JPH01270618A - Method and sensor for detecting depth of deposit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the title constitution light and small-sized and to detect the accumulation height of snow or the like accurately, by arranging many photosensitive elements on an elongated base stand and setting at least one or more of them to a reference light quantity measuring element for measuring the quantity of external light. CONSTITUTION:The main body of a sensor S is formed by arranging many photosensitive elements 2 to an elongated base stand and setting one of said elements to a reference quantity measuring element 3 for measuring external light. When the sensor S is arranged on the ground or on a building, the sensor S is successively embedded in snow from the lower part thereof with snow. Therefore, only a predetermined number of the photosensitive elements 2a corresponding to a depth are positioned in a dark part and the parts protruding above the ground of the photosensitive elements 2b are positioned in a bright part and, when the resistance values or generated energies of the respective photosensitive elements are measured, the number of the photosensitive elements 2 blocked from light, that is, the accumulation depth of snow is detected. Because of light and small-sized constitution, installation and maintenance are easy and power consumption is low and this sensor is suitable for long-term measurement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for detecting depth of deposits and a sensor for detecting depth.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when detecting the depth of snowfall, a method has been adopted in which a rod-shaped scale is set up in the snow and visually observed with binoculars or the like. However, this method has the problem that the measurement range is limited because it depends on visibility, and data cannot be obtained in bad weather.

Therefore, unmanned automatic measurement has been developed and various proposals have been made. Examples include a method in which ultrasonic waves are emitted onto the snow surface and the reflected waves are received, and a method in which snow is placed in a saucer and melted to measure the amount of water.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional methods described above have their own problems.

That is, in the former method, since the ultrasonic detector has to be large in size, snow accumulates on the ultrasonic detector. As a result, there is a problem in that the amount of snow directly below the area decreases and the data lacks accuracy.

In addition, the ultrasonic transmission and reception system causes the equipment to become larger.
Difficult to install in mountains etc. Transmission of ultrasonic waves tends to require a considerable amount of power, so a large-capacity battery is essential.

On the other hand, in the latter method, the amount of water is measured by melting the received snow, so under weather conditions such as a blizzard, the received snow dragon becomes inaccurate.

Also, since there are moving parts, there is a risk of freezing.

Moreover, since an electric heater is essential, power consumption is extremely large and it is difficult to drive it with batteries. Furthermore, with this method, it is impossible to detect the height of accumulation of materials that do not melt, such as volcanic ash.

As mentioned above, in the conventional device, the device itself is large-scale, and there is a problem in that the installation conditions are severely restricted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned matters, and is a method for detecting the depth of deposits that is lightweight, compact, has low power consumption, is extremely easy to install, and can accurately detect the height of deposits of snow, etc. The technical challenge is to develop a depth detection sensor.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention employs the following method.

That is, a plurality of photosensitive elements 2 are arranged on a long base 1, and at least one of these photosensitive elements is used as a reference light amount measuring element for measuring the amount of external light.The main body of the sensor S is stacked. The photosensitive element 2 is installed vertically at the position where an object falls, and the photosensitive element 2 is sequentially embedded in the deposit as the deposit falls, and the depth of the deposit is detected by the change in the amount of light received.

Further, a plurality of photosensitive elements 2 are arranged on the elongated base I, and at least one of these photosensitive elements is used as a reference light amount measuring element 3 for measuring the amount of external light to constitute a depth detection sensor for the deposit. . As this photosensitive element, a Cd5 (force).mium) cell, a phototransistor, a photovoltaic cell, etc. can be used, and as the elongated base 1, a transparent tube can be used.

[Effect]

When the sensor S is installed on the ground or on a building, the sensor S is gradually buried in the snow from the bottom as the snow accumulates. Then, only a predetermined number of photosensitive elements corresponding to the depth are located in the dark area, and the photosensitive elements that are exposed to the ground are located in the bright area.

Here, by measuring the resistance value or power generation rate of each photosensitive element, it is possible to detect the number of light-shielded photosensitive elements, that is, the deposition depth.

