JP2785800B2 - Underwater target position detection device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an underwater target position detecting device, and more particularly to an underwater target position detecting device for a diver for detecting the direction and direction of a target in water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic signal has been transmitted from an ultrasonic signal source into water, and the ultrasonic signal has been received by an underwater target position detecting device mounted on a diver, and a target position as an underwater ultrasonic transmission source has been received. There is known a system in which a diver detects or detects (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-284084). FIG. 6 shows a configuration diagram of an example of an underwater detection information transmission system provided with this conventional underwater target position detecting device. This is an example in which the diver D detects the direction in which the support ship S is present. The diver D is connected to an ultrasonic transmitter mounted on the support ship S, is fixed to the bottom of the ship, and has an ultrasonic signal P _S having a frequency of 75 kHz. And a transmitter 35 that radiates
Detection unit 3 attached to the diver D that detects the direction of the vehicle
6 and 6.

[0003] The moving detection unit 36 is provided with a diver D's right ear E1.
A receiver 37 fixed to the side, and an output signal of the receiver 37 are input via a circuit in the waterproof housing Bo and are arranged so as to transmit sound opposite to the right ear E1. 39, a receiver 40 fixed to the left ear E2 side of the diver D, and an output signal of the receiver 40 is supplied to the waterproof housing B.
o, and a second signal processing system comprising a sound generator 41 arranged to transmit sound opposite to the left ear E2.

The operation of this conventional underwater target position detecting device will be described. An ultrasonic signal PS having a frequency of 75 kHz from a transmitter 35 fixed to the bottom of a support ship _S has a wide directivity. Once emitted into water, the ultrasonic signal P _S emitted to reach the diver D becomes spherical wavefront.

[0005] The mobile detection unit 36 mounted on the diver D
Are transmitted by the receivers 37 and 40 installed at the top of the diver D in parallel with both ears, and the ultrasonic signals P _S arrived at
And reception of, than this is sent the received signals S1, S2 each at intervals shorter than the water the wavelength of the ultrasonic signal P _S, amplified and frequency separately by circuit of the received signals S1, S2 waterproof casing Bo 1 kHz audible frequency signal S11 while converting and maintaining each other's phase difference and amplitude difference,
The audible frequency signals S11 and S12 are supplied to the sound generators 39 and 41 to operate them, thereby causing the right and left ears E1 and E2 of the diver D to emit audible sounds.

In this way, when the ultrasonic signal P _S reaches the receivers 37 and 40, the receiver 3
Since an audible sound maintaining the relative relationship between the phase difference and the amplitude difference generated according to the distance difference between 7 and 40 is generated and transmitted to both ears of the diver D, the direction of the zero phase difference point is directed to the diver D. The diver D can accurately recognize the direction of the ultrasonic transmission source (target position) existing at the apex of the isosceles from the directivity of the receivers 37 and 40 under the water.

[0007]

However, in the above-described conventional underwater target position detecting device, the target position is identified by relying on the sense of direction of the diver D by hearing.
For a diver D, who generally relies on visual information to determine his or her surroundings, the accuracy of navigation is expected to decrease, and the target position cannot be detected with high accuracy. In particular, in a situation where the underwater visibility is poor, it is very difficult to proceed in a certain direction because a navigation method of proceeding with a certain thing in the water as a mark cannot be used.

Even if a compass is used, a certain level of skill is required to match the direction of the sound source felt by the diver with the direction indicated by the compass. Further, in an underwater situation where the field of view is extremely poor such that even one's own hands cannot be seen, the displayed information cannot be read, so that necessary navigation information cannot be obtained visually.

