JPH10267652A - Instrument for measuring inclination of pipeline - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an instrument for measuring inclination of a pipeline which can measure the inclination of the pipeline from any surface regardless of the attaching errors of sensors. SOLUTION: A positioning mechanism 20 which positions the direction of inclination of a long pipe body 30 and a measuring axis which specifies the measuring direction is attached to the main body 10 of an instrument for measuring inclination of pipeline. The main body 10 incorporates inclination sensors which detect the gravitational acceleration on orthogonal three axes including the measuring axis and means which correct the gravitational acceleration detected by means of each sensor based on the sensitivity to the gravitational acceleration on the other axes and decide the inclination of the measuring axis from an absolute horizontal plane based on the corrected gravitational acceleration and the instrument outputs the inclination of the measuring axis in the direction of inclination of the pipe body 30 positioned in parallel with the measuring axis by means of the positioning mechanism 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pipe inclination measuring device used for, for example, a pipe work,
The present invention relates to a technique for accurately measuring the amount of inclination of a tubular body with respect to an absolute horizontal plane using a plurality of inclination sensors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When laying drain pipes or water absorption pipes, pipes must be installed so as to prevent residual water in the pipes. It is necessary to accurately measure whether they are doing. Conventionally, when measuring the amount of inclination of a drain pipe or the like, a liquid level sensor is placed on the upper surface of the drain pipe or the like, and the deviation of the liquid level gradient from the reference surface of the liquid level sensor is detected. Such an approach,
Although the inclination amount can be easily and visually grasped, accuracy is lacking. Thus, in recent years, instead of a liquid level sensor, an acceleration sensor or an inclinometer that outputs a gravitational acceleration according to the inclination is used as an inclination sensor, and the amount of inclination of a drain pipe or the like is electronically measured. .

[0003]

However, in a measuring instrument using a conventional inclination sensor, a measurable portion is extremely limited. That is, since only one acceleration sensor or inclinometer is used for the tilt sensor, the measurable points are located in two directions on the same plane due to the influence of the tilt in the axis direction other than the sensitivity axis (other axis sensitivity). There was a disadvantage that it was limited. In addition, since an error in mounting the tilt sensor directly leads to a measurement error, it is desired to increase the mounting accuracy. However, as the measuring device becomes smaller, it becomes more difficult to increase the sensor mounting accuracy, and thus there is a problem that the manufacturing cost cannot be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pipe inclination measuring instrument capable of measuring the inclination of a pipe from any surface without worrying about a sensor mounting error.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a pipe inclination measuring instrument according to the present invention has a positioning mechanism for positioning an inclination direction of a long tubular body and a measurement axis for defining a measurement direction. A housing, three tilt sensors disposed on three axes orthogonal to each other including the measurement axis in the housing and detecting the gravitational acceleration of the own axis, and two axes of an absolute three-dimensional axis. The sensitivity to the other axis of the gravitational acceleration in the three axes calculated based on the output signals of the respective tilt sensors when the plurality of absolute planes formed and the reference plane of the housing are matched with each other, Correction coefficient holding means for holding as a correction coefficient for the axis, and gravitational acceleration detected by the three tilt sensors are corrected by the corresponding correction coefficient held by the correction coefficient holding means and the gravitational acceleration on the other axis, respectively. Gravitational acceleration correction means, and inclination amount determination means for determining an inclination amount of the measurement axis with respect to the absolute horizontal plane based on each corrected gravitational acceleration, and the measurement mechanism is positioned parallel to the measurement axis by the positioning mechanism. The tilt amount of the long tube in the tilt direction is output.

