JP2006036104A - Apparatus for launching balloon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for launching an observation balloon, which apparatus can safely launch the observation balloon by normally expanding the observation balloon in a balloon launching tower. <P>SOLUTION: A tray 2b can horizontally move from a launching preparation room 2 toward the cylindrical body 3a of the balloon launching tower 3 in a neighboring room. The tray 2b is provided with a gas supplying port 13 on its tip end side in the moving direction. The inlet port 14 of the observation balloon before being filled with gas is disengage-ably connected to the gas supplying port 13, and a ventilation port is formed on the bottom portion 15 of the cylindrical body 3a. A flow straightening box 19 is mounted on the bottom portion of the cylindrical body 3a in order to produce an air flow having no disturbance, which air flow is formed by a ventilation flow flowing upward from the outside to the ventilation port. The flow straightening box 19 has a large number of ventilation holes having a honeycomb structure in the direction of ventilation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a launching device that automatically launches a weather observation balloon unattended, and in particular, it can create an undisturbed upward flow in a launch tower and can safely and reliably launch a launching device. About.

  As a high-rise weather observation system, a collective system as shown in FIG. 7 has been proposed. This collective high-rise meteorological observation system includes a receiving room 1 for receiving observation information from a radiosonde suspended from an observation balloon by various receivers, a launch preparation room 2 adjacent to the receiving room 1, A cylindrical body 3a adjacent to the discharge preparation chamber 2 has a discharge tower 3 upright in the vertical direction.

  The launch preparation chamber 2 has a horizontally arranged turntable 2a that rotates intermittently, and a plurality of trays 2b that are elongated in the radial direction are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the turntable 2a. . A gas supply port such as hydrogen gas is attached to the plurality of trays 2b at the distal ends in the radial direction. The observation balloon is detachably connected to the gas supply port, and is folded on the tray 2b and placed radially inward. A radiosonde is attached to the balloon for observation via a rope.

  Accordingly, if the observation balloon placed on the tray 2b is filled with, for example, hydrogen gas from the gas supply port, the observation balloon can be released.

  The plurality of trays 2b arranged on the turntable 2a are supported so as to be movable along the radial direction.

  An opening 5 with an opening / closing door is formed in the partition wall 4 between the launch preparation chamber 2 and the launch tower 3, and when the turntable 2 a performs one-time intermittent feed, the outer end of one tray 2 b is When the turntable 2a is intermittently driven next to the opening 5, the next tray 2b faces the opening 5.

  When the observation time approaches, water is automatically supplied to the water injection battery of the radiosonde, and the door of the opening 5 is opened. A rail 6 is horizontally arranged from above the turntable 2a toward the partition wall in which the opening 5 is formed, and an unillustrated pushing member that moves horizontally by cylinder driving is attached to the rail 6. The pushing member engages with the inner diameter end of the tray 2 b facing the opening 5, and the pushing member moves toward the opening 5, whereby the tray 2 b passes through the opening 5 and enters the cylindrical body 3 a of the launch tower 3. Send it in. When the tip of the tray 2b is fed to a predetermined position in the cylinder 3a, the feeding operation of the tray 2b is stopped and the opening / closing door of the opening 5 is closed.

  When the tray 2b stops at a predetermined position in the cylinder 3a, the gas supply nozzle rises from the bottom of the cylinder 3a toward the back side of the tray 2b, and the gas supply nozzle is placed at the lower end of the gas supply port provided in the tray 2b. Are concatenated. Then, hydrogen gas from the hydrogen gas cylinder 7 is supplied into the observation balloon. As the observation balloon is filled with hydrogen gas, the observation balloon starts to increase in size, and when a predetermined amount of hydrogen gas is supplied, the observation balloon is supplied from the gas supply port fixed to the tray 2b. When the gas suction port is removed, the radiosonde is released together with the observation balloon from the upper part where the cylindrical body 3a is opened. At that time, the open / close dome 8 covering the upper opening of the cylindrical body 3a is opened so that the observation balloon and the radiosonde can be released.

