KR20190037213A - System of automated precipitation sampler and operating method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an automatic precipitation sampler system and an operating method thereof. The automatic precipitation sampler system comprises: a main body having a water inlet at an upper part thereof; a driving part disposed in the main body; a circular table disposed in the main body and rotated by the driving part; a plurality of sample containers arranged equidistantly at locations spaced a certain distance from a center of the circular table on a plurality of radiation directions of the circular table; and funnels disposed on an upper part of each of the plurality of sample containers and aligned with one of the water inlet.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to an automatic precipitation sampler system,

Embodiments of the present invention relate to automatic precipitation sampler systems and methods of operation thereof.

Methods to verify the effects of artificial expansion and artificial rainfall experiments include ground observation, such as radar, radio meter, optics, and redesign, physical studies by PCASP, CCNC, 2DP, FSSP, CIP, The random seeding experiment which selects the region randomly when the temperature, the wind, and the cloudy water content are the same, and the other region, the random seeding experiment which becomes the biding area, the diffusion and the seeding effect of the seeding material through the numerical simulation And the changes in precipitation and cloud microphysical parameters in the ding mode).

In addition, since it is difficult to clearly distinguish whether the increased precipitation after the experiment is caused by natural fluctuations or by experiments, it is difficult to clearly distinguish the precipitation by observations.

In Korea, for the evaluation of the experiment, the characteristics of the distribution of the silver background concentration during the precipitation have been investigated. A cylindrical water sampler with an inner diameter of 28.8 cm and a height of 34.0 cm made of polyethylene was installed on the ground at a distance of 1.2 m and analyzed from that day to 09:00 on the same day.

Zipori et al. Also investigated whether the seeding material reached the target area and whether it contributed to the precipitation process of silver iodide (AgI), which is a seeding material in the cloud, in a plastic funnel with a diameter of 25 cm Polypropylene tubes may be connected to collect precipitation. The method of sampling was to replace the tube manually either full of precipitation or once every 30 minutes or 1 hour.

Idaho Power Company (IPC) has also conducted snowfall sampling studies with Boise State University and Curtain College for several years for chemical analysis of snow in the Faet River basin in southwest Idaho, USA. In Boise State University, after drilling a hole in a snow-covered area of several tens of meters, a 3 cm diameter sample tube was inserted in the downward direction in order to sample snow. Curtain College sampled snow by inserting a 1-cm-thick slab into the snow-covered area and pulling it back.

The methods described above are limited to day-to-day precipitation, or where there is a lot of snow, and there are also limitations that must be made by man.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic precipitation sampler system capable of minimizing constraints in the prior art and efficiently detecting a seeding effect over time, And to provide a method of operation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic precipitation sampler (hereinafter, simply referred to as 'automatic precipitation sampler') comprising: a main body; A driving unit disposed in the main body; A circular table disposed in the main body and rotated by a driving unit; A plurality of sample containers located in a plurality of radial directions spaced from the center by a circular table; And funnels disposed on top of each of the plurality of sample vessels.

In one embodiment, the control unit may further include a control box connected to the driving unit and controlling the operation of the driving unit.

In one embodiment, the automatic precipitation sampler can automatically return to the turntable (container mounting plate) by first opening the lid by pressing the start button. The precipitation watering time can be adjusted by the setting timer. If 1 hour is set, it is drained for 1 hour. The cover is opened and the rotating plate is rotated, returning to the next container, repeating the precipitation to the set time, and closing the cover and ending automatically.

In one embodiment, the automatic precipitation sampler has nine water samplers installed, and sampling is possible for nine hours if the sampling time is set to one hour. The diameter of the water inlet is 19 cm, which may be similar to the diameter of the rain gauge used in the industry. To minimize contamination by external factors, the funnel and vessel for precipitation can be collected and transported to other funnels and containers after one hour.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic precipitation sampler system including: a main body having a water inlet at an upper portion thereof; A driving unit disposed in the main body; A circular table disposed in the main body and rotated by a driving unit; And a plurality of sample containers arranged at equal intervals on the plurality of radiation directions of the circular table at positions spaced apart from the center of the circular table at a constant distance; And funnels disposed on top of each of the plurality of sample vessels, one of which is aligned with the water inlet.