The objects to be measured include the amount of snowfall, the height of accumulation of ash, etc., and the water level.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

In the basic embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a semi-transparent tube made of cold-resistant synthetic resin is used as the elongated base I, and CdS cells as photosensitive elements 2 are arranged at 50 mm intervals inside the semi-transparent tube made of cold-resistant synthetic resin. This is an array of 11 pieces. The topmost one of these photosensitive elements 2 is a reference light amount measuring element 3 for measuring the amount of external light.
It becomes. This reference light amount measuring element 3 has a light receiving surface of −1
-, and the other photosensitive elements 2 are facing downward. All of the photosensitive elements 2 are connected in parallel, and a voltage detection device (not shown) is connected to the output terminal.

The operation of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, the sensor S is installed upright on the ground, and as the snow accumulates, the sensor S is gradually embedded into the snow from the bottom. It is assumed that there is snow up to the part indicated by the broken line A. Then, only the three photosensitive elements 2a corresponding to the depth are located in the dark area, and the photosensitive elements 2b, which are exposed to the ground, and the reference light amount measuring element 3 are located in the bright area.

Here, looking at the resistance value of each photosensitive element 2, among the photosensitive elements 2a, the bottom and second from the bottom are IOKΩ, and the photosensitive element above it is 5Ω due to the influence of the light transmitted through the snow. It became. On the other hand, the resistance of the photosensitive element 2b and the reference light amount measuring element T3 was uniformly 100Ω.

Here, if we calculate the parallel resistance of all photosensitive elements 2, we get: 7/I 00(Q)+]15K(Q)-+-2/], 0
(KQ)=]4. ．． It becomes 2045 (Ω).

Dividing this by the resistance value (100Ω) of the reference light amount measuring element 3 gives 100/14. 2045=7. It becomes 04.

This number is the number of photosensitive elements 2 outside the snow.

Here, subtract the number of photosensitive elements 2 outside the snow from the total number of photosensitive elements 2 excluding the reference light amount measuring element 3, and multiply this by 50 mm, which is the mounting interval of the photosensitive elements 2. (10- 7,04)X50 (mm) - 148 (mm).

In this way, the measurement resolution of the snow depth can be obtained in units of 1 mm instead of 50 mm, which is the interval at which the photosensitive elements 2 are attached. This is because the resistance value of the photosensitive element 2 at a shallow depth relative to the snow exhibits an intermediate value.

FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of another embodiment, in which a rod is used as the elongated base 1, the photosensitive elements 2 are arranged on the rod, and the surfaces of the photosensitive elements 2 are coated with a transparent hard protective film. It is made up of layers.

The operation is the same as that of the previous embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Made of cold-resistant synthetic resin used as the elongated base 1 = 7- The semi-transparent tube only needs to be translucent, and may be transparent or colored depending on the sensitivity characteristics of the photosensitive element 2. .

Note that the number of photosensitive elements 2 is of course arbitrary, and the direction of the light-receiving surface is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments.
It can be changed as appropriate depending on the light reflectance, light transmittance, etc. of the object to be detected. Further, when a phototransistor or a photovoltaic cell is used as the photosensitive element 2, it is necessary to derive the output terminal of each photosensitive element 2 and input it to the next stage circuit.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, since it can be configured to be lightweight and compact, installation and maintenance are easy, and power consumption is extremely low, making it suitable for long-term measurement. Furthermore, since there are no moving parts, it has excellent reliability and can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a side view showing an internal structure, FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit, FIG. 3 is a side view showing a specific example of a measurement state, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing another embodiment. 8 = Side view showing the internal structure of the example. ■...Long base, 2...Photosensitive element, 3
...Reference light amount measurement element, S...Sensor body.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of photosensitive elements 2 are arranged on a long base 1, and at least one of these photosensitive elements is used as a reference light amount measuring element for measuring the amount of external light.The main body of the sensor S is positioned at the deposit falling position. The photosensitive element 2
A method for detecting the depth of a deposit, characterized in that the depth of the deposit is detected by sequentially embedding in the deposit, and detecting the depth of the deposit based on changes in the amount of received light. (2) A deposit depth detection sensor in which a plurality of photosensitive elements 2 are arranged on a long base 1, and at least one of these photosensitive elements serves as a reference light amount measuring element 3 for measuring the amount of external light.