JP6979538B2 - Height difference measuring device and height difference measuring method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is a device for measuring the height difference and unevenness of the ground and ground used for construction, civil engineering or agriculture, and a measuring method using the device, and can measure the height difference and unevenness intermittently in dots. Instead, it can be displayed continuously in one or two dimensions.

In civil engineering construction work such as field construction, high-rise building construction, and road maintenance in agriculture, it is very important to know the slope, unevenness, and height difference of the ground. In paddy rice cultivation in agriculture, the slope and unevenness of the ground make a difference in the inundation of seedlings, affect their growth, and cause deterioration in quality. In addition, when constructing high-rise buildings and highways, even a slight inclination of the foundation causes the building to become weak, leading to a decrease in seismic resistance and durability.

Until now, in order to measure such a height difference, a person with a qualification as a surveyor can use a large-scale device with two people or use an expensive laser that can measure at a short distance. It is generally performed with the device used, the cost for measurement is high, and it is technically difficult to measure easily.

Therefore, conventionally, as a method for easily measuring undulations, inclinations, etc., a method of applying the principle of communication pipe has been proposed, and many proposals have been made to improve convenience while the basic principle is the same. rice field.

For example, Patent Document 1 uses a hose in which a communication pipe is filled with water, a transparent pipe at both ends, and a scale plate attached to a side portion of the transparent pipe. By reading the position of the tip of the liquid in these transparent tubes from the scale plate and measuring the difference in the scale for each position, it is possible to measure the height difference and unevenness at each location.

However, in such a method, when the position of the measuring unit is changed, the liquid level on the other reference side also changes, and both liquid levels change, so that it is not only difficult to measure but also the height difference is large. Occasionally, the liquid inside could overflow, making it cumbersome to carry and handle.

Patent Document 2 relates to a device or a method for measuring height differences between points scattered in the horizontal direction, which is used for track-related construction in the construction industry. According to this Patent Document 2, a measurement water tank and a reference water tank are provided, water is sent from a water supply tank placed near the reference water tank to each water tank, and water overflows from the measurement water tank at each point to keep the water surface constant and the water surface. The height difference is measured from the difference between. Since this method circulates water, it has been shown that it is possible to prevent a specific gravity error due to a difference in water temperature. However, when this method is used, since a specific position is first determined and measurement is performed at that position, it is not easy to change the position or increase or decrease the measurement point, and the measurement flexibility is lacking. In addition, there is a possibility that water overflows at each position at all times, and there is a problem that it is necessary to clean up the water around each time.
Further, Patent Document 3 states that not only the height difference between places but also the amount of change in the height difference in the plane can be measured, and it is possible to measure from a fine height difference to a large height difference even though it is small. However, it basically includes the same problems as those of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above.

By the way, in recent years, with the progress of silicon wafers and metal microfabrication technology, the accuracy of barometric pressure sensors has been improved (for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Recently, this barometric pressure sensor is mounted on a wristwatch or the like and may be used for mountain climbing or the like. It is thought that such an altimeter is made possible by the progress of this barometric pressure sensor technology. Therefore, it may be possible to measure the height difference as the object of the present invention by using such a barometric pressure sensor. However, in consideration of fluctuations in wind and airflow, the technical object of the present invention of measuring a height difference of several centimeters even between places 100 m away cannot be reached by such a barometric pressure sensor alone. ..

Real Kaihei 4-51618 Patent No. 3938560 Patent No. 5824570

ROHM New Product Breaking News Small Atmospheric Pressure Sen IC BM1383GLV

An object of the present invention is to measure a height difference or an altitude difference of several centimeters between places separated by several meters to several hundred meters, which is very troublesome and inconvenient in the conventional measurement. Even if there are things, there is no device that can be obtained at a low price and used easily.

As described in the background technology, the method of measuring with the water surface open using the principle of the conventional communication pipe requires labor and time to continuously measure multiple points. In other words, since the communication pipe method is a measurement method in which the liquid level is exposed to the atmosphere, the liquid level fluctuates greatly depending on the height difference, and it is necessary to make the measuring tube a length corresponding to the height difference. Therefore, not only is it difficult to move, transport, and install, but if the height difference is predicted incorrectly, liquid overflow will occur, and if it is insufficient, liquid replenishment will be required, and it has been widely used until now. There was no.

In addition, although there is no practical example used for height difference measurement as intended by the present invention, it is possible that the barometric pressure sensor can be used as it is, but as described above, the barometric pressure fluctuation is the same as the height difference. Since it becomes an error, the measurement error is large under the condition where the air flow is turbulent, and it is difficult to measure.

The reason why it is difficult to measure the height difference with this barometric pressure sensor is that the density of air is essentially small, and the density of air is only 0.00129 g per ^{1 cm 3.} That is, when measuring the height difference by atmospheric pressure, it is necessary to capture the pressure change of 0.00129 g with the height difference per 1 cm. This is 0.126 Pa when converted to pressure units, which is a value that is difficult to measure with modern barometric pressure measurement technology. Moreover, when considering outdoor measurements, considering the effects of wind and turbulence of airflow, even if MEMS ((Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology makes great progress, only barometers can be used for height differences over a wide area. It is considered impossible to capture it with an error of several centimeters.

