JP6937800B2 - Floating device for in-pipe investigation, in-pipe investigation method and in-pipe investigation system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an in-pipe investigation floating device for investigating the internal properties of a sewer pipe, an in-pipe investigation method, and an in-pipe investigation system.

Sewerage in Japan is widespread nationwide, and its penetration rate has reached nearly 80% as of 2017, and the total length of sewerage pipelines is very long, about 470,000 km. However, most of the sewerage pipelines in Japan are aging, and problems such as road collapse and blockage of culverts due to such aging have become apparent in various places. For example, it is known that the probability of road collapse occurs in sewerage pipelines constructed before 1975, and measures against aging sewerage pipelines have become an urgent issue.
In order to prevent such road collapses, pipe blockages, etc. and maintain sewerage pipelines, there is an ever-increasing need to investigate the internal properties of sewerage pipes in the field (hereinafter, the inside of sewerage pipes). The investigation of the properties of the sewer pipe is sometimes called "investigation inside the sewer pipe" or simply "investigation").

Currently, investigations inside sewer pipes are conducted by several methods. In the case of a sewer pipe with a relatively large diameter, for example, a sewer pipe with a diameter (inner diameter) of 800 MM or more, a human being (investigator) infiltrates the pipe and conducts an investigation (infiltration visual inspection). On the other hand, in the case of a sewer pipe with a relatively small diameter, for example, a sewer pipe with a diameter of less than 800 MM, the survey is conducted by inserting a pipe mouth camera, a self-propelled TV camera, etc. into the pipe (each "pipe mouth camera survey").・ It shall be called "self-propelled TV camera survey").

In the infiltration visual inspection, an investigator infiltrates the pipe from the manhole and visually inspects its properties. The investigator inspects and measures the inside of the pipe using a test hammer, scale, etc., takes a picture of the place where the abnormality is found, and saves the image data obtained by the picture. The submersible visual survey is a survey with relatively high accuracy because the surveyor directly surveys the inside of the jurisdiction at the site.

The tube mouth camera survey is carried out using equipment (tube mouth camera) with a light and a camera attached to the tip of a telescopic operation rod (not shown). Specifically, the tube mouth camera is inserted into the manhole from the ground, and the investigator takes a picture of the inside of the pipe while looking at the monitor at hand connected to the tube mouth camera, and the image of the part judged to be abnormal is taken. Record.
Compared to a set of self-propelled TV cameras (described later), the tube mouth camera has a simple structure, so it is highly portable and easy to operate. In addition, since the pipe mouth camera survey is conducted without moving the camera, the daily advance amount (here, it refers to the length of the sewerage pipeline that can be surveyed per day) compared to the self-propelled TV camera survey (described later). The cost of the survey will be relatively low accordingly.

In the self-propelled TV camera survey, when the sewer pipe under investigation has a certain diameter or more (for example, 150 MM or more) or when toxic gas is floating in the pipe, a human being is in the pipe. Instead of diving, an in-pipe propulsion body equipped with a camera (see, for example, a self-propelled vehicle described in Patent Document 1) is propelled in the jurisdiction to collect necessary image data.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram for explaining the self-propelled television camera search described in Patent Document 2. Patent Document 2 describes an example of a self-propelled television camera investigation using an in-pipe propulsion body, although it is an example of investigating the inside of a water supply pipe.
The self-propelled TV camera 900 as a propulsion body in the jurisdiction is equipped with a TV camera 913. The self-propelled TV camera 900 is connected to the ground controller 950, the manual operation unit 953, and the ground monitor 954 via the remote control cable 920.
The self-propelled TV camera survey consists of a one-span sewerage pipeline survey between adjacent manholes (between manholes 800A and 800B in the figure), and the self-propelled TV camera 900 is used as an upstream manhole 800A. It is carried out by inserting the self-propelled TV camera 900 into the pipe 982 of the sewer pipe 981 and collecting necessary image data while propelling the self-propelled TV camera 900 toward the downstream side of the pipe 982.
The operator on the ground controls the TV camera 913 and confirms the image captured by the TV camera 913 on the ground monitor 954. While the self-propelled TV camera 900 is running, the TV camera 913 mainly reflects the situation in front of the camera, but at a place where there seems to be a problem, the self-propelled TV camera 900 is temporarily stopped and the lens of the TV camera 913 ( Rotate (not shown) to check the condition of the inner wall 988, determine the deterioration status, and perform necessary imaging.

In the actual investigation of the inside of the sewer pipe, the in-pipe propulsion body is not a type that pushes and propels the fluid in the pipe with an impeller (not shown) as described in Patent Document 2. A type of tire (not shown) that pushes the inner wall to propel the tire as described in 1 is used.
In practice, a rough screening is conducted while grasping "presence or absence of abnormalities" in the tube mouth camera survey, and if it is presumed that there is an abnormality in the tube, a detailed survey is conducted by a self-propelled TV camera survey. It is common to use different survey methods, such as.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-261161 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-22157

However, since the submersible visual inspection is a survey that relies on human visual inspection as described above, the risk of oversight cannot be completely eliminated. It has also been pointed out that the accuracy of the survey depends on the skill and experience of the surveyor. Furthermore, this survey cannot be applied to small and medium-sized sewer pipes, it is essential to ensure the safety of investigators, and the long survey time puts a heavy burden on investigators and makes it difficult to improve survey efficiency. Issues have also been pointed out.

In the tube mouth camera survey, the tube mouth camera is fixed to the manhole and the zoom function is used as appropriate to take a picture. For this reason, the inner wall of the portion far from the tube opening to which the tube opening camera is fixed can be photographed only at a shallow angle. Therefore, it is difficult to correctly grasp the deterioration state of the inner wall at a location far from the pipe opening. In general, it is said that abnormalities such as breakage are more likely to occur in places far from the tube mouth, and from this point of view, there is a risk of overlooking abnormalities in places far from the tube mouth camera at the screening stage, so the overall investigation May reduce the accuracy of. In addition to the field abnormality diagnosis, it has been pointed out that the tube mouth camera survey has a long survey time and it is difficult to improve the survey efficiency because the abnormality diagnosis is performed later by checking the recorded image indoors. ..

The self-propelled camcorder survey involves a series of routines, such as inserting the self-propelled camcorder into the tube, monitoring the tube, manipulating the lens, taking necessary photographs, and collecting the self-propelled camcorder as described above. Since the survey is repeated span by span, the survey time is long and it is difficult to improve the survey efficiency. Along with this, the survey cost will also be higher. It has also been pointed out that the accuracy of the survey tends to vary depending on the skill of the operator.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a floating device for in-pipe investigation and an in-pipe investigation that can investigate the inside of a sewer pipe more easily, accurately and efficiently than in the past. The purpose is to provide methods and jurisdiction survey systems.

[1] The floating device for in-pipe investigation of the present invention is
It is a floating device for in-pipe investigation that can float the sewage in the pipe to investigate the properties inside the sewer pipe.
Lights that illuminate the inside of the pipe and
A camera that shoots at least the inner wall of the pipe and outputs the image data obtained by shooting,
A timer that outputs time data for associating each image data with the position data of the floating device for in-pipe investigation,
An accelerometer that measures the acceleration of a floating device for in-pipe investigation and outputs acceleration data,
A storage device that stores time data, acceleration data, and image data,
A casing that houses at least a camera, timer, accelerometer, and storage device and defines the outer shape of the main body of the in-pipe survey floating device.
It is provided with an attitude control means.
The casing is provided with a shooting window corresponding to at least a part of the angle of view shot by the camera and through which light from the outside passes.
The attitude control means controls the attitude of the main body so as to keep the camera and the photographing window above the surface of the sewage.

