JP7537178B2 - Equipment inspection system and equipment inspection method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an equipment inspection system, an aircraft, a relay device, and an equipment inspection method.

Sensors may be installed in specific equipment to inspect that equipment (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2018-201276 A

The objective of this disclosure is to provide technology that can reduce the maintenance of equipment inspection systems by using flying vehicles.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure,
An equipment inspection system for inspecting equipment to be inspected,
An aircraft that captures an image of the facility while flying in the air;
A sensor provided in the facility for measuring predetermined facility-related information;
having
The flying object is provided with an equipment inspection system that collects the equipment-related information from the sensors.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure,
There is provided an aircraft having the equipment inspection system according to the above aspect.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure,
There is provided a relay device included in the equipment inspection system according to the above aspect.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure,
An equipment inspection method for inspecting equipment to be inspected, comprising:
taking an image of the facility while flying an aircraft in the air;
Measuring predetermined facility-related information by a sensor provided in the facility;
collecting the facility-related information from the sensors by the air vehicle;
An equipment inspection method is provided, comprising:

According to this disclosure, it is possible to reduce the maintenance of equipment inspection systems by using flying vehicles.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an equipment inspection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flashover sensor as an example of a sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a tilt sensor as an example of a sensor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an equipment inspection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an air vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a relay device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an equipment inspection method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an equipment inspection method according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure]
<Insights gained by the inventors>
First, the findings of the inventors will be described.

Conventionally, as in Patent Document 1, for example, information measured by a sensor installed on equipment such as a steel tower to be inspected was acquired by wireless communication at a host terminal (hereinafter referred to as a management center) located far from the equipment. To avoid using a particularly long-distance power transmission method, for example, a storage battery or solar cell was often used as the power source to supply power to the sensor.

However, in the conventional configuration described above, periodic power supply maintenance (e.g., battery replacement) was required. To perform power supply maintenance, workers had to visit equipment in remote locations to perform maintenance work such as battery replacement. This increased the maintenance costs of the system as a whole.

On the other hand, in recent years, attempts have been made to use drones and other flying objects to capture images of the equipment and its surroundings during facility inspections. Images captured by the flying object are then used to detect abnormalities in the equipment and changes in the surrounding conditions through image diagnosis using a management server or cloud server. There are also attempts to have flying objects navigate autonomously based on their own location information obtained by GPS (Global Positioning System) and other means.

As a result of extensive research, the inventors have discovered a configuration and method that can reduce the maintenance required for an equipment inspection system by using the above-mentioned flying object.

This disclosure is based on the above findings of the inventors.

<Embodiments of the present disclosure>
Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.

[1] An equipment inspection system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure,
An equipment inspection system for inspecting equipment to be inspected,
An aircraft that captures an image of the facility while flying in the air;
A sensor provided in the facility for measuring predetermined facility-related information;
having
The air vehicle collects the facility-related information from the sensors.
This configuration makes it possible to reduce the maintenance required for the equipment inspection system.

[2] In the equipment inspection system according to the above [1],
The flying object supplies power to the sensor and collects the facility-related information from the sensor powered by the supplied power.
This configuration can reduce the maintenance work related to the power supply of the sensor.

[3] In the equipment inspection system described in [2] above,
The flying object supplies power to the sensor in a non-contact manner.
This configuration makes it possible to achieve both ease and stability in supplying power from the aircraft.

[4] In the equipment inspection system according to the above [2] or [3],
The equipment further includes a relay device that is provided in the equipment and relays the transmission of the equipment-related information from the sensor to the aircraft and the supply of power from the aircraft to the sensor.
According to this configuration, the sensor can be placed at any optimum position in the facility.

[5] In the equipment inspection system according to any one of [1] to [4] above,
The flying object transmits the facility-related information collected from the sensors to an outside.
With this configuration, facility-related information can be collected and transmitted stably by the aircraft.

[6] An aircraft according to another aspect of the present disclosure,
The equipment inspection system according to any one of the above items [1] to [5] has the equipment inspection system.
This configuration makes it possible to reduce the maintenance required for the equipment inspection system.

[7] An aircraft according to another aspect of the present disclosure,
The equipment inspection system described in [4] above has the following.
This configuration makes it possible to reduce the maintenance required for the equipment inspection system.

