JP2005269378A - Marine information providing buoy for underwater, marine information communication system using the same and data management center for marine information communication - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a marine information providing buoy for underwater which can offer marine information to an underwater ship sailing underwater or the like and can be configured more easily. <P>SOLUTION: This marine information providing buoy for underwater is provided with marine information collecting means 213 and 215 for collecting marine information, a data processing means 211 for processing information including the marine information obtained by the marine information collecting means, and an underwater sound wave communicating means 221 for performing communication including transmitting information processed by the data processing means for underwater by a sound wave. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a marine communication system, and more particularly to an underwater marine information providing buoy that provides marine information, which is information on the sea and underwater, to an underwater ship that navigates underwater, a marine information communication system including the same, and marine information communication Data management center.

  Conventionally, a plurality of surface buoy stations communicate with a management station via a satellite, and a plurality of secondary stations are provided under each of the surface buoy stations, and a LAN is formed by the surface buoy stations and the secondary stations. There is a marine communication system that forms and collects ocean observation data in a secondary station and transmits the data to a management station via a surface buoy station and a satellite (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-79708

  However, heretofore, there has been no system for providing marine information to an underwater ship that navigates underwater. Also, with this type of conventional buoy, a special mechanism is required to keep the buoy antenna following the direction of the satellite, and when the elevation angle with respect to the satellite is low, the satellite and the buoy are caused by high waves and swells. There was a high possibility that communication between them would be interrupted. In addition, the configuration on the sea side including the buoy of the communication system is large and complicated, so that it is expensive and suitable for localization observation, but there is a problem in mobility. In order to simplify the structure of buoys, a low-orbit orbiting satellite is used, and the system can communicate with only a few opportunities and time when the satellite passes over the buoy, or several tens of satellites are prepared. There was a need to do.

  The present invention can provide marine information to an underwater ship or the like navigating underwater, and can use a buoy with a simpler configuration and further capable of more reliable communication with a satellite. A marine information communication system and a data management center for marine information communication are provided.

  The present invention includes a marine information collecting means for collecting marine information, a data processing means for processing information including marine information obtained by the marine information collecting means, and a method for processing information processed by the data processing means. An underwater marine information provision buoy characterized by comprising underwater acoustic wave communication means for performing communication including transmission by sound waves to underwater.

  In addition, a quasi-zenith satellite as a communication satellite capable of communicating at a higher elevation angle than a geostationary satellite, and ocean information is collected and communicated with the quasi-zenith satellite by an information communication means, and the marine information and the quasi-zenith satellite The marine information communication system includes at least one buoy floating on the sea that provides the information from the underwater acoustic communication means by sound waves to the underwater.

  In addition, the marine information is collected via the quasi-zenith satellite as a communication satellite capable of communicating at a larger elevation angle than that of the geostationary satellite, and the information communication means communicates with the quasi-zenith satellite, and the marine information and the quasi-zenith satellite. The information from the zenith satellite is communicated with at least one buoy floating on the sea that provides information by sound waves to the water by means of underwater acoustic wave communication means, and information for providing information to the water is sent to the buoy, and It is in a data management center for marine information communication provided on the ground for storing, processing and analyzing the marine information obtained by the buoy.

  In this invention, while providing marine information to an underwater ship or the like navigating underwater, a marine information providing buoy for underwater that can have a simpler buoy configuration and more reliable communication with a satellite, and an ocean using the same An information communication system and a data management center for marine information communication can be provided.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an underwater marine information provision buoy according to the present invention, a marine information communication system using the same, and a data management center for marine information communication. Marine information provision buoys 2a to 2d (hereinafter referred to as buoys, but not limited to four) for each underwater floating on the sea (may be moored). Oceanographic and underwater information obtained from communication means with various sensors for measurement, sonar, and satellites as marine information, and acoustic communication to underwater ships 1 such as submersibles and underwater exploration ships that navigate underwater from the underwater acoustic communication unit described below. Provided by. The underwater ship 1 that receives the information is equipped with an underwater acoustic communication unit 1a for performing acoustic communication with the buoys 2a to 2d in addition to a sonar (not shown) that is usually mounted. The buoys 2a to 2d, the quasi-zenith satellite 3 and the terrestrial data management center 4 constitute a network, and the data management center 4 collectively stores and processes the sea and underwater information collected by the buoys 2a to 2d. The buoys 2a to 2d are sent to the buoys 2a to 2d via the quasi-zenith satellite 3, and the information is provided to the underwater vessel 1 from the buoys 2a to 2d.