In order to solve the above problems, the height difference measuring device and the height difference measuring method of the present invention are based on the well-known concept of communication pipes, and are based on the pressure sensor technology using MEMS. Utilizing progress, the height difference of the measurement position is replaced with the height change of the communicating liquid inside, and the liquid weight corresponding to the height change of the liquid is measured and measured as the pressure difference (or pressure difference). The pressure difference is replaced with the height difference again to obtain the height difference change of the ground or the like, and the result is continuously displayed as a function of the place.

Specifically, one or both ends of a tube filled with a liquid such as water or silicone oil are sealed, and pressure sensors are placed on one or both of the sealed ends. When sealing both ends, be sure to leave a gas portion at at least one end, and when sealing only one end, place a pressure sensor on the sealed side.

In the measurement method, first, both ends are temporarily fixed in position and set as the initial position. The pressure at its initial position is measured, then one is fixed and the other end is moved. Next, the pressure is measured again at the destination. Then, the difference between the pressure at the initial position and the pressure at the destination is obtained, and hPa is converted into cm. The calculated value in cm is corrected to obtain the height difference between the initial position and the destination. Since this pressure difference measurement uses the concept of a communication pipe, it can be measured from a very long distance, and the pressure is transmitted at the speed of sound, so that the response is very quick.

At that time, the distance between the initial position of the moved end and the moved destination is measured by a laser range finder, a walking measure, or the like, and the height difference from the initial position of the moved destination is expressed by a function of the distance. This data is transmitted to a personal computer or tablet by WiFi or the like, and displayed as a graph of the height difference with respect to the distance.

In addition, the movement of the end of the pipe can be performed by a person carrying it to the destination where it should be measured, but it is carried by an automatically traveling mobile robot, and the position of the mobile robot is determined by GPS, a geomagnetic sensor, and a gyro sensor. It is also possible to express the height difference at each position three-dimensionally in cm units by measuring with a device including an acceleration sensor and the like. However, since the pressure data fluctuates during movement, it is better to temporarily suspend the movement for pressure measurement to suppress the variation in data.

When automatic measurement is performed with a robot or the like, it is possible to automatically move all the way to a distant place without human involvement, so if an appropriate algorithm is set up, the area requiring measurement is finite over the entire area. You can set points and measure. If the height difference measured at each point is connected between points by mathematical analysis by the finite element method and the height difference between points can be inferred, the entire surface of the measurement area can be used as a three-dimensional measured value. You will be able to do it.

Further, by incorporating the present invention into a tape measure for distance measurement conventionally used, it is possible to measure the distance and the height difference or the horizontal position difference at the same time. In other words, the drawer plate or band of the winding scale has a pipe-like structure, or a pipe is attached, and this pipe is filled with liquid, and a pressure sensor is embedded at one end, using the same method as described so far. , The pressure difference is measured, and the distance and the height difference are obtained at the same time. When this height difference is displayed on the liquid crystal display together with the distance, the inclination of the ground and the unevenness can be measured easily and inexpensively together with the distance.

By using the present invention, it is possible to measure the height difference and undulations of the ground surface, buildings, etc. with high accuracy of several centimeters even if they are several hundred meters apart, and at that time, the distance is also measured at the same time. By doing so, it is possible to easily measure a minute inclination such as a very large building, which was impossible to measure in the past.

In addition, if the tip of the pipe can be moved, it is possible to easily measure the height difference in a curved place, which was not possible without repeating the measurement many times. For example, if you want to know the slope of a curved road to a position 100 m away, or the difference in height between the road that passes through the front side of the building and the road that passes through the back side, simply move the tip of the pipe from the front side to the back side. It is possible to measure easily and quickly.

It is also conceivable to use the present invention for disaster prevention such as landslides. Since the device using the present invention can be manufactured at a very low cost, if it is installed in an area where there is a risk of slipping in various places and constantly monitored by WiFi or the like, a slight change in height on the ground surface can be detected. Since it can be grasped, it is possible to predict the landslide before the ground slips greatly, and it is possible to prevent a disaster.

Further, in the present invention, one end of the pipe can be opened for measurement, but since both ends are sealed so that measurement can be performed, it is easy to carry, easy to store, and less likely to cause a failure. There is also the effect.

In the present invention, the operator can carry the end of the pipe from the reference position in order to know the height difference of each place, but the algorithm as used in the automatic vacuum cleaner is applied to the mobile robot. If you install a GPS or geomagnetic sensor to know the position of the mobile robot and clarify the location where you moved, you can measure the height difference two-dimensionally over a certain area. Throughout, height difference data can be obtained in the form of a function with the position. By performing mathematical processing such as the finite element method on this data, the undulations and slopes over the entire area are continuously clarified, and very effective 3D data is created in civil engineering and construction. be able to.

