JP2021054605A - Monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

To solve the following problem: in inspecting equipment installed inside a factory building with a flying object, normal takeoff is sometimes impossible after the flying object is landed on a floor surface of the building.SOLUTION: The monitoring system includes a terminal installed in a factory building and used to stop a flying object and a control section for controlling the flying object. The monitoring system, which makes the flying object monitor running conditions of equipment installed inside the building from the air by operation condition imaging means in a factory, can monitor running conditions of the equipment without landing on the floor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a monitoring system using an air vehicle (so-called drone), and particularly provides a system used for monitoring equipment arranged in a factory building.

In recent years, multicopters capable of wireless control or self-sustaining flight have come to be used in various situations called "drones". Since drones can be viewed from a high position and below, they are often used after being equipped with a camera and having a shooting function. Moreover, since the moving speed is high, it is possible to move a considerable distance in a short time.

As an example of the use of such an air vehicle, a case where it is used in the aspect of "target monitoring" has been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a luggage monitoring system in a warehouse utilizing a drone in a warehouse in which a pallet in which luggage is placed is accommodated. The luggage monitoring system of Patent Document 1 monitors the loading state of luggage while moving in a large warehouse.

By the way, drones have been found to be useful in that they can hover and move at low speeds, and as a result, they often take flight forms such as multicopters. The multicopter realizes front-back, left-right, up-down movement by adjusting the rotation speed of the propeller. Therefore, if even one of them interferes with the movement of the propeller, it will be impossible to fly and it will crash. Or it flies in an unexpected direction.

A drone crash not only results in the loss of the drone, but may also cause damage if it collides with a person or building. Therefore, an invention is also disclosed from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the surroundings even if the drone's flight system breaks down and the drone crashes.

In Patent Document 2, a strong metal wire is stretched, and the distance between the two sides is such that the drone can fly accurately while maintaining a certain distance from the wire in the horizontal and vertical directions directly under the wire. By using the sensor on the principle of triangulation and attaching a metal rod with a safety hook located on the upper part of the wire to the upper part of the drone during drone flight, the hook part gets caught in the wire when the drone falls and prevents the drone from falling. The inventions that can be made are disclosed.

Further, Patent Document 3 includes a guideline stretched along the flight trajectory of the drone and a guiding means for flying the drone according to the guideline, and the guiding means can freely move in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. A safe flight system for a drone is disclosed, which comprises a rotating rotating joint.

JP-A-2018-43815 Japanese Patent No. 6436468 Japanese Patent No. 6143311

The factory building has a large area, and various equipment is often installed inside. Therefore, it takes time, effort, and cost to inspect each equipment while walking. Therefore, it is a natural requirement to use an air vehicle for equipment inspection.

Aircraft such as multicopters are equipped with gyro sensors to control flight attitude. When a gyro sensor lands on reinforced concrete, the zero point goes out of order, and in many cases it cannot take off normally. On the other hand, on the floor of the factory building where heavy equipment is arranged, reinforcing bars are arranged under the floor for reinforcement. Therefore, it is necessary for the aircraft to be able to inspect various facilities without landing directly on the floor.

In addition, when monitoring factory equipment with an air vehicle, it is necessary to ensure safety so that even if the flight system fails, it will not collide with surrounding equipment or people or fly in unexpected directions. There is.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above problems, and provides a system for monitoring equipment arranged in a factory building from the air.

More specifically, the monitoring system according to the present invention is
A base installed inside the factory building to stop the aircraft,
It has a control device that controls the flying object, and has
The flying object is characterized in that the operating status of the equipment installed in the building is monitored from the air by the operating status visualization means.

Further, in the monitoring system according to the present invention, the flying object is connected to a flying object crash safety means (for example, a wire, a telescopic pole, etc.) provided in the building.

Since the monitoring system according to the present invention has an operating condition visualization means for visualizing the operating state of the equipment, the flying object can confirm the operating state of the equipment from the air without landing on the floor surface.