As shown in FIG. 2, the quasi-zenith satellite 3 is a communication satellite having three satellites 31 to 33 at positions EP1 to EP3 spaced apart from each other by approximately 120 degrees on the equator plane EP at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. each circular orbit Z ₁ to Z 3 across _(the height of the orbit same 35,800Km the geostationary satellite) was one round per day in accordance with the rotation of the earth EA, by adjusting the phase of each of turns, three aircraft As shown in FIG. 3, the satellites 31 to 33 are spaced apart from each other on an eight-shaped or teardrop-shaped orbit across the equator from the northern latitude on the earth to the middle latitude in the southern hemisphere. By switching and using three satellites, for example, in the vicinity of Japan, communication with a satellite can be performed at an elevation angle larger than that of a stationary satellite. The elevation angle of the quasi-zenith satellite differs depending on the region in which the phase of the rotation of the satellite is adjusted and communication is performed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of each buoy 2a-2d of the marine information communication system according to the present invention. Each of the buoys 2a to 2d has a common configuration, and a quasi-zenith satellite 3 for information communication and a GPS satellite 5 (not shown in FIG. 1) for knowing its position (positioning) and time on the earth. An information communication antenna 203 and a GPS antenna 205 for performing communication are provided on the upper surface of the buoy body 201 facing the satellite. A signal from the GPA antenna 205 is input to the data processing unit 211 via the GPS receiver 209. On the other hand, the data processing unit 211 communicates with the quasi-zenith satellite 3 via the information communication transceiver 207 and the information communication antenna 203. The data processing unit 211 includes marine observation information relating to temperature, water temperature, amount of solar radiation, wave intensity, etc. obtained from various sensors mounted on the buoy, a ship obtained from the active or passive sonar 215, and the underwater ship 1 shown in FIG. Underwater information such as the sound of a screw, the sound wave from any sound source in the water (underwater sound source), the seabed topography in the case of active sonar, the echo from a ship, a school of fish, etc. The underwater acoustic wave communication unit 221 performs communication using ultrasonic waves in the water, etc. between the underwater ship 1 and the ship 6 (see FIG. 1) each having the same underwater acoustic wave communication unit 1a, 6a, or between buoys. The underwater communication information transmitted / received thereby is also processed by the data processing unit 211. Note that electromagnetic waves may be used for underwater communication.

  The data processing unit 211 obtains a predetermined value by using the obtained information as it is or by performing predetermined processing and analysis, and provides these values from the underwater acoustic wave communication unit 221 to the underwater ship 1 and the like. It is converted into a communication signal by the information communication transceiver 207 and transmitted from the information communication antenna 203 to the quasi-zenith satellite 3. At that time, time and position information can be obtained from the quasi-zenith satellite 3 and the GPS satellite 5, and in some cases, other buoys necessary for data processing and analysis and various information from the data management center 4 can also be obtained from the quasi-zenith satellite 3. It is also possible to send what has been processed using these. Further, the buoy body 201 has a balancer mechanism in which a weight 217 is fixed to the tip of a support column 219 extending downward. The various sensors 213 and the sonar 215 constitute a marine information collecting means, the information communication transceiver 207 and the information communication antenna 203 constitute an information communication means, and the GPS antenna 205 and the GPS receiver 209 obtain positioning / time acquisition. The underwater acoustic wave communication unit 221 constitutes information provision means for underwater. It is also possible to provide the vessel 6 with the buoy marine information collection function and the communication function with the GPS and quasi-zenith satellites shown in FIG.