Here, the absolute three-dimensional axis comprises a first axis and a second axis orthogonal to each other on an absolute horizontal plane perpendicular to the gravity of the earth, and a third axis orthogonal to the first and second axes. The reference plane of the housing is an absolute plane on the housing used for calculating the correction coefficient. In the pipe inclination measuring instrument of the present invention,
With the tilt sensor arranged in the housing, the reference plane of the housing is matched with a plurality of absolute planes including two absolute three-dimensional axes, so that the mounting error of the tilt sensor and The sensitivity to the other axis of the gravitational acceleration is quantified in advance. This is held as a correction coefficient, and the actual data is corrected using the correction coefficient. Thereby, the calculated inclination amount becomes accurate. Further, since it is only necessary to match the measurement axis with the inclination direction of the pipe, the measurable portion is not limited.

In the pipe inclination measuring instrument, the positioning mechanism includes, for example, an attachment member having a concave cross section which is removably joined to a predetermined portion of the housing, and the attachment member covers an outer wall of the long tubular body. It is configured such that the inclination direction of the long tubular body coincides with the measurement axis when housed at a depth equal to or greater than a certain value.

The positioning mechanism further includes a plurality of guide projections arranged in parallel with a predetermined portion of the housing in parallel with the measurement axis, and each of the guide projections is provided on an outer wall of the elongated tube. It is configured such that when it is abutted, the inclination direction of the long tubular body coincides with the measurement axis. In this case, it is more preferable that the guide projections are arranged in at least two rows in parallel with the measurement axis and at an interval capable of accommodating the outer wall of the long tubular body at a certain depth or more, The interval is configured to be adjustable.

[0009] Alternatively, the apparatus includes an elastic hanging member fixed to a predetermined portion of the casing, and when the hanging member is hung on the outer wall of the long tubular body, the inclination direction of the long tubular body is changed. The positioning mechanism may be configured such that the measurement axis coincides with the measurement axis in the housing.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a pipe inclination measuring instrument according to one embodiment of the present invention. The pipe inclination measuring instrument includes a measuring instrument main body 10 and the measuring instrument main body 10.
And a pair of attachment members 20 having, for example, a triangular cross section. The thickness of the attachment member 20 decreases toward the center, and the attachment member 20 is configured to have a concave cross section.

First, the measuring instrument body 10 will be described.
In this measuring device main body 10, as shown in FIG. 2, three acceleration sensors 11x, 11y, 11
Each of the output signals of z is converted into a digital signal by an analog / digital converter (hereinafter, A / D converter) 12,
This digital signal is input to the CPU 13. CPU 13
Executes a predetermined program read from the ROM 14 to process the digital signal, and causes the display device 16 to display the processing result. When processing the digital signal, information unique to the apparatus, for example, a correction coefficient described later is read from the EEPROM 15 as appropriate. Also, the information of the operation switch 17 is taken in and the operation switch 1
7 (on / off) state switching and processing reset. In addition, although illustration is omitted, R
An AM may be provided and used as a work area for the CPU 13. The power supply unit 18 is provided with the CPU 13
And the like to supply necessary power.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the tilt amount measurement formed by the CPU 13. In the present embodiment, the sensor data input unit 131 that inputs the gravitational acceleration (sensor data) of each axis converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 12 and the input sensor data are stored in the correction coefficient table 137. A data correction processing unit 132 that corrects using the correction coefficient (described later), a tilt amount calculation unit 133 that calculates the tilt amount based on the corrected sensor data, and displays the calculated tilt amount on the display device 16. And a display control unit 134 that performs control for causing the display control unit 134 to perform the control. The timer 135 is used for time monitoring when performing initial processing such as switching of the state of the operation switch 17 or resetting. The correction coefficient calculation unit 136 calculates a correction coefficient used for correcting the sensor data and stores the correction coefficient in the correction coefficient table 137 in an updatable manner. The main control unit 138 controls the functional blocks of each unit. In addition, data transfer between the correction coefficient table 137 and the EEPROM 15 is controlled.