Further, in the monitoring system according to the present invention, since the flying object is connected to the flying object crash safety means in the building, even if the flight system fails, it is connected to the wire which is the flying object crash safety means. , You can avoid flying in unexpected directions or crashing.

In addition, by installing a connecting wire winding device between the flying object and the wire and providing a self-propelled carrier that can run on the wire, if the flying object is connected to the connecting line, it will be connected to the wire. Even in this state, the flying object can obtain the required degree of freedom of flight.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the monitoring system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of an air vehicle. It is a figure which shows the conceptual example of the hologram image when the equipment of a rectangular parallelepiped is seen from obliquely above. It is a figure which illustrates the structure of the sand crest device. It is a figure which shows the conceptual example of a sand crest. It is a figure which shows the movement of the flying object in a surveillance system. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a control device. It is a flow chart which shows the process when the monitoring result image is received. It is a figure which shows the structure of another monitoring system. It is a figure which shows the movement of an air vehicle and a self-propelled carrier in another monitoring system.

The monitoring system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following description exemplifies the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following description. The following description can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment. The monitoring system 1 of the present embodiment is composed of a base 10, an air vehicle 12, a control device 14, and a driving situation visualization means 16. The flying object 12 is not particularly limited as long as it has a hovering function. Usually, a multicopter is used, and a quadcopter is particularly preferable. The aircraft body 12 is equipped with equipment necessary for flight, a communication device 12a, and a driving situation visualization means 16. Further, the flying object 12 may be an autonomous type, and in the case of the autonomous flying object 12, the zero point of the gyro sensor is unlikely to deviate, so that it is effective indoors.

It is preferable that the flying object 12 flies while being controlled by the control device 14 described later. This is because flight control by humans is desirable because the position cannot be confirmed indoors by GPS. (Of course, it does not exclude the unmanned and autonomous flight of the flying object 12 inside the building). Therefore, it is desirable to have a driving camera 12b that allows the user to look down from the front to the bottom.

The base 10 is a place where the aircraft 12 returns, and includes at least a charging facility 10a for the aircraft 12 and an environment that is not affected by the gyro sensor.

The control device 14 controls the flying object 12 and organizes and compares the monitoring result image Sb collected by the flying object 12, and indicates whether or not there is a failure of the equipment finally monitored and a sign of the failure. The control device 14 is also provided with an operation device 14a (hereinafter referred to as “controller 14a”), a field view screen 14b, and a communication device 14c when the operator 5 (see FIG. 6) drives the flying object 12.

FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the flying object 12. 2 (a) is a plan view from above, FIG. 2 (b) is a side view, and FIG. 2 (c) is a front view. The aircraft body 12 has a communication device 12a, a driving unit 12c including a propeller 12ca and a motor 12cc, a housing 12d, and a support leg 12e in addition to the driving camera 12b.

A controller for controlling flight, a gyro sensor, a battery, and the like are built in the housing 12d. Since it is almost unnecessary to check the upper side of the driving camera 12b, it is preferable to arrange the driving camera 12b below the housing 12d. Further, below the housing 12d, a driving situation visualization means 16 described later is arranged.

The operation status visualization means 16 visualizes the operation status of the equipment, and particularly grasps the vibration state of the equipment. There is no limitation as long as the equipment can visualize the vibration. Equipment used in factories always vibrates when in operation. Then, if the operating condition is constant, the outer panel of the equipment is in some resonance state.

Therefore, the outer panel of the equipment is in a constant natural vibration state. On the other hand, if a failure occurs somewhere in the equipment, conversion occurs in this natural vibration state. The change appears on the outer surface of the equipment due to the conversion of the vibration state. Therefore, by visualizing the vibration of the outer panel of the equipment and comparing it with the case of normal operating conditions, it can be seen that the equipment has changed. Such changes often signal equipment outages.

As a specific example of the driving situation visualization means 16, a hologram, a laser Doppler, a strobe, a sand pattern, a water pattern, or a combination thereof can be preferably used.