In one embodiment, the plurality of sample vessels are arranged in a circular shape, and can be rotated on a circular table rotated by the driving unit and sequentially aligned below the water receiving unit.

In one embodiment, the circular table may include container holders for holding or supporting the plurality of sample containers.

In one embodiment, the automatic precipitation sampler system further includes a control box coupled to the outside of the main body and connected to the cover unit of the main body, the control box being connected to the drive unit and controlling the operation of the cover unit and the drive unit .

In one embodiment, the controller of the control box controls the cover device according to an input signal or a predetermined command to open / close the cover of the water outlet provided in the upper body of the main body, And controls the driving unit to rotate the circular table at predetermined angles at predetermined times.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating an automatic precipitation sampler system including a main body, a driving unit, a circular table, and a control box, Opening the cover of the water inlet of the upper body; Aligning one of a plurality of sample containers arranged in a circle on a circular table inside the upper body under the water inlet; And a controller of the control box controls the driving unit to rotate the circular table according to preset operating conditions stored in the memory of the control box and sequentially rotate the plurality of sample containers at predetermined time intervals.

In one embodiment, the method of operation of an automatic precipitation sampler system may further comprise the step of, after said rotating, collecting precipitation in said plurality of sample containers or covering said water receiving port in accordance with said preset operating condition . The touch screen of the control box may display system conditions or operating conditions in the above steps.

In the case of using the automatic precipitation sampler system and the operation method of the present invention as described above, it is possible to remove most of the constraints that need to be directly performed by a person when verifying the experimental effect on artificial expansion or artificial rainfall.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the seeding effect with time can be efficiently recognized.

1 is a partial perspective front view of an automatic precipitation sampler system (hereinafter briefly referred to as an automatic precipitation sampler) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a top view of the automatic precipitation sampler of Figure 1;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the structure of the automatic precipitation sampler of FIG. 2 with the top cover and the automatic cover removed. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a front view for explaining a circular table of the automatic precipitation sampler of FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 5 is an exemplary view of a driving part employable in the automatic precipitation sampler of FIG. 1; FIG.
Figure 6 is an illustration of a control box that can be employed in the automatic precipitation sampler of Figure 1;

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms related to "comprising "," having ", and the like are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted in a manner consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art, and are not to be construed as ideal or overly formal, unless explicitly defined herein.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a partial perspective front view of an automatic precipitation sampler system (hereinafter briefly referred to as an automatic precipitation sampler) according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a top view of the automatic precipitation sampler of Figure 1;

Referring to FIG. 1, the automatic precipitation sampler 100 according to the present embodiment includes a main body 10, a driving unit 20, a circular table 30, and a control box 40. 1, the funnel part, the funnel detection sensor 51, the container detection sensor 52, a part of the water receiving port 16, the cover device 18 and the lower part of the supporting frame of the driving part 20 are connected to the main body 10 And is seen through the front surface of the upper body 13.

The main body 10 can function to receive and protect components of the system and to locate at least one component at a particular height or position. The driving unit 20 may be disposed in an area defined or formed by the main body 10. [ In addition, the circular table 30 can be disposed in the region defined or formed by the main body 10. [ The circular table 30 can be at least partially rotated by the driving unit 20. [

A plurality of sample containers (including 32a) may be arranged on the circular table 30. [ The plurality of sample containers may be disposed at equal intervals from one another on a plurality of radial directions spaced apart from the center of the circular table 30 by a predetermined distance. And funnels (including 34a) may be arranged on top of each of the plurality of sample containers. At least one of the funnels can be coupled to a corresponding sample vessel. Also, at least one of the funnels may be secured to the circular table 30 while maintaining a mating relationship with the corresponding sample vessel.

The control box 40 may be disposed outside the main body 10. The control box 40 is connected to the driving unit 20 and can control the operation of the driving unit 20. [ The control box 40 can also control the operation of the actuator 18 of the cover device 16 provided on or coupled to the upper side of the main body 10. [

The main body 10 will be described in more detail as follows.

The main body 10 may have a box shape except for the control box 40 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The box shape may include sizes of about 970 mm, about 970 mm, and about 1,200 mm in width, length, and height. The main body 10 may include a lower frame 12 and an upper body 13.