  When the ball discharge is completed, the opening / closing door of the opening 5 is opened and the tray 2b which is empty is returned to the original position of the turntable 2a by the pushing member, and the opening / closing door of the opening 5 is closed.

  By the way, in the launch tower 3, when the tray 2b is fed into the cylinder 3a for launching, the open / close dome 8 is opened. If it is raining or snowing when the open / close dome 8 is open, it will also enter the cylindrical body 3a and wet the cylindrical body 3.

  On the other hand, the observation balloon is covered with powder on the outer surface so that the observation balloon spreads smoothly when hydrogen gas is supplied to the folded observation balloon.

  However, if the inner surface of the cylinder 3a is wet, if the observation balloon is removed from the tray 2b and touches the floor or the side surface while the observation balloon is being filled with gas, The surface of the balloon for observation is wet, the surfaces of the balloon for observation stick together, and the top of the bulge is located at a position slightly above the inlet, which is the lower end of the balloon for observation. The regular bulge that reaches the top of may not be possible.

  Further, if the inner surface of the cylinder 3 is wet, the observation balloon sticks to the inner surface of the cylinder 3a, and the above-described normal swelling cannot be performed, and the balloon may burst. Such sticking of the outer surface of the balloon has been a cause of further promotion when the powder on the outer surface of the balloon gets wet.

  On the other hand, in the cylinder, air is taken upward from the ventilation hole formed in the floor to generate an upward air flow. If the air from the ventilation hole is disturbed, the cylinder 3a A complicated flow such as convection or swirling flow is generated, and a balloon in the middle of gas filling is swung left and right in the cylindrical body 3a to be brought into contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical body 3a or to be launched directly above when released. There is a case that cannot be done.

  The present invention is intended to solve such a conventional problem and to provide a launching device that can create an undisturbed ascending flow in the launch tower and can safely and reliably launch.

  The structure for realizing the object of the present invention is as described in claim 1, and is capable of horizontal movement from the preparatory chamber toward the upright cylinder of the discharge tower of the adjacent chamber, and a gas supply port at the front end side in the movement direction A gas suction port detachably connected to the gas supply port, and an observation balloon before gas filling arranged toward the rear end side in the moving direction of the tray, and the tray When supplied into the tower, the gas supply means for filling the observation balloon from the gas supply port through the gas intake port, and a ventilation port formed at the bottom of the cylindrical body, When the observation balloon is filled with a predetermined amount of gas, in the discharge device for releasing the gas by releasing the connection of the gas inlet from the gas supply port, the ventilation from the outside to the bottom of the cylindrical body A rectifying box that creates an undisturbed airflow that flows upward at the mouth. It is mounted it is an Hotama apparatus according to claim.

  In the above-described configuration, the rectifying box has a large number of ventilation holes having a honeycomb structure in the ventilation direction.

  In the configuration described above, an exterior cover that covers the gas supply means is provided at the bottom of the cylindrical body.

  According to the present invention, since the rectification box is provided at the ventilation opening at the bottom of the cylindrical body, the flow of the air passing through the ventilation opening can be made a straight flow from the bottom to the top, and the observation balloon Therefore, the observation balloon can be prevented from being twisted when the gas is filled with the gas, and can be safely and reliably discharged without causing rupture or the like.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the present embodiment is used in a collective high-rise weather observation system including the communication room 1, the launch preparation room 2, and the launch tower 3. The members shown in FIG. The same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Before describing the embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the tray 2b on the horizontal turntable 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  3 and 4, the small cylinders 12 that store the observation balloons 11 are inclinedly arranged on a plurality (24 in the present embodiment) of trays 2 b prepared on the turntable 2 a.

  The small cylinder 12 is arranged along the radial direction of the turntable 2, and the outer end 12a facing the gas supply port 13 fixed to the outer end of the tray 2b is inclined upward. Yes.

  The outer end 12a of the small cylinder 12 is open and widened to facilitate the insertion of the observation balloon 11, and in the state where the suction port 14 of the observation balloon 11 is connected to the gas supply port 13, the gas still remains. The observation balloon 11 which is not filled is inserted into the small cylinder 12 from the tip side.