In optical holography, a laser beam is split into two by a half mirror, one of which is irradiated to an object to be an object light, the other is a reference light, and the object light and the reference light are recorded at the same time. The laser light was originally in phase, but since one of them is reflected by an object, the phase changes, and interference fringes occur when combined with the original reference light. A hologram is a recording of these interference fringes.

When the object is vibrating, if the distance between the hologram surface and the object is sufficiently large with respect to the size of the hologram, and the incident light and reflected light of the laser and the vibration direction of the object are the same, an equal amplitude line is observed. can do.

Therefore, by obtaining a hologram on the surface of the equipment, it is possible to visualize the vibration state of the equipment.

Laser Doppler has the same principle as making holograms by holography, and directly observes iso-amplitude lines due to the vibration of an object.

Both holograms and laser Doppler can be used not only on flat surfaces, but also on curved surfaces, inclined surfaces, and vertical surfaces. FIG. 3 shows a conceptual example of a hologram image when the rectangular parallelepiped equipment 50 is viewed from diagonally above. A rotating body and a flow pipe are arranged inside, and the vibration is propagated to the whole in the operating state. Assuming that a hologram image as shown in FIG. 3A is obtained in the normal operation, if the equipment 50 fails, its vibration state changes. For example, the state is as shown in FIG. 3 (b). By comparing these two images, a failure or change in the equipment 50 is detected.

When the driving situation visualization means 16 is a hologram or a laser Doppler, these imagers 16b are mounted on the flying object 12.

The strobe irradiates a vibrating object with a light that blinks at regular intervals and observes the reflected light. By slightly shifting the frequency of the strobe from the natural vibration of the equipment 50, it is possible to observe and visualize the slow change of the vibration state. In the case of a strobe, the driving situation visualization means 16 is a strobe light 16a and a moving image capturing camera 16c (same as reference numeral 16b in FIG. 2).

The sand crest and the water crest can be used for the equipment 50 having a flat surface on the upper surface. FIG. 4A shows a sand crest device 18 that produces a sand crest. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4A. The sand crest device 18 has a thin film 18b stretched in the middle of a container 18a having an edge, and powder 18e is sprinkled on the thin film 18b. The thin film 18b is fixed by an inner frame 18c at the edge of the container 18a.

The thin film 18b is preferably thin and has a small mass. This is because it transmits vibration well. The powder 18e preferably has a grain size of about several hundred μm. If it is too fine, it will not spread due to vibration.

There may be a transparent lid (not shown) on the rim. The sand crest 18 is attached so that the edge is fixed to the upper surface of the equipment 50 by the fixture 18d.

The sand crest device 18 draws a pattern corresponding to vibration when the equipment 50 operates. The aircraft body 12 photographs the pattern and compares it with the pattern when there is no abnormality. FIG. 5 illustrates the concept of the sand crest. The sand crest device 18 is fixed on the equipment 50. It is assumed that FIG. 5 (a) is a normal operating state and FIG. 5 (b) is an abnormal operating state. Such a difference in sand pattern is detected as a difference in images. The ID 50a of the equipment 50 is clearly indicated on the equipment 50.

The water crest device (not shown in particular) is a vat-shaped container filled with water and fixed to the upper surface of the equipment 50. When the equipment 50 operates, water crests are generated by the vibration. Take a picture of the water pattern and compare it with the pattern when there was no abnormality.

In the case of sand crests and water crests, the sand crest device 18, the water crest device and the sand crest, and the water crest photographing camera serve as the driving situation visualization means 16. The photographing camera may also be used as the driving camera 12b, or may be separately mounted on the flying object 12. On the other hand, the sand crest device 18 or the water crest device is attached to the equipment 50 to be monitored. When sand crests and water crests are used, strobe light 16a may be used at the same time.