[2] In the in-pipe survey floating device according to another aspect of the present invention, the camera is preferably a spherical camera.

[3] In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to another aspect of the present invention.
At least the attitude control means
With a rope whose one end is connected to the side of the main body,
A sea anchor that is connected to the other end of the rope and leads the main body to flow sewage,
It is preferable to provide.

[4] In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to another aspect of the present invention.
It is preferable that the sea anchor is configured to float more easily in the sewage than the main body.

[5] In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to another aspect of the present invention.
The main body is spherical, with lights and a camera inside the upper hemisphere.
The photographing window preferably forms at least a part of the outer shell of the upper hemisphere.

[6] In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to another aspect of the present invention.
It is preferable to further provide a radio wave transmitting means for transmitting radio waves to the outside from the jurisdiction survey floating device.

[7] The jurisdiction investigation system of the present invention is
An in-pipe investigation system that investigates the internal properties of sewer pipes in sewer pipes that continuously follow at least three manholes.
With the in-pipe survey floating device described in [6] above,
The antenna in the hall placed in the vertical hole of the manhole and
A receiving device that is connected to the antenna in the hall and receives the radio waves captured by the antenna in the hall.
With
The in-pipe survey floating device, at least when passing near the manhole, transmits the labeled radio wave to the outside by the radio wave transmitting means.
The receiving device is a system that outputs the passage information of the floating device for in-pipe investigation based on the reception of the labeled radio wave when the labeled radio wave is received.

[8] The in-service investigation method of the present invention is
This is an in-pipe investigation method for investigating the internal properties of a sewer pipe using the above-mentioned in-pipe investigation floating device.
The step of throwing the floating device for in-pipe investigation into the inside of the sewer pipe from the manhole, and the step of putting in the floating device for in-pipe investigation.
Inside the sewer pipe, while floating the floating device for in-pipe investigation, the inside of the pipe is illuminated with a light, at least the inner wall inside the pipe is photographed with a camera to collect image data, and the time data output by the timer and the accelerometer In-tube image collection step to store the image data output by the camera together with the acceleration data output by
Image data, time data, and acceleration data stored in the storage device are read out, each image data is analyzed to analyze the existence and degree of defects in the pipe, and defects exist in the screen based on the image data. If it is determined to be, a defect analysis step in the jurisdiction that identifies the position where the defect exists based on the position data calculated based on the time data and the acceleration data, and
It is a jurisdiction survey method including.

[9] In the in-pipe investigation method according to another aspect of the present invention.
The in-pipe survey floating device is further equipped with a radio wave transmitting means for transmitting radio waves to the outside, and each manhole in the middle located between the upstream manhole and the downstream manhole has an antenna in the hole in the vertical hole. Is arranged, and a receiving device that receives the radio waves captured by the antenna in the hall is arranged.
In the in-pipe image collection step, the in-pipe survey floating device is made to collect image data, and the radio wave transmitting means is used to transmit the labeled radio wave from the in-pipe survey floating device to the outside.
The receiving device captures the labeled radio wave transmitted from the in-pipe investigation levitation device, outputs the passage information indicating that the in-pipe investigation levitation device has passed near the manhole, and outputs the passage information indicating that the in-pipe investigation levitation device has passed. It is preferable to execute the existence section grasping step for grasping.

The "investigation of the internal properties of the sewer pipe" here specifically refers to the degree of deterioration of the pipe such as corrosion, breakage, cracks, and misalignment of the sewer pipe, and the presence or absence and degree of protrusion of the mounting pipe. Qualitatively, the degree of vertical slack in the pipe that affects the flow capacity, the state of sediment accumulation, the presence or absence of adhesion of mortar, oil, etc. to the inner wall, and the presence or absence of invasion of tree roots, sewage, etc. into the pipe. / It is to grasp quantitatively.
For reference, most of the sewerage pipelines in Japan are of the "natural flow type" that are prone to the above-mentioned problems.

According to the present invention, it is possible to investigate the inside of the sewer pipe more easily, accurately and efficiently than the conventional technique for investigating the inside of the sewer pipe.

A schematic diagram showing the configuration of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment and an example of its use is shown. The perspective view of the main body 100 of 1st Embodiment is shown. A conceptual diagram of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment is shown. A schematic diagram of an example of calculating position data based on time data and acceleration data in the first embodiment is shown. An example of a block diagram of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment is shown. A schematic view showing the angle of view VA taken by the camera 130 / 130A of the first embodiment is shown. A schematic diagram showing the configuration of the in-pipe survey floating device 2 according to the second embodiment and an example of its use is shown. The block diagram of the jurisdiction investigation system 10 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment is shown. The flowchart of the jurisdiction investigation method which concerns on 4th Embodiment is shown. The cross-sectional view of the main body 100B, 100C which concerns on other embodiment is shown. A schematic diagram for explaining the self-propelled television camera search described in Patent Document 2 is shown.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the in-pipe survey floating device, the in-pipe survey system, and the in-pipe survey method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that each embodiment described below does not limit the invention according to the claims. Moreover, not all of the elements and combinations thereof described in each embodiment are indispensable for the solution of the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
The in-pipe investigation floating device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is, for example, a light / camera / in-pipe investigation floating device in a main body (hereinafter, simply referred to as “main body”) of the floating device casing as a translucent sphere. It is equipped with a device (for example, an accelerometer and a timer) and a storage device for obtaining the position data of the device. When this is dropped inside the sewer pipe, it floats together with the sewage. Therefore, while the floating device for in-pipe investigation floats, the built-in camera sequentially photographs the inner wall and the like inside the pipe. The details will be described below.

1. 1. Configuration of In-pipe Survey Floating Device 1 According to the First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment and an example of its use. FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the main body 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a conceptual diagram of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment.

(1) Outline of the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 As shown in FIG. 1, the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment may be referred to as the inside 811 of the sewer pipe 810 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “in-pipe 811”). ) Is a device capable of floating the sewage 890 in the pipe 811 in order to investigate the properties. When the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is dropped inside the sewer pipe 810, it floats downstream together with the sewage 890 flowing in the in-pipe 811. In the example of the embodiment, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 is roughly divided into a main body 100 and a posture control means 200.

As shown in FIG. 2, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 includes a light 120, a camera 130, a timer 162, an accelerometer 140, and a storage device 163, and includes at least a camera 130, a timer 162, and an accelerometer. The 140 and the storage device 163 are housed and packaged inside the casing 110.
Further, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 includes an attitude control means 200 (see FIG. 1).

The casing 110 in this embodiment is formed by connecting the upper casing 112 forming the upper hemisphere and the lower casing 114 forming the lower hemisphere to form a sphere as a whole. For convenience of explanation, the boundary between the upper hemisphere and the lower hemisphere is called the "equator", and the point of the elevation angle of 90 ° in the upper hemisphere when the elevation angle when the equator is viewed from the center of the sphere is 0 ° is referred to. It shall be called "zenith Z".
Hereinafter, detailed description of each component will be continued.

