the like.

[0003]

However, since the camera installed on the work vehicle and the millimeter wave communication unit were directly connected by the video cable, when turning the millimeter wave communication unit to turn in a certain direction. In addition, the video cable is entangled with the mounting column that supports the millimeter wave communication unit, which makes it difficult to rotate the millimeter wave communication unit by 360 °, and in the worst case, the video cable is broken. Therefore, when the work vehicle is moved, it is necessary to rotate the millimeter-wave communication unit in reverse each time in order to untangle the entanglement of the video cable, and the millimeter-wave communication unit must be oriented. There was a problem that it took a lot of time to align the units.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to eliminate the entanglement of the video cable and to shorten the time for facing the millimeter wave communication unit when the work vehicle moves. It is to provide a video transmission system capable of performing.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a camera installed on the upper part of a work vehicle or the like for picking up an image of a work site and the like, and rotatably installed on the upper part of the work vehicle or the like. A rotary shaft, and a swivel installed at the upper end of the rotary shaft,
An image transmission system comprising a millimeter wave communication unit installed on the swivel base and wirelessly transmitting an image of the camera to a base station, comprising a sliding ring rotating with the rotating shaft and an axis around the rotating shaft. A slip ring composed of a fixed ring that is disposed on the slide ring and that is in sliding contact with the sliding ring is provided, and the camera and the millimeter wave communication unit are connected by a video cable via the slip ring.

Further, according to the present invention, the rotating shaft is inserted into a cylindrical mounting column which is erected on an upper portion of the work vehicle or the like,
The fixing ring of the slip ring is fixed to the mounting column.

[0007]

When the millimeter-wave communication unit is turned in a predetermined direction to face each other, the rotary shaft is rotated by the drive unit of the rotary shaft. In this case, the sliding ring of the slip ring rotates while slidingly contacting the fixed ring as the rotary shaft rotates, and the video signal from the camera is transmitted to the millimeter wave communication unit through the video cable connected via the slip ring. An image is transmitted from the millimeter wave communication unit to a base station or the like. Therefore, since the camera and the millimeter-wave communication unit are connected by the video cable with the slip ring interposed therebetween, even if the millimeter-wave communication unit is turned when the millimeter-wave communication unit is oriented, the video cable becomes entangled with the rotating shaft or the like. Since the disconnection of the video cable can be prevented and the video cable is not entangled, the millimeter wave communication unit can be aligned in a short time.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of the hydraulic excavator, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a slip ring provided on a mounting column.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a hydraulic excavator (equivalent to a work vehicle), 3 is a crawler, 5 is an upper swing body, 7 is a driver's seat, 9 is an arm, 11
Indicates a bucket.

On the bonnet of the upper swing body 5 of the hydraulic excavator 1, as shown in FIG. 1, a swivel base mounting column 13 formed in a cylindrical shape is erected. As shown in FIG. 2, a flexible shaft (corresponding to a rotary shaft) 15 is arranged inside the mounting column 13 along the axial direction. The flexible shaft 15 is axially supported by a bearing (not shown), and the lower end portion is It is connected to a turning power source (not shown).

A swivel base 19 is installed on the upper part of the mounting column 13 via a bearing 17, and a millimeter wave communication unit 21 is installed on the swivel base 19 as shown in FIG. The unit 21 is provided with a parabolic antenna 23. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the flexible shaft 15 has a joint 15a.
Is connected to the central portion of the swivel base 19 through which the millimeter-wave communication unit 21 installed on the swivel base 19 can be swung in any direction by the rotation of the flexible shaft 15. Further, as shown in FIG.
A cylindrical housing 25 is disposed inside the flexible shaft 15 inside the housing 3, and the housing 25 is fixed to the mounting column 13 by a bracket 27.

Inside the housing 25, a plurality of slip rings 33, each consisting of a slide ring 29 and a fixed ring 31, are vertically arranged. The sliding ring 29 and the fixed ring 31 constituting each slip ring 33 are formed in a disk shape with substantially the same outer diameter, and a hole for fitting the flexible shaft 15 is formed in the center of the sliding ring 29. The inner edge portion of this hole is attached to the flexible shaft 15 and rotates together with the flexible shaft 15.

Further, the fixed ring 31 is disposed so as to face the sliding ring 29, a hole larger than the flexible shaft 15 is formed in the central portion, and the flexible shaft 15 is inserted into this hole. The outer edge portion is fixed to the inner surface of the housing 25. Then, each sliding ring 29 rotates with the rotation of the flexible shaft 15, and the sliding portion 35 protruding from each sliding ring 29 rotates while contacting the corresponding fixed ring 31. ing.

Further, wirings 37 constituting a video cable are connected to each sliding ring 29, and these wirings 37 are connected.
Is connected to a millimeter wave communication unit 21 installed on the swivel base 19. On the other hand, each wire 39 that constitutes the video cable is connected to each fixed ring 31, and these wires 39
Is disposed below the mounting column 13, and is connected to a video camera (not shown) disposed inside the driver's seat 7 and capturing an image of a work site or the like.

Then, the image picked up by the video camera is passed through the wiring 39, the fixed ring 31, the sliding portion 35, the sliding ring 29 and the wiring 37, and the millimeter wave communication unit 21.
And is wirelessly transmitted from the millimeter wave communication unit 21 to a base station through a communication relay vehicle or the like, and the base station remotely operates each work vehicle 1 while watching the transmitted image.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the slip ring 33 is interposed between the video cables for sending the video signal from the camera to the millimeter wave communication unit 21,
In order to match the orientation of the antenna 23 of the millimeter wave communication unit 21, the millimeter wave communication unit 21 is used in the circumferential direction, for example.
Even if the image cable is turned over 0 °, the image cable will not be entangled as in the conventional case, and as a result, the image cable will not be broken. Further, since the video cable does not become entangled, it is possible to perform the alignment work in a short time when the millimeter wave communication unit 21 is aligned after the work vehicle 1 is moved.

In the above embodiment, the millimeter wave communication unit 2
1 has been described as an example where it is installed on the work vehicle 1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a case where it is installed on a camera-only vehicle or a support.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the camera and the millimeter wave communication unit are connected by the video cable having the slip ring, the millimeter wave communication is performed when the millimeter wave communication unit is oriented. Even if the unit is rotated, the video cable will not get entangled with the rotating shaft, etc., preventing disconnection of the video cable and eliminating the entanglement of the video cable. It becomes possible to do it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a hydraulic excavator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a slip ring provided on a flexible shaft in a mounting column.

[Description of sign]

 1 Hydraulic excavator (work vehicle) 13 Mounting post 15 Flexible shaft (rotary shaft) 19 Swiveling base 21 Millimeter wave communication unit 29 Sliding ring 31 Fixed ring 33 Slip ring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera installed on the upper part of a work vehicle or the like for capturing an image of a work site, a rotary shaft rotatably installed on the upper part of the work vehicle, and a swivel base installed on the upper end of the rotary shaft. And a millimeter-wave communication unit that is installed on the swivel base and wirelessly transmits an image of the camera to a base station, the sliding system rotating together with the rotating shaft and the rotating shaft. A slip ring including a fixed ring disposed around an axis and slidably contacting the sliding ring is provided, and the camera and the millimeter wave communication unit are connected by a video cable via the slip ring. Video transmission system. 2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the rotary shaft is inserted into a cylindrical mounting column that is erected on an upper portion of the work vehicle and the fixing ring of the slip ring is fixedly mounted on the mounting column. Transmission system.