JP2006258643A - Height measuring method and its device of content contained in opaque container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and its device for accurately measuring height of a content (i.e. liquid or solid) contained in an opaque container with a simple means regardless of size and material of the container. <P>SOLUTION: The method comprises showing gold graduation on the outer face of the side wall of the container, putting the side wall outer face of a containing part bringing the side wall inner face of the container into contact with the content, the side wall outer face of a space part bringing the side wall inner face of the container into contact with atmosphere and the graduation in the same visual field to be photographed with an infrared camera, determining that a position changing radioactivity of the side wall outer face caused by a temperature difference between the containing part and the space part in an obtained video indicates an upper face position of the content, and measuring the height of the upper face position by using the upper face position and the graduation in the video. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring the height of contents stored in an opaque container.

  Substances that are used industrially or that are used on a daily basis are stored in various containers (for example, large tanks for storage over a long period of time and small cans and bottles that can be carried). Among the containers for storing these substances (ie, liquid or solid), the tank has an outer wall made of steel, and the contents cannot be seen from the outside. The can is also made of a steel plate, and the contents cannot be seen from the outside. Further, when the bottle contains a substance that is easily changed by natural light, a colored opaque bottle is used.

  The method for measuring the volume of the contents stored in these opaque containers is to open the container opening (for example, the manhole on the tank roof, the mounting part of the can or bottle lid), and further measure the tape in the container. In general, a method of measuring the height from the bottom of the container to the upper surface of the contents by inserting a ruler is used. If the height of the contents in the container is measured, the volume of the contents can be calculated from the shape of the container. Further, the weight can be calculated using the density of the contents. Therefore, it is important to measure the height of the contents stored in an opaque container.

However, by opening the opening of the container, the contents may be vaporized, and the operator may suck the gas. In particular, when the gas generated from the contents is a toxic substance, the health of the worker may be impaired. Thus, various techniques for measuring the height of contents stored in an opaque container from the outside of the container have been studied.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting the height of a liquid by installing a heater panel behind an opaque container containing a liquid and picking up an image with an infrared camera. In order to apply this technology, it is necessary to use not only an infrared camera but also a heater panel. In addition, the heater panel, the opaque container containing the liquid, and the arrangement of the infrared camera (ie, the field of view and angle of the infrared camera) must be fine. It needs to be adjusted. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of capturing an image with a configuration in which the positions of the heater panel and the infrared camera are fixed and an opaque container sequentially travels between them. Such an imaging method can be easily applied to a large number of containers (for example, cans, bottles, and the like) having the same dimensions and containing a liquid that is industrially mass-produced.

However, in order to apply the technique of Patent Document 1 when measuring the height of contents stored in various opaque containers having different dimensions, a heater panel, an opaque container, and an infrared camera are used for each container. Since the arrangement must be adjusted, a great deal of time and effort is required. In order to apply the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 when measuring the height of contents stored in a large tank, a heater panel is installed behind the tank, and the entire tank is connected to an infrared camera. Since it is necessary to take an image with a camera, it is technically extremely difficult.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-6821

  The present invention solves the above problems and provides a method and apparatus for accurately measuring the height of the contents stored in an opaque container with simple means regardless of the size and material of the container. For the purpose.

When using the infrared camera, the inventor diligently studied a technique for measuring the height of the contents by photographing an opaque container without using an accessory device such as a heater panel. As a result, it was found that the height of the contents can be measured by clearly marking the outer surface of the side wall of the container using a specific paint and photographing with an infrared camera.
The present invention has been made based on this finding.

  That is, the present invention relates to a height measuring method for measuring the height of contents stored in an opaque container, wherein a gold scale is clearly indicated on the outer side wall of the container and the inner side of the container contacts the contents. The outer surface of the side wall of the container, the outer surface of the side wall of the space where the inner wall of the container is in contact with the atmosphere, and the scale are placed in the same field of view and photographed with an infrared camera. The height of the contents in the container is determined by determining that the position where the emissivity of the outer surface of the side wall changes indicates the upper surface position of the contents, and measuring the height of the upper surface position using the upper surface position and the scale in the image. This is a measurement method.

The measurement method of the present invention is preferably applied when measuring the height of the liquid stored in the opaque container.
The present invention also relates to a height measuring device for measuring the height of contents stored in an opaque container in which a gold scale is clearly shown on the outer surface of the side wall, and is photographed by an infrared camera for photographing the outer surface of the side wall and an infrared camera. It is the height measuring apparatus of the content in the container which has the emissivity calculating apparatus which calculates the emissivity of a side wall outer surface from the image | video which was carried out, and the emissivity display apparatus which displays an emissivity.