In a situation where the underwater visibility is poor, a method of continuously guiding the diver D by continuously outputting an ultrasonic signal can be considered. In this case, the diver D's attention is directed only to the ultrasonic signal. There is a high risk of missing other sounds that signal danger.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
To provide an underwater target position detecting device capable of detecting a target position with higher accuracy by notifying a diver of a target position as a sensuous thing relying on hearing by an acoustic signal but showing visual direction information to a diver. With the goal.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an underwater target position detecting device capable of safely and reliably detecting target position information necessary for a diver even in a situation where underwater visibility is poor.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sound source device that arbitrarily generates an acoustic signal at a target position in water, and a sound source device that receives an acoustic signal propagating in water. Receiving means for detecting the azimuth on the horizontal plane, an azimuth detector for detecting the receiving azimuth direction of the first receiving means, the received signal of the first receiving means and the azimuth of the azimuth detector A first method for detecting the direction of arrival of the sound signal from the detection signal
, An underwater glasses with a display mounted on the diver, and a second processing means for displaying at least the azimuth information detected by the first processing means on a display in the underwater glasses. It is.

According to the present invention, since the absolute direction of the arrival direction of the acoustic signal from the target position is detected and displayed on the display in the underwater glasses worn by the diver, the target position can be detected by the acoustic signal. Instead of relying on sensory information, it is possible to visually show the diver the azimuth information of the target position.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a gyro compass for detecting a direction in which the underwater glasses are facing, and the second processing means displays the direction information detected by the gyro compass on a display in the underwater glasses. Therefore, the relative position of the diver with respect to the target position can be displayed on the display in the underwater glasses.

Further, the present invention has a second wave receiving means for receiving an acoustic signal propagating in water and detecting a vertical position relative to the sound source device, wherein the second processing means is a second wave receiving means. , The relative vertical position information is displayed on the display device in the underwater glasses based on the received signal, so that the relative vertical position relationship between the target position and the diver in the water can be visually confirmed.

Further, according to the present invention, the sound source device has a variable oscillation interval for generating an encoded sound signal, and a third wave receiving means for receiving an acoustic signal propagating in water; A signal decoder for decoding the encoded audio signal based on the signal received from the means, and the second processing means is configured to display output information of the signal decoder. According to the present invention, arbitrary information can be visually recognized from the sound source device at the target position.

[0017]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a reception display device of a first embodiment of an underwater target position detection device according to the present invention and a perspective view of a sound source device. The first embodiment of the underwater target position detecting device according to the present invention captures a sound source device shown in FIG. 1B capable of arbitrarily generating an acoustic signal in water, and a sound signal from the sound source device. And a reception display device shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1A which can display the direction and direction in which the sound signal has arrived and can show it to the diver.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the sound source device includes an air tank 9 for storing high-pressure air, and a first stage 8 for reducing and supplying the high-pressure air in the air tank 9.
And the air hose 10 attached to the first stage 8
And an air horn 11 that generates a large acoustic signal by ejecting air passing through the air hose 10 to the outside. This sound source device is carried by a diver or installed at a fixed target position.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a reception display device includes a wave receiving array 1 for detecting an azimuth and a wave receiving array 2 for detecting a relative vertical position for receiving an acoustic signal, and wave receiving arrays 1 and 2. , A signal processor 3 for processing the received acoustic signal (received signal) to detect the arrival direction of the acoustic signal, a central processor 4 for controlling the entire reception display device, and a receiving array 1 Detector 5 for detecting the direction of the diver, a diver's underwater glasses, and an underwater glasses-type display 6 for indicating the direction and the arrival direction of the acoustic signal, and a gyro for grasping which direction the diver is looking at And a compass 7.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, the operation of the sound source device will be described. The high-pressure air in the air tank 9 shown in FIG. This first stage 8
The diver is usually used by a diver, and is provided with a regulator for breathing in water. The decompressed air passes through the air hose 10 and reaches the air horn 11. The air horn 11 emits this air to the outside to generate a large acoustic signal. A switch (not shown) is attached to the air horn 11 so that an acoustic signal can be arbitrarily generated when necessary.