The acceleration sensors 11x, 11y and 11z are arranged as shown in FIG. That is, three-dimensional axes (X axis, Y axis, Z axis) which are orthogonal to each other are defined, the first acceleration sensor 11x on the X axis, the second acceleration sensor 11y on the Y axis, and the third acceleration sensor on the Z axis. 11z are arranged, and a sensitivity axis is provided in each arrangement axis direction. In the following description, the X axis is the measurement axis, and the “forward” direction in the drawing is the measurement direction. Note that the “lateral direction” (Y axis) and the “vertical direction” (Z axis) are the left and right directions with respect to the measurement axis, respectively.
And the vertical direction.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a specific example of the structure of the measuring device main body 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, the measuring device main body 10 includes first to third acceleration sensors 11x,
11y, 11z, A / D converter 12, CPU 13,
The ROM 14, the EEPROM 15, the display device 16, the operation switch 17, and the power supply unit 18 are integrally accommodated to ensure portability and operability. An arrow 19 for indicating the direction of the X-axis, which is a measurement axis, is marked on the mounting portion of the display device 16 for convenience in tilt measurement.
However, the configuration does not always have to be as shown in FIG. 5, and the design can be arbitrarily changed.

The operation of the measuring instrument body 10 is as follows. Now, let Ax be the gravitational acceleration output from the first acceleration sensor 11x, Ay be the gravitational acceleration output from the second acceleration sensor 11y, and Az be the gravitational acceleration output from the third acceleration sensor 11z. At this time, assuming that the acceleration sensors 11x, 11y, and 11z are mounted so as to be orthogonal to each other and have no sensitivity in the directions of the other axes, the following relational expressions are physically established.

[0016]

数 (Ax ² + Ay ² + Az ² ) = 1G (Earth's gravity) (1)

Further, when the X axis which is the measurement axis is inclined from the absolute horizontal plane by the angle θ around the Y axis (X axis in this case)
An axis is defined as the X ′ axis), and a relational expression of “Ax = sin θ” is established between the gravitational acceleration Ax and the angle θ. Therefore,
The angle θ can be obtained from the formula of “sin ⁻¹ Ax”. On the other hand, in this state, when the Y axis is inclined from the absolute horizontal plane around the X ′ axis by an angle φ, the gravitational acceleration Ay
And between the angles θ and φ, “Ay = cos θ · sin
φ ”holds. Therefore, the angle φ at this time
Can be obtained from the formula of “sin ⁻¹ (Ay / cos θ)”. Similarly, the gravitational acceleration Az, the angle θ,
A relational expression of “Az = cos θ · cos φ” holds between φ and φ, and the angle φ is “cos ⁻¹ (Az / cos θ)”.
It can be obtained from the calculation formula. Thus, X,
The angles when the Y and Z axes are inclined can be obtained by calculation using trigonometric functions.

However, actually, each acceleration sensor 11
In general, there is an error when mounting x, 11y, and 11z, and the sensitivity of the gravitational acceleration of the other axis always affects the inclination amount measurement. It is necessary to correct the gravitational accelerations Ax, Ay, Az. Thus, in the present embodiment, the sensitivity of the gravitational acceleration of each axis to the other axis direction is prepared as a correction coefficient.

An example of how to obtain this correction coefficient will now be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, consider an absolute three-dimensional coordinate system that includes X and Y axes that are exactly orthogonal in the absolute horizontal plane and a Z axis that is exactly perpendicular to the absolute horizontal plane. Other four surface portions each having a surface portion (absolute plane) adjusted so as to be horizontal with respect to the absolute horizontal plane when rotated by 90 degrees, and each surface portion being in contact with four sides of its own surface portion. Prepare a hexahedron made exactly perpendicular to
The absolute three-dimensional coordinate system (X, Y, Z axes) is defined in the plane.