  In each of the buoys 2a to 2d, ocean observation information (sea information) collected from the various sensors 213 mounted on the buoy, underwater information (acoustic wave information) obtained from the active or passive sonar 215, and further from the quasi-zenith satellite 3 Is converted into sound waves or the like by the underwater acoustic wave communication unit 221 and transmitted underwater for the underwater ship 1 or the like. In addition, the marine information from the various sensors 213 and the underwater information from the sonar 215 are converted into radio waves and transmitted to the quasi-zenith satellite 3. Information transmitted from each of the buoys 2a to 2d to the quasi-zenith satellite 3 is then sent to the data management center 4, where data is accumulated, processed, and analyzed. Here, by combining with the quasi-zenith satellite 3 and further the GPS satellite 5, the following operations can be performed.

  First, since the quasi-zenith satellite 3 is a communication satellite that is almost directly above the elevation angle of about 60 ° or more, communication is possible if the information communication antenna 203 of the buoys 2a to 2d is almost directly above. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a simple balancer mechanism such as “spilling up” using gravity, which has a weight 217 below, as shown in FIG. It does not require a complicated mechanism for tracking the satellite to the antenna mounted on the buoy under the wave environment.

  Next, the buoys 2a to 2d themselves can obtain accurate time and their own position information, and when and where the information is obtained by sending the acquired marine information with the time and position when it was acquired. You can grasp exactly what was done. As for the position information, the position information from the GPS satellite 5 is acquired in the same manner as the on-vehicle GPS on land, but the position information of the communication positioning of the GPS satellite 5 has a specific potential deviation error at each positioning position. Is known to be included, and the compensation data for compensating for this (deviation compensation data obtained based on the existing electronic reference point) is communicated from the quasi-zenith satellite 3 to be obtained by the buoy. As a result, position information with higher accuracy can be obtained. Alternatively, the quasi-zenith satellite 3 may be used as an alternative to the poor communication status of the GPS satellite 5 (actually, the position is obtained by combining data from four satellites). As for the time, an accurate time is obtained from the GPS satellite 5 equipped with an atomic clock.

  In the sonic communication between the buoys 2a to 2d and the underwater ship 1 or the ship 6, information is transmitted to the underwater sonic communication unit 221 using functions such as protocol conversion, data compression, error correction code addition, and encryption. It may be carried out. Furthermore, packet sizing and retransmission control suitable for the propagation speed of sound waves in water can be performed. The same applies to communication between the buoys 2a to 2d and the quasi-zenith satellite 3 by the information communication transceiver 207.

  In particular, as described above, each buoy 2a-2d can obtain its exact position and time. Therefore, a plurality of buoys 2a to 2d (minimum of four) simultaneously transmit the position and time information to the underwater acoustic wave communication unit 221 in the same period at the same time (time mark). To know your position. The mechanism by which the underwater ship 1 knows its own position and speed is basically the same as the radio wave at the positioning by the GPS satellite is changed to a sound wave. Thereby, the underwater ship 1 knows its own position by providing a processing unit (not shown in particular) that performs the same positioning process as GPS based on the arrival time difference from the information obtained by the underwater acoustic wave communication unit 1a. Can do. In this case, it is necessary to consider underwater sound speed. If the underwater sound speed in the water area is known, use it, and if not known, use the general underwater sound speed.

  In addition, each buoy 2a-2d can collect and transmit not only position information but also environmental information from various sensors 213 and sonar 215 as described above, and information on ships, school of fish, etc. In the underwater ship 1 that has obtained the presence information of the surrounding ships etc. by the sonar mounted on the ship, the existence information of the ships etc. can be obtained without generating a sound only by receiving the information collected by the buoys 2a to 2d. It is a great merit that information on the presence of distant ships that cannot be obtained by conventional sonar can be obtained from information relayed to the quasi-zenith satellite 3 or the like.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
As described above, each of the buoys 2a to 2d, the quasi-zenith satellite 3, and the data processing center 4 (which may include the ship 6) constitute one network. Therefore, the position of the underwater sound source of the received sound wave can be determined from the received sound wave information that is the underwater information obtained from each sonar in the three buoys. Note that this arithmetic processing may be performed anywhere in the network. This position is specified as follows.