Next, the operation of the receiving and displaying apparatus will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The reception display device is mounted on an appropriate part of the diver, for example, an arm. Also, here, a plurality of divers are equipped with a sound source device and act together, generate a sound signal from a sound source device of a certain diver A, receive the sound signal with a reception display device of a diver B, and the diver B receives the sound signal. The operation of the receiving and displaying device will be described with an example of detecting the position of the diver A.

The acoustic signal generated from the sound source device of the diver A propagates in the water and is received by the receiving array 1 and the receiving array 2 of the receiving and displaying device equipped with the diver B. The receiving arrays 1 and 2 use a combination of a plurality of arrays for different purposes. The purpose of the wave receiving array 1 is to detect the azimuth where the diver A is located. For this purpose, a plurality of wave receiving arrays 1 are arranged in a horizontal direction to receive acoustic signals.

On the other hand, the purpose of the wave receiving array 2 is to know the relative vertical positional relationship between the divers A and B. This is because not only is diver A and diver B at the same depth as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), when diver A is located at a position shallower than diver B or at a deeper position, there is a depth difference when diver B approaches diver A with only horizontal information. This is because the diver A may pass without noticing. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the relative vertical position relationship between the diver A and the diver B and transmit the information to the diver B.

The diver B approaches the diver A while adjusting the depth in accordance with the relative vertical position information. In order to detect this relative vertical position relationship, the receiving array 2 is mounted on the upper and lower parts of the reception display device (for example, when mounted on the arm, the upper and lower parts of the arm).

The acoustic signals received by the wave receiving arrays 1 and 2 are processed by the signal processor 3 to detect the direction of the sound source (step 101). In the receiving arrays 1 arranged horizontally in a radial manner, a certain direction of the sound source device is detected by a beam forming process that is calculated from a difference in time when an acoustic signal reaches each receiving array 1 and a phase difference between the received signals. Also, based on the acoustic signals received by the wave receiving array 2 arranged to know the relative vertical position relationship between the sound source device and the reception display device, the signals received by the upper wave receiving array 2 and the lower wave receiving array 2 are obtained. A level difference is obtained, and it is determined from the result whether the position of the diver A is above or below the diver B or the same depth.

Subsequently, the detection signal detected by the signal processor 3 is supplied to the central processor 4. Here, since a detection signal indicating which direction the wave receiving array 1 faces is input from the direction detector 5 to the central processing unit 4 (step 102), the central processing unit 4 determines which wave receiving array 1 We always know whether we are facing the direction. For this reason, the central processing unit 4 detects not only the arrival direction of the sound signal to the diver A when the sound signal is received, but also the absolute direction of the arrival direction of the sound signal (step 103).

A gyrocompass 7 is attached to the underwater glasses type display 6, and detects the azimuth of the direction in which the diver B is looking (step 104). The central processing unit 4 includes the gyro compass 7, the signal processor 3,
Each data (detection signal) from the azimuth detector 5 is integrated and controlled, and the whole reception display device is controlled. As a result,
The direction of the face of the diver B (the underwater glasses type display 6) at that moment, the direction information of the diver A viewed from the diver B, the direction information of the diver A and the diver B corresponding to the direction of the diver B. Display information such as relative vertical positional relationship information is created (step 105), and this display information is output to the underwater glasses type display 6 and displayed (step 10).
6).

Next, the display mechanism of the underwater glasses type display 6 and a display example thereof will be described with reference to FIG. A display mechanism will be described with reference to a display mechanism example in FIG. The display information data integrated by the central processing unit 4 is put together in the form shown in FIG.
The image is projected from the projector 17 as an image.

The image projected from the projector 17 is incident on a lens 18 in which a plurality of lenses are combined, and the focus of the image is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the lenses. With this adjustment function, the image is adjusted so that it is just in focus with the diver's eye 20. The image that has passed through the lens 18 is reflected by the glass 19 and passes through the eyepiece 23 to the eye 20 of the diver B as shown in FIG.
The image is transmitted as a display image as shown in FIG.

