KR102217681B1 - Underground medium detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device that detects a leak of a liquid leaked from an underground sinkhole or a water pipe or an oil pipe. In the sensing device of the present invention, a plurality of receiving devices located on the ground simultaneously receive an ultrasonic signal transmitted from a transmitting device installed underground and a radio frequency (RF) signal synchronized with the ultrasonic signal. In addition, by measuring the arrival time of the ultrasonic signal using the wireless signal received by each receiving device as a triggering signal, the leak range of the liquid leaked from the pupil, water pipe or oil pipe located on the signal path between the transmitting device and the receiving device is detected. do.

Description

Underground medium change detection device {UNDERGROUND MEDIUM DETECTING DEVICE}

The present invention relates to a sensing system, and more particularly, to an apparatus for detecting changes in an underground medium using an arrival time of an ultrasonic signal.

A patent on a method of measuring a location using a difference in transmission time is disclosed in US published patent US 2014/00112104 A1 (ultrasonic location using only time difference of arrival measurements). The above invention discloses a method of measuring a location using a transmission delay time of an ultrasonic signal.

In addition, studies on the measurement of water leakage in underground pipelines are actively being conducted. T. Hao (Condition assessment of the buried utility service infrastructure, Tunneling and Underground Space Technology 28 (2012) 331-344) has initiated a study on methods to detect leaks in various pipelines.

However, the above patents and technologies mainly have a concept of a method of calculating a position according to an ultrasonic signal delay time, but do not disclose a method of calculating a distribution range of an underground medium by using it together with an electromagnetic wave.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for detecting a change in an underground medium that detects the distribution range, that is, the thickness and width, of a liquid existing in the basement due to leakage of a liquid leaked from a pupil or a water pipe or an oil pipe. have.

In the underground medium detection device according to the present invention, a plurality of receiving devices located on the ground simultaneously receive an ultrasonic signal transmitted from a transmitting device installed underground and an RF signal synchronized with the ultrasonic signal, and a delay between the two signals received for each receiving device Time is measured and based on this, the distribution range of the underground medium, such as the leak range of the liquid leaked from the pupil or water pipe or oil pipe located on the signal path between the transmitting device and the receiving device, is obtained.

The underground medium change detection device of the present invention includes an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver unit capable of measuring an underground pupil or leakage phenomenon using a signal delay between an ultrasonic signal and an RF signal, and a module structure in which the wireless circuit unit and the power unit are integrated. As manufacturing is possible, when connected to a sensor network, water leakage can be detected remotely in real time. In addition, the existing leak detection device may not detect the amount of leakage even when it rains or the amount of leakage is small, so it may malfunction, but this technology measures the range of leakage caused by leakage, so the reliability is high. In addition, since only the delivery device needs to be buried underground, it is inexpensive and simple to install, so that the installation cost can be reduced. By accumulating and observing data, the occurrence of pupils can also be detected, thus preventing disasters caused by pupils.

1 is a view showing an example of an ultrasonic leak detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a change in speed according to a medium in the apparatus for detecting a water leak using ultrasonic waves according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exemplary signal waveform diagram according to FIG. 2.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, it should be noted that only parts necessary to understand the operation according to the present invention will be described, and descriptions of other parts will be omitted so as not to obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

In the present invention, when a synchronized ultrasonic signal and an RF signal are transmitted from a transmitter installed underground, a plurality of receivers located on the ground surface receive it, and the radio signal received for each receiver is used as a triggering signal, and the arrival time of the received ultrasonic signal The present invention relates to a method for detecting a leak of a liquid leaked from a pupil or a water pipe or an oil pipe located on a signal path between a transmitting device and a receiving device based on this measurement.

The present invention simultaneously transmits an RF signal synchronized with an ultrasonic signal from a transmitter located underground, receives these two signals from a receiver, and utilizes the difference in delay time between the two signals to determine the size of a liquid or space existing on the signal path. This method is characterized by calculating the structure, and because of the nature of the structure, the part connected by wire between the transmitting device and the receiving device can be eliminated, so that the installation is simple and the structure is simple. It has the advantage of doing it. In addition, since it does not detect the presence or absence of a liquid like the existing moisture sensor, but uses a physical phenomenon in which the speed of the ultrasonic wave varies depending on the medium such as liquid, solid, gas, etc., not only the distance information but also the distribution of the underground medium is known. Has the advantage of being able to

An object of the present invention is to implement a method of detecting a distribution range of a liquid existing underground, that is, a thickness and a width, due to leakage of a liquid leaked from a pupil existing underground, a water pipe or an oil pipeline. To this end, the underground medium detection device is composed of a transmitting device installed underground and a receiving device installed on the ground. The underground transmission device includes an ultrasonic transceiver, a circuit part related to wireless communication and ultrasonic transmission/reception, and a power supply unit that supplies power including a secondary battery. The ground receiving apparatus installed on the ground surface includes an ultrasonic transceiver, a circuit part related to wireless communication and ultrasonic transmission/reception, and a power supply unit that supplies power including a secondary battery, and the power may be directly supplied by wire.