  The measuring apparatus of the present invention determines that the position where the emissivity changes indicates the upper surface position of the contents, compares the upper surface position and the scale in the image, and calculates the height of the upper surface position; And a height display device for displaying the height of the upper surface position. Moreover, it is preferable to have a photographing angle control device that senses the scale and adjusts the direction of the infrared camera so that the scale falls within the visual field of the infrared camera.

  Furthermore, the measuring device of the present invention is preferably used for measuring the height of a liquid contained in an opaque container.

  According to the present invention, the height of contents stored in an opaque container can be accurately measured by a simple means regardless of the dimensions and material of the container.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of the arrangement of an infrared camera and a container to which the measurement method of the present invention is applied. The present invention can be applied to the contents 1 stored in the opaque container 2 regardless of whether the contents 1 are liquid or solid. Here, the measurement method of the present invention when the content 1 is a liquid will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a scale 3 is clearly shown on the outer side wall of the opaque container 2. This scale 3 uses a gold paint. However, as a method of clearly indicating the scale 3, a gold paint may be applied to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the side wall, or a sticker printed in advance in gold may be applied to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the side wall. In this way, by clearly indicating the gold scale 3 on the outer surface of the side wall of the container 2, the scale 3 can be marked on the image taken by the infrared camera 4.

  The inside of the container 2 is roughly divided into a part (hereinafter referred to as a storage part) in which the contents 1 from the bottom surface to a height H are stored (hereinafter referred to as a storage part) and a space above the contents 1 (hereinafter referred to as a space part). The In the storage part, the inner surface of the side wall of the container 2 is in contact with the contents 1, and in the space part, the inner surface of the side wall is in contact with the atmosphere. Accordingly, a difference occurs in the temperature between the upper and lower side walls of the liquid surface 5 according to the temperature difference between the contents 1 and the atmosphere. If the vicinity of the liquid surface 5 is photographed by the infrared camera 4, the temperature difference is indicated as a difference in emissivity.

Therefore, when photographing the outer surface of the side wall of the container 2 with the infrared camera 4, the liquid surface 5 (that is, the position where the emissivity of the outer surface of the side wall changes) and the scale 3 are photographed in the same field of view. By comparing the liquid level 5 indicated on the image of the infrared camera 4 with the scale 3, the height H of the contents 1 can be measured.
The measurement method in the case where the content 1 is a liquid has been described above, but the measurement method of the present invention can also be applied to the case where the content 1 is a solid (for example, a particulate object or a massive object). It is. However, if the contents 1 are solid, the air enters the gaps between the particles or the lump, so that the temperature difference between the storage part and the side wall of the space part decreases. Moreover, the upper surface of the contents 1 is not flat. As a result, the accuracy of measuring the height H of the contents 1 is lowered.

Therefore, the measurement method of the present invention is preferably applied when measuring the height H of the liquid stored in the opaque container 2.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically showing an example of the measuring apparatus of the present invention. The apparatus of the present invention can be used regardless of whether the contents stored in the opaque container 2 are liquid or solid. Here, the measuring apparatus of the present invention used when the contents are liquid will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, a scale 3 is clearly shown on the outer side wall of the opaque container 2. This scale 3 uses a gold paint. However, as a method of clearly indicating the scale 3, a gold paint may be applied to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the side wall, or a sticker previously printed in gold may be applied to a predetermined position on the outer surface of the side wall.
The inside of the container 2 is roughly divided into a storage part in which contents (that is, a liquid) are stored and a space part above the liquid level. In the storage part, the inner surface of the side wall of the container 2 is in contact with the contents, and in the space part, the inner surface of the side wall is in contact with the atmosphere. Therefore, a difference in temperature between the upper and lower side walls of the liquid level occurs according to the temperature difference between the contents and the atmosphere.

  Therefore, when photographing the outer surface of the side wall of the container 2 with the infrared camera 4, the position corresponding to the liquid level (that is, the position where the temperature of the outer surface of the side wall changes) and the scale 3 are photographed in the same field of view. The captured image is transmitted to the emissivity calculation device 6, the emissivity of the outer surface of the side wall is calculated, and the obtained emissivity is displayed on the emissivity display device 7. The emissivity display device 7 may be displayed on a screen using a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like, or may be printed using various printers. Regardless of which emissivity display device 7 is used, the position where the emissivity changes due to the temperature difference between the upper and lower side walls in the container 2 (ie, the position of the liquid level) and the scale 3 are displayed. As a result, the height of the contents can be measured. That is, the height of the contents can be obtained by the worker based on the liquid level and the scale 3 displayed on the emissivity display device 7.