The movement of the flying object in the monitoring system 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The following description is based on the premise that a person (worker 5) controls the movement of the flying object 12 via the control device 14. Further, the equipment 50 to be monitored is taken as an example of the compressor 52. The size is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped having a width of 1500 mm, a depth of 900 mm, and a height of 1700 mm, and the upper surface is flat. However, the equipment 50 to be monitored is not limited to these.

When there are a plurality of compressors 52, it is assumed that an ID 50a capable of identifying each compressor 52 is assigned. The method for identifying the ID 50a is not particularly limited. Here, it is assumed that each compressor 52 is assigned a number, and the flying object 12 is configured so that each compressor 52 can be identified by its ID 50a when the compressor 52 is photographed by the photographing camera.

When a sand crest or a water crest is used as the operating condition visualization means 16, the sand crest device 18 or the water crest device is arranged on the upper surface of the compressor 52. When using the strobe light 16a, it is desirable to draw a pattern on the upper surface of the compressor 52. This is because the movement of the pattern makes it easier to see the vibration. Further, it is assumed that the reference image Ss during normal operation has been taken in advance. The reference image Ss may be a moving image.

The flying object 12 that has taken off from the base 10 first takes an altitude to a height without obstacles (F1). Then, it flies to the equipment 50 (compressor 52) to be monitored (F2). Upon arriving at the compressor 52, the vehicle is further moved to a position suitable for using the operating condition visualization means 16 (F3). The movement at this time may include a change in altitude. In FIG. 6, the direction is changed during the descent.

The position suitable for using the operating condition visualization means 16 may be diagonally above the compressor 52, for example, in the case of a hologram or a laser Doppler. When using the strobe light 16a, sand crest, or water crest, it is desirable that the strobe light 16a is almost directly above the compressor 52. Then, monitoring is started. The image data obtained by monitoring is stored in the flying object 12 as a monitoring result image Sb. Alternatively, it is transmitted to the control device 14.

When the monitoring of one compressor 52 is completed, the next step is to monitor the compressor 52 (F4). Then, when the monitoring of the compressor 52 to be monitored is completed (F5), the altitude is taken again (F6) and the aircraft is returned to the base 10 (F7). In the above explanation, it is assumed that the flight body 12 is controlled by a person (worker 5), but the same applies to programming the flight route, flight altitude, measurement position, etc. in advance on the unmanned and autonomous flying body 12. You can get the action.

FIG. 7 shows the processing flow of the control device 14. The following processing describes a case where the control device 14 controls one flying object 12. When the process starts (step S100), the control device 14 determines the end (step S102). When ending (Y branch in step S102), the control device 14 is stopped (step S104). The end determination may be made by an emergency stop as well as by the end instruction of the worker 5.

When continuing the process (N branch in step S102), it waits until the monitoring time is reached (step S106). Monitoring may be performed at regular intervals. In addition, it is assumed that the monitoring time has been input in advance.

When the monitoring time is reached (Y branch in step S106), the monitoring start time is notified (step S108). By this notification, the worker 5 drives the flying object 12 with the controller 14a. While the worker 5 is driving the flying object 12, the following steps are repeated.

First, the monitoring end determination is made (step S110). Worker 5 determines the end of monitoring. Basically, the return of the flying object 12 is a condition for ending the monitoring. When the monitoring is completed (Y branch in step S110), the process returns to the end determination (step S102).

When the monitoring is continued (N branch in step S110), it is determined whether or not the control device 14 is input or received (step S112). The input from the operator 5 also waits until there is a transmission signal from the aircraft body 12 (N branch in step S112).

When there is an input or a transmission from the flying object 12 (Y branch in step S112), it is determined whether or not it is an input by the operator 5 (step S114). If the input is made by the operator 5 (Y branch in step S114), the input is transmitted to the flying object 12 (step S116), and the flow is returned to step S110.

When the input is not input by the operator 5 (N branch in step S114), it is determined that the signal is transmitted from the aircraft body 12 and the signal is received (step S118). Then, the received data is recorded (step S120), and the flow is returned to step S110. The received data includes the monitoring result image Sb. Further, the received data may include data other than the monitoring result image Sb.