Identify the position of the underwater sound source from the three buoys (for passive sonar)
For example, it is assumed that the buoys 2a to 2c can obtain the time and position at which the sound was picked up and the volume of the sound. Hereinafter, an example of the position specifying method will be described with reference to FIG. First, consider the distance relationship between the two buoys A, buoy B, and the sound source X. The time when the sound source X emits sound is Tx, the time when buoy A and buoy B pick up the sound from the sound source are Ta and Tb, respectively, and the sound velocity in the water area is V.
Ra = V (Ta-Tx)
Rb = V (Tb−Tx)
If Tx is eliminated from this equation,
Rb−Ra = V (Tb−Ta) = ΔRab
Is required. ΔRab obtained here is a difference in distance to the sound sources of buoy A and buoy B.
Next, the sound pressures of the sounds picked up by buoy A and buoy B are Pa and Pb, respectively, and the attenuation function of sound pressure is F (d) (d is the distance from the sound source). Pa = F (Ra + ΔRab) −F (Ra)
The following equation holds. For example, in the case of F (d) = 20 log (d)
Pa−Pb = 20 log (Ra + ΔRab) −F (Ra)
By solving this equation, the distance Ra from the buoy A to the sound source X can be obtained.

  Using the same method, if there are three buoys A, B and C, the distances Ra, Rb and Rc from each buoy to the sound source X can be obtained. When Ra, Rb, and Rc are obtained, if the spheres with radii Ra, Rb, and Rc are drawn around the buoys A, B, and C, there are two intersections, one of which is above the water surface. Can be obtained as the position of the sound source. When the sound source is on the surface of the water like the buoy, there is only one intersection and the intersection is the position of the sound source. The position of the sound source on the earth can be obtained from the position of one buoy on the earth and the obtained position of the sound source.

Identify the position of the underwater sound source from the three buoys (for active sonar)
Each buoy 2a-2c has an active sonar and measures the distance from the buoy to the object that reflects the sound from the time it takes for the reflected sound to return and the underwater sound velocity in that water area. Shall be able to. If three buoys are used here, the distance from each to the object that reflects the sound can be obtained, and the rest is the same as “passive”. In addition to the underwater ship, the object that reflects sound may be the seabed. Therefore, in order to ignore the reflected sound other than the object whose position is to be specified, it must be in a situation where the reflected sound does not return stronger than the object such as “the seabed is close”.

  The position of the underwater sound source obtained as described above may be provided underwater from any of the buoys 2a to 2d or the ship 6 as underwater information.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Underwater ship informs its own position using a buoy Underwater ship 1 has an underwater acoustic communication unit (not shown) similar to the underwater acoustic communication unit 221 of the buoy shown in FIG. The buoys 2a to 2d receive the sound waves and take out the time information, and the buoys own clocks (which may be obtained from GPS satellites) You can also know the time when you received it. In this case, if the underwater sound speed in the water area is known, or if it is not known, each buoy 2a to 2d extends from the general underwater sound speed to the underwater ship 1 from the time difference between when the underwater sound speed and sound waves are transmitted and received. And the position of the underwater ship 1 can be specified using the information of the three buoys. The position of the underwater ship 1 obtained as described above may be provided underwater from any of the buoys 2a to 2d or the ship 6 as underwater information for another underwater ship, for example.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
Hai Shanghai Central Control (Soundprint analysis by land data management center)
Underwater information obtained from the sonars 215 of a large number of buoys 2 a to 2 d is collected by the land data management center 4 through the quasi-zenith satellite 3. The on-shore data management center 4 can analyze the position of the underwater ship 1 and the ship type from this information and monitor the activity of the sea and offshore ships. In particular, the processing of identifying the ship type by analyzing the sound pattern from the screw sound requires a large-capacity computer, so this is performed at the onshore data management center 4 and the processing and analysis results are applied. Underwater ship 1 (via buoy and buoy and underwater ship's respective underwater acoustic communication unit) and ship 6 (buoy and buoy) cannot be equipped with high-performance computers due to space, power, cost, etc. via zenith satellite 3 And the information communication antenna 203, the information communication transceiver 207, and the data processing unit 211 of FIG. It is very advantageous in that it can be provided to ships with functions) (see FIGS. 1 and 4). As a very simple method for identifying ship types by sound pattern analysis, the frequency component is taken on the horizontal axis and the sound pressure at that frequency is taken on the vertical axis. There is a method of matching the sound pattern samples of various ship types stored in a database (not shown).