Next, an absolute three-dimensional coordinate system (X,
(Y, Z axes) and the three-dimensional coordinate system (X, Y, Z axes) specified for the measuring instrument body, and the reference plane of the measuring instrument body,
For example, a measurement surface formed including the measurement axis is fixed to a surface portion parallel to the absolute horizontal plane (step S10).
1). Then, the respective acceleration sensors 11x, 11
The outputs of y and 11z are input to the A / D converter 12 and converted into digital signals, and the digital signals (sensor data) are obtained via the sensor data input unit 131 and stored in a work area such as a RAM. (Step S102). Next, the hexahedron is rotated exactly 90 degrees while the main body of the measuring instrument is fixed to the above surface portion (step S10).
3: No, S104), and return to the process of step S102. This is repeated for each face of the hexahedron,
If the sensor data for all the planes is stored (Step S103: Yes), the sensitivity of the gravitational acceleration for each axis in the other axis direction is calculated based on all the sensor data stored in the work area (Step S103). S10
5). Then, the calculation result is stored in the correction coefficient table 137 as a correction coefficient (step S106).

By the above series of processing, the sensitivity Cxy of Ax in the Y-axis direction and the sensitivity Cx of Ax in the Z-axis direction are obtained.
Sensitivity Cyx of z and Ay in the X-axis direction, sensitivity Cyz of Ay in the Z-axis direction, and sensitivity C of Az in the Y-axis direction
Sensitivity Czx of zy and Az in the X-axis direction are stored in the correction coefficient table 137, respectively. These sensitivities are
The numerical values take into account the mounting errors of the acceleration sensors 11x, 11y, and 11z and the effects of gravitational acceleration on other axes. That is, if the mounting error is large, it appears as sensitivity to other axes as it is. Therefore, the data correction processing unit 132 corrects the gravitational accelerations Ax, Ay, Az in the X, Y, and Z axes using the above sensitivities. The corrected gravitational accelerations ax, ay, and az can be calculated by the following equations (2) to (4).

[0022]

Ax = Ax + Cxy · Ay + Czy · Ax (4) ay = Ay + Cxy · Ax + Cyz · Az (3) az = Az + Czy · Ay + Czx · Ax (4)

The tilt amount calculation unit 133 calculates the tilt angle θ of the measurement axis (X axis) with respect to the absolute horizontal plane by the following equation (5).

[0024]

Θ = tan ⁻¹ (ax / √ (ay ² + az ² )) (5)

The display controller 134 causes the display device 16 to display the tilt angle θ. Note that the inclination amount calculation unit 133 may convert the inclination angle θ into an inclination ratio (%), and this inclination ratio (%) may be displayed on the display device 16 through the display control unit 134.

Next, a description will be given of a procedure for specifically obtaining the amount of inclination using the pipe inclination measuring instrument of the present embodiment. When measuring the amount of inclination of a long tubular body (hereinafter, simply referred to as a tubular body) 30 to be measured, a part of the outer wall of the tubular body 30 is provided in a concave portion of the attachment member 20 as shown in FIG. And the measurement axis of the measuring device main body 10 is made to coincide with the inclination direction of the tube 30. At this time, it is sufficient that the measurement axis coincides with the inclination direction of the tube 30. In addition to the usage pattern shown in FIG. 7, as shown by a broken line in FIG. Can be measured from any location in the radial direction of the tube 30.

When the pipe inclination measuring device is arranged as described above, the measuring device main body 10 calculates the amount of inclination according to the procedure shown in FIG. That is, the initial processing, specifically, the timer 135
To check the state of the operation switch 17, and if the operation switch 17 is in the measurement mode, wait for a time-up. If not, switch the current mode to the measurement mode and wait for the time-up. (Step S201). When the initial processing is completed, sensor data (gravity acceleration about each axis converted into a digital signal, the same applies hereinafter) is read from the A / D converter 12 (step S202). The corresponding correction coefficient is stored in the correction coefficient table 13
7 (step S203), and performs data correction, that is, the calculations of the above equations (2) to (4) (step S20).
4). Thereafter, the inclination amount is calculated, specifically, the calculation of the above equation (5) or the conversion of the angle data obtained from the equation (5) into the inclination rate (%) (step S205), and the calculation result is displayed on the display controller. 134 (step S206).
This is repeated until the number reaches a predetermined number, for example, 60 times per second (step S207). According to the above procedure, the calculation result of the tilt amount is displayed on the display device 16, and the operator can visually grasp the tilt amount of the tube 30.