In the ultrasonic application device according to the present invention, an ultrasonic signal transmitted from a transmitter installed underground and an RF signal synchronized with the ultrasonic signal are simultaneously received by a plurality of receivers located on the ground, and a delay between the two signals received for each receiver It is characterized by a method of determining the distribution range of the underground medium, such as the leakage range of the liquid leaked from the pupil or water pipe or oil pipe located on the signal path between the transmitting device and the receiving device based on this measurement of time.

By using the signal delay phenomenon between the synchronized ultrasonic signal and the RF signal through the present invention, the fabrication of an ultrasonic transceiving unit capable of measuring an underground pupil or leakage phenomenon, and an ultrasonic transceiving system having a module structure in which the wireless circuit unit and battery unit are integrated is implemented. It is possible, so when connected to the sensor network, water leakage can be detected remotely in real time. In addition, the existing leak detection device may not detect the amount of leakage even when it rains or the amount of leakage is small, which may cause malfunction, but this technology measures the range of leakage due to leakage, so the reliability is high. In addition, since only the transmission device needs to be buried underground, it is inexpensive and simple to install, so that the installation cost can be reduced. By accumulating and observing the data, it is possible to detect the occurrence of pupils, which has the effect of preventing disasters caused by pupils in advance.

The speed of sound waves propagating by medium is 330 m/s in air, 1450 m/s in water, and 5000 m/s in granite. By calculating the speed of sound and the time of flight (TOF) of this medium, the distance between the two positions can be determined. At this time, the transmission speed of the electromagnetic wave signal is the same as the speed of light and is constant regardless of the medium, but the transmission speed of the ultrasonic signal varies depending on the medium existing in the signal path. As a method of obtaining such a transmission rate, a threshold detector method, an envelope estimation method, a frequency recognition method and a phase shift method may be applied.

1 is a diagram illustrating an ultrasonic leak detection apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an ultrasonically applied leak detection device may include, for example, an ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 and an ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100.

The ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 may be located on the ground surface. The ultrasonic/wireless receiver 100 may include an ultrasonic receiver 101 and a wireless transceiver 102.

An ultrasonic/wireless transmission device 200 is installed below the underground target, for example, the water pipe 600. The ultrasonic/wireless transmission device 200 may include an ultrasonic transmitter 201 and a wireless transmission/reception unit 202.

For convenience of understanding, the leaked liquid 500 is shown between the seams of the water pipe 600.

The ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 is located under the water pipe 600 and transmits an ultrasonic signal and an RF signal toward the ground surface.

The ultrasonic/wireless receiver 100 is arranged on at least one ground surface, and receives the ultrasonic signal and the RF signal transmitted from the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter 200.

The RF signal is used as a triggering signal in the ultrasonic/wireless receiver 100. The ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 measures the arrival time of the ultrasonic signal, and based on the magnitude of the sound velocity that varies depending on the component of the medium existing on the receiving path of the ultrasonic signal, the subterranean lipid located on the receiving path Detect the size of the components. As a result, in the case of FIG. 1, the size of the leak is detected.

Since a plurality of the ultrasonic/wireless receivers 100 are arranged on the ground surface at predetermined intervals, the size of the subsurface geological constituents can be detected in three dimensions.

The power of the ultrasonic/wireless transmission device 200 is provided from a primary battery and does not require external power, a structure for receiving power through a power line extending from the ground surface, or an ultrasonic wave or ultrasonic wave provided from the ground surface with a secondary battery. It may be a structure that is wirelessly charged through a magnetic field.

In addition, the power of the ultrasonic/wireless receiver 100 is similarly provided from a primary battery so that external power is not required, a structure in which power is received through a power line extended from a power supply device on the ground surface, or a secondary battery. It may have a structure that is wirelessly charged through an ultrasonic wave or a magnetic field provided by a power device on the ground surface.

The ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 may be configured to enable communication between receiving devices, and one of them may be connected to an external communication network through a sensor gateway to obtain operation and measurement data of the transmitting and receiving device from a remote location.