In addition, although length measurement can be easily performed with a tape measure or convex that is used on a daily basis, it is difficult to measure the height difference between the place and another place. As an example of producing a familiar effect, when considering drainage of an air conditioner or the like, the floor may be tilted even if it is tilted slightly parallel to the floor through the drain pipe, and drainage may not be successful. In such a case, the height difference of the horizontal position is important, but even if a spirit level is used, it is difficult to compare with a distant place, and it is not easy to make a hole in the wall for the drainage pipe.

By integrating the present invention with a tape measure or convex, it becomes a very inexpensive device, and it becomes possible to easily measure the horizontal difference at a relatively distant place, so that work such as drilling that requires horizontal can be performed. It will be accurate and will be highly effective in various everyday situations.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the height difference measuring apparatus of this invention and the implementation method thereof. (Example 1) It is explanatory drawing which showed the height difference measuring apparatus of this invention and the implementation method thereof. (Example 2) (a) It is explanatory drawing which showed the height difference measuring apparatus of this invention and the implementation method thereof. (Example 3) (b) This is a type example of Example 3 in which a slight modification is made to Example 3. It is a figure which showed the measurement data obtained in the experiment for verifying the apparatus of this invention. It is a 3D perspective view which showed the height difference measuring apparatus of this invention. (Example 4) It is a figure which briefly explained the internal structure of Example 4. It is a 3D perspective view which showed the height difference measuring apparatus of this invention. (Example 5)

The height difference measuring device and the height difference measuring method of the present invention are basically based on the idea of communicating pipes that the liquid levels of the communicating pipes are equal to each other, which has been known for a long time. Moreover, by utilizing the remarkable progress of barometric pressure measurement technology using the recent MEMS (Micro Electric Mechanical System) barometric pressure sensor module, even at a distance of 100 m, the ground inclination and elevation can be increased by a few centimeters. He invented a method that can catch the difference.

By replacing the altitude difference between the initial position and the measurement position on the ground surface with a change in liquid weight using the principle of communication pipes, the pressure difference corresponding to the altitude difference is amplified to about 775 times and measured. be. By this method, an altitude of several cm becomes a measurable pressure difference, and the pressure difference is used to replace the height difference of the ground surface.

In other words, it is a high-resolution height difference measuring device and measuring method that is structurally very simple, yet has high accuracy and a wide dynamic range.
Hereinafter, the invention will be disclosed by showing specific embodiments and showing typical embodiments.

FIG. 1 is Example 1 of the first embodiment showing the height difference measuring device of the present invention and the measuring method thereof. Reference numeral 101 in the figure is a reference container, and one end of the pipe 107 may be used as it is, but in the first embodiment, a special container is provided to form the end portion. Inside the reference container 101, a space portion 102 and a liquid portion 103 exist. Further, an electric opening / closing valve 104 is attached to the reference container 101. Further, in the first embodiment, the pressure sensor 105 is provided in the space portion 102 of the reference container 101. The reference container 101 is supported by a pedestal 106 for fixing.

The liquid in the reference container 101 is connected to the measuring container 108 in a movable state by a pipe 107 filled with the liquid. The measuring container 108 may be used in the same shape as the pipe 107, but it is more convenient to insert the pressure sensor or the like by making the end slightly thicker. Further, the measuring container 108 is made to have an inner diameter smaller than that of the reference container 101, and the area of the liquid surface in contact with the liquid portion 110 of the space portion 109 is such that the space portion 102 of the reference container 101 is in contact with the liquid portion 103. It is sufficiently smaller than the area of the surface. A pressure sensor 111 having a MEMS structure is attached to the inside of the measuring container 108, but it is hermetically shielded from the outside, and only the signal line for extracting data is pulled out from the measuring container 108 to the outside. There is. This signal line is drawn into an electronic circuit 112 attached to the outside.

The electronic circuit 112 is equipped with an electronic module capable of WiFi communication, and has digital data obtained from the pressure sensor 111, temperature data obtained from the temperature sensor attached to the pressure sensor in the first embodiment, and a laser. The data of the length measuring device 114 is sent to the tablet terminal 113 by WiFi, and the height difference and the distance are displayed on the liquid crystal screen.

The measuring container 108 is provided with a laser length measuring machine 114 so that the distance from the reference container 101 can always be measured, and the distance from the reference container 101 is substituted for the initial position of the measuring container 108 for measurement. .. A wheel 115 is attached to the measuring container 108 so that it can roll and move on the ground 116, and the pressure is measured by the pressure sensor 111 while measuring the distance between the reference container 101 and the measuring container 108. You can do it.

The height difference measuring device configuration of the first embodiment according to the present invention is as described above, but next, a method of performing height difference measurement will be described.