The lower frame 12 may have a horizontal frame and a vertical frame, and each frame may be prepared as a square pipe. An adjuster 11 may also be provided underneath the lower frame 12 in which case the equipment or system can be secured to the floor base via an adjuster 11 with anchor bolts.

The upper body 13 can be a door 14 disposed on one side (front side) and the other side (rear side) of a rectangular box-shaped body. The door 14 may have a window 14w at the center thereof. The window 14w can function to allow the operator to see the inside of the upper body 13 from the outside. The door 14 may have a structure capable of opening and closing in one direction.

A small heater for maintaining the temperature of 20 ° C may be installed inside the upper body 13. Further, a heat insulating material for keeping the heat can be disposed inside the upper body 13. [ As the heat insulating material, a foam panel or the like can be used, and the thickness of the heat insulating material can be about 5 mm.

The upper body 13 may have a structure in which the entire upper portion thereof can be opened and closed. For this purpose, the upper cover 15 of the upper body 13 may have a hinge 15h for hinging the upper main body with the upper cover 15 at one side thereof.

In addition, the upper cover 15 of the upper body may be formed to be inclined. The upper cover 15 may be installed to have a slope of about 6 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane corresponding to the sea surface from one end to the other end or a horizontal line included in the horizontal plane. According to the structure and arrangement of the upper cover 15, snow, rainwater, etc. falling on the upper cover 15 can fall downward from the upper cover 15 on the upper cover 15 by gravity.

The upper body 13 may have a water outlet 16 disposed at a certain distance from the center of the upper cover 15 or in one area of the upper cover 15. [ The water receptacle 16 may protrude above the top cover 15 so that the top cover 15 can be divided into a first area A1 and a second area A2 in which the water receptacle 16 is located And a step portion 15a may be disposed at the boundary between the first region A1 and the second region A2 (see FIG. 2).

The distance from the center of the upper cover 15 to the center of the water outlet 16 may be about 300 mm, and the diameter of the water outlet 16 may be about 190 mm. The water receiving port 16 can be opened and closed by a cover device 18 which engages the upper body 13 or the upper cover 15.

The cover device 18 may include an automatic cover device operated as a separate drive unit. The cover device 18 can open and close the lid 17 of the water receiving port in a hinged form. To this end, the cover device 18 is provided with a holder 19 which engages the lid 17, and the holder 19 can be extended or contracted, or rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. In addition, the upper cover 15 may be provided with a hot wire for removing snow.

Further, the upper body 13 may have a drain pipe 14d at a lower portion thereof. The drain pipe 14d may extend from the inner bottom of the upper body 13 to the lower outer side of the upper body 13 through the bottom surface of the body. The drain pipe 14d can discharge water not contained in the sample container 32a during the precipitation into the upper body 13 through the water inlet 16 to the outside of the upper body 13. [

Next, the circular table 30, the driving unit 20, and the control box 40 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 6. Fig.

3 is a top view of the structure of the automatic precipitation sampler of FIG. 2 with the top cover and automatic cover device removed. FIG. 4 is a front view for explaining a circular table of the automatic precipitation sampler of FIG. 1; FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in the automatic precipitation sampler 100 according to the present embodiment, the circular table 30 is arranged to be rotatable by a driving unit inside the upper body 13.

The circular table 30 includes a disk-shaped driving plate 31, a plurality of container holder supporting portions 32 arranged at one end to the driving plate 31 and arranged radially from the driving plate 31, And a sample container 33a disposed at the other end of the holder supporter 32. [

The container holder 32a may be disposed at the other end of each container holder supporting portion 32 for supporting or fixing the sample container 33a. A certain portion of each sample container 33a can be inserted into the corresponding container holder 32a. The container holder 32a seats the sample container 33a on the circular table 30. [ The container holder 32a may be referred to as a lower bracket holder.

The circular table 30 may also have a plurality of funnel supports 35 one end of which is connected to the circular drive plate 31 and arranged radially from the drive plate 31. [ Each funnel support 35 has a ring shape and can seat a plastic disposable funnel on a circular table.

The funnels 34a through 34i may be inserted into respective corresponding funnel supports 35 such that the upper end of the funnel contacts the funnel support 35 and the lower end thereof hangs. The lower end of each funnel can be inserted at a certain depth into the upper opening of the corresponding sample vessel.