[8] An equipment inspection method according to another aspect of the present disclosure,
An equipment inspection method for inspecting equipment to be inspected, comprising:
taking an image of the facility while flying an aircraft in the air;
Measuring predetermined facility-related information by a sensor provided in the facility;
collecting the facility-related information from the sensors by the air vehicle;
has.
This configuration makes it possible to reduce the maintenance required for the equipment inspection system.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
Next, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. At least a part of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.

<One embodiment of the present disclosure>
(1) Equipment Inspection System An overview of an equipment inspection system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an equipment inspection system according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a flashover sensor as an example of a sensor according to the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a displacement sensor as an example of a sensor according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the equipment inspection system 10 of this embodiment is configured to inspect the equipment 90 to be inspected, for example, using an aircraft 100. Specifically, the equipment inspection system 10 includes, for example, the aircraft 100, a sensor 200, a relay device 300, and a management center 400.

(Facilities)
In this embodiment, the facility 90 to be inspected is, for example, a power transmission facility. The facility 90 as a power transmission facility has, for example, a plurality of steel towers 920 and an electric wire 910. The plurality of steel towers 920 are provided, for example, at a predetermined interval. The electric wire 910 is strung, for example, between the plurality of steel towers 920. The electric wire 910 is configured, for example, as a so-called overhead transmission line. Note that an overhead ground wire (not shown) is strung between the tops of the plurality of steel towers 920.

(Aircraft)
The aircraft 100 is configured to fly in the air. The aircraft 100 of the present embodiment is configured to be capable of autonomous flight, for example, without any human intervention. Specifically, the aircraft 100 is configured as a so-called drone.

Autonomous flight is performed, for example, by existing publicly known technology or in compliance with standardized specifications. The flying object 100 may be configured to fly autonomously based on a predetermined route or its own position information obtained by a GPS or the like, or may be configured to fly autonomously based on instructions (signals) from the management center 400 described below.

Furthermore, the flying object 100 is configured to capture images of the facility 90 while flying in the air, for example. This makes it possible to check for abnormalities in the facility 90 and changes in the surrounding conditions based on the images captured by the flying object 100. Specifically, when the facility 90 is a power transmission facility as in this embodiment, the images captured by the flying object 100 are used to detect breaks in the wires 910, to grasp the damage caused by natural disasters (earthquakes, typhoons, etc.), and to check the progress of tower construction. Note that the images captured by the flying object 100 may be still images or videos.

On the other hand, the flying object 100 of this embodiment does not have any sensors for measuring facility-related information other than the imaging unit 120 (described below) that has an imaging function. In this embodiment, the flying object 100 is configured to acquire facility-related information from a sensor 200 provided in the facility 90, for example.

The flying object 100 of this embodiment is configured to supply power to the sensor 200 via the relay device 300, for example, and collect facility-related information from the sensor 200 driven by the supplied power.

Furthermore, the flying object 100 of this embodiment is configured to transmit, for example, facility-related information collected from the sensor 200 to the outside. Specifically, the flying object 100 is configured to transmit, for example, an image captured by the flying object 100 and facility-related information collected by the flying object 100 from the sensor 200 to the management center 400 described below.

Details about the flying object 100 will be described later.

(Sensor)
The sensor 200 is provided in the facility 90. The sensor 200 is configured to measure, for example, predetermined facility-related information. The "facility-related information" here means information related to the facility 90 and its surrounding conditions, such as physical information and characteristic information of the facility 90 itself, and environmental information around the facility 90.

For example, multiple sensors 200 are provided. Specifically, a sensor 200 is provided for each steel tower 920, for example. Note that multiple types of sensors 200 may be provided for one steel tower 920.

The sensor 200 of this embodiment is not particularly limited as long as it measures facility-related information. However, from the viewpoint of reducing power consumption, it is preferable that the sensor 200 of this embodiment is configured to measure facility-related information temporarily (e.g., instantaneously, or for a few seconds to a few minutes) when a predetermined trigger is received, rather than being configured to constantly, continuously, or periodically measure facility-related information.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, at least one sensor 200 is configured as, for example, a flashover sensor 220. The flashover sensor 220 has, for example, a detection unit 222 and a contact management unit 224. For example, when an accident current (lightning current) caused by a lightning strike or the like flows through a steel tower 920 (or an overhead ground wire (not shown)), the detection unit 222 detects the accident current and switches the contact of the contact management unit 224 to ON. The contact management unit 224 stores the state of the contact. Information regarding the state of the contact obtained in this manner is hereinafter referred to as "contact information."