The underwater scene is underwater spectacle lens unit 12.
Through the glass 19 and through the eyepiece 23 to the eye 20 of the diver B. And the projector 17
And the underwater scenery are superimposed and transmitted to the diver B. Projector 17, lens 18, glass 19
Is easily fogged, so that the underwater spectacle lens unit 12 and the eyepiece lens 2
The space between 3 is sealed so that no fogging occurs inside.

Next, a display example of the underwater glasses type display 6 will be described with reference to FIG. On the underwater glasses type display 6, a target direction display symbol 13 is displayed on an azimuth scale display 16 of a horizontal single line provided at the center of the display 6, and an azimuth display 14 is provided at each of an upper part and a lower part of the center. And 15 are the configurations.

Here, the azimuth display 14 at the upper center position of the underwater glasses type display 6 displays the direction in which the face of the diver B (the underwater glasses display 6) is facing. The azimuth display 14 of the direction in which the diver B is facing is represented by 16 divided azimuths expressed by 1 to 3 letters of the alphabet, 0 ° for true north, 90 ° for true east, 180 ° for true south, and 270 for true west. It is a display in two kinds of directions, which is represented by a frequency display using numerals (0 to 359) as degrees. The display example in FIG. 3A is “NE4
5 "indicates that the diver B is now pointing in the direction of the northeast direction and the azimuth of 45 degrees.

The azimuth display 15 at the lower center position of the underwater glasses type display 6 displays the target azimuth (here, the azimuth where the diver A is present). The target azimuth display 15 is an absolute azimuth display, and is two types of azimuth display like the azimuth display 14. Therefore, the display example of FIG.
5 "indicates that the target diver A is in the northwest direction and azimuth of 315 degrees.

The target direction display symbol 13 depends on the position on the azimuth scale display 16 where the target direction display symbol 13 is displayed.
The target direction (here, the direction in which the diver A is present) is indicated with reference to the front direction viewed by the diver B. That is, when the target direction display symbol 13 is located at the center scale position 28 where the center line of the azimuth scale display 16 intersects, it indicates that the diver A is in the frontal direction.

When the target direction display symbol 13 is at the position of the scale position 24 of the azimuth scale display 16, the direction of 90 degrees clockwise with the center scale position 28 as a reference (0 degree), that is, the reference (scale position 28). When the azimuth is set to true north, it indicates that the diver A is in the true east direction. On the contrary, the target direction display symbol 13 is displayed in the direction scale display 1.
6 is at the scale position 26, the center scale position 28
When the azimuth of the reference (center scale position 28) is set to true north with respect to the reference (0 degree), that is, 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction, the diver A is present in the direction of true west.

Further, when the target direction display symbol 13 is located at the scale position 25 at the right end of the azimuth scale display 16, the diver A turns 170 degrees clockwise with the center scale position 28 as a reference (0 degree). It indicates that On the other hand, when the target direction display symbol 13 is located at the left end scale position 27 of the azimuth scale display 16, the diver A is 170 degrees counterclockwise with respect to the center scale position 28 (0 degree). It is shown that. When the diver A is in the clockwise direction of 171 degrees to 189 degrees with the center scale position 28 as the reference direction 0 degree, the target direction display symbol 1
3 blinks at the scale positions 25 and 27, respectively, indicating that the diver A is behind.

In the display example of FIG. 3A, the target direction display symbol 13 is located at the scale position 26 of the azimuth scale display 16, so that the target diver A is 90 degrees counterclockwise from the direction in which the diver B is facing. You are in the direction of degrees. That is, since diver B is now oriented in the northeast direction at 45 degrees, diver A is 9 clockwise from that.
Since the direction is 0 degree, it indicates that the vehicle is in the direction of 315 degrees northwest.

The direction of the vertices of the triangle of the symbol mark of the target direction display symbol 13 indicates the relative vertical positional relationship between the target divers A and B. When the vertices of the triangle face upward, the divers If A is at a shallower depth than diver B and the apex of the triangle is pointing down, it indicates that diver A is at a deeper depth than diver B, and that divers A and B have the same depth. If the symbol mark changes to a circle. In the display example of FIG. 3A, since the vertex of the triangle of the symbol mark of the target direction display symbol 13 points upward, it indicates that diver A is at a shallower depth than diver B.

