JPH09264716A - Measuring system for turnout of loaded article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To recognize a three-dimensional distribution of a target surface which is an object to be measured. SOLUTION: A sensor section 2 having a function of scanning laser beams 3, 4 in a one-dimensional direction while being conveyed on a fixed rail 1, under a room environment such as in a warehouse or an environment where a fixing abutment such as the rail 1 can be installed, is provided. A distance between a position of the sensor section 2 and a target and an orientation of the target are measured by using the sensor section 2, then the surface shape, the volume and the turnout of a loaded article is measured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a load volume measurement system, and particularly to materials, coal,
The present invention relates to a load amount measuring method for measuring a storage amount of cement or the like using laser light.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In silos, corrugated bins, and the like that store cement, coal, and the like, the shape of the stored material changes in a complicated manner because charging from the upper portion and discharge from the lower portion are repeated.

Conventionally, ultrasonic measuring methods and electrostatic induction methods have been known as methods for measuring the stored amount, but these are not sufficient to know the total stored amount because they are point measurements. It was

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-113204, a method has been proposed in which the storage amount is measured from the image processing result using a one-dimensional laser beam and a CCD camera. FIG. 3 shows a conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-113204.

In FIG. 3, 41 is a storage tank, 42 is a stored material, 43 is a laser light source, 44 is a CCD camera, 45 is a one-dimensional laser beam, 46 is an irradiation trajectory, and 47 is a processing device. Here, the one-dimensional laser beam 45 having a spread across the inside of the storage tank 41 is irradiated, the inside of the storage tank including the irradiation trajectory line 46 is photographed by the CCD camera 44, and the CCD camera 44 The storage amount is calculated from a group of digital data corresponding to the unevenness level of the irradiation trajectory line 46 obtained from the output.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional ultrasonic method and electrostatic induction method are insufficient for knowing the total storage amount because they are point measurements.

Further, the method of measuring the storage amount from the image processing result using the one-dimensional laser light and the CCD camera, which is disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-113204, has a high resolution when the target loading amount becomes large. There is a problem that the measurement error becomes large due to the limitation.

When it is attempted to measure the surface shape and volume of a load using a conventional fixed volume measuring system (laser radar), it is necessary to have a two-dimensional scanner, and at least the back surface is visible. Since it is necessary to measure from measurement points in two or more directions, there are drawbacks in that the scanner is complicated and a plurality of devices (sensor units) are required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art and to recognize the three-dimensional distribution of the target surface to be measured. It is to provide a possible new method and a new performance measuring system to which it is applied.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a volume measuring system according to the present invention is capable of moving a rail positioned on a rail in an indoor environment such as a warehouse or an environment where a fixed mount such as a rail can be installed. By using the distance measuring device that has the function of scanning the laser beam in one-dimensional direction while traveling, the self-position, the distance to the target and the target azimuth are measured, and the surface shape, volume and volume of the load are measured. It is characterized by doing.

[0011]

In the present invention, the linear distance from the sensor position to the object to be measured can be measured by using the laser distance measuring device. The azimuth from the sensor position to the object to be measured can be measured by using a scanning mirror having an angle detector. Further, by scanning the scanning mirror, it is possible to measure distance data (unevenness) in the one-dimensional direction of the measuring object. Furthermore, the three-dimensional position of the sensor can be measured by traveling on the positioned rail. By measuring the entire circumference of the measurement target while repeating the above measurement, it becomes possible to measure the surface shape, volume, and volume of the target.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a load volume measurement system according to the present invention. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to an indoor environment such as a warehouse or silo or an environment where a fixed mount such as a rail can be installed.

Referring to FIG. 1, a rail 1 positioned in an indoor environment such as a warehouse or silo is installed. This rail 1 is an object to be measured (a target (load) in FIG. 1)
It is desirable that it is arranged above 9) and at a position where the entire circumference can be looked down. The sensor unit 2 is assumed to move along the rail 1, and outputs a laser distance measuring device having a one-dimensional scanner, a positioning device for detecting a position on the rail 1, and measured data (distance, measurement direction, sensor position). Data link 5 to The sensor unit 2 performs one-dimensional scanning within the range of the laser beams 3 and 4 and moves on the rail 1 to measure the surface shape of the target (loading object) 9 to be measured over the entire circumference. The data is output to the processing device 8 through the data link 5 and the data link 6 provided in the processing unit 8.

The processing unit 8 calculates the surface shape and volume of the target (load) 9 from the received data (distance, measurement direction, sensor position), and calculates the production amount and the like on a certain working day. The calculated result is displayed on the display unit 7.

Next, a specific example of the sensor section 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the sensor section.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, the position counter 21 outputs the position of the sensor unit 2 at the measurement start point to the memory 22 as position information A. The laser oscillator 23 outputs a transmitted beam 23a. Normally, this transmitted light beam 23a
Is a short pulse laser beam. A part of the light-transmitting beam 23a output from the laser oscillator 23 is reflected by the cut-out mirror 24 and input to a start detector 25 composed of a photoelectric converter such as a photodiode. The start detector 25 converts the input optical pulse into an electric pulse and inputs the electric pulse into the distance measuring counter 26. The distance measuring counter 26 starts time measurement in synchronization with the input electric pulse.