First, the reference container 101 and the measuring container 108 are fixed and the initial position is determined. In the present embodiment, the measuring container 108 is moved to measure the height difference between the initial position and the post-moving position of the measuring container 108. First, an instruction is given to the electric opening / closing valve 104 to open it so that the atmospheric pressure and the pressure of the space portion 102 are the same. In the first embodiment, an electric on-off valve is used, but of course, a manual valve may be used. This atmospheric pressure is measured by the pressure sensor 105. This atmospheric pressure is corrected when it fluctuates greatly during height difference measurement, and it is a correction value unless a large change in atmospheric pressure occurs due to long-term measurement or sudden passage of low pressure. Is not so large and most of it is within the margin of error.

Normally, the reference container 101 and the measurement container 108 are brought close to each other to determine the initial position. FIG. 1 shows a state after moving the measuring container 108. The pressure sensor 111 is measured at this moving position. At the same time, the distance between the temperature by the temperature sensor attached to the pressure sensor and the reference container 101 by the laser length measuring machine 114 is also measured. Since the laser length measuring machine 114 is used for the distance due to this movement, the initial position of the measuring container 108 and the distance after the movement should be measured, but the initial position of the measuring container 108 is substituted by the reference container 101. It is a thing. It should be noted that the temperature measurement is for correcting the pressure data when the temperature changes significantly, and the temperature change does not occur so much during normal measurement.

The pressure data, the temperature data, and the distance data obtained from the laser length measuring device 114 are collected in the electronic circuit 112 and wirelessly transmitted to the tablet terminal 113 by WiFi. In the tablet terminal, WiFi reception, data processing, and liquid crystal display are performed by a program written in Processing, which is a language corresponding to TCP and UDP.

In the first embodiment, the pipe 107 is translucent and contains water containing a colored antifreeze liquid. The reason why the pipe 107 can be visualized is that if air bubbles are mixed into the inside of the pipe 107 for some reason, the color changes promptly to know that. However, since it is possible to recognize the inclusion of air bubbles to some extent without coloring, the liquid is colored as necessary. The reason for preventing air bubbles from entering is that if the air bubbles partially interrupt the liquid in the pipe 107, a large error will occur in the measurement.

Since the measuring container 108 is placed on the wheel 115 and the pipe 107 is flexible, the measuring container 108 can freely move on the ground 116 over the undulations. As shown in FIG. 1, at the moving position of the measuring container 108, the ground 116 is dented from the initial position. Therefore, from the principle of communication pipes, in order to maintain a constant water level, the liquid level of the reference container 101 tends to fall, and the liquid level in the measuring container 108 tends to rise. However, since the space portion 108 is closed, those forces act as pressure on the space portion 108 and compress the space portion. Therefore, when the pressure of the space portion 109 of the measuring container 108 is measured, a water pressure difference corresponding to the undulations of the ground is generated between the pressure and the initial pressure, and this pressure difference can be converted into the height difference of the ground 116 again. ..

The area of the reference container 101 in contact with the space portion 102 of the liquid portion 103 is larger than the area of the measurement container 108 in contact with the space portion 109 of the liquid portion 110, but this is because the measurement container 108 changes due to the unevenness of the ground 116. This is to suppress the change in the liquid level in the reference container 101 as small as possible, and the change in the liquid level between the reference container 101 and the measurement container 108 is a correction value after the pressure measurement. That is, the actual height difference is obtained by adding and subtracting the amount of the liquid level of the reference container 101 lowered and the amount of the liquid level of the measuring container 108 raised from the height difference obtained from the pressure. Therefore, if the liquid level of the reference container 101 can be limited to the change in the error range, the change in the liquid level of the reference container 101 can be ignored, and the correction is completed only by referring to the liquid level of the measurement container 108, and both are referred to. The effort can be halved.

In this embodiment, since the reference container 101 is opened to the atmosphere and the atmospheric pressure is measured under a constant condition, a very stable measured value can be obtained, but there are some problems. One is that opening and closing the electric open / close valve is troublesome, and if you forget to open it at the time of measurement, the measured value will be different depending on whether it is opened or not, and it may cause a big error. Although it can be used, there are still issues to be improved.

When water is used as the liquid inside the pipe 107. Since the reference container 101 is open to the atmosphere, water evaporates and dissipates, and if the amount of water is not always paid attention, the amount of water decreases and the measurement is hindered. Therefore, in the first embodiment, the first embodiment, the use of water as the internal liquid is stopped, and an attempt is made to use a liquid that does not easily evaporate, such as silicon oil. However, in the first embodiment, the liquid is hard to evaporate. Since the pipe is not always sealed, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time and effort to clean up the reference container 101 because the liquid leaks out when the reference container 101 falls down in some way.

FIG. 2 is Example 2 of the second embodiment showing the height difference measuring device of the present invention and the measuring method thereof. A major improvement from the first embodiment, the first embodiment, is that the opening / closing operation of the reference container performed in the first embodiment is stopped and the entire pipe is always kept in a sealed state. By doing so, the pipe part of this device is completely isolated from the outside air, which not only improves the convenience of carrying, but also eliminates the need to open and close the valve for each measurement, and measurement by forgetting to open the valve. Can prevent failure.

