JP6933003B2 - Unmanned submersible - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water.

In recent years, underground cables have become widespread from the viewpoint of consideration for the landscape and safety in cities. In the underground cable, a pipeline is buried in the ground, and a power cable, a communication cable, etc. are laid in the pipeline. An ordinary underground cable has a structure in which a large number of pipelines are bundled with body tightening concrete at predetermined intervals, and is connected to a work space (manhole) at predetermined distances.

There is a manhole in the ground for maintenance work. Manholes are provided by placing concrete to form a space partitioned from the surroundings, or by burying a prefab in the ground. However, regardless of which method is used, a large amount of water will flow into the manhole due to heavy rain or the like.

Manholes need to be inspected regularly. However, since the manhole is deep underground, it is difficult for workers to dive and inspect it. For this reason, under the present circumstances, the water flowing into the manhole is first extracted, and then the worker descends to the manhole through the manhole entrance to perform the inspection work. However, the water extraction work requires a lot of time and labor, and the inspection work puts a heavy burden on the workers.

Therefore, it is being considered to use a small unmanned submersible for inspection work when the manhole is submerged. As an unmanned underwater vehicle, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an unmanned underwater vehicle used for exploration and observation of underwater structures and fishery resources. It is considered that if an unmanned submersible as in Patent Document 1 is used, the inside of the manhole can be confirmed without performing the water extraction work and without the need for the worker to descend to the manhole.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-248277

Here, Patent Document 1 only describes that the camera mounted on the unmanned submersible is provided with an underwater camera covered with a transparent or translucent cover at the tip of the main body. If it is an unmanned underwater vehicle for exploration and observation of underwater structures and marine resources as in Patent Document 1, it suffices to be able to observe the entire sea, and it is rare for the camera to focus on a specific object. Conceivable.

On the other hand, when inspecting the inside of a manhole, it is necessary to focus the camera on the object to be inspected. However, the water that has flowed into the manhole contains a large amount of foreign substances such as fallen leaves and soil. Therefore, if the camera focuses on a foreign object floating in water, it becomes impossible to check the inside of the manhole in detail. Therefore, it is difficult to simply apply the unmanned underwater vehicle of Patent Document 1 to the inspection inside the manhole, and further improvement is required.

In view of such a problem, the present invention can accurately focus the camera on the object to be inspected when inspecting the manhole skeleton and the cable laid inside the manhole when the manhole is submerged. The purpose is to provide an unmanned submersible that can perform work accurately and efficiently.

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the unmanned submersible according to the present invention is an unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water, and has a watertight housing and the inside of the housing. It is equipped with a first front camera that is mounted and shoots the front, and the first front camera is characterized by having a manual focus.

According to the above configuration, the worker can accurately focus the first front camera on the object to be inspected. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the focus of the first front camera from focusing on foreign matter floating in water, and to accurately and efficiently inspect the manhole skeleton and the cables laid inside the manhole skeleton. ..

It is further equipped with a second front camera mounted in the housing to shoot the front, the first front camera is a still image shooting camera, and the second front camera is a moving image shooting camera having a lower resolution than the first front camera. It is good to be. According to this configuration, the second front camera moves underwater while shooting a low-resolution moving image, and when the camera moves to the vicinity of the inspection target, the first front camera shoots a high-resolution still image. can do.

At this time, since the second front camera has a low resolution, the amount of image data is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of transmitted data when the wireless submersible is moving underwater. On the other hand, since the first front camera has a higher resolution than the second front camera, a clear image can be obtained when the object to be inspected is photographed. Therefore, the state of the object to be inspected can be confirmed in more detail. As described above, by providing the high-resolution first front camera and the low-resolution second front camera, it is possible to accurately grasp the state of the object to be inspected while suppressing the amount of data.

A power cable or a communication cable is connected to the rear part of the housing, and the unmanned submersible may be further provided with a wide-angle rear camera mounted in the housing to photograph the rear. This makes it possible to check the state of the rear of the housing, especially the state of the power cable and communication cable. Therefore, it is possible to suitably prevent the power cable and the communication cable from being caught in an obstacle.

It is preferable to further include an upper camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the upper part. This makes it possible to observe the state of water above the housing and the state above the water surface.

The housing may include a cylindrical member made of a transparent member and a pair of side wall members that seal the openings of the cylindrical member. As described above, since the housing is made of a cylindrical member, it is possible to increase the strength against the pressure applied when diving deep into the water.

It is preferable to further include front and rear thrusters that apply propulsive force in the front-rear direction to the housing, and vertical thrusters that apply propulsion force in the vertical direction to the housing. This makes it possible to suitably move the unmanned submersible in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction.

The upper and lower thrusters may be arranged so that the propeller is located below the center of the housing. As a result, even if the upper camera is positioned above the water surface, the propellers of the upper and lower thrusters can be easily positioned in the water. Therefore, it is possible to take a picture while positioning the upper camera above the water surface, and it is possible to suitably inspect the space above the water surface in the work section.

According to the present invention, when inspecting the manhole skeleton and the cables laid inside the manhole when the manhole is submerged, the camera can be accurately focused on the object to be inspected, and the inspection work can be performed accurately and efficiently. It becomes possible to provide an unmanned submersible that can be carried out in a targeted manner.