The pairs of sample containers 33a and the corresponding funnels can be arranged at regular intervals spaced from each other at radial positions located a predetermined distance from the center of the circular table 30. [ Here, the predetermined distance corresponds to half of the circular table diameter, and may be about 300 mm to about 320 mm.

Each of the container holder supporting portions 32 has a stepped portion 32d between one end connected to the drive plate 31 and the other end where the container holder 32 is disposed for stacking the sample containers and the corresponding funnels . The stacking arrangement comprises placing the funnel on at least one sample vessel. The funnel can be made of plastic disposable material. One of the funnels 34a through 34i may be arranged coaxially in one direction with the water inlet 16. [ The diameter of the water outlet 16 is 19 cm, which may be similar to the diameter of the rain gage used in the industry.

The circular table 30 can be made of an aluminum material having a diameter of 750 mm to 860 mm. In the present embodiment, the circular table 30 can be rotated in nine steps based on the axis (or the central axis) of the drive plate 31 located at the center of the circular table 30. [ The driving plate 31 is coupled to the driving shaft 23 rotated by the driving unit and can rotate according to the rotation of the driving shaft 23.

On the other hand, the circular table 30 is not limited to the configuration using nine sample vessels, and can be configured to use eight, ten, etc. sample vessels. When using an even number of sample vessels, the sample vessels in the cross-section of the circular table 30 may exhibit a symmetrical shape (see FIG. 4).

According to the present embodiment, the automatic precipitation sampler can accommodate nine sampling vessels, that is, a sample vessel. If the sampling time is set to one hour, sampling can be performed for nine hours. To minimize contamination by external factors, funnels and vessels for precipitation can be replaced with other funnels and containers after one hour.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view of a driving part employable in the automatic precipitation sampler of FIG. 1; FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the automatic precipitation sampler according to the present embodiment, the drive unit 20 includes a motor 21, timing pulleys 21a and 23a, a belt 22, and a drive shaft 23. The driving unit 20 can rotate the driving plate 31 of the circular table connected to the driving shaft 23 by the rotational force of the motor 21. [

The motor 21 can apply a stepping motor to perform the nine-division index operation (per revolution) of the driving plate 31 or the circular table. The motor 21 is vertically installed by the support frame 24 and the rotational force of the motor 21 is transmitted to the second timing pulley 23a through the first timing pulley 21a and the belt 22, The circular table connected directly to the drive shaft 23 can be rotated in accordance with the rotation of the drive shaft 23 connected to the timing pulley 23a. The drive shaft 23 can be supported by bearings vertically arranged on one side of the support frame 24. [

Meanwhile, the automatic precipitation sampler according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a sensor for monitoring and controlling the driving unit. The sensor includes at least one sensor for sensing whether the funnel or sample vessel is in a specific position (see 51 and 52 in FIG. 1). The sensor may be an infrared sensor, a light sensor, a vision sensor, or the like. If it is detected by the sensor that either the funnel or the sample container is not located at a particular location, the controller in the control box can pass the current step of the circular table and proceed to the next step.

In addition, the sensor may include an origin sensor. The origin sensor can be used to set the initial position of the operation of the circular table. If the sensor detects that the circular table has been activated / started at a non-stationary position, the controller can either overstep or backstep to locate the circular table.

Figure 6 is an illustration of a control box that can be employed in the automatic precipitation sampler of Figure 1;

Referring to FIG. 6, in the automatic precipitation sampler according to the present embodiment, the control box 40 may be attached to the upper body side of the main body. The control box 40 may be waterproofed or rust-proof coated to prevent rainwater or the like from penetrating or easily rusting during outdoor installation.

The control box 40 may have an alarm lamp 41 on its upper part. The control box 40 has a 5-inch touch screen 42 and a power button 43, an emergency stop button, a manual / automatic regulator, an origin lamp, a reset lamp, a temperature controller 44, .

The touch screen 42 displays information necessary for operation of the apparatus, and can set operating conditions of the apparatus and the like. For example, the display information and the setting information may include manual operation, operation time adjustment, automatic operation operation / stop, operation time information and remaining operation time, circular table step operation, opening / closing of the upper water outlet cover.