(2) Light 120
The light 120 illuminates the inside of the pipe 811. In this embodiment, a thin LED (LIGHT EMITTING Diode) 120A can be used as the light 120. The LED 120A is a tape type and is attached to the inner surface of the upper casing 112 made of a transparent material. The LED 120A can illuminate the inside 811 of the sewer pipe by projecting light onto the inside 811 (including the inner wall 818). For example, a plurality (for example, 10) LEDs 120A are arranged on the upper casing 112 along the circumference (edge) near the equator at equal intervals (see FIG. 3).
Since it is sufficient that the light 120 can illuminate the inside of the pipe 811, the light 120 may be built in the casing 110 (that is, the main body 100) as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or may be arranged outside the casing 110. It may be one (not shown).

(3) Camera 130
The camera 130 photographs the state of the inside of the pipe 811 (at least the inner wall 818) and outputs the image data obtained by the photographing. The camera 130 has an image sensor 132, a lens 134, and the like (see FIG. 3). The camera 130 used in this embodiment is expected to capture the state of the pipe 811 in as wide a range as possible. Therefore, it is desirable that the camera 130 is provided with a wide-angle lens. Therefore, the camera 130 is preferably 130A for spherical cameras.

In this embodiment, the spherical camera 130A having the fisheye lens 134A is used as the camera 130. As for the specifications of the spherical camera 130A, for example, when the spherical camera 130A is placed upright with the zenith Z facing upward, the spherical camera 130A makes one round (360 °) along the horizontal line parallel to the equator. It can be covered and imaged. In addition, the spherical camera 130A preferably has an elevation angle in a range wider than the range of, for example, 0 ° to 90 ° (for example, -30 ° to 90 °, that is, -30 ° below the horizon to 90 ° of the zenith. (Up to) can be covered for shooting (see also FIG. 5 described later).

The camera 130 is not limited to the spherical camera 130A, as long as it can capture the state of the 811 in the pipe in a wide range. For example, a wide range of shooting may be realized by introducing a plurality of cameras having relatively narrow-angle lenses and synthesizing the images captured by those cameras. Further, a method may be introduced in which a camera having a lens having a relatively narrow angle is used, the optical axis of the lens of the camera is appropriately scanned, and as a result, a wide range is photographed.

(4) Timer 162, accelerometer 140 and storage device 163
For example, GPS radio waves by GPS (GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE) do not reach the inside of the jurisdiction 811. I can't know it directly.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the shooting position is indirectly calculated using the timer 162 and the accelerometer 140, and the shooting position data (position data) corresponding to each image data is linked. Specifically, based on the time data obtained by the timer 162 and the acceleration data obtained by the accelerometer 140, the position data of the floating flow device 1 for in-pipe investigation (at least the data of the shooting position when the camera 130 takes a picture). Shall be obtained.
By grasping the time (or time) when the image was taken, the position data can be associated with the image data while also taking the acceleration data into consideration (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 6).

The timer 162 is used to make the position data of the in-pipe survey floating device correspond to the respective image data obtained by the camera 130 taking a picture of the in-pipe 811, and outputs the time data (see FIG. 3). ..
The "time data" here is data related to time, for example, real-time data, or data on the elapsed time from the time when the in-pipe survey floating device 1 was dropped into the jurisdiction. good.
Here, the "timer 162" only needs to be able to grasp the time, and as shown in FIG. 3, when the timer is built in the electronic device (RTC162A) mounted on the controller 160 (described later) and the camera 130. If the built-in timer is built in the accelerometer 140, the built-in timer may be used.

The accelerometer 140 measures the acceleration of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 and outputs acceleration data (see FIG. 3). The "acceleration data" here is data related to acceleration. For example, it may be data that represents the acceleration value itself at a specific time, or it may be data that represents the transition of acceleration with respect to the time axis. Further, the acceleration data may be data representing a value of the velocity obtained by integrating the acceleration with time.

The storage device 163 stores the above-mentioned time data, acceleration data, and image data (see FIG. 3). The storage device 163 may store data, programs, and the like other than these data.

(5) Example of Calculation of Position Information Based on Time Information and Acceleration Information FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of an example of calculating position data based on time data and acceleration data in the first embodiment. Specifically, it is a schematic view when the sewer pipe is viewed from the sky.
As shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is moving from the manhole 800A to the manhole 800B, for example.
The in-pipe survey floating device 1 passed VA at the speed when passing through the point P1 of the sewer pipe 810, VB at the speed when passing through the point P2, VC at the speed when passing through the point P3, and passing through the point P4. Let VD be the speed of time, VE be the speed of passing point P5, and VF be the speed of passing point P6.
The velocity at each point can be obtained based on the acceleration information output by the accelerometer 140 when passing through each point. For example, if the acceleration data output by the accelerometer 140 is an acceleration value, it can be obtained by integrating the value of such acceleration when passing a point with time T.
If the time data output by the timer 162 is the actual time, the time required for the in-pipe survey floating device 1 to move between adjacent points is the passage of the point that passed immediately before the actual time when the point was passed. It can be obtained by subtracting the time (see T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 in FIG. 4).
Here, assuming that the in-pipe survey floating device 1 is moving at a substantially constant speed between adjacent points, for example, the length L1 between points P1 to P4 is an approximate expression of L1≈VAT1 + VBT2 + VCT3. Can be obtained by. That is, as the position information of the point P4, it is possible to calculate the "position data" that the position (coordinates) is offset downstream by the length of L1 obtained by L1≈VAT1 + VBT2 + VCT3 from the manhole 800A.

Therefore, for example, when the state of the pipe 811 is photographed at each point P1 to P6 and each image data is obtained, each point P1 obtained by the same equation as the above approximate expression is applied to each image data. The position data of ~ P6 can be associated with each other.
By performing such association (association), for example, when a crack in the sewer pipe 810 is found in the image information (photograph) at point P4, the crack is associated with the image data at point P4. The location can be specified as existing at the position indicated by the position data of the point P4 (in the above, the position offset by the length L1 from the manhole 800A).

(6) Mounting of components on the in-pipe survey floating device 1 The timer 162, the accelerometer 140, and the storage device 163 may be mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown). Further, the controller 160 may be configured by a timer 162, a storage device 163, or the like (see the portion shown by the dotted line in the lower hemisphere of FIG. 2).

FIG. 5 shows an example of a block diagram of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 160 includes a processor 161 and an RTC (REAL TIME CLOCK) 162A as a timer 162, a memory 163A as a storage device 163, a transmission circuit 166 constituting a radio wave transmitting means 170 described later, and a power supply circuit 165. , Interface circuit 164 and the like.