It is a figure explaining a manhole entrance and a manhole. It is a figure explaining the unmanned underwater vehicle which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure explaining the unmanned underwater vehicle which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the image taken by the rear camera. It is a figure explaining the arrangement of the front-rear thruster and the top-bottom thruster.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in such an embodiment are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate description, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown. do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a manhole entrance 210 and a manhole 220. FIG. 1 (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view in the ground where an underground cable is laid, and FIG. 1 (b) is an enlarged perspective view of the manhole 220 of FIG. 1 (a).

As shown in FIG. 1A, a plurality of pipelines 204 in which 202 such as a power cable and a communication cable are laid are buried inside the underground 200. The pipeline 204 is bundled by the body tightening concrete 206, and manhole inlets 210 for work are provided at predetermined intervals. A manhole 220 for maintenance work is provided below the manhole entrance 210. The cable 202 laid in the pipeline 204 is connected by a cable connecting portion 208 inside the manhole 220.

Water may flow into the manhole 220 from the pipeline due to heavy rain or the like, and the manhole 220 may be submerged. The manhole 220 and the cable 202 inside the manhole 220 (hereinafter collectively referred to as the manhole 200) need to be inspected regularly. The unmanned submersible vehicle 100 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 (b) is used when inspecting the manhole 220 thus submerged.

2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating the unmanned submersible 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment observed from the front, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment observed from the rear. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2A. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 2B shows a state in which one of the protective walls 116a in FIG. 2A is removed.

The unmanned submersible vehicle 100 of the present embodiment moves underwater in the manhole 220 and photographs the state of the water. As shown in FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b) and 3, the unmanned submersible vehicle 100 of the present embodiment includes a housing 110 having watertightness. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, a manual focus first front camera 122 for photographing the front is mounted in the housing 110.

By setting the first front camera 122 that captures the front as the manual focus as in the above configuration, the focus of the first front camera 122 can be accurately adjusted to the object to be inspected. Therefore, even when foreign matter such as fallen leaves is floating in the water, it is possible to prevent the focus of the first front camera 122 from being aligned with the foreign matter floating in the water, and to accurately inspect the manhole 220. Moreover, it becomes possible to carry out efficiently.

Further, in the unmanned submersible vehicle 100 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, a second front camera 124 for photographing the front is mounted in the housing. The second front camera 124 is a camera having a lower resolution than the first front camera 122. Then, in the present embodiment, the high-resolution first front camera 122 is used as a still image shooting camera, and the low-resolution second front camera 124 is used as a moving image shooting camera. As a result, the cameras can be used properly, such as moving underwater while taking a moving image with the second front camera 124, and taking a still image with the first front camera 122 when moving to the vicinity of the inspection target.

As described above, since the second front camera 124 has a low resolution, the amount of data of the captured image is small. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of transmission data when the unmanned submersible 100 moves underwater. On the other hand, since the first front camera 122 has a high resolution, the sharpness of the image when the object to be inspected is photographed is high. Therefore, the state of the object to be inspected can be confirmed in more detail. In this way, by providing the high-resolution first front camera 122 and the low-resolution second front camera 124, it is possible to accurately grasp the state of the object to be inspected while suppressing the amount of data during movement. It becomes.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the first front camera 122 and the second front camera 124 are attached to an arm 120a that can rotate in the vertical direction. The arm 120a can rotate to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 3 (60 ° upward and 90 ° downward). As a result, a wider range can be photographed by rotating the arm 120a upward when observing diagonally forward and rotating the arm 120a downward when observing downward.

Further, in the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment, an upper camera 126 for photographing the upper side and a wide-angle rear camera 128 for photographing the rear are mounted in the housing 110. This makes it possible to check the state above and behind the housing 110 in water. The rear camera 128 will be described in detail later.

It is also conceivable to use a camera whose resolution can be adjusted as a camera for photographing the front. However, with such a camera, there is a time for blackout when switching the resolution, and the load is increased due to the control process. On the other hand, in the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment, by using the first front camera 122 and the second front camera 124 together, the processing time is shortened and the load of the control processing is suppressed, and the resolution is improved. It will be possible to change.

Next, the housing 110 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the housing of the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment includes a cylindrical member 112 and a pair of side wall members 114a and 114b. The cylindrical member 112 is a tubular member made of a transparent member. Specifically, the cylindrical member 112 is formed by cutting a transparent resin pipe in the lateral direction.

Since the above-mentioned cylindrical member 112 is not a joint of a plurality of members, it does not have a joint portion. As a result, high pressure resistance against water pressure can be ensured. Therefore, even in a deep place (for example, 10 m to 15 m) such as a manhole 220 below the manhole entrance 210, the inspection work can be performed without causing damage.

The pair of side wall members 114a and 114b are made of a metal material such as aluminum and seal the opening on the side surface of the cylindrical member 112. In the present embodiment, the side wall members 114a and 114b made of a metal material have been illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other materials such as a resin material can also be used.

