JPH11304474A - Elevation angle monitor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inclination monitor device which can easily monitor the inclination of an object without contact. SOLUTION: A light source 3 and a light reflector 4 are placed at a subject 1 and a photocell 5 is placed on a fixed part 2 facing the subject 1. The light reflector 4 is driven vertically and horizontally by a control circuit 6 and a drive circuit 7 so that light reflected from the light reflector 4 is scanned over the photocell mounting surface of the fixed part 2. The time from the start of the scan to the reception of the reflected light by the photocell 5 is measured by a time measuring circuit 8, and a determining circuit 9 determines whether or not the attitude of the subject 1 has changed according to the result of the measurement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device requiring a fixed attitude and a tilt monitoring device for monitoring the tilt of an object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as one of safety measures at the time of aircraft landing at an airport, PAPI (PAPI) is one of visual assistance systems for instructing a pilot of an aircraft to land on the runway by using a light signal to indicate a correct approach angle to the runway. Precision Approach Path Ind
icator). The PAPI will be briefly described.

[0003] Four lamps are arranged in a row on the left side of the aircraft's landing zone displayed on the runway, and light signals are emitted at different elevation angles each having a small angle difference. Each lamp irradiates a light signal having a transition layer called a pink zone (invisible to the naked eye) to both graves, with the upper layer being white light and the lower layer being red light. The light signal from each lamp has a different appearance from the aircraft depending on the glide slope (advance angle) of the aircraft. On the on-glide slope (appropriate advance angle), the outer two appear white, and the other two appear red. Lights that look red increase.

[0004]

As described above, the PAPI
Since the device indicates the appropriate approach angle to the aircraft based on the appearance of the light signal from the lamp, it is extremely important to monitor whether the lamp is installed in a correct posture. Accordingly, there is a demand for a device such as a PAPI lamp which requires a precise posture when mounted or a simple device for monitoring the posture of an object.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a tilt monitoring device capable of easily monitoring the tilt of an object in a non-contact manner using light.

[0006]

Therefore, in the inclination monitoring apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, either the object to be monitored for inclination or the fixed portion arranged facing the object at a distance from the object. One side is provided with a light source and a vertically and horizontally drivable light reflecting means for reflecting light from the light source, and the other side is provided with a light receiving means capable of receiving light from the light reflecting means. Drive control means for driving the means up and down, left and right to scan the reflected light on the mounting surface of the light receiving means, and from the start of scanning of the light reflecting means until the reflected light is received by the light receiving means Time measuring means for measuring the time of the object, and comparing a measured value of the time measuring means with a preset reference time corresponding to a normal state of the object, and determining whether or not the object is tilted based on a comparison result. Judgment circuit Ete was constructed.

In such a configuration, light is reflected from the light source by the light reflecting means, and at this time, the light reflecting means is vertically and horizontally driven and controlled by the drive control means, so that the reflected light is reflected on the mounting surface of the light receiving means. To scan. Then, the time from the start of scanning until the light receiving means receives the reflected light is measured by the time measuring means, and is compared with a preset reference time. The determination circuit determines that the posture of the object is normal if the two coincide, and if the two are different, it knows the deviation of the posture of the object based on the difference.

Preferably, the light receiving means is arranged at a position eccentric from the rotation center axis of the object. With such a configuration, it is possible to monitor the inclination of the three axes of the object with one light receiving unit.
Further, it is preferable that a plurality of the light receiving means are provided at different positions.

With such a configuration, it is possible to reliably monitor the inclination of the three axes of the object. Preferably, the light reflecting means is a semiconductor galvanomirror manufactured by using a semiconductor manufacturing technique. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the size of the light reflecting means, and thus to reduce the size of the tilt monitoring device.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a tilt monitoring device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the tilt monitoring device of the present embodiment is provided with a quadrangular and flat plate-shaped fixing portion 2 that is disposed facing a target 1 whose tilt is to be monitored at a distance. A light source 3 and a light reflector 4 as light reflecting means for reflecting the light from the light source 3 toward the fixed portion 2 are arranged on the object 1 side. A light receiver 5 as light receiving means is provided toward the side. The light receiver 5 is mounted at a position eccentric from the axis A when the object 1 is rotatable about an axis A orthogonal to the fixed part 2. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the light receiver 5 is shifted from the axis A in the width direction of the fixing portion 2 (vertical direction in FIG. 1), and as shown in FIG. It is arranged at a substantially central position (vertical direction in FIG. 2). FIG. 1 shows a case where the object 1 and the fixing portion 2 are viewed from above, and FIG. 2 shows a case where it is viewed from the side.

The light reflector 4 is rotatable about two axes orthogonal to each other. The light reflector 4 is driven and controlled by a control signal from a control circuit 6 via a drive circuit 7 to move the light reflector 4 in the vertical and horizontal directions. Then, the reflected light is scanned on the mounting surface of the fixed unit 2 on which the light receiver 5 is mounted. On the other hand, when the light receiver 5 receives the reflected light from the light reflector 4, it outputs the received light output to a time measuring circuit 8 as time measuring means. The magnetic field measurement circuit 8 starts time measurement by a signal input from the control circuit 6, stops time measurement by input of a light receiving output from the light receiver 5, and determines an output signal corresponding to a time from the start to the end of the time measurement. And outputs the result to the judgment circuit 9.
The determination circuit 9 includes a preset reference time and a time measurement circuit 8.
And the measured time from the lighting device 1 based on the comparison result.
Is determined. Here, the control circuit 6 and the drive circuit 7 constitute a drive control unit.

Next, a specific configuration of the light reflector 4 used in the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a semiconductor galvanomirror manufactured using a semiconductor manufacturing technique is used for the light reflector 4. This semiconductor galvanomirror has been proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-175005 and 7-218857, etc., and is described in detail in each of the above publications. A brief description will be given.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a semiconductor galvanomirror suitable as the light reflector 4. In FIG. 3, the semiconductor galvanomirror 200 includes a silicon substrate 20
1, an outer movable plate 204A is pivotally supported by a torsion bar 205A so as to be swingable in the vertical direction of the substrate. Inside the outer movable plate 204A, an inner movable plate 204B has a torsion bar 2 having an axial direction orthogonal to the torsion bar 205A.
05B pivotally supports the substrate in the vertical direction. The outer movable plate 204A is formed in a frame shape and has a planar coil 206A electrically connected to a pair of outer electrode terminals 209A, 209A formed on the upper surface of the silicon substrate 201 via one portion of the torsion bar 205A on the upper surface thereof.
(Shown schematically by a single line in the figure) is provided covered with an insulating layer. The inner movable plate 204B is formed in a flat plate shape. On the upper surface thereof, a pair of inner electrode terminals 209B and 209B formed on the silicon substrate 201 is passed from one of the torsion bars 205B to the outer movable plate 204A, and the torsion bar is formed. A planar coil 206B (schematically indicated by a single line in the figure) electrically connected to the other side via the other side of the coil 205A is provided so as to be covered with an insulating layer. A total reflection mirror 208 is formed at the center of the inner movable plate 204B surrounded by the planar coil 206B.

Upper and lower glass substrates 202 and 203 made of, for example, borosilicate glass are anodically bonded to the upper and lower surfaces of the silicon substrate 201, respectively. The upper glass substrate 202 has a square opening 202A at the center of the flat plate portion.
And the upper portion of the movable plate is open. The lower glass substrate 203 has a square groove 203 in the center of the flat plate.
A. Thereby, the upper and lower glass substrates 20
2, 203 and the silicon substrate 201 have a three-layer structure to secure a swinging space for both movable plates 204A, 204B.

The upper and lower glass substrates 202 and 203 each have eight permanent magnets 21 in pairs.
0A to 213A and 210B to 213B are arranged as shown. The permanent magnets 210A and 211A of the upper glass substrate 202 facing each other are
Generates a magnetic field for driving the outer movable plate with the permanent magnets 210B and 211B. The permanent magnets 212A and 213A of the upper glass substrate 202 facing each other generate a magnetic field for driving the inner movable plate with the permanent magnets 212B and 213B of the lower glass substrate 203.

Next, the operating principle of the semiconductor galvanometer mirror 200 will be briefly described. For example, the electrode terminal 209
A and 209A have one of them as a positive pole and the other as a negative pole, and a current flows through the plane coil 206A. On both sides of the outer movable plate 204A, a magnetic field is formed by the permanent magnets 210A and 210B and the permanent magnets 211A and 211B in a direction crossing the plane coil 206A along the plane of the outer movable plate 204A. When a current flows through the planar coil 206A in the magnetic field, the current is applied to both ends of the outer movable plate 204A in accordance with the current density and the magnetic flux density of the planar coil 206A in a direction according to the left-hand rule of Fleming of current, magnetic flux density, and force. The force acts, and the outer movable plate 204A rotates. When the outer movable plate 204A rotates, the torsion bar 205A is twisted, and the outer movable plate 204A is turned to a position where the spring reaction force of the torsion bar 205A generated thereby and the electromagnetic force acting on the outer movable plate 204A are balanced. Move.

At this time, the displacement angle of the outer movable plate 204A is proportional to the current flowing through the plane coil 206A. Therefore,
By controlling the current flowing through the planar coil 206A,
The displacement angle of the outer movable plate 204A, that is, the total reflection mirror 208 can be controlled. If the relationship between the amount of current flowing through the planar coil and the displacement angle of the movable plate is determined in advance, the total reflection mirror 208 can be set at a desired displacement angle position by controlling the amount of current.

The inner movable plate 204B is
By rotating around the torsion bar 205B as an axis according to the same operating principle as that of A, the displacement angle can be controlled by controlling the amount of current flowing through the planar coil 206B. By controlling the rotation of the outer and inner movable plates 204A and 204B in this manner, the direction of the reflected light from the total reflection mirror 208, that is, the light reflector 4, can be variably controlled. And both movable plates 204
By appropriately controlling A and 204B at the same time, the direction of the reflected light can be controlled vertically and horizontally, and the reflected light can be scanned on the facing receiver mounting surface of the fixed portion 2.

A detection coil (not shown) for detecting the displacement of the outer movable plates 204A and 204B based on the mutual inductance with the planar coils 206A and 206B is provided on the lower glass substrate 203, and each torsion bar 205
A and 205B are preferably provided symmetrically. In this case, when controlling the displacement angle of the mirror 208, a displacement angle detection current having a frequency higher than the drive current frequency is supplied to the plane coil 206A so as to be superimposed on the drive current. Then, based on this detection current, an induced voltage is generated in each detection coil by mutual inductance between the planar coil 206A and the detection coil provided on the lower glass substrate 203. When the outer movable plate 204A is in the horizontal position, the distance between the induced coils generated in the detection coils is equal to the distance between each detection coil and the corresponding planar coil 206A, and the difference is zero. When the outer movable plate 204A rotates around the torsion bar 205A due to the electromagnetic force, the one detecting coil approaches and the induced voltage increases due to an increase in the mutual inductance, and the other detecting coil separates to induce an induced voltage due to a decrease in the mutual inductance. The voltage drops. Therefore, the induced voltage generated in both the detection coils changes according to the displacement angle of the movable plate, and by detecting this induced voltage, the movable plate, that is,
The displacement angle of the total reflection mirror 208 can be detected. Then, for example, a bridge circuit or the like is used to feed back an induced voltage difference generated between the two detection coils to a drive system of the outer movable plate 204A via a differential amplifier to control the drive current. It is possible to control the displacement angle of 208 more precisely.

Next, the operation of the inclination monitoring device of the present embodiment will be described. In the initial state, the position of the light reflector 4 is set such that the reflected light of the light from the light source 3 by the light reflector 4 is irradiated on the initial position shown in FIG. You. From this state, the light reflector 4 is driven via the drive circuit 7 by a control signal from the control circuit 6, and the reflected light is scanned in the horizontal direction of the fixed part 2 as shown by the arrow in FIG. Are sequentially shifted in the downward direction of the fixed part 2, and the entire light receiver mounting surface of the fixed part 2 is scanned by the reflected light. Further, in synchronization with the start of the control of the light reflector 4 by the control circuit 6, the control circuit 6 generates an output signal for starting the time measurement to the time measurement circuit 8, and the time measurement by the time measurement circuit 8 is started. .

When the reflected light that scans on the fixed part 2 passes through the light receiver 5, the light receiver 5 receives the reflected light, and the received light output is input to the time measuring circuit 8. The time measurement circuit 8
When the input of the light receiving output from the light receiving device 5 is detected, the timing is stopped, and the count value of the time from the start of the timing to the stop is input to the determination circuit 9. The time from the initial position when the object 1 is in the normal position to when the light receiver 5 receives light is stored in the determination circuit 9 as a reference value in advance.
Compares the measured time value from the time measuring circuit 8 with the reference value, and determines whether the posture of the object 1 is normal based on the comparison result.

For example, when the object 1 is moved from the normal position to X in FIG.
When it moves around the axis (that is, when it rotates with respect to the fixed unit 2), the initial scanning position of the reflected light in FIG. 4 moves upward or downward in FIG. 4, and the scanning direction tilts obliquely. Therefore, when the posture of the object 1 changes so that the initial position moves upward, the generation of the light receiving output is accelerated, and when the posture of the object 1 changes so as to move downward, the light receiving Output generation is delayed.

When the object 1 moves from the normal position around the Y axis in FIG. 1 (ie, when the object 1 rotates vertically with respect to the fixed part 2), the scan line of the reflected light in FIG. Deviate. Therefore, when the attitude of the object 1 changes so that the scan line shifts upward, the generation of the light reception output is delayed, and when the attitude of the object 1 changes so that the scan line shifts downward, the light reception output changes. Early onset.

The object 1 is moved from the normal position to the X-axis and Y-axis in FIG.
FIG. 4 shows a case in which it has moved about the Z axis in FIG.
4 is shifted leftward or rightward in FIG. Therefore, when the attitude of the object 1 changes so that the initial position shifts to the left, the generation of the light receiving output is delayed, and when the attitude of the object 1 changes so that the initial position shifts to the right, the light receiving output changes. Early onset.

As described above, when the posture of the object 1 changes in any direction from the normal position, the value measured by the time measuring circuit 8 changes. You can see the change in posture. Therefore, according to such a configuration, the posture change of the target object 1 can be monitored in a non-contact manner. Note that the position of the light receiver 5 is such that the object 1 is in FIG.
When the posture changes around the X axis, if the position is deviated from the rotation center axis as in the present embodiment, the inclination of the object in three axis directions can be monitored, and the object is temporarily arranged on the center axis. Even in this case, it is possible to monitor the inclination in both directions of the Y axis and the Z axis in FIGS. However, when the number of light receivers is one, there is an angle that coincides with the reference value of the light receiving time when the object 1 is simultaneously tilted in each of the three axes. This can be prevented by providing two light receivers. .

FIG. 5 shows an example in which two light receivers 5A and 5B are arranged. In this case, the light receiving outputs of the two light receivers 5A and 5B are input to the time counting circuit 8, and if at least one of the measured values changes, it is determined that the posture has changed. In such a configuration, at least one of the light receivers 5A and 5B is located at a position deviated from the rotation center axis when the object 1 changes attitude around the X axis in FIG. When the posture changes, the posture change can be reliably monitored. Further, even when the inclinations in the three axes of X, Y, and Z simultaneously occur, these inclinations can be reliably monitored.

It should be noted that, contrary to the above embodiment, the light source and the light reflector may be provided on the fixed part side, and the light receiver may be provided on the object side. Also, one of the object and the fixed part,
It is also possible to provide a light source, a light reflector and a light receiver, and arrange a corner cube on the fixed part side to monitor the inclination of the object. Further, by modulating the light on the light projecting side and projecting the light on the light receiving side and filtering the light on the light receiving side, a function of removing disturbance light (light noise) can be added, and the reliability can be improved. In addition, the scan start and end points of the reflected light
By arranging the receivers and measuring the time from the start to the end of the scan, and confirming that the scan range and scan speed are as specified, it is possible to check whether the light source and light reflector are normal can do.

The object whose inclination is to be monitored by applying the present invention is not limited to a PAPI lamp, but may be any device such as a device or a building that requires a fixed posture.

[0029]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inclination of the object can be easily monitored without contact. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the use of only one light receiving means makes it possible to reduce the number of objects by three.
It is possible to monitor the axial tilt.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to more reliably monitor the inclination of the object in three axial directions as compared with the case where the number of the light receiving means is one. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the size of the light reflecting means can be reduced, and the size of the inclination monitoring device can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a tilt monitoring device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a fixing part and an object in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a semiconductor galvanomirror.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a scanning operation of reflected light.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment of mounting the light receiver.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Object 2 Fixed part 3 Light source 4 Light reflector (semiconductor galvanometer mirror) 5, 5A, 5B Light receiver 6 Control circuit 7 Drive circuit 8 Time measurement circuit 9 Judgment circuit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A light source and a light that can be driven up and down and left and right to reflect light from the light source to one of an object to be monitored for tilting and a fixed portion facing the object at a distance from the object. A reflecting means is arranged, and a light receiving means capable of receiving light from the light reflecting means is arranged on the other side, and the light reflecting means is controlled to be driven up and down and left and right so that the reflected light is on a mounting surface of the light receiving means. A drive control unit for performing scanning with the light reflecting unit, a time measuring unit for measuring a time from when the light reflecting unit starts scanning until the reflected light is received by the light receiving unit, and a preset value corresponding to a normal state of the object. And a determination circuit for comparing the measured reference time with a value measured by the time measuring means and determining whether or not the object is tilted based on the comparison result. 2. The tilt monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein said light receiving means is arranged at a position eccentric from a rotation center axis of said object. 3. The tilt monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said light receiving means are provided at different positions. 4. The tilt monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein said light reflecting means is a semiconductor galvanomirror manufactured by using a semiconductor manufacturing technique.