A camera 130, an acceleration sensor 140A as an accelerometer 140, and an LED 120A as a light 120 are connected to the interface circuit 164. The interface circuit 164 interfaces with the bus 168.
An interface circuit 164, a memory 163A, an RTC 162A, and the like are connected to the processor 161 via a bus 168. The processor 161 operates based on a program (not shown). The operation by the processor 161 means, for example, that image data is taken in from the camera 130 and stored in the memory 163A, real time data as time data is taken in from RTC162A corresponding to each shooting, and the real time data is stored in the memory as the shooting time. The position data is calculated based on the time data and the acceleration data (see, for example, above), which is stored in the 163A, the acceleration data is taken in from the acceleration sensor 140A at an appropriate timing and stored in the memory 163A. Controls such as associating position data.
The transmission circuit 166 is a circuit for transmitting radio waves from the in-pipe survey floating device 1 to the outside (details will be described later).
The power supply circuit 165 is connected to the battery 150A as the power storage device 150, and generates the power supply necessary for the controller 160, the input / output devices (camera 130, acceleration sensor 140A, LED 120A, etc.), the transmission circuit 166, etc. to operate. do.
The acceleration sensor 140A may be mounted on the printed circuit board described above together with a group of parts constituting the controller 160 (see FIG. 3). Further, as the power storage device 150, a capacitor or the like can be adopted in addition to the battery 150A (so-called primary battery, secondary battery, etc.). Further, the timer 162 mounted on the controller 160 is not limited to the RTC 162A, and for example, a simple clock can be adopted.
The configuration of the implementation described here is merely an example and is not to be interpreted in a limited manner in the present invention.

(7) Casing 110
Next, the casing 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 6.
The casing 110 houses at least the camera 130, the timer 162, the accelerometer 140 and the storage device 163. In the embodiment, in addition to these, a light 120 (LED 120A), a power storage device 150 (battery 150A), a radio wave transmitting means 170 including a transmitting circuit 166, a controller 160, and the like are housed.

The casing 110 may be divided into an upper casing 112 and a lower casing 114 as described above. In the embodiment, a fornix-shaped transparent plastic having a hemispherical outer surface is used as the upper casing 112, and hemispherical expanded styrene (Styrofoam) is used as the lower casing 114.

When the upper casing 112 and the lower casing 114 are assembled, it is possible to obtain a casing 110 in which the space between the upper casing 112 and the lower casing 114 is sealed. The inside and the outside of the casing 110 are separated by the casing 110 so that a liquid such as sewage does not enter the inside of the casing 110. As a result, the main body 100 is designed to generate buoyancy with respect to sewage as a whole.
The specific gravity of the main body 100 is appropriately set so as to generate buoyancy with respect to the sewage 890. Further, the specific gravity of the main body 100 is appropriately set so that the draft depth of the main body 100 has a predetermined relationship with the draft depth of the sea anchor (described later) (details will be described later).

The casing 110 is provided with a photographing window 113 provided corresponding to at least a part of the angle of view photographed by the camera 130 and through which light from the outside passes.
The "photographing window 113" is configured so that the reflected light generated by reflecting the light from the light 120 on the object in the tube 811 passes through (including transmission) through the "window". The camera 130 can take a picture of the inside of the pipe 811 through the “shooting window 113”. Conversely, it is preferable that the "photographing window 113" is made of a transparent member capable of capturing the state of the inside of the tube 811 through a watermark.

In the embodiment, the main body 100 has a spherical shape, and the light 120 and the camera 130 are provided inside the upper hemisphere (upper casing 112). The photographing window 113 forms at least a part of the outer shell of the upper hemisphere.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic view showing the angle of view VA taken by the camera 130 / 130A of the first embodiment. Specifically, the figure when the plane including the optical axis of the omnidirectional camera 130A and the zenith Z of the omnidirectional camera 130A is viewed vertically (that is, the omnidirectional camera 130A is viewed from the side) is shown.
As a specification of the spherical camera 130A used in the embodiment, assuming that the elevation angle is, for example, -30 ° to 90 ° (that is, -30 ° below the horizon to 90 ° of the zenith Z is covered and photographed. If this is possible), the angle of view VA centered on the spherical camera 130A is 240 ° (see FIG. 6).
As the range in which the photographing window 113 is provided, the photographing window 113 may be provided only in a part of the above-mentioned range of the angle of view VA (only the necessary range). Of course, the photographing window 113 may be provided for a range (or a range beyond that) that covers the entire range of the angle of view VA.
In the embodiment, all of the upper casing 112 is made of a transparent material (transparent plastic), and the entire range of the upper casing 112 is set as the photographing window 113 (A in FIGS. 2 and 6). See between −B).

The casing 110 defines the outer shape of the main body 100 of the in-pipe survey floating device 1.
The main body 100 whose outer shape is defined by the casing 110 preferably has a spherical shape. In other words, it is preferable that the outer shape has no special corners (convex parts). In the embodiment, the outer shape of the main body 100 is approximately a true sphere. At this time, the diameter of the main body 100 is selected according to the diameter of the sewer pipe to be investigated. Specifically, for example, the diameter of the main body 100 is set to 100MM for the investigation of the sewer pipe having a diameter of 200MM to 350MM, and the diameter of the main body 100 is set to 150MM for the investigation of the sewer pipe having the diameter of 400MM to 600MM. do.
The outer shape of the main body 100 is not limited to a spherical shape, and may be, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape or an annular shape (doughnut shape).

(8) Attitude control means 200
By the way, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 is dropped into the inside 811 of the sewer pipe, and takes a picture of the in-pipe 811 while moving along with the natural flow of the sewage 890. Therefore, the attitude control of the main body 100 while being flushed with the sewage 890 is extremely important. For example, when the outer shape of the main body 100 is spherical as in this embodiment, the main body 100 is likely to rotate due to an external force such as the flow of sewage 890. If the main body 100 rotates, the optical axis captured by the camera 130 also rotates, and the captured image also becomes an image with an indefinite angle, which may be recorded as erroneous image data. As a result, the inside of the pipe 811 cannot be photographed properly, and it becomes difficult to identify the position of the damaged portion of the inside of the pipe 811. Therefore, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 includes an attitude control means 200 for controlling the attitude of the main body 100.

The attitude control means 200 controls the attitude of the main body 100 so as to keep the camera 130 and the photographing window 113 above the water surface of the sewage 890.
In other words, in the attitude control means 200, the imaging surface 132A of the camera 130 faces upward and the photographing window 113 is also located above the sewage 890 so that the camera 130 can mainly photograph the inner wall 818 above the pipe 811. As described above, the position of the main body 100 is controlled.

Although not shown, the axis connecting the zenith Z of the main body 100 and the center of the main body 100 when the main body 100 is placed upright on a horizontal plane is the first axis, and the main body 100 in the direction in which the main body 100 flows (forward of travel). The axis connecting the side portion A, the center of the main body 100, and the side portion B of the main body 100 behind the traveling direction is the second axis, and passes through the center of the main body 100 in a direction perpendicular to the first axis and the second axis. The axis is defined as the third axis (strictly speaking, each axis can be defined centering on the camera 130. The direction opposite to the vertical direction (zenith Z) when viewed from the camera 130 is connected to the center of the camera 130. With the axis as the first axis, the second axis and the third axis can be defined centering on the camera 130 in the same manner below.)
When defined in this way, the above-mentioned "controlling the posture" means, more specifically, that the main body 100 does not rotate as much as possible about the first axis with respect to the axis of the sewer pipe 810. Further, it means controlling so as not to rotate as much as possible around the second axis and not to rotate as much as possible around the third axis.

The attitude control means 200 may be realized by any mechanism / principle as long as the posture of the main body 100 can be maintained as described above. For example, the center of gravity may be positioned as below the lower casing 114 as much as possible by making the mass of the lower hemisphere larger than that of the upper hemisphere of the in-pipe survey floating device 1. In that case, the attitude control means 200 is a lower hemisphere having a mass larger than that of the upper hemisphere, or a lower hemisphere having a center of gravity of the in-pipe survey floating device 1.