Next, processing when the monitoring result image Sb is received will be described. The following processing may be carried out even while the operator 5 is operating the flying object 12 (steps S110 to S120). It may also be performed after the flying object 12 returns. In addition, the flow is shown in the form of a subroutine.

When the monitoring result image Sb is received with reference to FIG. 8 (step S150), which compressor 52 is identified by the ID 50a displayed in the monitoring result image Sb (step S152). Next, the reference image Ss of the compressor 52 is acquired (step S154). Then, it is determined whether or not the reference image Ss and the monitoring result image Sb are the same (step S156).

The method of comparison is not particularly limited. For example, the pixels in a specific area are compared with each other, and the difference between the pixel values is integrated. If the difference is not more than a certain value, it is determined that the reference image Ss and the monitoring result image Sb are the same.

If it can be determined that the reference image Ss and the monitoring result image Sb are the same (Y branch in step S156), "no abnormality" is notified (step S158). On the other hand, if it is determined that the reference image Ss and the monitoring result image Sb are different (N branch in step S156), a notification of "predictive" is given (step S160). Then, the ID 50a of the compressor 52 and the comparison result and the like are recorded (step S162), and the process is returned to the main routine (step S164). When processing a plurality of monitoring result images Sb in succession, iterative processing is performed.

As described above, the monitoring system 1 according to the present invention visualizes the operating state of the equipment 50 arranged in the building of the factory and compares it with the image when there is no abnormality to detect a failure or a sign of the equipment 50. It can be carried out.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the monitoring system 2 according to the present embodiment. In the monitoring system 2 according to the present embodiment, in the monitoring system 1 described in the first embodiment, a mechanism for the flying object 12 to fly safely in the building is added. Further, the same ones shown in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the monitoring system 2 of the present embodiment, in addition to the base 10, the flying object 12, the control device 15, and the operating condition visualization means 16, the self-propelled carrier 30 having the connecting wire winding device 32 and the self-propelled carrier 30 are run. It has a wire 40 stretched inside the building for the purpose.

As in the case of the first embodiment, the flying object 12 is equipped with equipment necessary for flight, a communication device, and a driving situation visualization means 16. Further, in the flying object 12 according to the present embodiment, the hook 12f is attached to the upper surface of the housing 12d of the flying object 12. The hook 12f is for connecting to the connecting line 34 described later. Further, the control device 15 can control not only the movement of the flying object 12 but also the movement of the self-propelled carrier 30.

The wire 40 is stretched so as to pass above the equipment 50 to be monitored and the base 10 in the building. The self-propelled carrier 30 is provided with a motor-driven drive pulley 30d and a driven pulley 30r, and the wire 40 is sandwiched between the drive pulley 30d and the driven pulley 30r. Therefore, when the drive pulley 30d rotates, the self-propelled carrier 30 can move on the wire 40. Further, the communication device 30c may be mounted.

Further, the self-propelled carrier 30 has a connecting wire winding device 32. The connecting wire winding device 32 has a winding motor 32a and a reel 32r for winding the connecting wire 34. The connecting line 34 may be able to withstand enough tension to lift the flying object 12. Further, the self-propelled carrier 30 is equipped with a battery (not shown) for operating the drive pulley 30d, the take-up motor 32a, the communication device 30c, and the like.

The self-propelled carrier 30 is mounted on the wire 40. The aircraft body 12 is connected to the connecting line 34 by a hook 12f. Therefore, it can be said that the flying object 12 is connected to the wire 40.

Next, the operation of the monitoring system 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The self-propelled carrier 30 is stopped above the base 10. The connecting wire 34 unwound from the connecting wire winding device 32 of the self-propelled carrier 30 is attached to the hook 12f on the upper surface of the flying object 12.