  The data management center 4 digitally encodes the position and ship type of the underwater ship 1 and the ship 6 and transmits them to the buoy via the quasi-zenith satellite 3. Inform. Underwater sound wave communication depends on conditions, but at most tens of Kbps, and if conditions are bad, it may be several hundred bps or less. And the merit of sending a lot is great. In addition, it is possible to know a wide range of information that can not be known by the underwater ship that receives information (distant, in the shadow of sonar).

  Further, regarding the discovery of a dense fishing boat, a buoy group is developed in the fishing ground, and a regular fishing boat sends its own position and ID to the on-shore data processing center via the quasi-zenith satellite 3. The buoy collects underwater sound with the sonar 215, sends the data to the land data management center 4 via the quasi-zenith satellite 3, and the land data management center 4 analyzes the sound pattern and performs fishing activities (for example, , The sound of netting). For example, the identification is performed by comparison with a sample as in the case of the above-mentioned sound pattern. After that, the fishing method analyzed from the position and sound of the sound of the fishing activity is compared with the position of the regular ship and the permitted fishing method. Then, the information is provided to the underwater ship and the ship through the same route as described above.

Embodiment 5 FIG.
Hai Shanghai Central Control (Soundprint analysis by buoy)
The buoys 2a to 2d identify the ship type from a sound pattern such as an engine sound obtained from a separately provided sound collecting microphone (see the sound collecting microphone 223 in FIG. 4). When the radio wave condition is good, the data management center 4 loads (updates) the voice print data, that is, the sample to the buoys 2a to 2c via the quasi-zenith satellite 3, and the buoy stores this in the memory (not shown). Only the information that matches the sound pattern is analyzed, and the position information of the buoy itself and the distance information from the buoy to the sound source that matches the sound pattern are sent to the data management center 4 via the quasi-zenith satellite 3. Or for the underwater ship 1 or the ship 6, the underwater sound wave communication unit 221 transmits the sound wave to the water. This transmitted information is much smaller than the waveform information of the sampled sound of the buoy, so a powerful error correction code is added even when the radio wave condition is bad (such as jamming radio waves) or underwater acoustic modulation communication with a slow communication speed. And can communicate with each other.

  When an error correction code is added, the communication band is consumed for that code. Therefore, when a strong error correction code is added, the information to be sent must be reduced accordingly. Therefore, the fact that the information to be sent is small is also advantageous from the viewpoint of error correction. As for the updated voiceprint information, information obtained from other buoys sent to the land data management center 4 and analyzed, or information obtained from an acoustic measurement ship or the like is distributed to all buoys through the quasi-zenith satellite 3.

Embodiment 6 FIG.
In addition, regarding marine rescue, in the event of a ship accident, the ship that caused the accident puts a buoy having the same function as the buoy shown in FIG. 4 so that the position of the accident can be promptly transmitted via the quasi-zenith satellite 3. Even if it takes time for the rescue team to arrive at the accident site and the buoy is washed away, it is possible to identify the location of the accident, not the location of the buoy. it can. In addition, by incorporating a sound source into the life jacket, it becomes possible to grasp the distance from the buoy to the rescuer who needs to wear the life jacket, and the time required for finding the rescuer can be shortened. In addition, the rescue team added additional buoys to the waters near the accident (buoys introduced by the accident ship, buoys introduced by the rescue ship, and the rescue ship itself has a system equivalent configuration with three buoys). The location of the rescuer can be specified, and further improvement in the lifesaving rate can be expected. At present, this system has great merit, especially at night, because it visually searches for rescuers. In the above, it is assumed that the rescue ship itself has the same function as the buoy shown in FIG.

As a procedure,
(1) Accident ship throws in a buoy (buoy is turned on and starts operation)
(2) The buoy communicates the rescue request signal along with the location of the accident via the Quasi-Zenith Satellite 3.
(3) An accident is transmitted to a ship near the accident location
(4) Vessels near the accident injecting buoys to form a sea area where multiple buoys are deployed
(5) It is also possible to construct a mutual rescue system in which the position of the sound source incorporated in the life jacket of the rescuer is specified from a plurality of buoys. The positional information obtained as described above can be provided to the underwater ship and the ship at any time through the same route as described above.