In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the attitude control means 200 is connected to at least one end side of the rope 220 connected to the side surface (the portion indicated by the arrow A) of the main body 100 and the other end side of the rope 220. , The sea anchor 210 that leads the main body 100 and flows through the sewage 890.
The sea anchor 210 has an elliptical spherical shape (rugby ball type), and can move above the sewage 890 above the main body 100 while generating buoyancy with respect to the sewage 890. That is, the sea anchor 210 is configured to have a lower specific density than the main body 100. This point will be described in detail later.
When controlling the main body 100 having a diameter of 150 MM, the shape of the sea anchor 210 is, for example, a rugby ball type having a major axis of 30 MM and a minor axis of 10 MM. Further, the length of the rope 220 is set so that the separation distance between the main body 100 and the sea anchor 210 is 500 MM.

By configuring the sea anchor 210 to lead the main body 100 as described above, the sea anchor 210 can pull the main body 100 in the direction in which the sewage 890 flows.

As described above, in this embodiment, the sea anchor 210 is configured to float more easily in the sewage 890 than the main body 100.
More specifically, the sea anchor 210 can capture the flow of the sewage 890 flowing through the pipe 811, and as shown in FIG. 1, the draft depth D2 of the sea anchor 210 becomes the draft depth D1 of the main body 100. On the other hand, it is preferable that the sea anchor 210 is set differently so that the sea anchor 210 flows ahead of the main body 100.
When the sewer pipe 810 is cross-sectionally viewed on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the sewer pipe 810, the flow velocity of the sewage 890 varies depending on the location (location near the water surface, location below the water surface, location in contact with the inner wall of the sewer pipe, etc.). It's different. In this embodiment, the draft depth D2 of the sea anchor 210 is set according to such a difference in flow velocity. For example, the draft depth D1 of the main body 100 is set so that the contact surface between the main body 100 and the sewage 890 mainly contacts a place where the flow velocity is slow (for example, a deep portion when viewed from the water surface), while the draft depth of the sea anchor 210 is set. D2 is set so that the contact surface between the sea anchor 210 and the sewage 890 mainly contacts a place where the flow velocity is high (for example, a portion shallow when viewed from the water surface).

In this embodiment, the attitude control means 200 includes a rope 220 and a sea anchor 210 connected to the main body 100 by the rope 220, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the attitude control means 200 may be in close contact with the outer surface of the main body 100, or may be inside the main body 100, as long as the main body 100 can contribute to floating the upper hemisphere while maintaining the water surface position of the sewage 890 as much as possible. It may be embedded in.

(9) Radio wave transmitting means 170
In addition to the above configuration, the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 further includes a radio wave transmitting means 170 that transmits radio waves from the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 to the outside.
As will be described later, the radio wave transmitting means 170 transmits radio waves of any specification as long as it is a predetermined radio wave capable of specifying the section (location) of the sewerage pipeline in which the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is currently flowing. It may be. Moreover, the circuit configuration and the like may be any.

In this embodiment, the radio wave transmitting means 170 is configured with a beacon that always emits a predetermined radio wave (labeled radio wave). As shown in FIG. 5, the radio wave transmitting means 170 includes a transmitting circuit 166 for transmitting a labeled radio wave and a built-in antenna 167 connected to the transmitting circuit 166 to output a labeled radio wave.
In this embodiment, the radio wave transmitting means 170 is configured to always transmit a labeled radio wave, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the approach of the manhole 800 is detected by some method and the manhole 800 is detected. It may be configured to transmit radio waves only while passing in the vicinity.

2. Method of using the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment The in-pipe investigation floating device 1 can be typically used as follows.
It is assumed that the sewer line between the upstream manhole and the downstream manhole is investigated.
The in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is thrown in from the upstream manhole, and the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is dropped into the inside 811 of the sewer pipe. The in-pipe survey floating device 1 floats with the flow of sewage 890. When the in-pipe survey floating device 1 floats, the attitude of the main body 100 (particularly the camera 130) is maintained by the attitude control means 200. While the floating device 1 for in-pipe investigation floats, the state of the inside of the pipe 811 (at least the inner wall 818) is photographed by the camera 130, and each image data output by the photographing is acquired based on the time data, the acceleration data, and the like. It is associated (linked) with the position data.
In the downstream manhole, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 is collected. Each image data stored in the storage device 163 of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 is analyzed to analyze the existence and degree of defects in the in-pipe 811. When it is determined that a defect exists, the position where the defect exists is specified based on the position data associated with the image data.

Further, among the sewerage pipelines to be investigated, in the intermediate manhole located between the upstream manhole and the downstream manhole, the in-pipe investigation floating flow is captured by capturing the marker radio wave transmitted by the in-pipe investigation floating device 1. By detecting that the device 1 has passed near the manhole and thereby grasping the section where the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 exists, the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is steadily recovered.
The details will be described in the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment.

3. 3. Effect of In-pipe Survey Floating Device 1 According to First Embodiment (1) In-pipe Survey Floating Device 1 photographs the light 120 that illuminates the inside of the pipe 811 and the state of the inside of the pipe 811 (at least the inner wall 818), and obtains the data by photographing. The camera 130 that outputs the obtained image data, the timer 162 that outputs the time data for associating the position data of the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 with each image data, and the acceleration of the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 are measured. Accommodates an accelerometer 140 that outputs acceleration data, a storage device 163 that stores time data, acceleration data, and image data, and at least a camera 130, a timer 162, an accelerometer 140, and a storage device 163, and is used for in-service investigation. A casing 110 that defines the outer shape of the main body 100 of the floating device 1 and an attitude control means 200 are provided. Further, the casing 110 includes a photographing window 113 provided corresponding to at least a part of the angle of view photographed by the camera 130 and through which light from the outside passes.
The attitude control means 200 controls the attitude of the main body 100 so as to keep the camera 130 and the photographing window 113 above the water surface of the sewage 890.

Since the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 is configured in this way, buoyancy can be obtained by the casing 110, and when it is dropped into the in-pipe 811, it floats together with the sewage 890. The in-pipe survey floating device 1 sequentially photographs the state of the in-pipe 811 illuminated by the light 120 (at least the inner wall 818) through the photographing window 113 while floating, and stores the photographed image data in the storage device 163. Let me.
Therefore, even if a human (investigator) does not dive into the pipe 811 and does not operate the camera 130 or the like on the ground, the state of the pipe can be photographed along the natural flow of the in-pipe investigation floating device 1.
Therefore, it is possible to carry out a simple and efficient survey as compared with the conventional technique for surveying the inside of a sewer pipe.

Further, the attitude control means 200 can appropriately maintain the attitude of the main body 100 (the camera 130 is built in), and the camera 130 is always approximately the same with respect to the axis of the sewer pipe 810 (the direction in which the sewage 890 flows down). The same angle in the direction can be maintained, and the state inside the pipe can be stably photographed under the same conditions.
Further, the in-pipe survey floating device 1 moves the in-pipe 811 along with the flow of the sewage 890 and sequentially takes an image, and the state of the in-pipe 811 (particularly the inner wall 818) can be photographed from a close position. Therefore, it is possible to confirm the existence or nonexistence of defects (damage, deterioration, etc.) and grasp the degree thereof with high accuracy, and it is possible to dramatically reduce the risk of overlooking the location where the defect has occurred.
Furthermore, since each image data obtained by shooting is associated (linked) with the position data calculated by the accelerometer 140, timer 162, etc., the analysis of the sewerage pipeline being investigated is separately performed. Even when doing so, the position of the sewerage pipeline where the defect (damage, deterioration, etc.) exists can be easily identified. That is, the position of the defective part can be specified with high accuracy.
Therefore, it is possible to perform a highly accurate survey as compared with the conventional technique for surveying the inside of a sewer pipe.