However, on the other hand, since the reference container is not opened to the atmosphere, the pressure applied to the liquid level in the pipe of the reference container is no longer the atmospheric pressure that keeps a stable constant value, and is the same as the pressure applied in the measuring container. The pressure in the reference vessel also changes. Therefore, it is necessary to always measure the pressure and liquid level of both the reference container and the measuring container, or calculate the other from the pressure and liquid level of either one and make a correction.

In FIG. 2, the reference container 201 and the measurement container 207 are enlarged ends of the pipe 206, and liquid is injected, and space portions 205 and 210 are created in the reference container 201 and the measurement container 207. ing. Further, the liquid portions 203 and 208 form a liquid surface in contact with the space portions 205 and 210. Silicone oil is injected into the upper part of the water mixed with the antifreeze liquid in the vicinity of the liquid level, and the water fills the pipe 206.

In the distance measurement, a pulse output from the rotary encoder 215 attached to the shaft of the wheel 214 is sent to the electronic circuit 211, counted, multiplied by a coefficient, and converted into a distance. In addition, pressure and temperature data from the barometric pressure sensor 209 are also sent to this electronic circuit 211, and these information are interpreted and processed by a notebook-type PC 212 via a wireless module such as ZigBee, and the liquid crystal screen. Is displayed in.

In the second embodiment, the hose 206 filled with the liquid during movement is wound around the axis of the wheel 214 via a weak spring (not displayed) so as not to interfere with the measurement. Therefore, when the pipe 206 has been pulled out for a required distance and then returned to its original state, it can be wound back to its original state by the force of a spring. Further, in the second embodiment, the barometric pressure sensor 202 is also provided in the reference container 201, but the pressure information of only one of the barometric pressure sensor 209 of the measuring container 207 and the barometric pressure sensor 202 of the reference container 201 can be analyzed and calculated. It is possible to measure the height difference.

The measuring method is almost the same as that of the first embodiment, but the procedure is as follows. At the start of measurement, the positions of the reference container 201 and the measurement container 207 are first fixed to be the initial positions, and the pressure and temperature values of the barometric pressure sensors 202 and 209 at this time are read and used as the initial pressure and temperature. Next, move the measuring container by the required distance, measure the pressure and temperature values at the post-movement position, and use the post-movement pressure and temperature. At that time, the pulse of the rotary encoder 215 attached to the wheel 214 is also counted, and the distance traveled is obtained from that value. In the second embodiment, the measuring container 207 is moved, but even if the reference container 201 is moved for measurement, the height difference can be measured.

Normally, the temperature does not change much in a short time measurement, so the temperature correction is slight, but if the temperature changes significantly when the measuring container 207 is moved, the pressure is based on Boyle-Charles' law. Is proportional to the absolute temperature, and the pressure after movement is corrected by comparing the temperature at the initial position with the temperature after movement. Since silicon oil with low vapor pressure is floating on the surfaces of the liquid parts 203 and 208, it is not necessary to correct the vapor pressure by temperature, but water is used as it is for the entire liquid part without using silicon oil. If so, it is also necessary to correct the vapor pressure if the temperature changes significantly.

The pressure data obtained from the barometric pressure sensor 202 and the barometric pressure sensor 209 are normalized by adding the above-mentioned correction, and then the post-movement pressure and the initial pressure are compared to derive the height difference of the ground 213. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the measuring container 207 is moved and the horizontal height (altitude) of the position after the movement is lower than the initial position of the measuring container 207, the measurement is performed. The liquid level between the space portion 210 and the liquid portion 208 of the container 207 tries to return to the liquid level at the initial position by the amount that the ground 213 is lowered, and is pushed by the liquid in the pipe. , The space portion 210 is pressurized.

On the other hand, since the position of the measuring container 207 is lowered, the space portion 205 of the reference container 201 is decompressed by the pulling force of the liquid in the pipe 206 from the initial position. When the contact area between the liquid portion 203 and the space portion 205 in the reference container 201 is sufficiently larger than the contact area between the liquid portion 208 and the space portion 210 in the measurement container 207, the contact area in the reference container 201 The liquid level change is smaller than the liquid level change of the measuring container 207.

In that case, since the volume change of the space portion 205 of the reference container 201 hardly changes with respect to the slight undulation of the ground 213, the pressure in the reference container 201 also hardly changes, so that the method is the same as that of the first embodiment. Height difference can be measured. However, since the pressures of both the reference container 201 and the measuring container 207 change for a large undulation change, it is necessary to calculate the height difference by referring to the pressure data of both the barometric pressure sensor 202 and the barometric pressure sensor 209. At the same time, correction of changes in the liquid levels of the reference container 210 and the measuring container 207 must be added.

On the other hand, when measuring with either one of the pressure sensors, the inner diameters of the measuring container 207 and the reference container 201 are made the same, and the areas of the space portions 205 and 210 in contact with the liquid portions 203 and 208 are made the same. By doing so, since the amount of liquid in the pipe 206 is constant, the amount of decrease or increase in the liquid level of one becomes the same value as that of the other. In this way, one liquid level change is measured, the other is predicted, and the height difference is derived by numerical calculation.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the problem associated with the on-off valve for opening one side as in the first embodiment is excluded, but since there are closed spaces at both ends, the liquid level and pressure change in both spaces are eliminated. The troublesome problem that the monitoring of the is required remains.