It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the data management center for the marine information communication buoy and marine information communication system including the marine information provision buoy for underwater of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating a quasi-zenith satellite. It is a figure for demonstrating a quasi-zenith satellite. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the marine information provision buoy for underwater by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Underwater ship, 2a-2d Marine information provision buoy for underwater, 3 Quasi-zenith satellite, 4 Data management center, 5 GPS satellite, 6 Ship, 201 Buoy body, 203 Information communication antenna, 205 GPS antenna, 207 Transmission / reception for information communication 209 GPS receiver, 211 data processing unit, 213 various sensors, 215 active / passive sonar, 217 weight, 219 strut, 1a, 6a, 221 underwater acoustic wave communication unit.

Claims (10)

Ocean information collection means for collecting ocean information;
Data processing means for processing information including marine information obtained by the marine information collecting means;
Underwater acoustic wave communication means for performing communication including transmission of information processed by the data processing means with sound waves for underwater;
Underwater marine information provision buoy characterized by having   It further comprises information communication means including an information communication antenna for communicating with a quasi-zenith satellite as a communication satellite capable of communicating at a higher elevation angle than a geostationary satellite, and the data processing means is obtained by the information communication means. The underwater marine information provision buoy according to claim 1, wherein the information is also processed and provided underwater from the underwater acoustic wave communication means.   Positioning / time acquisition means for obtaining positioning and time by communication with a GPS satellite is further provided, and the data processing means adds the information on the position and time collected to the marine information, from the underwater acoustic wave communication means. The underwater marine information provision buoy according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by being transmitted.   4. The underwater device according to claim 1, wherein the information communication antenna is provided on an upper surface of the buoy and is provided with a balancer mechanism including a weight extending below the buoy. 5. Marine information buoy. Quasi-zenith satellite as a communication satellite that can communicate at a higher elevation angle than a geostationary satellite,
Collect ocean information, communicate with the quasi-zenith satellite by information communication means, and float the ocean information and information from the quasi-zenith satellite on the sea to provide information to the water with sound waves by underwater acoustic communication means At least one buoy,
Marine information communication system equipped with.   The at least four buoys transmit time information and position information obtained by communication with each GPS satellite simultaneously from the underwater acoustic wave communication means as a time mark in the same cycle so that positioning can be performed underwater. Item 6. A marine information communication system according to item 5. Communicating with each buoy via the quasi-zenith satellite, sending information for providing information to the water to the buoy, and storing, processing, and analyzing the marine information obtained by the buoy Is further provided with a data management center
At least each buoy, data management center, and quasi-zenith satellite constitute a network, and the position of the target is measured from information obtained from three buoys from the same object and position information of the buoy obtained by communication with a GPS satellite. The ocean according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising means for providing information on the obtained position information of the object from the underwater acoustic communication means of any one of the buoys to the water using sound waves. Information communication system.   The data management center is provided with means for identifying an event related to the information by comparing information obtained from each buoy with sample information for identifying each event occurring in the ocean prepared in advance. 8. The marine information communication system according to claim 7, wherein information on the event is provided by sound waves to the underwater from the underwater sound wave communication means of any of the buoys.   Each buoy determines the appearance of a ship of the specific ship type by matching the sound collecting microphone, the sound pattern information obtained from the sound collecting microphone, and the sample of the sound pattern information of a specific ship type prepared in advance. 9. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: a means for providing information on the determination result to the water from the underwater acoustic communication means of any of the buoys. Marine information communication system.   Marine information is collected via a quasi-zenith satellite as a communication satellite that can communicate at a higher elevation than a geostationary satellite, and the information communication means communicates with the quasi-zenith satellite, and the marine information and the quasi-zenith satellite. The information from the underwater acoustic communication means is communicated with at least one buoy floating on the sea that provides information by sound waves to the water, and information for providing information to the water is sent to the buoy. A data management center for marine information communication provided on the ground for accumulating, processing and analyzing the marine information obtained in (1).

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