From the above, according to the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment, it is possible to survey the inside of the sewer pipe more easily, accurately and efficiently than in the conventional case.

(2) The camera 130 is an omnidirectional camera 130A. Since image information in a wide angle range can be obtained by the spherical camera 130A, the risk of overlooking defects (damage, deterioration, etc.) can be reduced, and the presence or absence of defects (damage, deterioration, etc.) can be confirmed and the degree thereof. The accuracy can be improved.

(3) The attitude control means 200 includes, at least, a rope 220 whose one end is connected to the side surface of the main body 100, and a sea anchor 210 which is connected to the other end side of the rope 220 and leads the main body 100 to flow sewage 890. It is composed of.
Since the sea anchor 210 is configured to lead the main body 100 in this way, the sea anchor 210 unilaterally pulls the side surface of the main body 100 (near A in FIG. 1). Then, while keeping the main body 100 substantially horizontal, the straight line connecting AB in FIG. 1 substantially coincides with the axis of the sewer pipe 810 (the direction in which the sewage 890 flows down), and the side surface indicated by A. Since the side is always pulled in the downward direction, the main body 100 can be more reliably maintained in an appropriate posture.

(4) Further, the sea anchor 210 is configured to float more easily in the sewage 890 than the main body 100.
Because of this configuration, the flow velocity is relatively higher on the bottom and side surfaces of the sea anchor 210 than in the location of the sewage 890 (where the bottom and side surfaces of the main body 100 come into contact with the sewage 890) (the location when viewed as a cross section). It can be brought into contact with the location of the fast sewage 890 (the shallow part seen from the water surface). Therefore, the sea anchor 210 can lead the main body 100 more appropriately, and the posture of the main body 100 can be maintained more appropriately.

(5) The main body 100 of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 has a spherical shape, and the photographing window 113 is configured to form at least a part of the outer shell of the upper hemisphere of the spherical main body 100.
Since the main body 100 is spherical and has few catching parts, even if there are obstacles (earth and sand, mortar, oils and fats, tree roots, etc.) in the pipe 811, the main body 100 (and by extension, the floating device 1 for in-pipe investigation) is relatively certain. ) Can flow to the downstream manhole. Further, since at least a part of the outer shell of the upper hemisphere is used as the photographing window 113, the camera 130 can photograph the inside of the tube 811 through the photographing window 113 as long as the posture of the main body 100 is maintained. ..

(6) The in-pipe investigation floating device 1 further includes a radio wave transmitting means 170 for transmitting radio waves from the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 to the outside.
Since the radio wave transmitting means 170 transmits radio waves to the outside like a beacon, for example, the location of the jurisdiction survey floating device 1 can be specified by catching such radio waves. As a result, the recovery of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 can be ensured (details of the position identification / recovery of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 will be described later).

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the in-pipe survey floating device 2 according to the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 7 shows a schematic view showing the configuration of the in-pipe survey floating device 2 according to the second embodiment and an example of its use. In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used for the components having the same basic configurations and features as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The in-pipe investigation floating device 2 according to the second embodiment basically has the same configuration as the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment, but the first embodiment further includes an auxiliary light 300. It is different from the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the above.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the in-pipe survey floating device 2 according to the second embodiment has an auxiliary light 300 separate from the main body 100 in addition to the light 120 (LED 120A) built in the main body 100. Be prepared.
The auxiliary light 300 may be any material as long as it generates buoyancy when put into sewage 890 and emits light by itself. For example, a light ball 310 can be adopted.

In the in-pipe survey floating device 2, the auxiliary light 300 (light ball 310) is coupled to the main body 100 so that it can float together with the main body 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, on the front side (downstream side; see reference numeral A in FIG. 7) of the main body 100, the main body 100, the auxiliary light 300, and the sea anchor 210 are connected in series via a rope 220. It has become.
In addition to this, it is more preferable to further include a configuration in which the main body 100 and the auxiliary light 300 are connected via a rope 220 on the rear side (upstream side; see reference numeral B in FIG. 7) of the main body 100.

Since the in-pipe survey floating device 2 according to the second embodiment has such a configuration, in addition to the light 120 (LED 120A) built in the main body 100, an auxiliary light emitting source is provided at a position away from the main body 100. The light 300 can be floated. Then, it is possible to illuminate the inside of the pipe located far from the camera 130, and it is possible to take a clearer picture of the inside of the pipe located far from the camera 130. This makes it possible to further improve the accuracy of the survey.

The in-pipe survey floating device 2 according to the second embodiment has basically the same configuration as the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment, except that the auxiliary light 300 is further provided. .. Therefore, among the effects of the in-pipe survey floating device 1 according to the first embodiment, the corresponding effect is similarly exhibited.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the jurisdiction survey system 10 according to the third embodiment will be described.
FIG. 8 shows a configuration diagram of the jurisdiction survey system 10 according to the third embodiment. Specifically, the cross section when the underground and the ground are cut in the vertical direction along the axis of the sewer pipe is shown. In the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment are used with the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

1. 1. Configuration of Jurisdiction Survey System 10 According to Third Embodiment As shown in FIG. 8, the jurisdiction survey system 10 according to the third embodiment has at least three or more manholes (manholes 800X, 800A, 800B, 800C in FIG. 8). , 800Y) is an in-pipe investigation system that investigates the internal properties of the sewer pipe 810 in the sewer pipeline.
The in-pipe investigation system 10 according to the third embodiment includes in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2, an in-hall antenna 550, and a receiving device 500.

The in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 here are the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment or the in-pipe investigation floating device 2 according to the second embodiment, and particularly having a radio wave transmitting means 170. Is assumed.
The in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 are configured to transmit a labeled radio wave to the outside by a radio wave transmitting means 170 at least when passing near a manhole.

The antenna 550 in the hall is arranged in the vertical hole 805 of the manhole 800.
In FIG. 8, the intermediate manholes 800A and 800B located between the upstream manhole 800X for inserting the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 and the downstream manhole 800Y for collecting the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2, It is arranged in each vertical hole 805 of 800C.

The receiving device 500 is connected to the antenna 550 in the hall and receives the radio waves captured by the antenna 550 in the hall. For example, the receiving device 500 is arranged on the ground so as to correspond to the above-mentioned intermediate manholes 800A, 800B, 800C. It should be noted that the set of the antenna 550 in the hall and the receiving device 500 does not prevent the set from being arranged in the upstream manhole 800X and the downstream manhole 800Y.