This embodiment was born in the process of trying to improve the problems and problems of Examples 1 and 2, and includes new findings that improve convenience and eliminate the need for monitoring the liquid level. Is done. While repeating the development experiments of Example 1 and Example 2, it happened that a method like this example was possible, and while based on the concept of communication pipes, there was a space on one side. It has reached a completely new way of thinking that goes beyond the concept of communication pipes to measure atmospheric pressure without it. However, it is possible that a minute space remains inside the MEMS type pressure sensor, but in that case, as an improvement of Example 2, a very fine space is created in the pressure gauge. It is said that the liquid level change due to compression and expansion was suppressed to an error range by forming it in the measuring part, but it is not clear at present.

FIG. 3A is one of the third embodiments of the height difference measuring device and the measuring method thereof of the present invention, which is disclosed as Example 3. In the third embodiment, the measuring container 308 is attached to a mobile robot 312 that can be remotely controlled and moved. Moreover, the reference container 302 has no space portion, and the MEMS type barometric pressure sensor 303 is immersed in the reference container 302 and sealed. In this embodiment, the liquid uses silicon oil having a specific gravity close to 1 and low viscosity.

The reference container 302 and the measuring container 308 are attached to both ends of the pipe 309. For the reference container 302 and the measurement container 308, the end portion of the pipe 309 may be used as it is, but it is easier to insert the pressure sensor 303 in the reference container 302 if the space is slightly widened. The measuring container 308 is shaped like a container because of the ease of making the space portion 311. As described above, in the measuring container 308, unlike the reference container 302, a space portion 311 is formed, and a liquid level is formed between the measuring container 308 and the liquid portion 310. Further, the pipe 309 is totally sealed and shielded from the outside air.

The measuring container 308 is mounted on the mobile robot 312, moves on the ground 314, and transmits information on unevenness and undulations to the barometric pressure sensor 303 arranged on the inner surface of the reference container 302 via the silicon oil in the pipe 309. The measurement data by the barometric pressure sensor 303 is transmitted to the measurement module 301, processed, and displayed as the height difference of the ground 314.

In the third embodiment, the reference container 302 is supported by the support column 304, the pipe 309 is wound by the winder 307, and the pipe 309 is taken in and out by a command to the motor 306. At that time, the distance can be calculated from the relationship between the rotation speed of the motor and the winding diameter. Therefore, the pipes 309 are laminated in one row and wound up. In order to facilitate the insertion and removal of the pipe 309, the reference container 302 and the measurement module 301 are integrated and rotate in the direction of the mobile robot 312, and the bearing 305 is used to facilitate the rotation. Has been done.

In addition, data is sent from the measurement module to the computer 315 by WiFi wireless communication, a graph of distance and height difference is drawn, and measurement is performed while moving the reference container 302 position to a predetermined position in three dimensions. I also try to draw a nice graph. However, in practice, it is troublesome to move the reference container 302, so currently, a method of measuring around the reference container 302 in a circumferential shape is used, but in this case, the support column is used. A method is used in which only one container is provided in the center so that the reference container 302 can rotate and is supported.

In Example 3 (a), the method of filling the reference container 302 with a liquid and moving the measuring container 308 was adopted, but the measuring container 308 was filled with the liquid and the pressure sensor was immersed in the liquid. It is also possible to measure the pressure and obtain the height difference from the pressure difference. In that case, a space portion must be provided in the reference container 302. In addition, if the mobile robot 312 is equipped with a GPS or geomagnetic sensor and data is transmitted to the computer 315 together with pressure and temperature data, it is possible to measure the height difference of any area and facilitate a three-dimensional map. Can be drawn on.

In order to show this content more clearly, it is shown graphically as (b) in FIG. Those common to (a) and (b) use the same number.

In (b) of FIG. 3, unlike (a), the reference container 302 is not filled with the liquid, the space portion 315 exists, is in contact with the liquid portion 316, and is sealed from the outside air by the sealing stopper 317. There is. On the other hand, the measuring container 308 is filled with a liquid, and the barometric pressure sensor 318 is immersed therein. The digital signal of this barometric pressure sensor is transmitted to the electronic module 320. Further, since the pulse data from the encoder 321 attached to the axle of the mobile robot is also transmitted to the electronic module 320, it is possible to measure the distance of how much the measuring container 308 has moved from this number of pulses.

These data are processed by the electronic module 320, transmitted to the computer 315 by WiFi, processed, and displayed on the display device.

In this embodiment, (a) describes a method of determining the distance from the rotation speed of the motor 306 on the reference container 302 side, but in (b), the rotary encoder 321 is attached to the shaft of the mobile robot 312. I described how to calculate the distance from that value.