The ultrasonic/wireless receiver 100 communicates with the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter 200 by wireless or ultrasonic waves, and remotely converts the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter to a sleep mode or an operating mode. It can be configured to be able to do.

The ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 and the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 may be configured to automatically convert to a sleep mode when they are inactive for a predetermined period of time or more for power saving.

When there are more than one ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200, the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 may also be composed of one or more and may be combined with each other to detect a change in the medium of the underground target. In addition, in the case of more than one ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200, the frequency is different to identify the generating device for each transmission signal, or the number of the transmitting device is sent to the transmitted signal through the header portion of the signal to distinguish it from the receiving device. To be able to do it.

The ultrasonic signal is a signal in the form of a pulse wave or a sine wave, and the measurement of the arrival time may be obtained by using a difference between pulses of the ultrasonic signal and the RF signal or by using a difference between phases. .

The ultrasonic/wireless receiving apparatus 100 may be arranged in a plurality of concentric circles in a radial direction from the center or in a plurality of polygons including a square such as a checkerboard.

It is set based on the arrival time of the ultrasonic signal measured immediately after the installation of the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 and the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100, and the arrival time of the ultrasonic signal measured after a certain time and the set A change in the medium of the underground target located on the signal path may be detected by comparing the reference.

After calculating the ultrasonic velocity in the medium of the underground target through mathematical modeling, a difference in velocity due to the change in the underground medium may be measured to detect leakage, sinkhole (pupil), or contamination of the underground target.

The frequency of the RF signal may be increased or decreased according to the degree of attenuation on the ground, and may be a pulse wave type or a sine wave type signal.

2 is a diagram illustrating a change in speed according to a medium in an ultrasonic water leak detection apparatus according to the present invention. 3 is an exemplary signal waveform diagram according to FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, in an exemplary configuration (cross-sectional view) of an ultrasonic applied leak detection device, a water pipe 600 exists between the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 and the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100, and the water pipe 600 There is a leaked liquid 500 around the. When the ultrasonic signal and the RF signal synchronized by the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter 200 are transmitted as shown in FIG. 3, these signals are transmitted to the ultrasonic/wireless receivers 100, 300 and 400 along the paths of D1, D3 and D4, respectively.

인 흙에서는 초음파의 진행속도 및 전송시간을 각각 V1과 TOF1, 같은 매질에서 RF신호의 속도 및 전송시간을 각각 V2와 TOF2라고 하면, 이때 거리 D에서 총 지연 시간 ΔT 는 아래의 수학식 1에서 구할 수 있다.The density of the medium

In soil, suppose that the speed and transmission time of ultrasonic waves are V1 and TOF1, respectively, and the speed and transmission time of RF signals in the same medium are V2 and TOF2, respectively.At this time, the total delay time ΔT at distance D can be obtained from Equation 1 below. I can.

In the signal waveform of FIG. 3, S1 represents an RF signal, S3 represents an ultrasonic signal synchronized with the RF signal, S2 represents an RF signal transmitted through a transmission path, and G1 represents a leak, leakage, or sinkhole when there is no other medium. It shows the ultrasonic signal when it does not exist. G2 denotes a delayed (delayed) ultrasonic signal when there is another medium, that is, leakage, leakage, or sinkhole.

은 아래의 수학식 2를 통해 구할 수 있다.If the medium on the signal path is constant, such as D3, then the signal delay time

Can be obtained through Equation 2 below.

는 아래 수학식 3과 같이 구해진다. After the installation of the device, there is a space between the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 and the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 due to various causes, so that a pupil exists, or water exists due to a leak in the water pipe, so that the same path as D4 is If so, the signal delay time is

Is obtained as in Equation 3 below.

In this case, when D3 and D4 are the same path with the same distance, D4 = D3 = D41 + D42 + D43, and only means a path in which the medium is changed according to time.

에서

로 신호 전달시간이 지연된다면, 지연 시간만큼 매질의 변화에 따른 속도의 변화가 있었음을 알 수 있다. 이와 같이 초음파/무선 송출장치(200)와 초음파/무선 수신장치(100)간 초음파 신호 지연시간의 변화로 매질의 변화를 감지할 수 있다. 동공이 없는 경우의 시간지연

과 동공이 있는 경우의 시간지연

의 시간차가 동공의 크기를 결정한다.The ultrasonic signal delay time between the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 and the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100 is on the same path.

in

If the signal transmission time is delayed, it can be seen that there was a change in speed according to the change of the medium as much as the delay time. In this way, a change in the medium may be detected due to a change in the delay time of an ultrasonic signal between the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device 200 and the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device 100. Time delay when there is no pupil

Time delay when there is a pupil and

The difference in time determines the size of the pupil.