  The observation balloon 11 is made of rubber, for example, having a gas inlet having a length of about 10 cm and a balloon having a length of 170 cm. The length of the balloon accommodated in the cylinder 12 is about 150 cm from the tip, and the length of the gas suction port 14 is 10 cm, and the subsequent 20 cm portion is exposed from the cylinder 12 to the outside.

  In addition, the rear end of the small cylinder 12 has entered the cylindrical body 3a in a state where the tray 2b has been sent to a predetermined position of the cylindrical body 3a of the discharge tower 3, and the discharge preparation chamber 2, the discharge tower 3 and The small cylinder 12 does not have any influence on closing the opening / closing door of the opening 5 formed in the partition wall 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the observation balloon 11 is housed in the inclined small cylinder 12, the observation balloon 11 is generally convex upward from the inlet 14 to the opening end of the small cylinder 12. It is in a shape. When gas (hydrogen gas) is supplied into the observation balloon 11 from the suction port 14 side in this state, the hydrogen gas accumulates in a mountainous portion above the suction port 14, and a normal bulge that floats upward while bulging from there. On the other hand, hydrogen gas is supplied into the observation balloon 11. If this small cylinder 12 is not provided, the observation balloon 11 may stick to the wet inner surface of the discharge tower 3 at the initial stage of gas supply, and the balloon may be twisted during expansion, which is not expected. There is a risk of swelling in the direction.

  However, the observation balloon 11 is accommodated in the small cylinder 12 and the lower end of the observation balloon 11 passed between the suction port 14 and the opening of the inclined upper end of the small cylinder 12 by tilting the small cylinder 11. Since the observation balloon 11 is inflated in the above-described normal way of inflation when supplying hydrogen gas, the observation balloon 11 is placed on the inner surface of the discharge tower 3 by holding the portion in a mountain-like state protruding upward. It can be hard to stick. Further, since the observation balloon 11 is pushed out toward the central portion of the cylindrical body 3a of the discharge tower 3, the observation balloon 11 is expanded without causing a large deviation in the cylindrical body 3a.

  For this reason, the surfaces of the observation balloons 11 can be prevented from sticking to each other or coming into contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical body 3a, and the observation balloons 11 can be safely released.

  Thus, when the observation balloon 11 is filled with hydrogen gas with a simple configuration in which the small cylinders 12 are provided on the tray 2b, the outer surfaces of the observation balloons 11 are stuck to each other, and the outer surfaces of the observation balloons 11 are Touching and sticking to the inner surface of the cylindrical body 3a can be prevented.

  Even without using the small cylinder 12 described above, it is possible to prevent the observation balloon 11 from getting wet on the outer surface in the cylinder 3a of the discharge tower 3, and the configuration is shown in FIG. Of course, by using this configuration shown in FIG. 5 together with the small cylinder 12 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the observation balloon 11 can be further prevented from sticking.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, a fiber net 16 is stretched around the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 3 a of the launch tower 3, and a fiber net 17 is stretched around the floor 15 of the cylinder 3 a.

  Further, the net 17 extending around the floor 15 may extend over the entire area of the floor 15, but it is positioned on the opening 5 side of the end of the tray 2b fed into the cylinder 3a (the center of the cylinder 3b). Since the observation balloon 11 exists between the opening 5 and the opening 5, the area of the floor 15 that the observation balloon 11 touches depends on whether the observation balloon 11 starts to expand when gas filling starts. It can be said that it is about half of the entire floor on the opening 5 side. For this reason, the net 17 is stretched around a region of the above-described opening 5 side of a substantially semicircle.