Next, an embodiment of a positioning mechanism in the pipe inclination measuring device will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0029]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIG. 10 shows the attachment member 2 described above.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of the “0” and its mounting form.
(A) is an explanatory view of the structure of the lower bottom portion of the measuring instrument main body (housing) 10, (b) to (d) are side views showing examples of the shape of an attachment member used in the present embodiment, and (e) is It is a structural diagram of the mounting bottom part of each attachment member (because it is common to all, it is drawn about the thing of FIG.10 (b)).

In FIG. 10A, 10a and 10b
Are holes formed in a surface portion of the measuring instrument main body (housing) 10 including the measurement axis (X axis) and the Y axis, respectively, in parallel with the measurement axis. When attaching the attachment members 20, 21 and 22, the protrusion bottom 20a is inserted from the wide hole 10a, and this is slid from the center side to the outer edge side through the narrow hole 10b, and the measuring device body 10 ( (Housing). When leaving, the reverse procedure is followed. The attachment members 20 to 22 are arbitrarily selected depending on the diameter or shape of the tube to be measured. As a criterion for selection in this case, when the outer wall of the tube is accommodated at a depth equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a tube whose inclination direction coincides with the measurement axis of the measuring instrument body 10 may be selected. .

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the positioning mechanism. Here, an example in which a plurality of guide protrusions 23 are used instead of the attachment member is shown. As shown in FIG. 11B, the protrusion 23 is integrated with a male screw on the bottom surface, and a surface portion of the measuring device main body (housing) 10 including the measurement axis (X axis) and the Y axis, A female screw 10c for attaching a male screw is threaded in parallel with the measurement axis. The female screw 10c is threaded in a plurality of rows so that the position of the male screw can be adjusted according to the outer diameter of the tube 30 to be measured. In the illustrated example, five types of diameters can be handled (A to A).
E).

In the positioning mechanism having such a configuration, the projections 23 are attached in two rows, and are shown in FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (c).
As shown in (2), when the outer wall of the tube 30 is accommodated between the rows at a certain depth or more, the inclination direction of the tube and the measurement axis coincide with each other, so that accurate positioning is possible. In addition,
The location or number of threads of the female screw is not limited to the illustrated example. Although the number of rows is preferably two, only one row may be used if the outer wall of the tube 30 is used to abut on the protrusions 23 of only one row.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 12A is an external perspective view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the positioning mechanism. In this example, the measurement axis (X axis) and Y
A linear hanging member 24 is fixed to a surface portion including the axis and parallel to the Y axis, and the hanging member 24 is connected to the tube 3 as shown in FIG.
When the pipe 30 is hung on the outer wall, the inclination direction of the tubular body 30 and the measurement axis coincide with each other.

In the positioning mechanism having such a configuration, by changing the shape of the hanging member 24, the pipes 30 having different thicknesses are formed.
Can be easily handled. The hanging member 24
Can be formed by bending a single plate-shaped member as shown in the figure instead of a linear shape.

[0035]

As is clear from the above description, according to the pipe inclination measuring instrument of the present invention, it is not necessary to worry about the mounting accuracy of the inclination sensor, and the measuring axis and the inclination direction of the long pipe are not required. Has the effect of being able to accurately measure the tilt amount. As a result, the practical value as a product can be significantly increased as compared with the related art, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, since there is a positioning mechanism which enables positioning according to the size of the tube to be measured,
Positioning at the time of measurement becomes easy, and a pipe inclination measuring instrument excellent in operability can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a pipe inclination measuring instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a measuring device main body according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a functional block for tilt measurement formed by a CPU.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an arrangement of an acceleration sensor.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of a measuring instrument main body.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure when calculating a correction coefficient.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a usage mode of the pipe inclination measuring device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a change in a use mode of the pipe inclination measuring device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a processing procedure in the measuring device main body when actually measuring the inclination amount.