  Alternatively, it is possible to automatically calculate using the data calculated by the emissivity calculation device 6. In that case, the data calculated by the emissivity calculation device 6 is transmitted to the height calculation device 8 to calculate the height of the contents, and the result is displayed on the height display device 9. The height display device 9 may be displayed on a screen using a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like, or may be printed using various printers. It is also possible to use the emissivity display device 7 and the height display device 9 together.

Further, if the infrared camera 4 has a function of detecting the scale 3, it is possible to automatically control the photographing angle by using a device (not shown) for adjusting the direction of the infrared camera 4 together.
The measurement measurement when the content is a liquid has been described above, but the measurement apparatus of the present invention can also be used when the content is a solid (for example, a particulate object or a massive object). . However, if the contents are solid, the air enters the gaps between the particles or lumps, so that the temperature difference between the side wall of the storage part and the space part decreases. Moreover, the upper surface of the contents is not flat. As a result, the accuracy of measuring the height of the contents decreases.

  Therefore, it is preferable to use the measuring apparatus of the present invention when measuring the height of the liquid stored in the opaque container.

As shown in FIG. 1, an outdoor tank was used as the opaque container 2, and coal tar was stored as the contents 1. The outer surface of the tank side wall was painted beige (emissivity 0.5 or less), and a gold paint (emissivity 0.1 or less) was applied to the surface of the paint to clearly indicate scale 3.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, using the infrared camera 4, the outer surface of the side wall of the tank was photographed while moving the visual field in the vertical direction along the scale 3, and the emissivity was displayed on the emissivity display device 7. Next, using the position where the emissivity changes and the scale 3 photographed in the same field of view, the worker obtains the height of coal tar (that is, the height from the bottom of the tank to the liquid level of coal tar). It was. This is referred to as Invention Example 1.

As Invention Example 2, coal tar was stored in the same tank as in Invention Example 1, and a scale 3 was clearly shown by sticking a gold-colored sticker on the outer surface of the side wall. Further, as in Invention Example 1, the position where the emissivity changes and the scale 3 were photographed in the same field of view, and the height was calculated using the height calculator 8.
On the other hand, conventionally, the height of coal tar was measured by hanging a tape measure from a manhole provided on the tank roof.

  In Invention Examples 1 and 2, the height of coal tar in the tank could be measured by photographing with an infrared camera from the outside of the tank.

It is a perspective view which shows typically the example of arrangement | positioning of the infrared camera and container which apply this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the measuring apparatus of this invention typically.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Contents 2 Container 3 Scale 4 Infrared camera 5 Liquid level 6 Emissivity calculation apparatus 7 Emissivity display apparatus 8 Height calculation apparatus 9 Height display apparatus

Claims (6)

  In the height measuring method for measuring the height of the contents stored in an opaque container, a gold scale is clearly indicated on the outer side wall of the container, and the side wall of the storing part where the inner side wall of the container contacts the content The outer surface, the outer surface of the side wall of the space where the inner surface of the side wall of the container is in contact with the atmosphere, and the scale are put in the same field of view and photographed with an infrared camera. It is determined that the position where the emissivity of the side wall outer surface changes due to the difference indicates the upper surface position of the contents, and the height of the upper surface position is measured using the upper surface position and the scale in the image. A method for measuring the height of the contents in the container.   The said content is a liquid, The height measuring method of the content in the container of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.   A height measuring device for measuring the height of contents stored in an opaque container in which a gold scale is clearly shown on the outer surface of the side wall, an infrared camera for photographing the outer surface of the side wall, and an image photographed by the infrared camera A device for measuring the height of the contents in the container, comprising: an emissivity calculating device for calculating the emissivity of the outer surface of the side wall; and an emissivity display device for displaying the emissivity.   It is determined that the position at which the emissivity changes indicates the upper surface position of the content, and the height calculation device that calculates the height of the upper surface position by comparing the upper surface position and the scale in the image, The height measuring device for contents in a container according to claim 3, further comprising a height display device for displaying a height of the upper surface position.   5. The container according to claim 3, further comprising a photographing angle control device that senses the scale and adjusts the direction of the infrared camera so that the scale enters the field of view of the infrared camera. Content height measuring device. The apparatus for measuring the height of contents in a container according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the contents are liquid.

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