JPH028407A - Laser thawing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To melt snow deposit onto the article to be inspected of an outdoor power-transmission facility maintenance device from a remote place by loading a laser irradiator applying laser beams and a means measuring a distance, etc. up to an object onto a motor vehicle. CONSTITUTION:The state of snow cover 16 onto an object to be inspected 17 is observed by a TV camera 3 loaded on a self-running truck 1, and the direction of application and range of application of laser beams are measured. A laser irradiator 2 is directed toward snow deposit according to the measured value, and laser beams 901 are applied until the snow deposit 16 is removed while observing the state of the melting of the snow deposit 16 by the TV camera 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a laser snow melting device that can melt snow in outdoor equipment maintenance equipment such as power plants and substations without contact.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, snow accumulated on the object to be inspected by an outdoor power transmission equipment maintenance device was removed manually by a person carrying a simple tool, and then the object to be inspected was inspected.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional manual snow removal and inspection methods, the inspection areas are often in dangerous places such as high, narrow, and unable to support heavy objects, which can lead to personal accidents. There was fear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a laser snow melting device that can remove snow from a distance without contact and that improves the safety of inspectors who inspect objects to be inspected. .

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a laser irradiation device that irradiates a laser beam to melt snow on a distant object to be inspected; It consists of an irradiation condition measuring means for measuring the irradiation distance of the beam, the irradiation position, the melting state of snow cover, etc.

(Function) The irradiation condition measurement means measures the irradiation distance to the snow and the irradiation position without the need for people to approach the snow-covered inspection object.
The laser irradiation device irradiates a laser beam onto an irradiation range according to the state of the snow cover, and the irradiation condition measuring means measures the melting state of the snow cover, thereby making it possible to melt the snow cover on the object to be inspected.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of a laser snow melting device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a first embodiment of the laser snow melting device of the present invention, in which a laser irradiation device 2 is attached to a self-propelled traveling trolley 1, and an irradiation condition measuring means 3 is attached to an arm. It is attached via mechanism 4. The traveling trolley 1 has four wheels 5, and can be moved forward, backward, left and right by rotation and steering, and its moving position can be detected by a traveling distance detecting device 6 and a traveling direction detecting device [7].

The laser irradiation device 2 is shown in the plan view of FIG. 2(a) and in the plan view of FIG.
As shown in the front view of b) and the diagram showing the laser beam generation path in FIG. 3, a laser beam 901 is generated,
CO2 with a wavelength of 10.6 microns is well absorbed by snow and ice.
A laser generator 9 such as a laser device, a waveguide 202 that passes the laser beam 901 from the laser generator 9, a bearing 203 that rotatably supports the tip of the waveguide 202, and a waveguide. Laser beam 90 passed through tube 202
A mirror 204 that reflects 1 at a right angle of 90 degrees, and a mirror 2
04, a lens barrel section 205 that covers the reflected laser beam, and a bearing section 20 that rotatably supports the tip of the lens barrel section 205.
6, a mirror 207 that reflects the laser beam 901 reflected by the mirror 204 at a right angle of 90 degrees, a lens barrel portion 208 that covers the mirror 207 and the reflected laser beam 901, and a tip of the lens barrel portion 208. A bearing part 209 that rotatably supports, a mirror 210 that reflects the laser beam 901 reflected by the mirror 207 at 90 degrees (right angle), and a lens barrel part 211 that covers the mirror 210 and the reflected laser beam 901. , a main lens 214, a sub lens 215, which can focus the laser beam 901 reflected by the mirror 210 at a predetermined distance beyond the mirror 210, and can freely change the distance, and a fi that holds the lenses.
It is composed of a cylinder part 212 and a nozzle part 213 fixed to the tip of this lens barrel part 212.

As shown in FIG. 4, the irradiation condition measuring means 3 is comprised of a television camera 301 for measuring the state of snow cover, etc., and an infrared temperature sensor 302 for measuring the temperature of the laser irradiation section.

Next, the operation of the laser snow melting device configured as described above will be explained using the laser irradiation state diagrams shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b).

Then, move the traveling trolley 1 to the wheel 5 automatically or manually from a remote location.
rotate or steer the snow cover 16 of the object 17.
Move to a position where it can be removed.

Next, in order to observe the state of the snowfall 16, the arm mechanism 4 is operated so that the tip of the irradiation condition measuring means 3 faces the snowfall 16. Then, the TV camera 3 shows the state of snowfall 16.
01 to measure the irradiation direction and irradiation range of the laser beam. Next, based on the measured value, the laser irradiation device 2
Point it toward the snow. The irradiation direction on the horizontal plane is determined by the rotation of the bearing part 203, the irradiation direction on the vertical plane is determined by the rotation of the bearing part 209, and the diagonal direction is determined by the rotation of the bearing part 206 and the bearing part 209. It is determined by the rotation or the rotation of the bearing section 203 and the bearing section 209.

The irradiation range is determined by changing the facing distance Δ between the main lens 214 and the sub lens 215. The focal point in this case is the focal point of the main lens. , if the focal point of the secondary lens is fl, then the new focal length due to the combined effect of the opposing distance Δ between the two is f = 1/ (1/f, +1/l + 10Δ/fo
-f, ). According to this principle, f
The laser irradiation range on the target object can be varied by changing the . Next, the laser beam 901 is generated by the laser generator 9, reflected by the mirrors 204, 207, and 210, passes through the main lens 214, and the sub lens 215, and is emitted from the tip of the nozzle 213.
is irradiated onto the snow 16 accumulated on the object 17, melting the snow.