In addition, the measurement should be performed by, for example, moving 0.1 m, resting for 0.5 seconds, and measuring the pressure during the rest, and it is desirable to measure the pressure while repeating the movement and the rest. Since the pipe 309 sways during the movement, the pressure fluctuation noise becomes large, and if it is used as the measurement data, the original correct data becomes unclear and the desired result cannot be obtained. It is necessary to determine the amount of movement and the rest time in consideration of how smooth the surface of the object to be measured is, how rough it is, and how high-definition height difference map is to be created.

In this embodiment, the barometric pressure sensors 303 and 318 are used, but many of the barometric pressure sensors currently produced as commercial products can measure from about 300 hPa to about 1300 hPa. In this embodiment, since the height difference is measured in the vertical direction, it is desirable that the barometric pressure sensor operates between the upper limit and the lower limit.

Therefore, the atmospheric pressure in the pipe is reduced by about 500 hPa to settle the initial atmospheric pressure center at about 800 hPa so that the measurement of 500 hPa can be performed up and down. By reducing the pressure inside the pipe in this way, it is possible to measure a height difference of 5 m in the vertical direction.

In the present invention, if the pipe is sealed and silicon oil is used as the liquid that fills the inside of the pipe, a vacuum of Torricelli does not occur, so that the measurement can be performed even if the height difference is 10 m or more. However, for that purpose, it is necessary to use a pressure sensor that can withstand a pressure having a differential pressure greater than 1000 hPa. It is necessary to decide what kind of pressure sensor to select depending on the measurement target and the measurement accuracy and minimum measurement resolution at that time.

In the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, one end of the pipe 309 is filled with a liquid, and the barometric pressure sensor 303 or 318 is immersed in the liquid. Therefore, the liquid sealed inside the pipe 309 is in a state of being immovable, and there is no change in the volume of the liquid surface or the space portion. Therefore, there is an epoch-making feature that there is no need for correction due to a liquid level change or a pressure change in a space portion as in the first and second embodiments.

Then, regarding the reason why the communication pipe does not require space at both ends, one of the cases is that a minute space remains inside the pressure sensor of the MEMS. As another way of thinking, it is possible that the same way of thinking as the pressure applied to the body when diving under the sea can be applied. We have to wait for future research to decide which is the correct way of thinking, but in practice, it seems that there is no problem in practical use because the correct height difference result can be obtained.

Therefore, in FIG. 4, the pipe length is 5 m, the moving position of the measuring container 308 of the third embodiment (b) is fixed, the measuring container is vertically moved in the vertical direction, and the height is measured by a ruler. Is a comparison. The height difference measured by the ruler is shown on the horizontal axis, and the height difference measured by the present invention is shown on the vertical axis. The black circles indicate the measured values as absolute values, and the solid straight line extending from the 0 point connects the points where the height difference by the ruler and the height difference by the apparatus of the present invention match. On the other hand, the dotted line is an approximate line connecting the measured values of the black circles.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, the height difference due to the ruler is about 8% larger than the height difference according to the present invention. This may be due to the fact that the specific gravity of the liquid sealed in the pipe is less than 1, and that the barometric pressure is measured by immersing the barometric pressure sensor in silicon oil, which affects the viscosity and other factors. However, as a result of repeated experiments several times, almost reproducibility was obtained and the linearity was not deviated, so this value was used as the correction value. That is, when the present embodiment 3 is used. In order to match the value obtained from the apparatus of the present invention with the height difference of the ruler, it is necessary to multiply by 1.08 as a correction coefficient.

FIG. 5 shows Example 4, which is the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The basic idea is not different from the examples described so far. It can be said that the application development of the third embodiment is that one end of the pipe is filled with a liquid, a space portion in contact with the liquid is provided at the other end, and the barometric pressure sensor is inserted toward the end filled with the liquid. The third embodiment is simplified so as to be suitable for general household use, and the purpose is to expand the use. That is, it can be said that the fourth embodiment has an expanded function so that the height difference can be measured in addition to the distance measurement of the convex or tape measure on the market.

As described in FIG. 5, there is a liquid reservoir inside the winder 501, and a pipe 504 is pulled out from the liquid reservoir and connected to the measuring container 505. The pipe 504 is adhered to the scaler 503, and the pipe 504 is completely sealed from the outside by a closing stopper 506. The measuring container 505 is sealed so that the liquid is in contact with the space, and neither the liquid nor the gas constituting the space leaks out.

In FIG. 5, since only the appearance can be seen, the inside is simplified and shown by FIG. In FIG. 6, for the sake of clarity, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 5 are represented by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 6, a pipe 504 is wound inside the winder 501, and a coil spring 603 and a scaler portion 503 (see FIG. 5, not shown in FIG. 6) are connected to each other. The pipe 504 is connected to the reference container 605, and the reference container 605 is filled with the same liquid as the liquid injected into the pipe. In Example 4, a silicone oil having a relatively low viscosity is used as the liquid. The pipe 504 is connected to the measuring container 505, and the inside of the measuring container is divided into a space portion 608 and a liquid portion 609. The pipe 504 including the reference container 605 and the measuring container 505 is completely sealed from the outside air by the closing stopper 506.