10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams of a positioning mechanism in the pipe inclination measuring device of the present embodiment, where FIG. 10A is an example of a mounting portion of an attachment member, FIGS. 10B to 10D are examples of the shape of the attachment member, and FIG. Shows a structural example of a mounting bottom portion of the attachment member.

11A and 11B are explanatory views of another positioning mechanism in the pipe inclination measuring instrument of the present embodiment, wherein FIG. 11A is a front view showing a positioning state by a plurality of projections, and FIG. FIG. 7C is a bottom view of the housing illustrating an example of an attachment portion, and FIG. 9C is a side view illustrating a positioning state by a plurality of protrusions.

12A and 12B are explanatory views of another positioning mechanism in the pipe inclination measuring device of the present embodiment, wherein FIG. 12A is an external perspective view showing a state where a linear hanging member is attached to the measuring device main body, and FIG. The side view at the time of actually positioning.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 measuring instrument main body 11x, 11y, 11z acceleration sensor as an example of tilt sensor 12 A / D converter 13 CPU 132 data correction processing unit 133 tilt amount calculation unit 134 display control unit 136 correction coefficient calculation unit 137 correction coefficient table 16 display device 19 Indicator body (arrow) indicating measurement direction 20-22 Attachment member 23 Guide projection 24 Suspension member 30 Long tube to be measured

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ichiro Harisawa 2-16-9 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Taisei Equipment Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A housing in which a positioning mechanism for positioning an inclination direction of a long tubular body and a measurement axis for defining a measurement direction is formed; and in the housing, three orthogonal to each other including the measurement axis. Three tilt sensors, which are arranged on the three axes and each detect the gravitational acceleration of its own axis, and a plurality of absolute planes including two absolute three-dimensional axes and a reference plane of the housing. Correction coefficient holding means for holding, as a correction coefficient for the axis, the sensitivity of the three axes to the other axis of gravity acceleration calculated based on the output signals of the respective tilt sensors when the three axes coincide with each other; A gravitational acceleration correcting means for correcting the gravitational acceleration detected by the inclination sensor by a corresponding correction coefficient held in the correction coefficient holding means and a gravitational acceleration in another axis, respectively, based on the corrected gravitational accelerations; And a tilt amount determining means for determining a tilt amount of the measurement axis with respect to an absolute horizontal plane, and outputting the tilt amount in the tilt direction of the long tubular body positioned in parallel with the measurement axis by the positioning mechanism. Characteristic pipe inclination measuring device. 2. The positioning mechanism includes an attachment member having a concave cross section that is removably joined to a predetermined portion of the housing, and the attachment member extends an outer wall of the elongated tube at a depth equal to or more than a predetermined depth. The pipe inclination measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the inclination direction of the long pipe body and the measurement axis coincide with each other when stored. 3. The positioning mechanism includes a plurality of guide protrusions juxtaposed at a predetermined portion of the housing in parallel with the measurement axis, and each guide protrusion is provided on an outer wall of the elongated tube. 2. The pipe inclination measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the inclination direction of the long pipe body and the measurement axis coincide with each other when the pipes are in contact with each other. 4. The guide projections are arranged in at least two rows at intervals so as to be parallel to the measurement axis and to be able to accommodate the outer wall of the elongated tube at a certain depth or more. The pipe inclination measuring device according to claim 3, wherein the pipe inclination is adjustable. 5. The positioning mechanism includes an elastic hanging member fixed to a predetermined portion of the housing, and the positioning member is configured to hang when the hanging member is hung on an outer wall of the long tubular body. The pipe inclination measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the inclination direction of the measuring tube and the measurement axis in the housing are configured to coincide with each other.