JPH11153675A - Underground radar - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small size, light weight and low power consumption underground radar having a data preservation function. SOLUTION: An underground radar has a dolly E with wheels, a transmission/ reception part contained inside the dolly E, a signal processor connected with the transmission/reception parts and a display indicating image data processed with this signal processor. In this case, the signal processor G has such preservation means as hard disk and floppy disk preserving the image data before and after the processing and is detachably fixed on the dolly E as notebook type personal computer PC and the like together with the display G consisting of liquid crystal panel, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an underground radar apparatus, and more particularly, to an underground radar apparatus which is small, light, and low in power consumption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, underground radar devices that radiate radio waves into the ground and receive reflected waves generated by objects underground to search for buried objects underground have been used. Typical examples are the Jitsuhei 3-55112 and the Jitsuhei 3-5511.
No. 3 and Japanese Utility Model No. 4-11188. As shown in FIG. 6, the underground radar device includes a cart P with wheels, a transmitting / receiving unit including an antenna fixed to the bottom of the cart P, and a signal detachably mounted on the cart P. It comprises a processing section and a processing / display section Q comprising a cathode ray tube T for displaying image data created by the signal processing section.

[0003]

The above-mentioned conventional underground radar apparatus is large in size, and therefore has the problem of increasing the manufacturing cost and weight. In addition, the conventional underground radar apparatus has a problem that the power consumption is large, so that a heavy battery must be mounted on a bogie, and the overall weight and operation labor are further increased. In addition, conventional underground radar systems
Because it does not have a function to save collected data, when saving collected data, a video printer must be separately mounted on the display unit, etc., and the display screen must be printed out on recording paper. There was a problem that the labor of the company increased.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an underground radar device which is small, light, and low in power consumption, and has a data storage function.

[0005]

An underground radar apparatus according to the present invention comprises a truck with wheels, a transmitting / receiving unit housed inside the truck, a signal processing unit connected to the transmitting / receiving unit, and a signal processing unit. A display unit for displaying the image data processed by the processing unit. The signal processing unit includes a data storage unit for storing image data before or after processing, and is detachably mounted on the carriage together with the display unit.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a display unit is foldably mounted on a signal processing unit. According to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the display section comprises a liquid crystal display panel. According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the signal processing unit and the display unit comprise a general-purpose notebook personal computer, and the data storage means includes a storage device built in the notebook personal computer and a removable storage device. It is composed of a storage medium such as a floppy disk, a RAM card, and a magneto-optical disk which can be freely mounted.

[0007]

1 to 4 are a side view, a front view, a partial plan view, and a partial rear view, respectively, showing the appearance of an underground radar apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in the same order, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment.

This underground radar apparatus has a wheeled cart E which is moved by wheels A, B, C and a push rod D.
A transmitting / receiving unit F (see FIG. 5) accommodated in the carriage E; a signal processing unit G connected to the transmitting / receiving unit F; and a display unit for displaying image data created by the signal processing unit G. H, a personal computer PC, an interface unit I for buffering transmission / reception of signals between the transmission / reception unit F and the signal processing unit G, and a battery J. Note that signal lines and power lines such as cables and cords for connecting the above units are not shown for convenience.

[0009] The transmitting and receiving unit F accommodated inside the bogie includes the transmitting and receiving unit F of the bogie E as disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model No. 3-5512, Japanese Utility Model No. 3-55113, and Japanese Utility Model No. 4-11188. A transmission antenna and a reception antenna are provided at the bottom in a state substantially parallel to the ground. Referring to FIG.
The transmission / reception unit F further includes a transmission unit including a synchronization circuit, a pulser that supplies a transmission pulse signal to a transmission antenna through a balun circuit BL based on a synchronization signal supplied from the synchronization circuit, and a reception antenna that receives the signal. The reflected pulse signal from the underground is received through the balun circuit BL, and ST
After the signal is amplified by the RF amplifier with C, the signal is sampled by the sampling circuit, and the signal is amplified by the low-frequency amplifier circuit, and the signal is output as a reception signal. The transmission / reception unit F further includes a distance signal generator that generates a pulse signal indicating the number of rotations of the wheel as a distance signal.

An interface section I is provided between the signal processing section G and the transmission / reception section F of the personal computer PC. Referring to FIG. 5, the interface unit I includes an amplification circuit for a distance signal, a synchronization signal, and a reception signal, an A / D conversion circuit for an amplified reception signal, a D / A conversion circuit for an STC control signal, And a bus interface circuit. This interface unit I
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the fasteners k1 and
It is housed in a rectangular housing detachably mounted by k2.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a personal computer PC is detachably attached to the interface unit I housed in a housing and detachably attached on a cart E by using a magic tape. I have. A preferred example of the personal computer PC is a notebook personal computer marketed by Toyo Electro Co., Ltd. under the trade name Rocky Plus for all-weather field portable use. This all-weather notebook computer is designed for outdoor use, has excellent vibration resistance, dustproof and waterproof properties, and has a special filter attached to the LCD panel to ensure high visibility outdoors. ing. A display section H composed of a liquid crystal display panel is provided by the personal computer PC.
When not used, it is folded on the signal processing unit G, and only when used, it is erected from the signal processing unit G with a slight inclination backward.

