JPH0823292A - Measurement monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain highly accurate measurement, monitor and control by radio- communicating image data, measurement data, a control signal, etc., between a measurement monitoring robot and a repeater by a spread spectrum communication system. CONSTITUTION:Collected data such as picture data, measurement data, etc., obtained by a measurement monitoring robot and a position signal are subjected to Fourier transformation (SS modulation) by the use of PN codes from a PN code generation part 122 in an SS modulation part 121. An SS modulation signal subjected to spread spectrum(SS) processing over such a wide frequency band is transmitted to the body of a repeater 204 through an antenna. On the side of reception, a signal received by antenna parts 201 to 203 is inputted to an SS modulation part 221 and is subjected to Fourier inverse transformation by the use of a PN code from a PN code generation part 222, which is the same as and is synchronized with one on the side of transmission, to be an SS demodulation signal. Making this SS demodulation signal pass through a filter 223 enables taking out only an information signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention transmits image data and measurement data obtained at monitored facilities such as various plants and factories to an external monitoring control station, and the monitoring control station receives the data based on these data. The present invention relates to a measurement monitoring system that monitors a monitoring facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a facility such as a nuclear power plant or a thermal power plant where the entry of workers is restricted,
From the outside, the operating conditions of various equipment, the radiation concentration inside the facility, and the atmosphere such as temperature are constantly and automatically monitored to prepare for the occurrence of abnormal situations. As a conventional monitoring system for that purpose, for example, a monitoring camera and various measurement sensors are installed inside the facility, and image data and measurement data collected by these are transmitted to a monitoring control station outside the facility for confirmation and analysis. As a result, the one that monitors the facility to be monitored is provided.

In this case, when a surveillance camera or a measurement sensor is fixed inside the facility and so-called fixed point monitoring is performed, there is a problem that the monitored area is limited and a blind spot occurs.
A large number of surveillance cameras and sensors are required to eliminate blind spots. Therefore, suppose a measurement and monitoring robot equipped with a required number of monitoring cameras and measurement sensors, and collect image data and measurement data while running this robot by remote control in the facility to be monitored and monitor these data. It can be considered that the data is transmitted to the control station and monitored.

[0004]

Here, since the measurement and monitoring robot travels in a facility to be monitored in which various equipments are arranged, it is desirable that a communication cable or the like is not attached to the measurement and monitoring robot. The data collected by the robot and its travel control signals are used to transmit the collected data to the repeater of the facility to be monitored (external supervisory control station and receive the travel control signal from the supervisory control station using wireless communication. It is desired to be able to send and receive with the repeater). However, in various plants and factories, the radio wave itself used for the wireless communication may become noise and cause various equipment devices to malfunction, and there is a risk that these malfunctions may cause a serious accident. Further, due to so-called multipath fading and superposition of noise from the outside, the quality of the collected data and the traveling control signal deteriorates, and there is a problem that accurate monitoring and control cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its object is to provide a measurement monitoring robot and a repeater of a facility to be monitored, or between the measurement monitoring robot and an external monitoring control station. By using the spread spectrum (hereinafter, abbreviated as SS) communication method as a wireless communication method between and, the malfunction of the equipment in the monitored facility is prevented, and the measurement and monitoring robot collects the data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a measurement monitoring system capable of performing high-precision monitoring while preventing quality deterioration of data and its travel control signal.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention is to measure the image data obtained by imaging the inside of the facility to be monitored by the image capturing means and the physical quantity inside the facility to be monitored by the sensor. A measurement and monitoring system that transmits the measurement data obtained from the monitored facility to an external monitoring and control station via a communication unit, and the monitoring and control station monitors the monitored facility based on the image data and the measurement data. In the above, the image pickup means and the sensor, the traveling means for traveling on an arbitrary route by the traveling control signal from the supervisory control station, the image data, the measurement data and the own position signal (including the azimuth information) are transmitted. Also, a measurement and monitoring robot provided with a communication means for receiving the traveling control signal, and image data, measurement data and measurement data transmitted from the measurement and monitoring robot installed in the facility to be monitored. An image between the measurement monitoring robot and the repeater, which is provided with a repeater that receives a position signal and sends it to the monitoring control station, and also receives a traveling control signal from the monitoring control station and sends it to the measurement monitoring robot. Data, measurement data, position signals, and travel control signals are transmitted and received by wireless communication according to the SS communication system.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, image data obtained by imaging the inside of the facility to be monitored by an image pickup means and measurement data obtained by measuring a physical quantity inside the facility to be monitored from a facility to be monitored. In a measurement monitoring system that transmits to an external supervisory control station, and the supervisory control station monitors the facility to be monitored based on the image data and the measurement data, the imaging means and the sensor, and the traveling control signal from the supervisory control station Traveling means for traveling on an arbitrary route, the image data, measurement data, and own position signal (including azimuth information)
Communication means for transmitting and receiving the traveling control signal,
And a transmission / reception of image data, measurement data, position signals, and travel control signals between the measurement / monitor robot and the monitoring control station by wireless communication by the SS communication system.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the measurement and monitoring robot travels on an arbitrary track in the facility to be monitored in accordance with the travel control signal sent from the supervisory control station. In the course of this traveling, the image capturing means captures the entire situation of the facility to be monitored and the operating states of various equipment, and also images the traveling route and the surroundings in order to accurately and safely perform its own traveling, Also, the physical quantity inside the monitored facility is measured by a sensor. At the same time, the measurement and monitoring robot recognizes its own position and orientation by a known means, and generates a position signal containing this information.