When the receiving device 500 receives the labeled radio wave, the receiving device 500 is configured to output the passage information of the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 based on the reception of the labeled radio wave.
The "output of passing information" may be performed by any method. For example, it may be output to an indicator, a display such as a display panel, an audio device such as a buzzer, or the like. In this case, the ground surveyor can visually recognize the passage, and can grasp which of the sections SC1, SC2, SC3, and SC4 the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 are located.
Further, the "output of passing information" may be output to the centralized management terminal 610 via wireless communication (example of FIG. 8) or wired communication by the transmitting device. In FIG. 8, as the receiving device 500, a relay device including a transmitting device (unsigned) for transmitting various information to a PC or the like by communication is introduced in addition to the receiving function. Reference numerals 510A, 510B, and 510C indicate an aerial antenna connected to such a transmitter. With such a configuration, while the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 recognize the passage by the display panel or the like of the centralized management terminal 610, the section in which the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 reside is grasped. be able to.

2. Effect of the jurisdiction survey system 10 according to the third embodiment The jurisdiction survey system 10 has the above configuration. Therefore, every time the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 pass near the intermediate manholes 800A, 800B, 800C, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are in the section immediately before the intermediate manholes 800A, 800B, 800C. It can be recognized that the manhole has passed through SC1, SC2, and SC3 safely and arrived at the manhole in the middle (passage information of the floating device for in-pipe investigation). In other words, it is possible to grasp in which section the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are currently resident.
The following measures can be taken by utilizing the passage information of the in-pipe survey floating device. For example, if the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 cannot be detected in the downstream manhole 800Y even after a predetermined time has passed, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are staying in any of the upstream sections. It can be inferred. In that case, based on the passage information of the in-pipe investigation floating device, identify the section where the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 and 2 resides, and inspect and take measures centering on the specified section (for example, sewerage pipeline). By forcibly flowing down the inside using a high-pressure injection device or the like), the floating flow devices 1 and 2 for in-pipe investigation can be reliably recovered.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, the in-service investigation method according to the fourth embodiment will be described.
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the jurisdiction investigation method according to the fourth embodiment. In the following description, refer to FIG. 8 and the like as appropriate in addition to FIG. Among the constituent requirements in the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment, the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment, the in-pipe investigation floating device 2 according to the second embodiment, and the in-pipe investigation system according to the third embodiment. For the explanation of what is common to the constituent requirements of the above, the explanations in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment are incorporated.

1. 1. Configuration of In-pipe Investigation Method According to Fourth Embodiment The in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment is an in-pipe investigation method for investigating the properties of the inside 811 of the sewer pipe 810. The in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment conducts an investigation using the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment or the in-pipe investigation floating device 2 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment includes at least an in-pipe investigation floating device charging step S10, an in-pipe image acquisition step S20, and an in-pipe defect analysis step S50. In addition to this, an in-pipe investigation floating device recovery step S40 may be included between the in-pipe image acquisition step S20 and the in-pipe defect analysis step S50.

In the in-pipe investigation floating device charging step S10, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are charged from the upstream manhole (manhole 800X in FIG. 8) to the inside 811 of the sewer pipe.

In the in-pipe image acquisition step S20, in the inside 811 of the sewer pipe, while floating the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2, the inside of the pipe 811 is illuminated by the light 120, and at least the inner wall 818 of the inside of the pipe 811 is photographed by the camera 130. The data is collected, and the time data output by the timer 162 and the image data output by the camera 130 together with the acceleration data output by the accelerometer 140 are stored in the storage device 163.

The in-pipe survey floating device recovery step S40 collects the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 that have floated in the downstream manhole (manhole 800Y in FIG. 8).

The in-pipe defect analysis step S50 reads out the image data, the time data, and the acceleration data stored in the storage devices 163 of the collected in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2. In addition, each image data is analyzed to analyze the existence and degree of defects in the pipe 811. Further, when it is determined that a defect exists in the screen of the image data, the data calculated based on the time data and the acceleration data and linked to the image data is used as the position data. Based on this, identify the location where the defect exists.

In addition to the above, the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment preferably has the following configuration. That is, it is preferable to carry out the existence section grasping step S30 in parallel with the in-pipe image acquisition step S20 prior to the in-pipe investigation floating device recovery step S40 (see FIG. 9).

Specifically, it is as follows. First, as a premise, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are further provided with radio wave transmitting means 170 for transmitting radio waves to the outside, and each of the intermediates located between the upstream manhole 800X and the downstream manhole 800Y. In the manholes 800A, 800B, 800C, an antenna 550 in the hall is arranged in the vertical hole 805, and a receiving device 500 for receiving the radio wave captured by the antenna 550 in the hall is arranged corresponding to each manhole. (See FIG. 8).

At this time, in the in-pipe image acquisition step S20, in parallel with causing the in-pipe investigation levitation devices 1 and 2 to perform image collection, the radio wave transmitting means 170 transmits the labeled radio wave from the in-pipe investigation levitation devices 1 and 2 to the outside. Make a call to.
Further, in parallel with the in-pipe image acquisition step S20, the existence section grasping step S30 (see FIG. 9) is executed. In the existing section grasping step S30, the receiving device 500 captures the labeled radio waves transmitted from the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2, and the passing information indicating that the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 have passed near the manhole. Is output to grasp the section where the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 exist.
Then, in the above-mentioned in-pipe investigation floating device recovery step S40, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are collected from the manhole based on the existing sections of the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 grasped in the existence section grasping step S30. do.

2. Effects of the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment (1) The in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment is the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment and the in-pipe investigation floating device 2 according to the second embodiment. Is assumed to be used. Therefore, among the effects obtained by the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 according to the first embodiment and / or the in-pipe investigation floating device 2 according to the second embodiment, the corresponding effect is similarly exhibited.

(2) Further, in the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are provided with radio wave transmitting means 170, and antennas in the hall are provided so as to correspond to the intermediate manholes 800A, 800B, 800C. A 550 and a receiving device 500 are arranged, and then, in the in-pipe image collecting step S20, the radio wave transmitting means 170 transmits a labeled radio wave, and in the existence section grasping step S30, the receiving device 500 captures the labeled radio wave in the vicinity of the manhole. The passage information indicating that the vehicle has passed is output (see also FIG. 8).
Since the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment has such a configuration, every time the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 pass near the intermediate manholes 800A, 800B, 800C, the in-pipe investigation floating device It can be recognized that 1 and 2 have successfully passed through the sections SC1, SC2 and SC3 immediately before the intermediate manhole and arrived at the intermediate manhole (passage information of the in-pipe investigation floating device). In other words, it is possible to grasp in which section the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 are currently resident.
Therefore, for example, if the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 cannot be detected in the downstream manhole 800Y even after a predetermined time has passed, the in-pipe investigation floating device 1 and 2 are based on the passage information of the in-pipe investigation floating device. By identifying the section in which 1 and 2 reside, and inspecting and treating the identified section as the center, the floating devices 1 and 2 for in-pipe investigation can be reliably recovered.

The jurisdiction survey method based on the radio wave transmitting means 170 and the like here is premised on using the jurisdiction survey system 10 according to the third embodiment. Therefore, the jurisdiction survey method according to the fourth embodiment similarly exhibits the corresponding effect among the effects obtained by the jurisdiction survey system 10 according to the third embodiment.

[Other Embodiments]
Although the present invention has been described above based on each of the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. It can be carried out in various aspects within a range that does not deviate from the purpose, and for example, the following modifications can be carried out.