The signal processing section G of the personal computer PC is transmitted from the transmitting / receiving section F in the carriage E to the interface section I.
The image data is created by processing the received signal and the synchronization signal received through the PC according to a predetermined processing program, and the processed image data is transferred to the display unit H and displayed on the liquid crystal panel. In parallel with the processing of the display image data, the signal processing unit G stores the original data to be processed and the processed image data received from the transmission / reception unit F in a built-in hard disk, floppy disk, magneto-optical disk, or RAM card. On a storage medium such as The original data and processed image data recorded on the storage medium are passed through a signal line connected to the signal processing unit G removed from the carriage E after the operation is completed, or a storage device in the signal processing unit G. The image data is transferred to an external device such as an image processing device or a display device via the storage medium extracted from the device, and processed as image data there, or immediately displayed on the display device.

The operator of the underground radar apparatus has a push rod D
By observing the image data displayed on the display unit H of the personal computer PC while moving the cart E forward through the system, the presence of the underground object that has generated the reflected wave is inspected. As described above, by using the main body of the personal computer as the signal processing unit G, it is possible to store the acquired data on a built-in storage medium. There is no need to separately load a video printer for storing. Further, it is also possible to easily output the acquired data stored on a built-in hard disk or the like to a printer for a personal computer or the like.

In this embodiment, since a liquid crystal panel is used as a display unit, power consumption is greatly reduced as compared with a conventional apparatus using a cathode ray tube. However, on the other hand, the brightness of the liquid crystal panel is lower than that of a cathode-ray tube, and there is a possibility that the screen may be difficult to see due to extraneous light, such as sunlight, incident on the display surface. As described above, a special filter is attached to the liquid crystal panel to ensure high visibility outdoors. However, in order to further enhance this visibility, extraneous light entering the liquid crystal panel may be used. A hood for shielding the air is added.

The battery J is also detachably mounted on the carriage E, similarly to the interface section I and the personal computer PC. The battery J supplies DC power of a voltage of 15 volts to the personal computer PC and supplies DC power of a voltage of 15 volts and a current of about 2 A to a power supply circuit in the transmitting / receiving unit F. Further, when the underground radar device is not used, the battery J is detached from the cart E as necessary, and charged from a commercial 100 volt AC power supply through an AC / DC conversion circuit.

In the above, the configuration in which the interface unit I accommodated in the independent casing is installed between the transmitting / receiving unit F and the signal processing unit G has been exemplified. However, the interface unit I can be combined with the transmitting / receiving unit F and installed in the carriage E, or can be installed in the signal processing unit G.

Also, an example has been described in which the signal processing unit G and the display unit H are configured by a general-purpose personal computer. However, the signal processing unit and the display unit may be constituted by dedicated ones manufactured for the underground radar device. In this case, the display section may be formed of a special liquid crystal panel with high luminance.

Further, the configuration in which the interface unit I is directly mounted on the cart E and the personal computer PC is directly mounted on the interface unit I has been exemplified. However, in order to make the liquid crystal panel close to the operator's eyes and to easily observe the image data, an appropriate height is set between the carriage E and the interface unit I or between the interface unit I and the personal computer PC. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a table is installed. Furthermore, a large screen enlargement mechanism such as a Fresnel lens may be installed in front of a display unit such as a liquid crystal panel together with a light shielding hood or the like.

Further, the configuration using the liquid crystal panel as the display unit has been exemplified. However, it has a thin structure that can be folded on the body of a personal computer, and has a higher brightness than a liquid crystal panel.
A panel, an electroluminescence (EL) panel, or the like can be used as the display unit.

[0020]

As described above in detail, the underground radar apparatus according to the present invention has a signal processing unit for storing image data before and after processing, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a RAM card. Since the data storage means including the medium and its storage device is provided, there is no need to load a separate recording device such as a video printer in addition to the signal processing unit and the display unit, and the underground is compact, lightweight, and has low power consumption. A radar device can be realized.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the display section is composed of a liquid crystal display panel, further miniaturization and lower power consumption are realized.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
Since the signal processing unit and the display unit are composed of a general-purpose notebook personal computer, further reduction in manufacturing cost, reduction in size, and reduction in power consumption are realized. Further, there is an advantage that the operation becomes easier as the device becomes smaller and lighter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the appearance of an underground radar apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the appearance of the underground radar device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view showing the appearance of the underground radar device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial rear view showing the appearance of the underground radar device of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an electric circuit portion of the underground radar device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the appearance of a conventional underground radar device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B, C Wheels D Push rods E Carts F Transmission / reception section G Signal processing section H Display section I Interface section J Battery PC Notebook personal computer K1, K2 Fastener

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A truck with wheels, a transmitting / receiving unit housed inside the truck, a signal processing unit connected to the transmitting / receiving unit, and a display unit for displaying image data processed by the signal processing unit. In the underground radar device comprising: the signal processing unit includes data storage means for storing the image data before or after the processing, and is detachably mounted on the carriage together with the display unit. Underground radar device characterized by the following. 2. The underground radar device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is foldably mounted on the signal processing unit. 3. The underground radar device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit comprises a liquid crystal display panel. 4. The notebook computer according to claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit and the display unit comprise a general-purpose notebook personal computer, and the data storage means is a storage device built in the notebook personal computer and is detachably attached to the storage device. An underground radar device comprising a storage medium to be mounted. 5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an interface section is provided between said transmitting / receiving section and said signal processing section, and said interface section is detachably mounted on said carriage. An underground radar device, wherein the signal processing unit is detachably mounted on the interface unit together with the display unit.