A transmission pulse corresponding to the transmitted light beam 23a output from the start detector 25 and a stop detector 29
By providing the phase difference detecting means for detecting the phase difference of the received pulse corresponding to the reflected beam 23b output from the device, it is possible to improve the ranging accuracy. The phase difference detecting means may be provided in the distance measuring counter.

On the other hand, the light-transmitting beam transmitted through the cut-out mirror 24 is reflected by the scanning mirror 27 and output to the outside of the sensor section. Transmitted light beam 23a output outside the sensor unit
Is irradiated onto a target (loading object) 9 which is a measurement object, and becomes a reflected beam 23b, which is input to the sensor unit again.

Reflected beam 23b input to the sensor unit
Is reflected by the scanning mirror 27, and is input to the stop detector 29 configured by a photoelectric converter such as a photodiode via the reflection mirror 28. The stop detector 29 converts the inputted light pulse into an electric pulse and inputs the electric pulse into the distance measuring counter 26.
The distance measuring counter 26 ends the time measurement in synchronization with the input electric pulse. The distance measuring counter 26 calculates the distance to the target from the measured time and light propagation speed. This distance data B is output to the memory 22 and stored.

Further, the angle detector 30 attached to the scanning mirror 27 measures the relative position between the sensor position and the target (load) 9 and outputs it as direction data C to the memory 22 for storage. As the angle detector 30, for example, a resolver, rotary encoder, PSD or the like is used.

Next, the scanning mirror 2 is driven by the drive motor 31.
By changing the angle of 7, the direction of the sensor unit and the target (load) 9 is changed by a small amount, and the above-described measurement is repeated.

When the one-dimensional scanning of the target (laden object) 9 is completed, the traveling motor 32 is operated and the sensor section 2 moves on the positioned rail 1. At this time, the position counter 21 outputs the position information A of the sensor unit 2 to the memory 22.

By repeating such an operation over the entire circumference of the target (loaded material) 9, the data of the surface shape of the target (loaded material) 9 can be obtained. The data recorded in the memory 22 is transmitted to the processing unit 8 of FIG. 1 by the data link 5 and processed. Alternatively, it can be temporarily stored in the recording device 33 and transferred to the processing unit 8 via the recording medium to calculate the target surface shape, volume, and volume.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The effect that the surface shape, volume, and volume of the target measurement object such as a load can be measured at high speed and accurately with a device having a simple configuration can be obtained.

According to the present invention, it is also possible to obtain three-dimensional measurement because a large number of point measurements are repeated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a sensor section which is a main element of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Rail 2 ... Sensor part 3, 4 ... Laser beam 5, 6 ... Data link 7 ... Display part 8 ... Processing part 9 ... Target (load) 21 ... Position counter 22 ... Memory 23 ... Laser oscillator 23a ... Transmitting beam 23b ... Reflected beam 24 ... Cutout mirror 25 ... Start detector 26 ... Distance measurement counter 27 ... Scanning mirror 28 ... Reflecting mirror 29 ... Stop detector 30 ... Angle detector 31 ... Drive motor 32 ... Running motor 33 ... Recording device 41 ... Storage tank 42 ... Storage section 43 ... Laser light source 44 ... CCD camera 54 ... One-dimensional laser light 46 ... Irradiation locus 47 ... Processing device

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A distance measuring device having a function of scanning a laser beam in a one-dimensional direction while traveling on a positioned rail in an indoor environment such as a warehouse or an environment in which a fixed mount such as a rail can be installed, By using the range finder, the self-position, the distance to the target, and the azimuth of the target are measured, and the surface shape, volume, volume, etc. of the load, which is the measurement object, are measured. Volume measurement system. 2. The distance measuring device is provided in a sensor unit that moves along the rail, and the rail is provided above the load, which is an object to be measured, and at a position overlooking the entire periphery of the load. The loaded product quantity measuring system according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The laser unit includes a laser distance measuring device having a one-dimensional scanner, a positioning device for detecting a position on the rail, and a data link for outputting data such as a measured distance, a measurement direction, and a sensor position. The load volume measurement system according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. The distance measuring device includes a laser oscillator that outputs laser light, a cutout mirror that reflects a part of the laser light, and a start detection that inputs the laser light cut out by the cutout mirror. Device, a scanning mirror for reflecting and scanning the laser beam to send a light-sending beam to the load, and a stop detection for inputting a reflected beam obtained by reflecting the light-sending beam to the load via the scanning mirror and the reflection mirror. And a distance measuring counter for measuring the distance from the sensor unit to the load by inputting the output of the stop detector and the output of the start detector.
Alternatively, the load volume measuring system according to any one of 3 above. 5. A drive motor for rotating the scanning mirror, and an angle detector connected to the drive motor for detecting a rotation angle of the scanning mirror to obtain an azimuth angle. The load volume measurement system described in. 6. A position counter is used as the positioning device, and a memory for storing the output of the position counter, the output of the distance measuring counter and the output of the angle detector, and the memory content stored in the memory are recorded. The loaded product quantity measuring system according to claim 3, further comprising a recording device. 7. The distance measuring accuracy is further improved by measuring and correcting the phase difference between the light-transmitting beam output from the start detector and the reflected beam output from the stop detector. The load volume measurement system according to claim 4.