JP2024000149A - Photovoltaic power generation system inspection device and inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide photovoltaic power generation system inspection device and inspection method, which can automatically and objectively evaluate a state of soil which can affect integrity of a photovoltaic power generation system.

SOLUTION: A photovoltaic power generation system inspection device for monitoring an operation status of a photovoltaic power generation system includes: a soil state detection mechanism for detecting a state of soil with respect to an area in which the photovoltaic power generation system is installed and a surrounding area; a data recording part for storing data indicating the state of soil, which is detected by the soil state detection mechanism; a data analysis part for analyzing the latest data which is detected by the soil state detection mechanism and is stored in the data recording part; and a data determination part for determining presence or absence of abnormality of the state of soil based on an analysis result by the data analysis part.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a solar power generation system inspection device and an inspection method.

Due to the recent intensification of natural disasters and concerns about a future shortage of electrical safety personnel, there is a need for labor-saving and unmanned operations and maintenance inspections of solar power generation systems using automatic inspection devices.

There are various installation environments for solar power generation systems, such as on slopes and on water, and depending on the installation environment of the solar power generation system, it may be difficult for inspection workers to access the system. For this reason, it has been proposed to inspect solar power generation systems using inspection tools such as drones and traveling robots.

Patent No. 5197642

As mentioned above, there are various installation environments for solar power generation systems. There may be cases where it is necessary to take safety into account. In particular, as natural disasters have become more severe in recent years, including damage caused by landslides, there is a need for objective evaluation and prediction techniques.

However, in the past, evaluations of the stability of the soil and the stability of surrounding cliffs in areas where solar power generation systems have been installed were often carried out by visual inspections by inspection workers; Quantitative evaluation of changes over time has not been sufficiently conducted using power generation system inspection equipment.

The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and its purpose is to eliminate soil that may affect the health of the solar power generation system in the environment where the solar power generation system is installed. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a solar power generation system inspection device and inspection method that can automatically and objectively evaluate the condition of a solar power generation system.

The solar power generation system inspection device of the embodiment is a solar power generation system inspection device that monitors the operating status of the solar power generation system, and is configured to monitor soil conditions in the area where the solar power generation system is installed and its surrounding areas. a soil condition detection mechanism that detects the soil condition; a data recording section that stores data indicating the soil condition detected by the soil condition detection mechanism; and a data recording section that stores the latest data detected by the soil condition detection mechanism and stored in the data recording section. and a data determination section that determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the soil condition based on the analysis result by the data analysis section.

According to embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to automatically and objectively evaluate soil conditions that may affect the health of a solar power generation system in an environment where the solar power generation system is installed. A solar power generation system inspection device and inspection method can be provided.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of a solar power generation system according to an embodiment. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of a solar power generation system inspection device according to an embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the measurement method of the solar power generation system inspection apparatus based on embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the measurement method of the solar power generation system inspection apparatus based on embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the measurement method of the solar power generation system inspection apparatus based on embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the measurement method of the solar power generation system inspection apparatus based on embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the measurement method of the solar power generation system inspection apparatus based on embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the measurement method of the solar power generation system inspection apparatus based on embodiment.

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a schematic configuration of a solar power generation system 1 that is inspected in the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, many of the structures such as the solar panel 101 that constitute the solar power generation system 1 are installed on a pedestal 102 or the like formed by driving piles into the soil 2. Soil 2 often has well-maintained topography, but it may also have slopes or complex shapes, and the surrounding environment may include exposed cliff faces 3. many.

Due to the influence of natural disasters such as typhoons, crustal movements such as earthquakes, etc., the shape of the soil 2 and slope 3 changes, and when the degree of change becomes large, the solar power generation system 1 may be damaged due to soil collapse or landslides. There is a concern that some parts may be damaged.