Based on the display information displayed in the underwater glasses, the diver B makes the target direction display symbol 13
Is moved straight to the position of the center graduation position 28, and by adjusting his own depth position so that the depth becomes the same as that of the diver A (the symbol mark of the target direction display symbol 13 becomes a circle). , And can easily reach the diver A. At this time, when the diver A generates an acoustic signal many times, each data is updated each time, and the diver B can more accurately head to the diver A.

As described above, in this embodiment, the position of the target diver A is detected not by relying on the hearing of the diver B, but by using the underwater glasses type display 6 provided in the underwater glasses. The target position is easily detected by relying on the sight of the diver B who sees the display, and since it is displayed in the underwater glasses, for example, the mud on the sea or the bottom after a typhoon or storm is rolled up. The navigation information required by the diver B can be reliably obtained even in the underwater where visibility is extremely poor, such as a lake or the like, in which even one's own hands cannot be seen, and the diver B can perform a search activity.

Also, according to this embodiment, when a plurality of divers act together, if each diver has a sound source device and a reception display device together, it is possible to grasp the direction in which each other is located. , And it is possible to gather again even if they are separated.

Furthermore, the sound source device is not limited to the case where the diver is equipped. For example, at a diving point where the user dives for the first time, a sound source device for periodically generating an acoustic signal is installed at an entry location or a point location. In addition, if the diver equipped with the reception display device is made to rely on the sound signal from the sound source device, even if it is a diving point that the diver does not know at all, it will go around the point exactly, It is easy to return to the place where you entered.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration of the second embodiment includes a sound source device capable of generating an encoded sound signal with a freely changed oscillation interval, a sound signal from the sound source device, and a direction of arrival of the sound signal. It is constituted by a reception display device capable of displaying an azimuth, showing it to the diver and, when the signal is a specific code, decoding and displaying the signal and transmitting it to the diver.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a receiving and displaying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the target detecting apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 1A are denoted by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 5, a reception display device includes a reception array 1 and a reception array 2 for receiving an acoustic signal, a signal processor 3 for performing signal processing on the received acoustic signal and detecting the arrival direction of the acoustic signal, A central processing unit 4 for controlling the entire reception display device, an azimuth detector 5 for detecting the azimuth of the wave receiving array 1, and a diver's underwater glasses, and an underwater glasses type display for indicating the azimuth and the arrival direction of the acoustic signal. 6, a gyrocompass 7 for grasping which direction the diver is looking, a receiving array 31 for receiving the encoded sound signal, and a signal for decoding the encoded sound signal And a decryptor 32.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The operation of indicating the direction and direction of the sound source and guiding the diver to the sound source device is the same as the operation described in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. An operation of receiving a message based on an encoded audio signal, which is a feature of the second embodiment, and transmitting the message by displaying the content to a diver will be described.

The encoded sound signal is transmitted from the sound source device. The transmitted acoustic signal is received by the wave receiving array 31, and then supplied to the signal decoder 32, where it is converted and decoded (demodulated) from the code represented by the change in the oscillation interval to information that can be understood by the diver. . The decryption information is supplied to the central processing unit 4, where each data (detection signal) from the gyro compass 7, the signal processor 3, and the direction detector 5
And the diver's face (underwater glasses-type display 6) is converted into display information such as the facing direction of the diver, target azimuth information viewed from the diver, and information on the relative vertical position between the target position and the diver. It is displayed on the type indicator 6. When the diver sees this display, a message or the like is transmitted.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By detecting the absolute azimuth of the arrival direction of the sound signal from the target position and displaying it on the display in the underwater glasses worn by the diver, the target position is not a sensation that relies on hearing by the sound signal Since the direction information of the target position is visually shown to the diver, even in the worst underwater view where even his own hand is not visible, the diver can obtain information on the position of the buddy or other divers necessary for the diver Therefore, a plurality of divers can act together without separating and can dive more safely.