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, at least one sensor 200 is configured as, for example, an inclination sensor 240. The inclination sensor 240 is provided, for example, near the top of the steel tower 920, and is configured to measure the inclination (displacement) of the steel tower 920. Specific examples of the inclination sensor 240 include strain gauge type and differential transformer type inclinometers. Information regarding the inclination angle of the steel tower 920 obtained by the inclination sensor is hereinafter referred to as "tilt angle information of the steel tower 920".

In this embodiment, for example, power is supplied to the sensor 200 from the flying object 100, so the sensor 200 itself does not have a power supply unit for storing power. Note that the power consumption required for the measurement of the sensor 200 itself described above is, for example, 10 W or less.

(Relay device)
The relay device 300 is provided in the facility 90. The relay device 300 is configured to relay, for example, the transmission of facility-related information from the sensor 200 to the flying object 100 and the supply of power from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200.

The relay device 300 is preferably installed, for example, near the top of the tower 920. This allows stable transmission of information from the relay device 300 to the flying object 100 and stable reception of power from the flying object 100 to the relay device 300.

For example, multiple relay devices 300 are provided. Specifically, a relay device 300 is provided for each tower 920 on which a sensor 200 is provided.

Details of the relay device 300 will be described later.

(Management Center)
The management center (management server) 400 is provided, for example, at a location far away from the facility 90. Specifically, the management center 400 is, for example, a power company that manages power transmission to the facility 90 as a power transmission facility.

The management center 400 is configured to aggregate, for example, images captured by the flying object 100 and facility-related information collected by the flying object 100. As a result, the management center 400 associates the images captured by the flying object 100 with the facility-related information collected by the flying object 100 and stores the image data. The images are subjected to image diagnosis processing using AI to detect the presence or absence of abnormalities. The facility-related information detects the presence or absence of abnormalities by determining whether or not a specified standard value is exceeded. This makes it possible to accurately grasp the situation of the facility 90 and its surroundings, such as detecting abnormalities in the facility that cannot be detected by image diagnosis alone.

The management center 400 is configured, for example, to transmit instructions (signals) to the flying object 100.

An example of a method for transmitting information or signals between the aircraft 100 and the management center 400 is wireless communication using the transmission unit 160 of the aircraft 100, which will be described later.

(2) Aircraft Next, the aircraft 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the facility inspection system according to this embodiment. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the aircraft according to this embodiment.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the flying object 100 of this embodiment has, for example, a flying unit 110, an imaging unit 120, a power supply unit 130, a power transmission unit 140, a receiving unit 150, a transmission unit 160, and a control unit 170.

The flying section 110 is configured, for example, to generate at least lift for flying in the air. It is preferable that the flying section 110 is further configured, for example, to generate horizontal propulsive force. Specifically, the flying section 110 has, for example, a plurality of rotors (reference numbers not shown) and a motor (reference number not shown) that drives the rotors.

The imaging unit 120 is configured to capture an image of the equipment 90 to be inspected, for example.

The power supply unit 130 is configured, for example, to store the power required for the operation of each part of the flying object 100. The power supply unit 130 is configured, for example, as a rechargeable battery, such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery. Examples of the power stored by the power supply unit 130 include the power required to drive the flying part 110 and the power to be supplied to the sensor 200. The current supplied from the power supply unit 130 is, for example, direct current (DC).

The power transmission unit 140 is configured to supply power from the power supply unit 130 to the sensor 200 via the relay device 300, for example.

The power transmission unit 140 of this embodiment is configured to supply power to the sensor 200 in a non-contact (wireless) manner (via the relay device 300), for example. This allows power to be supplied from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200 while the flying object 100 is in the air.

Specific methods of wireless power supply by the power transmission unit 140 are not particularly limited, but examples include methods using electromagnetic induction, magnetic resonance, microwaves, etc.

The receiving unit 150 is configured to receive, for example, predetermined facility-related information from a sensor 200 provided in the facility 90 and collect the facility-related information. The receiving unit 150 of this embodiment is configured to receive, for example, predetermined information from the sensor 200 via the relay device 300 by wireless communication.

Specific wireless communication methods by the receiver 150 are not particularly limited, but include, for example, standard communication standards such as short-range wireless methods, i.e., narrow-area (such as Bluetooth (registered trademark)) or semi-wide-area (quasi-Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWA) such as WiSUN (Wireless Smart Utility Network)). Taking into account the power supply capacity of the aircraft 100, it is desirable to use a method that consumes as little power as possible.