The image data and the measurement data collected by the measurement and monitoring robot are sent to an external monitoring and control station by wired or wireless communication means via a repeater of the facility to be monitored, and the monitoring and control station collects these data. Analyze the data and monitor the monitored facility. Further, the position signal generated by the measurement and monitoring robot is also sent to an external monitoring and control station and used for traveling control of the measurement and monitoring robot. Further, a part of the image data is also used for traveling control.

Data and signals are exchanged between the measuring and monitoring robot and the repeater of the facility to be monitored by wireless communication by the SS communication system to enhance noise resistance, multipath fading and other Eliminate the adverse effects on equipment. Furthermore, when data and the like are exchanged between the monitored facility and the supervisory control station by wireless communication, the SS communication method should be used between the repeater and the supervisory control station if the environment allows communication. You can

A second aspect of the present invention uses the SS communication method for wireless communication between the measurement and monitoring robot and the supervisory control station if the facility to be monitored and the supervisory control station are in an environment where communication is possible. Is.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of an embodiment of the first invention.
Is a monitored facility in a nuclear power plant, and B is a remote monitoring and control station, and these are connected by a communication cable C such as a metal cable or an optical fiber cable that constitutes a wired communication means.

In the facility A to be monitored, 100 is a measurement and monitoring robot equipped with various measuring sensors such as an image pickup means and a radiation sensor. This measurement and monitoring robot 100
The image data obtained by the image pickup means is wirelessly transmitted to the antenna unit 201, the measurement data obtained by the measurement sensor is transmitted to the antenna units 202 and 203, and the repeater body 204 is also provided.
A traveling direction, speed, distance, stop position, turning position, and the like are instructed by a traveling control signal sent from any one of the antenna units 202 and 203, and the wheel driving motor is controlled in accordance with this instruction. ing.

Further, the measurement and monitoring robot 100 can recognize its own position and azimuth (angle of traveling direction) by the built-in encoder and gyro, and transmits these as position signals to one of the antenna units 202 and 203. It is like this. The configuration of the measurement and monitoring robot 100 will be described in detail later.

The respective antenna parts 201 to 203 are connected to the repeater body 204, and these antenna parts 20
1 to 203 and the repeater main body 204 constitute a repeater. This repeater (repeater main body 204) transmits / receives image data, measurement data, a travel control signal, and a position signal to / from the measurement / monitor robot 100 by the SS communication method described later, and further relays the monitor / control station B. In order to wire-transmit data and the like to and from the device main body 401, modulation / demodulation, amplification, etc. are appropriately performed.

On the other hand, in the supervisory control station B, a console 500 is connected to the repeater main body 401, and the console 500 has a monitor television 501 for displaying an image by the image pickup means of the measurement and monitoring robot 100 and measurement data. CRT display 502 for displaying information such as a keyboard, keyboard 503 used for inputting commands, and operation panel 5
04 are provided.

Next, the structure of the measurement and monitoring robot 100 will be described with reference to FIG. That is, in FIG.
01 is an image pickup means such as a CCD camera for picking up a visible image of the facility A to be monitored, and 102 is an image transmitter 1 for SS-modulating the image data by the image pickup means 101 and transmitting it via an antenna.
02. An infrared camera may be used as the image pickup means 101. In that case, an abnormality can be monitored by detecting a relative temperature change of the image pickup object based on the normal time.

Further, 105 is a sensor for measuring a physical quantity inside the monitored facility A, for example, the temperature sensor 10
3, radiation sensor 104, etc. Of course, other than these, a gas sensor, a pressure sensor, etc. can be used according to the monitoring target.

Reference numeral 106 denotes a measurement communication unit, which appropriately amplifies the output signals of the various sensors 103 and 104, SS-modulates these measurement data by a modem 107, and transmits the data through an antenna. Further, the measurement communication unit 106 and the modem 107 are connected to the antenna unit 2 from the repeater body 204.
03-204 is received, the traveling control signal is received, SS is demodulated and transmitted to the control guidance unit 110, and the position signal of the measurement monitoring robot 100 itself sent via the control guidance unit 110 is sent to SS. Modulate and send. In the above configuration, the image transmitter 102, the measurement communication unit 106, and the modem 107 constitute the communication means 108 of the measurement monitoring robot 100.