Quantitatively measuring such changes in the soil 2 and the slope 3 during periodic inspections and grasping the change trends becomes very important information in the operation and maintenance of the solar power generation system 1. Furthermore, since data acquisition during periodic inspections may be difficult for inspection workers to access depending on the setting environment of the solar power generation system 1, an automatic inspection tool that allows inspections without requiring access by inspection workers is provided. It is recommended that this be done using

Therefore, in this embodiment, a soil condition detection mechanism 105 is mounted on a mobile object 104 such as a drone 103 to detect the soil condition. The example shown in FIG. 1 shows a case where a laser scanner 106 is used as the soil condition detection mechanism 105, and the shapes of the soil 2 and the slope 3 are periodically measured using a laser 107 irradiated from the laser scanner 106. For example, by comparing the current shape measurement results with previous shape measurement results, changes in the shapes of the soil 2 and the slope 3 can be detected, and their stability can be evaluated. The targets for soil monitoring are the area where the solar power generation system 1 is installed (soil 2 in Figure 1) and its surrounding area (slope 3 in Figure 1, etc.). This indicates an area where there is a risk of damage to the solar power generation system 1 due to cave-ins or landslides, such as slope 3 of the cliff shown in .

In particular, in the case of the solar power generation system 1, there are periodically locations that are in contact with the soil, such as the legs of the pedestal 102 on which the solar panels 101 are mounted, and these locations are fixed points, so they are the reference points for shape measurement. It is possible to use it as 108. Therefore, when performing periodic inspections and evaluating changes over time, there is an advantage that positioning can be easily performed using the reference point 108.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the overall configuration of the solar power generation system inspection device according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the solar power generation system inspection device includes a mobile object 104 such as a drone 103, and a solar power generation system inspection device main body 200. A data server 121 is provided in the main unit 200 of the solar power generation system inspection device. The data server 121 includes a data recording section 122, a data analysis section 123, and a data determination section 124. An evaluation instruction mechanism 125 is connected to the data determination section 124 . A mobile object 104 such as a drone 103 is equipped with the aforementioned soil condition detection mechanism 105 and a data communication mechanism 120 for communicating with a data server 121.

Data obtained by the soil condition detection mechanism 105 mounted on a mobile object 104 such as a drone 103 is transmitted to a data server 121 by a data communication mechanism 120, and is effectively utilized by being stored in a data recording unit 122. can do. Although not shown in the figures other than FIG. 2, the mobile body 104 shown in each figure is equipped with a data communication mechanism 120.

The data recorded in the data recording section 122 is analyzed by the data analysis section 123. One of these is the evaluation of changes over time at each periodic inspection, and by comparing the latest data detected this time with previously detected data, it is possible to detect changes over time in topography, etc. In addition, it is possible to perform analyzes such as comparing the latest data detected this time with theoretical values and extracting abnormal values using machine learning.

The results analyzed by the data analysis unit 123 as described above are input to the data determination unit 124. The data determination unit 124 determines whether there is a problem with the soil 2 or the slope 3 based on the input analysis results. If a risk of cave-in or collapse is recognized, the evaluation instruction mechanism 125 issues an inspection instruction to the mobile object 104 to conduct further investigation, or emergency inspection workers are dispatched to conduct an on-site confirmation. , etc., you can move on to the next task. For example, when detecting the above-mentioned changes in the topography over time, if the changes over time are large and the topography has changed significantly from the previous topography, it can be evaluated that there is a high risk of cave-in or collapse. The same applies to the water content, etc., which will be described later.

Next, see FIG. 3 for a method in which a moisture measurement mechanism that measures the moisture content in the soil is used as the soil condition detection mechanism 105, and moisture is used as an index indicating the stability of the soil 2 and the slope 3. and explain.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, a near-infrared camera 109 is used as the moisture content measuring mechanism. The near-infrared camera 109 can capture near-infrared rays from the soil 2 and slope 3, and from the difference in the amount of absorption of near-infrared light depending on the moisture content, it is possible to image and evaluate the distribution of moisture. It is. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, a near-infrared camera 109 is mounted on a mobile object 104 such as a drone 103, and the water amount and distribution are evaluated by navigating the area to be evaluated and acquiring images. be able to. Then, in the data server 121 described above, by comparing the results with past periodic inspection results, it is possible to find out where the moisture content is increasing, and to know the signs of collapse of the soil 2 and the slope 3.