The control device 15 waits until the monitoring time comes. When the monitoring time comes, the start of monitoring is notified. By this notification, the worker 5 operates the self-propelled carrier 30 and the air vehicle 12 with the controller 15a. The connecting wire winding device 32 of the self-propelled carrier 30 is urged on the winding side. Therefore, if the flying object 12 rises, the connecting line 34 is wound up, and if the flying object 12 descends, the connecting line 34 is unwound.

First, the worker 5 raises the flying object 12 to the self-propelled carrier 30. Next, the air vehicle 12 and the self-propelled carrier 30 are moved along the wire 40 to the sky above the equipment 50 to be monitored. Then, when the self-propelled carrier 30 moves over the equipment 50, the worker 5 lowers the flying object 12 above the equipment 50.

Since the connecting wire 34 is always urged on the winding side, the connecting wire 34 does not loosen. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the connecting line 34 from being entangled with the propeller 12ca of the flying object 12. The connecting line 34 is designed so that the feeding is stopped at a certain length, so that the flying object 12 does not crash on the floor of the building.

Further, even if the aircraft 12 loses attitude control for some reason, it will not fly out of the radius of the connecting line 34. Of course, by operating the controller 15a of the operator 5, the connecting wire winding device 32 can forcibly wind the connecting wire 34 and position the flying object 12 directly under the self-propelled carrier 30.

The flying object 12 images the vibration of the equipment 50 as in the case of the first embodiment. For the imaging of vibration, the method described in the first embodiment can be preferably used. When the monitoring of one equipment 50 is completed, the aircraft 12 moves to the next equipment 50. At the time of this movement, the self-propelled carrier 30 itself also moves. This can be done by setting the self-propelled carrier 30 to move with the air vehicle 12 when it moves in the direction of the wire 40.

When the monitoring of all the equipment 50 is completed, the flying object 12 is raised to the self-propelled carrier 30 and moved to the upper part of the base 10. After that, the aircraft 12 is lowered to the base 10 again. The comparison between the monitoring result image Sb and the reference image Ss and the display of the determination of "no abnormality" or "predictive" are the same as in the case of the first embodiment. Further, the processing of the control device 15 may be the same as the processing of the control device 14 of the first embodiment.

As described above, the monitoring system 2 according to the present invention can monitor the operating state of the equipment 50 through the imaging of vibration.

The monitoring system according to the present invention can be suitably used when monitoring the operating state of equipment arranged in a factory building.

1 Monitoring system 2 Monitoring system 5 Worker 10 Base 10a Charging equipment 12 Aircraft 12a Communication device 12b Driving camera 12f Hook 12ca Propeller 12cc Motor 12c Drive unit 12d Housing 12e Support leg 14 Control device 15 Control device 14a Operation device 14a Controller 15a Controller 14b View screen 14c Communication device 16 Operating status visualization means 16a Strobe light 16c Movie camera 16b Camera 18 Sand crest 18a Container 18b Thin film 18c Inner frame 18e Powder 18d Fixer 30 Self-propelled carrier 30d Drive pulley 30r Driven pulley 30c Communication device 32 Connecting wire winding device 32a Winding motor 32r Reel 34 Connecting wire 40 Wire 50 Equipment 50a ID
52 Compressor Ss Reference image Sb Monitoring result image

Claims (5)

A base installed inside the factory building to stop the aircraft,
It has a control device that controls the flying object, and has
The flying object is a monitoring system in a factory, characterized in that the operating status of equipment installed in the building is monitored from the air by means for visualizing the operating status. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the operating condition visualization means is a means for visualizing the vibration of the equipment. The monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flying object is connected to a flying object crash safety means provided in the building. The air vehicle crash safety means is provided with a self-propelled carrier having a connecting wire winding device.
The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the flying object is connected to a connecting line. The flying object observes the vibration of the compressor arranged in the building with interference fringes, and observes the vibration.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device predicts a failure of the compressor by comparing the interference fringes with a reference interference fringes.

Images