  Further, the net 16 extending around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a may be extended all around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a and the entire area in the vertical direction, but the tray 2b fed into the cylindrical body 3a. Since the observation balloon 11 exists between the tip 5 (located on the opening 5 side of the center of the cylinder 3b) and the opening 5, the observation balloon 11 expands when the gas filling starts. Since the region is a substantially half portion on the opening 5 side, it is a substantially half portion on the opening 5 side in the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a, and when the observation balloon 11 expands greatly, there is no longer a problem of sticking. So, it is about 1.5m at most from the floor. Except for the opening 5, the net 16 is stretched around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a. For the nets 16 and 17, for example, a nylon net having a hole diameter of 15 mm square is used.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when nets 16 and 17 are stretched around the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 3 a and the floor 15, rain or snow enters the cylinder 3 a when the open / close dome 8 is opened, Even if the inner peripheral surface of the body 3a and the floor 15 are wet, the observation balloon 11 is not directly touched by the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a and the floor 15 by being blocked by the nets 16 and 17. The nets 16 and 17 themselves also get wet, but the problem of sticking does not occur because the contact area with the outer surface of the observation balloon is small.

  As described above, the net 17 is stretched over the floor 15 to prevent the observation balloon 11 from falling on the floor and getting the outer surface wet over a wide range at the initial stage of gas filling, and to the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 3a. When the net 16 is stretched around, the outer surface of the observation balloon 11 that has started to swell and is wetted by directly touching the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 3a, and the outer surface of the observation balloon 11 sticks to the inner surface of the cylinder 3a. This can be prevented, and the observation balloon 11 can be reliably released from the cylinder 3a.

  In addition, a ventilation opening is formed at the bottom of the cylindrical body 3a, and a flow of airflow is created upward of the cylindrical body 3a so that the observation balloon 11 can be released right above when released. .

  In the configuration of FIG. 5 described above, an example in which the outer surface of the observation balloon 11 is not directly in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a and the floor 15 by the nets 16 and 17 is described. When the observation balloon 11 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a when the gas is filled, smooth expansion of the observation balloon 11 may be hindered. The occurrence of such a phenomenon and countermeasures for preventing it will be described below.

  The tray 2b fed into the cylindrical body 3a through the opening 5 has an observation balloon 11 between the opening 5 and the gas supply port 13 provided at the tip thereof. As the gas is supplied, it moves upward so as to draw a circular arc with the tip extending from the gas supply port 13 as the center. At this time, the extending tip of the observation balloon 11 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3 a at a position above the opening 5.

  Since the powder is applied to the outer surface of the observation balloon 11 as described above, smooth contact is ensured even if it contacts the inner surface of the cylinder 3a. However, when the inner surface of the cylinder is wet with the tip of the observation balloon 11 extending radially outward as in the initial stage of gas filling, the tip of the observation balloon 11 has a large frictional force. In contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a. Since the observation balloon 11 lies along the length direction with respect to the tray 2b, the contact portions that come into contact with the large frictional force are the left and right periphery of the opening 5 and the upper portion thereof.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a sheet (a sheet made of Teflon (registered trademark)) 18 having excellent water repellency is attached to the left and right periphery of the opening 5 and the range above it.

  Therefore, even if the tip of the bulging observation balloon 11 comes into contact with the highly water-repellent sheet 18, almost no water droplets adhere to it and the surface 11 is smooth, so that the balloon 11 can be expanded smoothly.

  Note that the highly water-repellent sheet 18 may be attached after the net 16 shown in FIG. 5 is stretched around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a. Of course, if the highly water-repellent sheet 18 is used in addition to the small cylinder 12 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the observation balloon 11 can be released more reliably, but the small cylinder 12 is not used. However, even when the high water-repellent sheet 18 and the nets 16 and 17 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a, the observation balloon 11 can be smoothly moved in accordance with the normal inflation procedure when the observation balloon 11 is filled with hydrogen gas. Can be inflated (expanded).

Embodiment FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.

  When the observation balloon 11 is filled with a predetermined amount of gas, the connection of the gas suction port 14 is released from the gas supply port 13 of the tray 2b, and the compressed air is ejected toward the upper balloon 11 to be observed. Eleven shots are performed. Then, a gas supply unit (not shown) connected to the gas supply port 13 of the tray 2b at the lower part of the tray 2b descends downward, and the tray 2b is returned to the turntable 2a in the discharge preparation chamber 2. It is.