The control box 40 may include a processor and a memory. Also, the control box 40 can receive power from an external commercial power source or a battery power source. The power supplied to the control box 40 may be single phase 220 V, 60 Hz, but is not limited thereto. The control box 40 can control the power supplied to the main body, the driving unit, and the like.

An operation method of the automatic precipitation sampler according to the above-described embodiments will be described as follows.

When the start button is pressed on the front control panel of the automatic precipitation sampler control box 40, the cover is automatically opened at first and the driving plate can be moved and aligned to the initial position. A total of nine plastic disposable funnels and sample containers can be provided to collect precipitation one sample per hour.

The precipitation watering time can be adjusted by the setting timer. If 1 hour is set, the sample is collected for 1 hour. The circular table with the cover open and the drive plate is rotated one step, the next sample container is moved under the water catcher and aligned, and the aligned sample container is subjected to precipitation for a predetermined time After repeating the precipitation for the set time or the number of sample vessels, if all the specified sample vessels receive the precipitation, the cover will be closed and the precipitation can be automatically terminated.

In the case of adopting the automatic precipitation sampler of the above-described embodiment, in order to scientifically and continuously verify the cloud physics research and the weather adjustment effect, rain and snow falling before and after the artificial rain increase (expansion) experiment are collected and the effect thereof is efficiently analyzed .

In addition, the touch screen installed in the control box can greatly enhance the user's convenience by displaying and controlling the information required to operate the equipment (automatic precipitation sampler).

In addition, there is an advantage that a heater and a hot wire are arranged on the top and inside of the equipment to maintain the temperature, and can automatically operate to sample precipitation even in snowfall.

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

Claims (1)

A main body having a water inlet at an upper portion thereof;
A driving unit disposed in the main body;
A circular table disposed in the main body and rotated by the driving unit;
A plurality of sample containers arranged at equal intervals on the plurality of radiation directions of the circular table at positions spaced apart from the center of the circular table by a predetermined distance;
A control box coupled to the outside of the main body and connected to the cover unit of the main body, the control box being connected to the driving unit and controlling the operation of the cover unit and the driving unit; And
A funnel in each of which a plurality of sample containers are arranged, and one of which is aligned with the water receiving port,
The main body includes an upper body and a lower frame supporting the upper body. An adjuster is provided under the lower frame and is fixed to the floor base through an adjuster. The upper body includes a rectangular box- A door disposed on the rear side is installed, the door has a window for viewing the inside,
The upper cover is provided with an upper cover for opening and closing the upper part of the upper cover, and a hinge for hinging the upper cover and the upper body at one side of the upper cover. The upper cover is installed to have a slope with respect to the horizontal line,
Wherein the circular table comprises a disk-shaped drive plate, a plurality of funnel supports coupled at one end to the drive plate and disposed radially from the drive plate, and a plurality of funnel supports disposed radially from the drive plate, A plurality of container holder supporting portions disposed at a lower portion of the plurality of container holder supporting portions, and a container holder disposed at the other end of each of the plurality of container holder supporting portions, wherein each of the plurality of container holder supporting portions includes: And a stepped portion between the other of the plurality of container holder supporting portions and the other end of each container holder corresponding to each of the plurality of container holder supporting portions,
Wherein the plurality of sample containers are seated in the container holders which are the lower bracket holders,
Each of the funnels is inserted into a corresponding funnel-supporting portion of the plurality of funnel supporting portions so that the upper end of the funnel contacts the funnel supporting portion and is suspended at a lower end thereof into the upper opening of each of the plurality of sample containers,
The controller of the control box controls the cover device according to an input signal or a predetermined command to open / close the cover of the water outlet provided on the upper body of the main body, And the circular table is rotated at predetermined angles at predetermined times,
Wherein the plurality of sample containers are rotated on the circular table rotated by the driving unit and are sequentially arranged below the water receiving port,
Wherein the plurality of sample vessels are collected with precipitation with little contamination due to external factors through a funnel which is exchanged every predetermined time, wherein the precipitation water collected in the plurality of sample vessels is subjected to artificial evaporation or effect Wherein the automatic precipitation sampler system is used to analyze the seeding effect over time.

Images