According to the present invention, azimuth information detected by a gyro compass for detecting the azimuth of the underwater glasses is displayed on a display in the underwater glasses, so that the diver's target position can be determined. Since the relative position is displayed on the display in the underwater glasses, even in situations where the underwater visibility is poor, the relative positional relationship of the diver to the target position can be accurately identified, and the target position can be accurately determined. You can proceed.

Further, according to the present invention, the relative vertical position information is displayed on the display in the underwater glasses, so that the relative vertical position relationship between the target position and the diver in the water can be visually confirmed. Can prevent the phenomenon of passing the target position without noticing due to the difference in depth when the target position moves like other divers, etc. Reliable on guide divers by installing a sound source device that periodically generates an acoustic signal in advance at entry and point locations even in places where you do not know at all, such as diving points for the first time because it can be detected Instead, you can go around the points exactly and return to the entry location.

Further, according to the present invention, the sound source device has a variable oscillation interval for generating an encoded sound signal, and any information can be visually recognized from the sound source device at the target position. In addition to the target position information, any message information can be transmitted to the diver.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a reception display device and a perspective view of a sound source device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the reception display device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display example and an example of a configuration of an underwater glasses type display.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a depth difference between two divers.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a reception display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 wave receiving array for azimuth detection 2 wave receiving array for relative vertical position detection 3 signal processor 4 central processor 5 azimuth detector 6 underwater glasses type display 7 gyrocompass 8 first stage 9 air tank 10 air hose 11 air horn 12 underwater glasses lens Unit 13 Target direction display symbol 14 Direction display of direction viewed by diver 15 Target direction display 16 Direction scale display 17 Projector 18 Lens 19 Glass 20 Diver eye 23 Eyepiece 31 Receiving array 32 Signal decoder A, B Diver

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI G01S 15/88 G01S 15/88 (56) References JP-A-5-143807 (JP, A) JP-A-6-79015 (JP) JP-A-2-254384 (JP, A) JP-A-2-284084 (JP, A) JP-A-2-500216 (JP, A) JP-A-6-309586 (JP, A) 4-9166 (JP, A) JP-A-58-221796 (JP, A) JP-A-60-80362 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G01S 3/802 B63C 11/26 G01C 19/00 G01S 7/56 G01S 15/88 A63B 33/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sound source device that arbitrarily generates an acoustic signal at a target position in water, and a first wave receiving device that receives the acoustic signal propagating in water and detects an azimuth of the sound source device on a horizontal plane. Means, an azimuth detector for detecting the azimuth direction of reception of the first wave receiving means, and an arrival direction of the acoustic signal from a reception signal of the first wave receiving means and an azimuth detection signal of the azimuth detector. First processing means for detecting the azimuth of the diver, underwater glasses with a display attached to the diver, and second information for displaying at least azimuth information detected by the first processing means on a display in the underwater glasses. An underwater target position detecting device, comprising: a processing unit. 2. A gyro compass for detecting an azimuth of the underwater glasses, and the second processing means displays azimuth information detected by the gyro compass on a display in the underwater glasses. The underwater target position detecting device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A second wave receiving means for receiving the acoustic signal propagating in water and detecting a vertical position relative to the sound source device, wherein the second processing means comprises a second wave receiving means. The underwater target position detecting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the relative vertical position information is displayed on a display in the underwater glasses based on the reception signal of the underwater target. 4. The sound source device has a variable oscillation interval for generating an encoded sound signal, a third wave receiving means for receiving the sound signal propagating in water, and a third wave receiving means. 2. The signal processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a signal decoder for decoding an encoded audio signal based on a signal received from said means, wherein said second processing means displays output information of said signal decoder.
Or the underwater target position detecting device according to 2.