In addition to the above-mentioned near-infrared camera 109, the moisture measurement mechanism includes a general moisture meter, such as an electric resistance moisture meter 110 that measures electrical resistance, and a microwave meter that measures using microwaves. A type moisture meter 111 or the like can be used. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, a method may be used in which a self-propelled vehicle 113 that runs on the ground is used as the moving body 104, and a probe 114 or the like is inserted into the soil for measurement.

Moreover, the installation stability evaluation mechanism 112 can also be used as the soil condition detection mechanism 105 for detecting the stability of the soil 2 and the slope 3. In this case, it is also possible to perform the evaluation by generating an elastic wave from the installation stability evaluation mechanism 112, determining its propagation velocity, and determining the density of the soil 2.

At this time, the installation stability evaluation mechanism 112 is brought into contact with the soil, transmits elastic waves into the soil, and receives elastic waves reflected from interfaces such as strata and water in the soil. The probes 114 that transmit and receive elastic waves may be separate or the same probe, and it is also possible to evaluate elastic waves propagating on the ground surface. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, there is a method in which a probe 114 is brought into contact with the legs of the mount 102 of the solar panel 101, and elastic waves are transmitted into the soil and elastic waves are received from the soil via the legs of the mount 102. It is also possible to take

1 etc., a drone 103 is used as the moving body 104 and one drone 103 is shown navigating, but as shown in FIG. 6, multiple drones 103 are used as the moving body 104. The drone 103 may be operated automatically or may be operated by a person. Furthermore, it is also possible to use an ultra-small drone 103 called a micro drone. Alternatively, instead of bringing the drone 103 as the mobile body 104 closer to the ground, a method of measuring by suspending the soil condition detection mechanism 105 from the drone 103 as the mobile body 104 may be considered.

Although FIG. 6 shows a case where a plurality of drones 103 are used as the mobile object 104, a plurality of self-propelled vehicles 113 as shown in FIG. 7 and a plurality of walking robots 115 as shown in FIG. Alternatively, other forms may be used.

In addition to the detection data from the soil condition detection mechanism 105 described above, the data server 121 of the solar power generation system inspection device main unit 200 shown in FIG. , monitoring data such as surveillance video are input, and these monitoring data are collected and stored in the data recording unit 122. Then, the data analysis unit 123 analyzes these data, and the data determination unit 124 determines the presence or absence of an abnormality based on the analysis results. Thereby, the operating status of the solar power generation system 1 is monitored.

The data recording unit 122, data analysis unit 123, data determination unit 124, etc. of the data server 121 described above handle the detection data from the soil condition detection mechanism 105 described above, as well as the amount of power generation, amount of sunlight, temperature, and humidity. , and may be configured to handle monitoring data such as surveillance video.

In the case of the above monitoring data, examples of abnormal conditions include damage to the panel, short circuit in the electrical system, snow accumulation, increase in panel temperature, and decrease in power generation due to the influence of shadows. Furthermore, the data analysis unit 123 also analyzes whether there are any characteristics in the data change trends. Characteristics of data change trends include, for example, cases where the amount of power generation temporarily decreases and then recovers immediately, or cases where the amount of power generation gradually decreases.

If it is determined that there is an abnormality in the solar power generation system 1 as a result of the determination by the data determination unit 124, the evaluation instruction mechanism 125 issues an inspection instruction to the mobile body 104 to conduct further investigation, or performs an emergency inspection. You can move on to the next step, such as dispatching a worker to conduct an on-site check. In addition to the soil condition detection mechanism 105 described above, the moving body 104 dispatched in this case includes, for example, a visible light imaging device, a thermography device for detecting the presence or absence of a high temperature area called a hot spot, an electric discharge phenomenon, etc. A device equipped with an ultraviolet camera and various other sensors is used to capture the light.