The main body 100 of the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 in each embodiment has a configuration in which the camera 130 is arranged near the center of the casing 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as in the main body 100B shown in FIG. 10A, the camera 130B may be arranged so that the lens is in contact with the inner surface of the canopy-shaped upper casing 112. The observation window 113B in this case is in the range shown in the figure. Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, a portion of the canopy-shaped upper casing 112C notched out may be used as an observation window 113C, and the lens 134C of the camera 130C may be fitted into the notched portion. good.
Note that FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the main bodies 100B and 100C according to other embodiments. Further, in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a cavity C is formed inside the upper casings 112 and 112C, and the cavity C remains, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a predetermined material may be molded in the portion corresponding to the cavity C.

As the outer shape of the main body 100 of the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 in each embodiment, a substantially true sphere has been illustrated and described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may have a so-called capsule shape or an annular so-called donut shape.

In the explanation of the in-pipe investigation method according to the fourth embodiment using FIGS. 8 and 9, the explanation has been made on the premise that the in-pipe investigation floating device recovery step S40 is executed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. An in-pipe investigation method that does not execute the in-pipe investigation floating device recovery step S40 can also be adopted. For example, when the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 pass through a predetermined manhole, the in-pipe investigation floating devices 1 and 2 carry the above-mentioned image data, time data, and acceleration data on the radio waves by the radio wave transmitting means 170. A configuration is adopted in which the radio wave is transmitted to the outside and the receiving device 500 receives the radio wave. By adopting such a configuration, when the in-pipe survey floating devices 1 and 2 pass through a predetermined manhole, necessary data can be sucked up, so that the in-pipe survey floating device recovery step S40 is not executed. It is also possible to investigate the inside of the jurisdiction.

1, 2, ... In-pipe survey floating device, 10 ... In-pipe survey system, 100, 100B, 100C ... Main body (of the in-pipe survey floating device), 110 ... Casing, 112 ... Upper casing, 113, 113B, 113C ... Observation window, 114 ... Lower casing, 120 ... Light, 120A ... LED, 130, 130B, 130C ... Camera, 130A ... All-sky camera, 132 ... Imaging element, 134, 134C ... Lens, 134A ... Fish-eye lens, 140 ... Accelerometer, 140A ... Accelerometer, 150 ... Power storage device, 150A ... Battery, 160 ... Controller, 161 ... Processor, 162 ... Timer, 162A ... RTC, 163 ... Storage device, 163A ... Memory, 164 ... Interface circuit, 165 ... Power supply circuit, 166 ... Transmission Circuit, 167 ... Built-in antenna, 168 ... Bus, 170 ... Radio wave transmitting means, 200 ... Attitude control means, 210 ... Sea anchor, 220 ... Rope, 300 ... Auxiliary light, 310 ... Light ball, 500 ... Receiver device, 550 ... Hall Inner antenna, 610 ... Centralized management terminal, 800, 800A, 800B, 800C, 800X, 800Y ... Manhole, 805 ... Vertical hole (of manhole), 810, 981 ... Sewer pipe, 811, 982 ... Inside the sewer pipe (inside the pipe), 818, 988 ... Inner wall (of sewer pipe), 890 ... Sewage, 900 ... Self-propelled TV camera, 913 ... TV camera, 920 ... Remote control cable, 950 ... Ground controller, 953 ... Manual operation unit, 954 ... Ground monitor

Claims (8)

It is a floating device for in-pipe investigation that can float the sewage in the pipe to investigate the properties inside the sewer pipe.
A light that illuminates the inside of the pipe and
A camera that photographs at least the inner wall of the tube and outputs the image data obtained by the imaging.
A timer that outputs time data for associating each of the image data with the position data of the in-pipe survey floating device, and
An accelerometer that measures the acceleration of the in-pipe survey floating device and outputs acceleration data,
A storage device that stores the time data, the acceleration data, and the image data,
A casing that houses at least the camera, the timer, the accelerometer, and the storage device, and defines the outer shape of the main body of the in-pipe survey floating device.
At least, an attitude control means including a rope whose one end side is connected to the side surface of the main body and a sea anchor which is connected to the other end side of the rope and leads the main body to flow through the sewage.
The casing is provided with a shooting window corresponding to at least a part of the angle of view shot by the camera and through which light from the outside passes.
The attitude control means is a floating device for in-pipe investigation, which controls the attitude of the main body so as to keep the camera and the photographing window above the water surface of the sewage. In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to claim 1,
The sea anchor is a floating device for in-pipe investigation, which is configured to float more easily in the sewage than the main body. In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to claim 1 or 2.
The camera is a floating device for in-pipe investigation, characterized in that it is an omnidirectional camera. In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The main body has a spherical shape, and the light and the camera are provided inside the upper hemisphere.
The photographing window is a floating device for in-pipe investigation, characterized in that it forms at least a part of the outer shell of the upper hemisphere. In the in-pipe investigation floating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
A floating device for in-pipe investigation, characterized in that it is further provided with a radio wave transmitting means for transmitting radio waves from the floating device for in-pipe investigation to the outside. An in-pipe investigation system that investigates the internal properties of sewer pipes in sewer pipes that continuously follow at least three manholes.
The floating device for in-pipe investigation according to claim 5,
An antenna in the hall arranged in the vertical hole of the manhole and
A receiving device connected to the hall antenna and receiving radio waves captured by the hall antenna is provided.
The in-pipe survey floating device, at least when passing near the manhole, transmits a labeled radio wave to the outside by the radio wave transmitting means.
The receiving device is an in-pipe investigation system characterized in that when it receives the labeled radio wave, it outputs the passage information of the floating device for in-pipe investigation based on the reception of the labeled radio wave. An in-pipe investigation method for investigating the internal properties of a sewer pipe using the in-pipe investigation floating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A step of injecting the in-pipe investigation levitation device from the manhole into the inside of the sewer pipe, and a step of injecting the in-pipe investigation levitation device.
Inside the sewer pipe, while floating the in-pipe investigation floating device, the inside of the pipe is illuminated by the light, at least the inner wall of the pipe is photographed by the camera to collect image data, and the timer outputs the above. An in-pipe image collection step of storing the time data and the image data output by the camera together with the acceleration data output by the accelerometer in the storage device.
The image data, the time data, and the acceleration data stored in the storage device are read out, each of the image data is analyzed to analyze the existence and degree of the defect in the pipe, and the defect is displayed on the screen based on the image data. If it is determined that there is a defect, an in-pipe defect analysis step for identifying the position where the defect exists based on the position data calculated based on the time data and the acceleration data, and an in-pipe defect analysis step.
A method for investigating the inside of a sewer pipe, which comprises. In the jurisdiction investigation method according to claim 7,
The in-pipe survey floating device is further provided with radio wave transmitting means for transmitting radio waves to the outside, and each intermediate manhole located between the upstream manhole and the downstream manhole has a vertical hole in the hole. An antenna is arranged, and a receiving device for receiving radio waves captured by the antenna in the hall is arranged.
In the in-pipe image acquisition step, the in-pipe survey floating device is made to collect the image data, and the radio wave transmitting means is used to transmit a labeled radio wave from the in-pipe survey floating device to the outside.
The receiving device captures the labeled radio wave transmitted from the pipe investigation floating device, outputs passage information indicating that the pipe investigation floating device has passed near the manhole, and outputs the passage information indicating that the pipe investigation floating device has passed the vicinity of the manhole. An in-service survey method characterized by executing an existence section grasping step for grasping a section in which a device exists.

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