The lighting member 130 is arranged inside the side wall members 114a and 114b (the side wall members 114b are illustrated in FIGS. 2B and 3). The lighting member 130 includes an annular band member 132 and a plurality of LEDs 134 attached to the annular band member 132. As a result, even in the dark manhole 220, it is possible to illuminate the manhole 220 in an arbitrary direction and take a good image. In the present embodiment, the annular lighting member 130 has been illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other known lighting equipment may be mounted in addition to or in place of the lighting member 130.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a power cable connecting portion 136a and a communication cable connecting portion 136b are provided at the rear portion of the housing 110. By connecting the power cable 102a and the communication cable 104a to these, the unmanned submersible 100, the power supply 102, and the operation terminal 104 are connected (see FIG. 1B). Further, by connecting the power cable 102a and the communication cable 104a to the unmanned submersible 100, the unmanned submersible 100 can be easily recovered by the worker pulling those cables after the inspection is completed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an image taken by the rear camera 128. As mentioned above, the unmanned submersible 100 includes a rear camera 128. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the rear camera 128 is provided with the fisheye lens 128a, the shooting angle of the rear camera 128 is increased. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the states of the power cable 102a and the communication cable 104a behind the housing 110 can be preferably confirmed. Therefore, it is possible to suitably prevent the power cable 102a and the communication cable 104a from being caught in an obstacle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the front and rear thrusters 142a and 142b and the upper and lower thrusters 146a and 146b. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 5, the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment includes a pair of front and rear thrusters 142a and 142b and a pair of upper and lower thrusters 146a and 146b. The pair of front and rear thrusters 142a and 142b are fixed to the side wall members 114a and 114b, respectively, with the propellers 144a and 144b facing the rear side. The pair of upper and lower thrusters 146a and 146b are fixed to the side wall members 114a and 114b, respectively, with the propellers 148a and 148b facing downward.

According to the above configuration, the front-rear thrusters 142a and 142b can apply propulsive force in the front-rear direction, and the up-and-down thrusters 146a and 146b can apply propulsion force in the vertical direction to the housing. Therefore, the unmanned submersible 100 can be suitably moved in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction.

In particular, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper and lower thrusters 146b (146a is not shown in FIG. 5) are arranged so that the propeller 148b is located below the center of the housing 110. As a result, the upper camera 126 can be maintained in a state of being positioned above the water surface 220a. Therefore, it is possible to suitably inspect the space (ceiling) above the water surface 220a in the manhole 220.

Further, in the unmanned submersible 100 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, protective walls 116a and 116b are provided on the outside of the side wall members 114a and 114b. This makes it possible to suitably protect the front and rear thrusters 142a and 142b and the upper and lower thrusters 146a and 146b from collisions with the wall surface of the manhole 220, ladders, cables, pipes, and the like.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, which naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

The present invention can be used for an unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water.

100 ... unmanned submersible, 102 ... power supply, 102a ... power cable, 104 ... operation terminal, 104a ... communication cable, 110 ... housing, 112 ... cylindrical member, 114a ... side wall member, 114b ... side wall member, 116a ... protective wall, 116b ... protective wall, 120a ... arm, 122 ... first front camera, 124 ... second front camera, 126 ... upper camera, 128 ... rear camera, 128a ... fisheye lens, 130 ... lighting member, 132 ... band member, 134 ... LED , 136a ... Power cable connection, 136b ... Communication cable connection, 142a ... Front and rear thrusters, 142b ... Front and rear thrusters, 144a ... Propellers, 144b ... Propellers, 146a ... Vertical thrusters, 146b ... Vertical thrusters, 148a ... Propellers, 148b ... Propellers , 200 ... underground, 202 ... cable, 204 ... pipeline, 206 ... body tightening concrete, 208 ... cable connection, 210 ... manhole entrance, 220 ... manhole, 220a ... water surface

Claims (6)

An unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water.
With a watertight housing,
A first front camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the front,
A second front camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the front,
With
The first front camera is a manual focus still image shooting camera.
The second front camera is an unmanned submersible that is a camera for shooting a moving image having a lower resolution than the first front camera. An unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water.
With a watertight housing,
A first front camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the front,
With
The first front camera has manual focus.
A power cable or a communication cable is connected to the rear part of the housing.
The unmanned submersible is an unmanned submersible that is mounted inside the housing and further includes a wide-angle rear camera for photographing the rear . An unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water.
With a watertight housing,
A first front camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the front,
An upper camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the upper part ,
With
The first front camera is an unmanned underwater vehicle characterized by manual focus. An unmanned submersible that moves underwater and photographs the state of the water.
With a watertight housing,
A first front camera mounted in the housing and taking a picture of the front,
With
The first front camera has manual focus.
The housing is
Cylindrical members made of transparent members and
A pair of side wall members that seal the openings of the cylindrical member,
An unmanned underwater vehicle characterized by having A front-rear thruster that applies propulsive force in the front-rear direction to the housing,
A vertical thruster that applies propulsive force in the vertical direction to the housing,
The unmanned submersible according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising. The unmanned submersible according to claim 5 , wherein the upper and lower thrusters are arranged so that the propeller is located below the center of the housing.

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