The ultrasonic signal delay time can be obtained by using the above time difference, but can also be obtained as a phase difference generated when a periodic wave such as a sine wave is used, which can be easily implemented by a person with basic knowledge in the field.

Meanwhile, although specific embodiments have been described in the detailed description of the present invention, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is limited to the above-described embodiments and should not be determined, but should be determined by the claims and equivalents of the present invention as well as the claims to be described later.

100: receiving device 101: ultrasonic receiver
102: wireless transceiver 300: water pipe
200: transmitting device 201: ultrasonic transmitter
202: wireless transceiver

Claims (15)

An ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device located under an underground target and transmitting an ultrasonic signal and an RF signal toward the ground surface; And
At least one ultrasonic/wireless receiver positioned on the ground surface above the underground target and receiving the ultrasonic signal and the RF signal transmitted from the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter,
Using the RF signal as a triggering signal and measuring the arrival time of the ultrasonic signal received by the ultrasonic/wireless receiver, based on the magnitude of the sound velocity that varies depending on the component of the medium existing on the receiving path of the ultrasonic signal A medium change detection device for detecting the size of an underground geological component located on the receiving path.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless receiving apparatus is arranged in a plurality on the ground surface at regular intervals to detect the size of the subsurface geological component in three dimensions.
The method of claim 2, wherein the ultrasonic signal is a signal in the form of a pulse wave or a sine wave, and the measurement of the arrival time uses a difference between pulses of the ultrasonic signal and the RF signal or a difference between phases. Medium change detection device obtained by.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless receiver is arranged in a concentric circle in a radial direction from the center or in a polygonal shape including a square such as a checkerboard.
The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device and the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device are set based on an arrival time of an ultrasonic signal measured immediately after installation, and an arrival time of the ultrasonic signal measured after a predetermined time and the set A medium change detection device for comparing a reference and detecting a change in a medium located between the underground target located on the signal path and the ground surface.
According to claim 1, After calculating the ultrasonic velocity in the medium located between the underground target and the ground surface through mathematical modeling, by measuring the difference in velocity of the change in the underground medium to detect leakage, pupil, or contamination of the underground target. Medium change detection device.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frequency of the RF signal can be increased or decreased according to a degree of attenuation on the ground, and is a signal in the form of a pulse wave or a sine wave.
The method of claim 1, wherein the power supply of the ultrasonic/wireless transmission device is provided from a primary battery so that external power is not required, a structure that receives power through a power line extending from the ground surface, or a secondary battery is provided on the ground surface. A medium change detection device with a structure that is wirelessly charged through an ultrasonic or magnetic field.
The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device enables wired and wireless communication between receiving devices, and one of them is connected to an external communication network through a sensor gateway so that operation and measurement data of the transmitting and receiving device can be obtained from a remote location. Medium change detection device.
The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device communicates with the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device wirelessly or ultrasonically, and remotely converts the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device into a sleep mode or an operating mode. A medium change detection device configured to be able to do so.
The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless receiver communicates wirelessly or ultrasonically with the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter, and periodically remotely operates the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter in a sleep mode. A medium change detection device configured to be capable of converting to and performing periodic measurements, and then remotely converting the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device to a sleep mode.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device and the ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device are configured to automatically convert to a sleep mode when they are inactive for a predetermined time or longer.
The number of the transmission device according to claim 12, wherein when there is more than one ultrasonic/wireless transmission device, the transmission time is different to distinguish the ultrasonic signal transmitted from each transmission device, or as a header signal at the front of the signal. A medium change detection device that transmits an ultrasonic signal by making it distinct.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when there are more than one ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device, the ultrasonic/wireless receiving device is also composed of one or more and is coupled to each other to detect a change in the medium of the underground target.
An ultrasonic/wireless transmitting device located under the water pipe and transmitting an ultrasonic signal and an RF signal toward the ground surface; And
Including two or more ultrasonic/wireless receivers positioned on the ground surface above the water pipe and receiving the ultrasonic signal and the RF signal transmitted from the ultrasonic/wireless transmitter,
A medium change detection device configured to detect the magnitude of a water pipe leak present on a receiving path of the ultrasonic signal by measuring an arrival time of the ultrasonic signal received by the ultrasonic/wireless receiver starting from the reception of the RF signal.

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