At this time, the melting state of the snow cover 16 is observed by the television camera 301, and the laser beam 901 is irradiated until the snow cover 16 is removed. Also, at -97 o'clock, the temperature of the laser irradiated part of the object 17 is detected by the infrared temperature sensor 302.
When the temperature reaches a temperature that affects the object 17, the irradiation of the laser beam 901 is stopped.

The laser irradiation situation at that time is, in the case of a narrow area of snow as shown in Fig. 5(a), the opposing distance between the main lens 214 and the secondary lens 215 is changed to irradiate the laser beam 901 to a narrow area. In the case of a wide range of snow as shown in FIG. 5(b), the distance between the main lens 214 and the sub lens 215 is changed to irradiate the laser beam 901 over a wide range. By removing snow as described above, it becomes possible to perform visual inspections, etc., which have been obstructed by the snowfall 16, using the television camera 301 or the like.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the first embodiment described above, the main lens 101 and the sub lens 10
2, it is possible to deal with all ranges of snowfall, but as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is also equipped with an optical path switching device 18 that switches the optical path of the laser beam 901, and a narrow range and wide range irradiation device. There is. This device includes a narrow range irradiation lens unit 19 that irradiates a laser beam in a narrow range;
The laser beam 901 coming out of the lens barrel part 211 is switched to either the narrow range irradiation lens part 19 or the wide range irradiation lens part 20 by the optical path switching device 18. The beam can be switched to enter one side or the other, making it possible to irradiate a narrow range or a wide range.

In addition, the second embodiment is composed of a condenser lens 21 and a rod lens 22 as shown in FIG. By passing the laser beam 901 through the rod lens 22, a belt-shaped laser beam 90 is formed.
By providing several lens parts including the belt-shaped lens part 23 that outputs 1, it is possible to set a circular, belt-shaped, etc. irradiation range corresponding to all snow conditions.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, if there is snow on the back side of the object to be inspected and the traveling trolley 1 cannot approach it, as shown in FIG. A laser beam 9 is directed toward the mirror 24.
01 is irradiated and reflected by the mirror 24 to melt the snow on the back side. This method allows you to melt snow everywhere.

Further, in the second embodiment, it is also possible to irradiate a wide range with the laser beam 901 by removing the lens barrel section 212 and nozzle section 213 without returning the lens.

Further, as a second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, a host computer 26 installed at a remote location, a data transmitting device 27 for wirelessly transmitting data from the host computer 26, and a data receiving device 28 in a traveling vehicle are provided. Based on various traveling and inspection data and map information from the host computer 26, autonomous judgment is made within the traveling trolley,
The information data can be processed to automatically melt snow and perform inspections, making it possible to conduct inspections completely unmanned.

As an application example of the present invention, the laser generator 9 is fixedly installed, a mirror and an irradiation lens section are attached to the traveling trolley 1, and mirrors are placed at appropriate locations in areas that will be in the shadow of structures. By installing this, snow melting and inspection can be carried out in a wide range of locations. Furthermore, this method is effective in cases where it is impossible to attach the laser generator 1 to the traveling carriage 9 due to its large size or large power consumption.

Furthermore, as an application example of the present invention, it is possible to prevent water pipes from freezing by irradiating a water pipe in a high place or in a place where no one is usually around by irradiating the water pipe with a laser. Furthermore, as an application example of the present invention,
Avalanches can be prevented by automatically or manually finding snow eaves that form on mountain ridges and removing them by irradiating them with a laser.

Furthermore, as an application example of the present invention, the snow on the roof is irradiated with a laser to remove the snow, thereby eliminating the need for manual snow removal.

Furthermore, as an application example of the present invention, by irradiating a switching section of a railroad rail with a laser, that section can be prevented from freezing and trains can run without trouble.

Regarding safety measures for the device of the present invention, the laser power required for snow melting can be controlled to a level that is harmless to equipment and the human body, and it can be sufficiently expanded far from the irradiation point, and it is also possible to further reduce the energy density. Therefore, the danger can be technically eliminated.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to melt snow at a distance by non-contact laser irradiation, and as a result, objects covered with snow can be inspected unmanned, so power plants and substations located in snowy areas can be It is possible to provide a laser snow melting device that enables safe and accurate maintenance of plants, power transmission lines, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a laser snow melting device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of each part in FIG. 1, and FIG. Fig. 1 shows the state of laser irradiation of the device, Figs. 6 and 7 show the configuration of the laser irradiation device of the second embodiment of the laser snow melting device of the present invention, and Fig. 8 shows the laser irradiation of the second device. The situation diagram, FIG. 9, is a diagram showing data communication from a remote location. 1... Traveling trolley, 2... Laser irradiation device, 3...
Irradiation condition measuring means, 4... Arm mechanism, 5... Wheels, 6
... Traveling distance detection device, 7... Traveling direction detection device,
9... Laser generator, 14... Television camera, 1
5... Infrared temperature sensor, 16... Snowfall, 17...
- Target object, 18... optical path switching device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] It is comprised of a laser irradiation device that irradiates a laser beam to melt snow on a distant inspection target, and irradiation condition measuring means that measures the irradiation distance of the laser beam, the irradiation position, the melting state of the snow, etc. A laser snow melting device characterized by: