KR20190017253A - Apparatus for measuring snow cover - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for measuring a snow cover comprises: a snow cover plate having at least one load cell individually measuring a weight of snow deposited in a relevant area; and an ultrasonic wave sensor installed in an upper end of the snow cover plate to measure whether there is snow falling toward the snow cover plate. Therefore, the apparatus for measuring a snow cover measures a height and a weight of deposited snow to notify an accurate snow cover state.

Description

{APPARATUS FOR MEASURING SNOW COVER}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a snow measuring technique, and more particularly, to a snow measuring device capable of measuring the height of a snow to be snowed and the weight of an eye to inform an accurate snowing state.

In general, a rainfall detector is a device that detects current rain conditions by detecting precipitation phenomena such as rain and snow. Conventional rainfall detectors use an impedance measurement method to expose two gaps, measure resistance values of impedance between them, and determine weather conditions. Rainfall detectors are very sensitive to temperature and humidity, such as dew and mist, and thus have frequent failures and short replacement cycles.

Alternatively, the ultrasonic design measures the amount of snowfall by measuring the reflection time by emitting ultrasonic waves in a noncontact manner and calculating the difference between the reflection time from the snow-free reference plane. However, ultrasonic waves are sensitive to temperature and humidity, and the emitted ultrasonic waves are reflected by objects other than the snow or rain, which makes it impossible to measure the amount of snowfall.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1061294 (Aug. 25, 2011) corrects the ultrasonic velocity which changes according to the temperature by using two ultrasonic sensors, and therefore, ultrasonic design and velocity buffering The system is equipped with a moisture sensor for efficiently controlling the operation of the heater of the house, and the heater and the moisture sensor are controlled by the external temperature and the internal temperature, And an ultrasound and rainfall weighing system using a rainfall weighing system.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2015-0049019 (2015.05.08) relates to a snow load sensing device, which not only detects a snow load, but also a snow load, The present invention relates to a snow load sensing device capable of preventing damage to property and human life caused by a collapse of a facility in advance. The snow load sensing device includes a case having an open top, a snow load measurement module for measuring a snow load placed on the inside of the case, A snowfall moisture load measurement module disposed under the snowfall load measurement module and measuring a load of water falling down and melted downward by the snowfall snowfall, a snowfall moisture load measurement module fixedly disposed adjacent to the snowfall load measurement module, Module, receives the snow load and the snow load, and analyzes the snow load and the snow load And a control module for processing the control signal.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1334027 (Nov. 23, 2013) discloses a multipoint observing apparatus for observing an automatic snowing amount, comprising a control unit on an observation post and a plurality of points on a snowing plate driven by a laser, A crisscross type concrete base formed by fixing the center of sight of the observation point on which the laser design is installed, and a snowboard plate installed on the top, rear, left, and right sides of the thermal cross- And a plurality of points of the snowboard are scanned with the laser of the laser design, and the multi-points are measured to precisely observe the snowfall amount.

1. Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1061294 (Aug. 25, 2011) 2. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0049019 (May 2015.05) 3. Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1334027 (Nov. 21, 2013)

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a snowfall meter capable of measuring snowfall height and snow weight to give accurate snowfall status.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide a snowfall meter capable of setting a plurality of points on a snowing plate and measuring the height of the snowing snow at multiple points.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the weight of the snow piled on the snowing plate is measured to calculate the weight of the snowing snow to ascertain the state of the snow (e.g., snow, snow, snow or sleet) To provide a snowfall meter.

Among the embodiments, the snowfall meter includes a snowfall panel including at least one load cell for measuring the weight of snow snowfall in the area, and a snowfall detector installed on the snowfall panel to measure the presence or absence of snow falling toward the snowfall And an ultrasonic sensor.

And a laser distance sensor for measuring the snow height of each of the plurality of measurement points on the snowboard mounted on the top of the snowboard.

And a control module for measuring the height of the snow on the plurality of measurement points through the laser distance sensor and the load cell and the snow weight on the corresponding area when the presence of the falling snow is measured, have.

The control module may define the plurality of measurement points based on the area of the snowboard and control the gimbal structure so that the laser distance sensor measures snow height of snow on each of the plurality of measurement points.

The control module defines the plurality of measurement points as a mesh structure and the laser distance sensor can measure the shortest distance from the initial measurement point to the last measurement point with respect to all measurement points.

Among the embodiments, the snowfall meter comprises a snowboard comprising a plurality of load cells measuring the snow weights of snow in a plurality of areas, and a plurality of load cells arranged in a gimbal structure at the top of the snowboard, And a laser distance sensor for measuring the snow height of the snow.

And a snow logger for recording the weights of the snow measured at a specific time zone and the snow height of each of the plurality of points.

The plurality of points may be defined as a square mesh structure, and an interval between the plurality of points may be defined by the following equation.

[Mathematical Expression]

D_Interval = L / f (H_Snow)

Wherein the D_Interval corresponds to the interval, the minimum value is determined by a minimum distance that can be distinguished in the gimbals structure, L is the length of the mesh structure, and H_Snow is the height of the snow And f (H_Snow) corresponds to a function for monotonically increasing according to the H_Snow.

The disclosed technique may have the following effects. It is to be understood, however, that the scope of the disclosed technology is not to be construed as limited thereby, as it is not meant to imply that a particular embodiment should include all of the following effects or only the following effects.

The snow measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can measure the snow height and the weight of snow to inform the snowing state accurately.

The snowfall meter according to an embodiment of the present invention can set a plurality of points on a snowfall plate and measure the height of the snowfall snowfall point.

The snow measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention measures the weight of snow piled up on a snowing plate and calculates the weight with respect to the height of the snowing snow to determine the state of the snow (e.g., snow, snowflakes, Initial snow cover can be confirmed.

1 is a view for explaining a snowfall meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view illustrating a snowfall meter according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram illustrating the snowfall meter.
Fig. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing snowfall measured by a snowfall meter. Fig.

The description of the present invention is merely an example for structural or functional explanation, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, the embodiments are to be construed as being variously embodied and having various forms, so that the scope of the present invention should be understood to include equivalents capable of realizing technical ideas. Also, the purpose or effect of the present invention should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention, since it does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all or only such effect.

Meanwhile, the meaning of the terms described in the present application should be understood as follows.

The terms "first "," second ", and the like are intended to distinguish one element from another, and the scope of the right should not be limited by these terms. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element, but there may be other elements in between. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between. On the other hand, other expressions that describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to" should be interpreted as well.

It is to be understood that the singular " include " or "have" are to be construed as including the stated feature, number, step, operation, It is to be understood that the combination is intended to specify that it does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used predefined terms should be interpreted to be consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and can not be interpreted as having ideal or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application.

1 is a view for explaining a snowfall meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a snowfall meter 100 includes a snowfall panel 110, an observation column 120, an ultrasonic sensor 130, a laser distance sensor 140, and a control module 150. In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 may be located at a weather station, collecting data including the snowfall and the height of the snow from the location of each installed weather station to measure snowfall across the country.

Generally, there are laser design, ultrasonic design or image design, and the method of measuring snow height is mainly used. The laser design has a limitation on the area to be measured by measuring one point, although it is less affected by the external environment because it can accurately measure the height of the snow to be snowed and can be measured even in the case of snowfall. Ultrasonic design is a method to measure snow height by using directivity of sound waves. It can measure a large area but it is sensitive to temperature and humidity and is affected by external environment. . The imaging design has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to measure when the camera is dirty or snowed, because it measures the image on the screen by reading the number by reading the scale with the camera.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 includes a snowboard 110 that includes at least one load cell 112 that measures the weight of the snow that is snowed in the area, And an ultrasonic sensor 130 including columns 120 and installed on the upper surface of the observation column 120 to measure the presence or absence of snow falling toward the snowfall board 110. Here, the observation column 120 is not limited to the shape of the column, but may correspond to a triangular pole or a wall, and the snowfall meter 100 may include a snow column 112 including at least one load cell 112 on a fixed column or side wall The plate 110, the ultrasonic sensor 130, and the laser distance sensor 140 may be disposed so as not to be limited to a space or a specific place.

The conventional ultrasonic design is sensitive to the external environment and thus it is difficult to measure the height of the snow accurately. However, the snowfall meter 100 can detect the initial snowfall through the ultrasonic sensor 130, Can respond. Specifically, the snow measuring device 100 can detect the snowing state through the ultrasonic sensor 130, and can detect the snowing by measuring the snowing weight through the load cell 112.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 is a gimbal structure mounted on the top of the observation column 120 to measure the height of the snowfall on each of the plurality of measurement points 114 in the snowboard 110 And a distance sensor 140. The laser distance sensor 140 may be implemented as a gimbal structure capable of multi-point measurement to overcome the limitation of laser design for measuring a conventional point. Specifically, the laser distance sensor 140 can be combined with a motor moving up and down and a motor moving left and right to realize a gimbals structure. The laser distance sensor 140 is moved to a position corresponding to each of a plurality of measurement points 114 in the snowing plate 110 So that the height of the eyes can be measured.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 may include a control module 150 and the control module 150 may determine that the presence of snow falling through the ultrasonic sensor 130 is measured, It is possible to measure the heights of the snow on each of the plurality of measurement points 114 via the guide 112 and the weight of the snow on the area.

The control module 150 may define a plurality of metrology points 114 based on the area of the snowplow 110 and may control the gimbal structure of the laser distance sensor 140, The control unit 140 can control the height of the snow on each of the plurality of measurement points 114 to be measured. Specifically, the control module 150 may define a plurality of measurement points 114 as a mesh structure. For example, the control module 150 can set the plurality of measurement points 114 to have a mesh structure of 5 cm or 10 cm intervals when the size of the snowboard 110 is 50 (cm) * 50 (cm) , And the laser distance sensor 140 may be controlled by controlling the mechanical driving of the laser distance sensor 140 so as to measure the height of the eye.

In one embodiment, the control module 150 may control the laser distance sensor 140 to measure the shortest distance from the initial measurement point to the last measurement point with respect to all measurement points. Specifically, the laser distance sensor 140 can calculate the snow height through the difference between the initial measurement distance in the non-snowing state and the measurement distance after the snow comes, and the plurality of measurement points 114 The shortest distance from the snow piled up at the position corresponding to the distance from the snow can be measured.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 may include a snow logger 160 and may store data of the height of the snow measured from the laser distance sensor 140 and the weight of the snow measured from the load cell 112 have. Specifically, the snowfall meter 100 stores the height of the snow on all the measurement points measured by the laser distance sensor 140 and the weight of the snow measured from the load cell 112 in the snow logger 160, Precise weather information can be obtained about how many centimeters of snow per square meter. Since the moisture content differs depending on the type of snow, the load applied to the roof and the vinyl house is different depending on the load even at the same height. Since the snow depth meter 100 can measure the height and weight of the snow, It is possible to transmit accurate information about the information.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 is capable of measuring data on snow in different states for each area located at each meteorological station. Since snow is produced differently depending on temperature and humidity, even if snow is accumulated in the same area, the state of the eye changes depending on the surrounding environment. Therefore, the snow depth measuring apparatus 100 has an advantage that it can accurately measure the state of the eyes of each region located through the laser distance sensor 140 and the load cell 112.

2 is a view for explaining a snowfall meter according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2A is a view for explaining a plurality of points measured by a laser distance sensor, FIG. 2B is a view to be.

2, the snowfall meter 100 may include a snowboard 110 that includes a plurality of load cells 112, an observation column 120, a laser distance sensor 140, and a snow logger 160 have.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 includes a snowfall panel 110 that includes a plurality of load cells 112 that measure the weight of snow tiled in a plurality of areas, And may include an observation column 120 and may be installed on the observation column 120 in a gimbal structure and installed on the upper surface of the observation column 120 to detect snow And a laser distance sensor 140 for measuring the height of the laser. Here, the number of the plurality of load cells 112 may vary depending on the area of the snow board 110, and the snow meter 100 may include three to five load cells 112 have. The snow measuring device 100 can arrange a plurality of load cells 112 in place of measuring a snow weight by disposing one load cell 112 to identify an area where snow accumulates first in the snow board 110. [

In one embodiment, the snow measuring device 100 can measure the weight of snow falling in four divided areas by dividing the snowing plate 110 into four parts and arranging one load cell 112 in each divided area, Or by placing one load cell 112 and four edge load cells 112 at the center of the snowboard 110, the weight of the snow that is snowing can be measured.

In one embodiment, the laser distance sensor 140 may sequentially move each of the plurality of points 114 in one direction and measure the height of the eye at that point. For example, the laser distance sensor 140 can measure the height of the eye as it moves from the upper left to the lower right or from the edge to the inside.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 may include a snowfall logger 160 that records the snow weights measured at a particular time of day and the height of the snowfall at each of the plurality of points 114. For example, the snowfall meter 100 can record snow weight and snow height at the set time, and information on the height and weight of the snowfall per hour can be used to determine the area requiring evacuation and the risk of collapse The evacuation information can be transmitted to the user.

Specifically, the snowfall meter 100 measures the height of the snow on each of the plurality of points 114 via the laser distance sensor 140 in units of one minute based on the time at which the snow starts, ) To store the relevant data in the snow logger 160. [0031] Here, the time for measuring the height of the eye corresponding to each of the plurality of points 114 by the laser distance sensor 140 may vary according to the user setting.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 may define a plurality of points 114 as a square mesh structure, and the spacing between the plurality of points 114 may be calculated using the following equations.

[Mathematical Expression]

D_Interval = L / f (H_Snow)

Here, D_Interval corresponds to the interval between the plurality of points 114, the minimum value is determined by the minimum distance that can be distinguished in the gimbals structure, L is the length of the mesh structure, H_Snow is the number of points 114 ), F (H_Snow) corresponds to a function that monotonically increases according to H_Snow.

In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 may define an interval between a plurality of points 114 via the above equations. The snow depth meter 100 can set the minimum distance that can be moved by the gimbal structure of the laser distance sensor 140 to the minimum interval of the plurality of points 114. As the snow height of the snow falls, The number of the plurality of points 114 may be increased by setting the interval between the plurality of points 114 to be narrower.

Specifically, the snowfall meter 100 sets the height of the snow at a position corresponding to a plurality of the plurality of points 114 by setting the interval between the plurality of points 114 to be short as the snow height of the snow increases, Can be measured by the distance sensor 140. The snow depth meter 100 can set the interval of the plurality of points 114 to a minimum distance at which the laser distance sensor 140 can rotate. Accordingly, the snowfall meter 100 can measure the height of the snow that is snowed at a narrower interval as the snow is more increased, and the data of the snow weight measured from the load cell 112 and the height of snow at each corresponding position The snowfall amount per unit area can be more accurately measured.

3 is a block diagram illustrating the snowfall meter. Fig. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing snowfall measured by a snowfall meter. Fig.

3, the snowfall meter 100 may control the flow of data between the load cell 112, the ultrasonic sensor 130, the laser distance sensor 140 and the snow logger 160 via the control module 150 . In one embodiment, the control module 150 may be wirelessly coupled to the user terminal 200, and the user terminal 200 may be implemented as a smart phone, a notebook computer, or a computer, Device. ≪ / RTI >

In one embodiment, when the snowfall meter 100 senses that the snow is coming through the ultrasonic sensor 130, the snowfall sensor 100 receives data on snow height from the laser distance sensor 140, May receive data about the weight of the eye, and may store the aggregated data via the snow logger 160. The data stored in the snow logger 160 may be transmitted to the user terminal 200 or an external server through a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) or a LAN (Local Area Network), and the stored data may be processed into data desired by the user 4, it is possible to show the height of the snow, which is snowed with a three-dimensional graphic. The snowfall meter 100 can transmit data processed through CDMA or LAN to the user terminal 200 and can process the data so that snowing eyes can be visually confirmed.

Generally, in the case of weather observation, it is judged that the snow must be covered with snow on the ground and more than 1/2 of the ground around the observatory should be covered with snow. Because the shape of the snow is often influenced by wind and temperature, it is rarely accumulated and difficult to observe or distinguish. In one embodiment, the snowfall meter 100 can measure the height of the snow as well as the snow weight, so that information on the weight of the snow per unit area can be obtained. For example, the snowfall meter 100 measures the weight of the current snow falling through the snow logger 160 to determine the state of the snow (e.g., snow, snow, snow, or sleet) And can calculate the load of the snow on the vinyl house to deliver evacuation or collapse risk notifications. Referring to FIG. 4B, the height of the snow, which is snowed over time, is shown graphically for each state of the snow, and it can be seen that the height of the snow to be snowed is significantly different according to the state of the snow.

In one embodiment, as in FIG. 4C, when measuring the weight of an eye in each of the load cells 112A-E, the change in weight from each of the plurality of load cells 112 can be determined, so that the initial snowfall can be measured . In FIG. 4C, the blue circles represent the areas where the snow accumulates, and the graph on the right represents the weight of the eyes measured in each of the load cells 112A through E over time. For example, when the snow weight is measured from the load cell 112 corresponding to the point A at which the snow is piled up first, the snowfall meter 100 controls the ultrasonic sensor 130 and the radar distance sensor 140, The height of the snow can be measured to accurately confirm the initial snow cover.

Specifically, snow is classified into snow flakes, snow flakes, loose snow, or sleet eyes. Snow flakes are snow falling down into ice granules having a diameter of less than 1 mm and flat or elongated. It is made of water droplets. The sleet is made of transparent and hard ice granules with a diameter of less than 5mm. As such, the eyes are formed differently according to temperature and humidity, and even if snow is piled up at the same height, the weight varies depending on the type of snow depending on the moisture content. Therefore, the snow depth measuring apparatus 100 can measure snow height information and snow weight information together, thereby enabling more accurate eye condition measurement.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

100: Snowfall meter 110: Snowboard
112: load cell 114: plural points
120: Observation column 130: Ultrasonic sensor
140: laser distance sensor 150: control module
160: Snow logger
200: user terminal

Claims (8)

A snowboard comprising at least one load cell for measuring the weight of snow snowed in the area, respectively; And
And an ultrasonic sensor provided at an upper end of the snowing plate to measure the presence or absence of snow falling toward the snowing plate.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a laser distance sensor installed on the top of the snowing plate to measure the snow height of each of the plurality of measurement points on the snowing plate.
3. The method of claim 2,
And a control module for measuring heights of snow on the plurality of measurement points through the laser distance sensor and the load cell and the snow weight on the corresponding area when the presence of the falling snow is measured, Wherein the temperature sensor is a temperature sensor.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control module
Wherein the plurality of measurement points are defined based on the area of the snowboard and the gimbals structure is controlled so that the laser distance sensor measures the height of the snow on each of the plurality of measurement points .
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control module
Wherein the plurality of measurement points are defined as a mesh structure and the laser distance sensor measures the shortest distance from the initial measurement point to the last measurement point with respect to all measurement points.
A snow cover comprising a plurality of load cells for measuring the snow weights in the plurality of regions; And
And a laser distance sensor mounted on the top of the snowing plate to measure the height of the snow on each of the plurality of points of the snowing plate.
The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a snow logger for recording the weights of the snow measured at a specific time zone and the snow height of each of the plurality of points.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the plurality of points are defined as a square mesh structure, and the interval between the plurality of points is defined by the following equation.
[Mathematical Expression]
D_Interval = L / f (H_Snow)

Wherein the D_Interval corresponds to the interval, the minimum value is determined by a minimum distance that can be distinguished in the gimbals structure, L is a length of the mesh structure, and H_Snow is a length of the snow And f (H_Snow) corresponds to a function for monotonically increasing according to the H_Snow.

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