  As described above, when the observation balloon 11 is released, an air vent is formed in the floor 15 which is the bottom of the cylinder 3a, and air flows into the cylinder 3a from below through the vent, and from above. It creates an updraft that escapes, but if the air flow when passing through the floor 15 is disturbed, convection will occur in the cylinder 3a, swirl will occur, or a combination of convection and swirl A complicated flow occurs. Such a flow not only at the time of firing, but also blows the observation balloon 11 during gas filling and causes the observation balloon to contact the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3a, leading to the sticking phenomenon described above. There is a risk that it will not be possible to inflate.

  Therefore, a rectifying box 19 is provided at the ventilation port from the outside of the floor 15 so that the air flow passing through the ventilation port is a straight flow from the lower side to the upper side. The rectifying box 19 is formed with a large number of honeycomb-structured ventilation paths in the vertical direction, and the wind is straightened when passing through each ventilation path and flows obliquely when passing through the ventilation openings. The above-described convection and swirling flow are prevented. Further, since the gas supply unit connected to the gas supply port 13 and the like of the tray 2b protrudes outside the floor 15, the air flows into the cylindrical body 3a also from here, and the turbulent flow and the swirl flow described above. May occur. For this reason, the exterior box 20 which covers this gas supply unit is provided on the outer surface side of the floor 15.

  According to the present embodiment, since air flows through the rectifying box 19 and an undisturbed upward flow is formed in the cylindrical body 3a, the balloon 11 being filled is inadvertently formed on the inner periphery of the cylindrical body 3a. Without touching the surface, it is possible to launch the balloon straightly when launching.

  The floor 15 has a semicircular plate portion 21 attached to the floor 15 via a hinge member 15a so as to be openable and closable. The semicircular plate portion 21 is formed with the vent hole and a rectifying box 19 is attached. The pair of handle members 22 are grasped by hand so that the semi-disc portion 21 can be opened and closed. As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, although the rectification | straightening box 19 is provided in the position furthest from the launch preparation room 2 in the floor 15, it is not limited to this, The position which can form a vent hole If it is, it will not be restricted.

The perspective view which looked at the bottom side of the discharge tower which shows embodiment of this invention from the outside. The bottom view of FIG. The top view of a turntable. FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. The partially cutaway perspective view of the launch tower. The partial notch perspective view which shows the mode in the firing tower. The figure which shows the outline | summary of a collective type high-rise weather observation system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication room 2 Launch preparation room 2a Turntable 2b Tray 3 Launch tower 3a Cylindrical body 4 Bulkhead 5 Opening 6 Rail 7 Hydrogen gas cylinder 8 Opening and closing dome 11 Observation balloon 12 Small cylinder 13 Gas supply port 14 Inlet port 15 Floor 16, 17 Net 18 Highly water-repellent sheet 19 Rectification box 20 Exterior box

Claims (3)

A tray that has a gas supply port at the front end in the direction of movement, and a gas suction port that can be attached to and detached from the gas supply port, can be moved horizontally from the launch preparation chamber to the upright cylinder of the launch tower in the adjacent room. And an observation balloon before gas filling arranged toward the rear end side in the moving direction of the tray, and when the tray is supplied into the discharge tower, the gas supply port passes through the gas suction port. Gas supply means for filling the observation balloon with gas, and a ventilation port formed at the bottom of the cylindrical body, and when the observation balloon is filled with a predetermined amount of gas, In a launching device for releasing a ball by releasing the connection of the gas suction port,
A ball discharge device, wherein a rectifying box for generating an air current without turbulence of an airflow flowing upward from the outside to the ventilation port is attached to a bottom portion of the cylindrical body.   The ball discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifying box has a large number of ventilation holes having a honeycomb structure in a ventilation direction. The ball discharge device according to claim 1, wherein an outer cover that covers the gas supply unit is provided at a bottom portion of the cylindrical body.

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