Next, a gyro 111 and an encoder 112 are connected to the control guidance unit 110, and one of the driving wheels is connected to the encoder 112 as a measuring wheel 113. The gyro 111 and the encoder 112 are the measurement and monitoring robot 10 in the monitored facility A.
This is for detecting the position and azimuth of 0 by a known method, and the control guidance unit 110 generates a position signal based on these detection signals and transmits it to the measurement communication unit 106 as described above. Reference numeral 114 is an ultrasonic sensor used to correct the position error accumulated as the measurement and monitoring robot 100 moves. An infrared sensor may be used for this sensor.

The control guidance unit 110 includes an I / O
The traveling unit sensor 116 and the traveling unit 117 are connected via the unit 115. Running sensor 116
The robot 10 detects that the vehicle body of the measurement / monitoring robot 100 has come into contact with an obstacle, or magnetically detects a marker installed on the wall surface or floor surface of the facility A to be monitored.
It is a sensor for confirming the position of 0. The detection signals from these traveling section sensors 116 are used as the control guidance unit 1
It is sent to the traveling unit 117 via the I / O unit 115 together with the traveling control signal from the vehicle 10, and is reflected in the operation of the measurement and monitoring robot 100 such as traveling, stopping and turning.

The traveling unit 117 mainly comprises a control circuit such as a CPU and receives the traveling control signal and outputs a PWM signal for driving an inverter. Reference numeral 118 denotes a drive circuit, which includes an inverter controlled by the PWM signal and an amplifier that amplifies the output signal thereof. The output of this amplifier is added to an AC servo motor 119 as a wheel drive motor for measurement. The surveillance robot 100 is run. It should be noted that a DC servo motor, a pulse motor, or the like may be used as the motor, and in that case, the configuration of the drive circuit is obviously different.

In the above structure, the control guidance unit 11
0, gyro 111, encoder 112, measuring wheel 113
Including wheels, ultrasonic sensor 114, I / O unit 11
5, the traveling unit sensor 116, the traveling unit 117, the drive circuit 118, and the servomotor 119 form a traveling unit 120 of the measurement and monitoring robot 100.

Next, an outline of SS communication performed between the communication means 108 of the measurement and monitoring robot 100 and the repeater body 204 and the antenna units 201 to 203 of the monitored facility A will be described. FIG. 3A shows a configuration of a portion related to SS communication in this embodiment.
Reference numerals 1 and 221 are SS modulation / demodulation units, 122 and 222 are PN code (reference signal or pseudo signal) generation units, and 223 is a filter including a bandpass filter or the like. Here, the SS modulation / demodulation unit 121 and the PN code generation unit 122 are provided inside the image transmitter 102 and the modem 107 of the measurement and monitoring robot 100, while the SS modulation / demodulation unit 221, the PN code generation unit 222, and the filter 223 are relayed. It is provided inside the container body 204.

Next, the principle of SS communication according to the embodiment will be described.
It will be described with reference to FIG. It should be noted that in the following description, the measurement and monitoring robot 100 is on the transmitting side, and the repeater body 204
Is the receiving side. Image data obtained by the measurement and monitoring robot 100, collected data such as measurement data, and position signals (herein, collectively referred to as information signals) are sent to the PN code generator 122 from the PN code generator 122 in the SS modulator / demodulator 121.
Fourier transform (SS modulation) is performed using the code. FIG.
(B) is the original information signal, is S after Fourier transform
It is an S modulation signal. The SS-modulated signal thus spectrum-spread over a wide band is transmitted to the repeater body 204 side via the antenna.

On the receiving side, the antenna units 201 to 20
It is assumed that noises from other devices and interference waves due to multipath fading are superimposed on the reception signal of 3 as shown in the figure. This received signal is input to the SS modulator / demodulator 221 and Fourier inverse transform (correlation processing) is performed using the PN code from the PN code generator 222 that is the same as and synchronized with the transmitter side, and becomes an SS demodulated signal as shown in the figure. .

At this time, since the noise and the interference wave are not subjected to SS modulation, the band width is diffused by the SS demodulation process from to and is converted into noise with extremely low power density. Further, although the power density of the information signal itself is small, it has a large level in a narrow band. Therefore, this SS
By passing the demodulated signal through the filter 223, only the information signal can be extracted as shown in.

According to the above SS communication system, the influence of noise and multipath fading can be removed on the receiving side, and since the power density of the transmission signal is low, it becomes a noise source for surrounding equipment. There is no inconvenience that causes crosstalk.