As a usage, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the object to be measured 611 is in front of the winder 501 and you want to know the height difference and the distance of the horizontal position, the initial position before starting the measurement is , The position in the state where the winder 501 is fixed, and when the switch (not shown) is turned on, a display appears and the height difference is displayed as 0 cm. In FIG. 6, there are some undulations, and the display is + Hcm. The distance is L cm reading from the scaler. Since the winder 501 is fixed when the measuring container 505 is moved to the measurement target object 611, the reference container 605 installed inside is also fixed.

The stopper 502 in FIG. 5 temporarily stops the movement of the scaler 503 and the pipe 504. When the reset button 508 is reset at this position, the position of the measuring container 505 becomes 0, and then the height difference becomes 0. It is possible to measure the relative height difference from the moved place. If the measuring container 505 is moved without resetting, the height difference from the initial position will be obtained.

FIG. 7 is a fifth embodiment, the fifth embodiment. This Example 5 is basically the same idea as the Example 4, but is devised so that it can be used by lying down on its side. By doing so, there is an advantage that the liquid crystal display is easy to see and the installation is stable.

In FIG. 7, a pipe 706 is wound inside the winder 701, and one end of the pipe is connected to the reference container 703 and the other end is connected to the measuring container 707. The measuring container 707 is filled with a liquid, the barometric pressure sensor 708 is immersed in the liquid, and the terminal portion is taken out to the outside. The inside of the reference container 703 at the other end is divided into a liquid part and a space part, and the space part is sealed with a closing stopper 702. Therefore, the pipe 706 is completely sealed from the outside air.

Since the pipe 706 is flexible, it can move freely in all directions and a flexible signal line is adhered to it. This signal line is for driving the barometric pressure sensor 708, and is composed of a voltage line, a ground line, and a signal line composed of SCL and SDA. The position where the measuring container 707 is pulled to the winder 701 is the initial position, the distance pulled out from the measuring container 707 is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 710, and at the same time, the position where the measuring container 707 swings up and down and the initial position are The height difference is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 710.

The function of the stopper 709 is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, the pull-out position is fixed, and the function of the reset button 704 is used when the position after movement is set to 0 and the initialization is reset.

As described above, by using the height difference measuring device of the present invention, the height difference of rice fields and fields can be measured easily, inexpensively, and over the required area in three dimensions. Therefore, it can be used for various purposes such as drainage and flattening of rice fields. Also, at construction and civil engineering sites, it is very easy to measure the height difference between a curved road and the adjacent road, and even in a place that is not directly visible, it is possible to measure the height difference as long as a pipe can be passed through. It will be greatly used. In terms of safety measures, if the present invention can be used to constantly monitor when taking measures such as landslides, advance notice can be made at a very low cost, which is considered to be very effective for disaster prediction. ..

In addition, if it is used for home use, it is possible to easily measure the height difference at a distant place, which was difficult to measure until now, in relation to the distance, as if it were a tape measure. It can also be used for various purposes such as measuring the inclination of a gutter in a bent place.

101, 302, 605 Reference container 108, 315, 608 Space part 110, 316, 609 Liquid part 107, 309, 504 Pipe 108, 308, 505 Measuring container 111 Pressure sensor 209, 318, 604 Barometric pressure sensor 112 Electronic circuit 215, 321 Rotary encoder 306 Motor 307,501 Winder 312 Mobile robot

Claims (2)

At least one end of the pipe (or tube) into which the liquid is injected can be opened and closed with respect to the atmosphere, and the other end of the pipe is closed to provide a pressure sensor so that the pressure inside the pipe can be measured. The possible end is named the O end, which is open to the atmosphere, the other closed end is named the S end, and the pressure inside the pipe at the S end is measured continuously or intermittently by the pressure sensor. Then, either the S end or the O end is moved, and the horizontal position height difference (hereinafter referred to as the height difference) between the moved O end and the S end is obtained from the change in the pressure measurement value by the pressure sensor. In the method, the O end or the S end is arranged in the vicinity of the wheel axis of the walking distance measuring device (road measure), and the distance is measured by the load measure and the height difference obtained by the height difference measuring method is used. , A height difference measurement method characterized by being able to measure the undulations and slopes of the ground at each moving location. At least one end of the pipe (or tube) into which the liquid is injected can be opened and closed with respect to the atmosphere, and the other end of the pipe is closed to provide a pressure sensor so that the pressure inside the pipe can be measured. The possible end is named the O end, which is open to the atmosphere, the other closed end is named the S end, and the pressure inside the pipe at the S end is measured continuously or intermittently by the pressure sensor. Then, either the S end or the O end is moved, and the height difference between the moved O end and the S end can be obtained from the change in the pressure measurement value by the pressure sensor. Therefore, one end of the pipe is arranged near the wheel axis of the walking distance measuring device (road measure) to enable movement in the approximately horizontal direction, and the other end of the pipe is fixed. A height difference measuring device characterized by.

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