Examples of the above-mentioned various sensors mounted on the moving body 104 include an odor sensor, an electromagnetic wave measuring device, a non-contact thermometer, a laser distance meter, a laser vibrometer, a laser-induced breakdown spectrometer, an eddy current sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, There are laser-induced breakdown spectrometers, but other sensors may also be used.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and gist of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

1... Solar power generation system, 2... Soil, 3... Slope, 101... Solar panel, 102... Frame, 103... Drone, 104... Mobile object, 105... Soil condition detection mechanism, 106...Laser scanner, 107...Laser, 108...Reference point, 109...Near infrared camera, 110...Electric resistance measuring moisture meter, 111...Microwave measuring moisture meter, 112...Installation stability Evaluation mechanism, 113...Self-propelled vehicle, 114...Probe, 115...Walking robot, 120...Data communication mechanism, 121...Data server, 122...Data recording unit, 123...Data analysis unit, 124...Data determination unit, 125...Evaluation instruction mechanism, 200...Solar power generation system inspection device main unit.

Claims (14)

A solar power generation system inspection device that monitors the operating status of a solar power generation system,
a soil condition detection mechanism that detects soil conditions in the area where the solar power generation system is installed and its surrounding area;
a data recording unit that stores data indicating the soil condition detected by the soil condition detection mechanism;
a data analysis unit that analyzes the latest data detected by the soil condition detection mechanism and stored in the data recording unit;
a data determination unit that determines whether there is an abnormality in the soil condition based on the analysis result by the data analysis unit;
A solar power generation system inspection device characterized by comprising: The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 1,
A solar power generation system inspection device, wherein the soil condition detection mechanism includes a soil shape detection mechanism that detects the shape of soil. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 2,
A solar power generation system inspection device characterized in that the soil shape detection mechanism is a laser scan shape measurement mechanism that scans and irradiates a laser to detect the shape. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 3,
The soil shape detection mechanism detects the soil shape based on positional information of a portion of a structure that constitutes the solar power generation system that is in contact with the soil by the laser scanning shape measurement mechanism. Photovoltaic system inspection device. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 4,
A solar power generation system inspection device characterized in that ground contact position information of a leg of a solar panel mount is used as position information of a portion of a structure constituting the solar power generation system that is in contact with soil. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 1 or 2,
A solar power generation system inspection device, wherein the soil condition detection mechanism includes a moisture content measurement mechanism that detects the moisture content of the soil. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 6,
A solar power generation system characterized in that the moisture content measuring mechanism detects the moisture content of soil by at least one of a captured image using near-infrared rays, measurement of electrical resistance, and measurement of attenuation of microwaves. Inspection equipment. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The soil condition detection mechanism is characterized in that the soil condition detection mechanism includes an installation stability evaluation mechanism that uses elastic waves to evaluate the installation stability of a structure that constitutes the solar power generation system installed on the soil with respect to the soil. A solar power generation system inspection device. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 8,
A solar power generation system inspection device characterized in that the installation stability evaluation mechanism uses legs of a mount of a solar panel that constitutes the solar power generation system as an input/output position of elastic waves. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 1 or 2,
A solar power generation system inspection device, wherein the soil condition detection mechanism is mounted on a moving body capable of automatically navigating. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 10,
A solar power generation system inspection device, wherein the mobile object includes any one of a drone, a self-propelled vehicle, and a walking robot. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 11,
A solar power generation system inspection device, wherein the mobile object is a drone, and the soil condition detection mechanism is suspended from the drone. The solar power generation system inspection device according to claim 1 or 2,
a data recording unit that records monitoring data regarding the operating status of the solar power generation system;
a data analysis unit that analyzes the monitoring data stored in the data recording unit;
a data determination unit that determines the presence or absence of an abnormality based on the analysis result by the data analysis unit;
A solar power generation system inspection device comprising: A solar power generation system inspection method for monitoring the operating status of a solar power generation system, the method comprising:
a soil condition detection mechanism that detects soil conditions in the area where the solar power generation system is installed and its surrounding area;
a data recording unit that stores data indicating the soil condition detected by the soil condition detection mechanism;
a data analysis unit that analyzes the latest data detected by the soil condition detection mechanism and stored in the data recording unit;
a data determination unit that determines whether there is an abnormality in the soil condition based on the analysis result by the data analysis unit;
1. A method for inspecting a solar power generation system, comprising carrying out an inspection using a solar power generation system inspection device equipped with.

Images