The repeater main body 204 amplifies these information signals through the filter 223 and sends them to the repeater main body 401 of the supervisory control station B through the communication cable C, classifies the data, and the image data is consoled. The measured data is displayed on the CRT display 5 by the 500 monitor TV 501.
Displayed by 02. Further, the position and orientation of the measurement and monitoring robot 100 are confirmed using a part of the received position signal and image data, and the result is fed back to the traveling control signal given to the measurement and monitoring robot 100.

When the traveling control signal is transmitted from the console 500 to the measurement and monitoring robot 100, that is, the repeater body 204 serves as the transmitting side, the antenna units 202, 20.
The SS communication method for transmitting the traveling control signal to the measurement monitoring robot 100 on the receiving side via 3 is basically the same as that described above, and therefore the description thereof is omitted to avoid duplication.

In the above embodiment, the case where wired communication is performed between the repeater of the facility A to be monitored and the remote monitor control station B has been described, but in the present invention, the repeater and the monitor control station B are connected. It is also possible to perform wireless communication between them, and in that case, the SS communication system can also be used.

Further, SS communication may be performed directly between the measurement / monitoring robot 100 and the monitoring control station B without using a repeater. This example corresponds to the embodiment of the second invention, and the antenna units 201 to 203, S in FIG.
By providing the S modulation / demodulation unit 221, the PN code generation unit 222, and the filter 223 on the monitoring control station B side, it is possible to realize a further simplified measurement monitoring system by SS communication.

[0033]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, according to the present invention, the image data and the measurement data between the measurement monitoring robot and the repeater running in the facility to be monitored, or between the measurement monitoring robot and the external monitoring control station. The wireless communication of control signals and the like is performed by the SS communication method.

Therefore, there is no fear that noise will have an adverse effect on the equipment inside the facility to be monitored, and there is no fear of causing these malfunctions. In addition, the data collected by the measurement and monitoring robot and the travel control signal are not easily affected by noise from the surroundings and multipath fading, so these data and signals can be maintained in high quality, and highly accurate measurement,
It can be monitored and controlled. Therefore, it is possible to provide an optimum measurement and monitoring system for a nuclear power plant, a thermal power plant, various factories and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a first invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a measurement and monitoring robot according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an SS communication system according to an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Facility to be monitored B Monitoring and control station C Communication cable 100 Measurement and monitoring robot 101 Imaging means 102 Image transmitter 103 Temperature sensor 104 Radiation sensor 105 Sensor 106 Measurement communication unit 107 Modem 108 Communication means 110 Control guidance unit 111 Gyro 112 Encoder 113 Measuring wheel 114 ultrasonic sensor 115 I / O unit 116 traveling unit sensor 117 traveling unit 118 driving circuit 119 servo motor 120 traveling means 121,221 SS modulation / demodulation unit 122,222 PN code generation unit 201-203 antenna unit 204,401 repeater body 223 Filter 500 Console 501 Monitor TV 502 CRT display 503 Keyboard 504 Operation panel

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuo Yamauchi 2-22-15 Minami-Aoyama Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside S Engineering Research Institute, Inc. No. 1 inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tatsumi Inoue 1-1 Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Monitoring control from outside the monitored facility of image data obtained by capturing an image of the inside of the monitored facility with an image capturing means and measurement data obtained by measuring a physical quantity inside the monitored facility with a sensor. In the measurement and monitoring system, in which the monitoring control station monitors the monitored facility based on the image data and the measurement data, the traveling control signal from the image capturing means and the sensor and the monitoring control station. A measurement and monitoring robot provided with a traveling means for traveling on an arbitrary route according to the above, and a communication means for transmitting the image data, the measurement data and its own position signal and receiving the traveling control signal, and a facility to be monitored. Image data, measurement data, and position signals transmitted from the measurement and monitoring robot, which are installed in the A repeater for receiving a signal and transmitting it to the measurement and monitoring robot, and transmitting and receiving image data, measurement data, position signals and travel control signals between the measurement and monitoring robot and the repeater by a spread spectrum communication method. Measurement and monitoring system characterized by communication. 2. Monitoring control from outside the monitored facility of image data obtained by capturing an image of the inside of the monitored facility with an image capturing means and measurement data obtained by measuring a physical quantity inside the monitored facility with a sensor. In the measurement and monitoring system, in which the monitoring control station monitors the facility to be monitored based on the image data and the measurement data, the monitoring means controls the image pickup means and the sensor, and an arbitrary route by the travel control signal from the monitoring control station. A measurement and monitoring robot having a traveling means for traveling and a communication means for transmitting the image data, the measurement data, and a position signal of the self and receiving the traveling control signal, the measurement and monitoring robot and the supervisory control station. Transmission and reception of image data, measurement data, position signal and travel control signal to and from Visual system.