The transmission unit 160 is configured, for example, to transmit predetermined information or signals between the management center 400 and itself. Specifically, the transmission unit 160 is configured, for example, as described above, to transmit the images captured by the imaging unit 120 and the facility-related information collected by the receiving unit 150 to the management center 400. The transmission unit 160 is also configured, for example, to receive flight control signals from the management center 400 as described above.

In this embodiment, the transmission unit 160 is configured to transmit predetermined information or signals between the management center 400 and itself, for example, via wireless communication.

Specific wireless communication methods are not particularly limited, but include standard communication standards such as LPWA (LoRaWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network), ELTRES (registered trademark), etc.) and mobile communications (4G-LTE (Long Term Evolution), 5G). Taking into account the power capacity of the aircraft 100, a method that consumes as little power as possible is desirable.

The control unit 170 is configured to control, for example, each part of the flying object 100.

Specifically, the control unit 170 is configured as a computer and has, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 171, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 176, a storage device 177, and an I/O port 178. The RAM 176, the storage device 177, and the I/O port 178 are configured to be able to exchange data with the CPU 171. The I/O port 178 is connected to, for example, each part of the aircraft 100.

The storage device 177 is configured to store, for example, an aircraft control program, images of the facility 90 captured by the imaging unit 120, and facility-related information collected from the sensor 200 via the relay device 300 and the receiving unit 150. The storage device 177 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

RAM 176 is configured to temporarily store programs, information, etc. that are read from storage device 177 by CPU 171.

The CPU 171 is configured to function as, for example, a flight control unit 172, an imaging control unit 173, an information collection unit 174, and a power control unit 175 by executing a predetermined program stored in the storage device 177.

Flight control unit 172 is configured to control flight unit 110, for example, to generate at least lift to fly in the air.
The imaging control unit 173 is configured to control the imaging unit 120 to capture an image of the facility 90, for example.
The information collecting unit 174 is configured to receive predetermined facility-related information from a sensor 200 provided in the facility 90 via the relay device 300 and the receiving unit 150, for example, and collect the facility-related information.
The power control unit 175 is configured to supply power to the sensor 200 via the relay device 300 from the power supply unit 130 that stores power, for example.

The equipment inspection method performed by each part of the control unit 170 will be described in detail later.

The predetermined programs for implementing each part of the control unit 170 described above are installed in, for example, a computer that constitutes the control unit 170 and used. The programs may be provided, for example, by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium prior to installation. Alternatively, the programs may be provided to the computer via, for example, the receiving unit 150 or the transmitting unit 160.

(3) Relay Device Next, the relay device 300 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the relay device according to this embodiment.

As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the relay device 300 of this embodiment has, for example, a power receiving unit 310, a DC/DC conversion unit 320, a voltage output unit 330, an input/output unit 340, a transmission unit 350, and a control unit 370.

The power receiving unit 310 is configured to relay the supply of power from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200, for example. Note that the power receiving unit 310 may also supply the power supplied from the flying object 100 to each part of the relay device 300, for example.

The power receiving unit 310 of this embodiment is configured to, for example, relay power from the flying object 100 in a non-contact (wireless) manner. The method of wireless power supply by the power receiving unit 310 is set to the same method as the method of wireless power supply by the power transmitting unit 140 of the flying object 100.

The DC/DC conversion unit 320 is configured to convert the voltage of the power relayed by the power receiving unit 310 into a voltage suitable for supply to the sensor 200.

The voltage output unit 330 is connected to the sensor 200 and is configured to output the voltage converted by the DC/DC conversion unit 320 to the sensor 200 and drive the sensor 200.

The input/output unit 340 is configured to receive, for example, predetermined equipment-related information from the sensor 200 activated by the voltage output from the voltage output unit 330.

The transmitting unit 350 is configured to transmit, for example, facility-related information from the sensor 200 to the flying object 100. The method of wireless communication by the transmitting unit 350 is set to the same method as the method of wireless communication by the receiving unit 150 of the flying object 100.

The control unit 370 is configured to control, for example, each part of the relay device 300.

Specifically, the control unit 370 is configured as a computer and has, for example, a CPU 371, a RAM 376, a storage device 377, and an I/O port 378. The RAM 376, the storage device 377, and the I/O port 378 are configured to be able to exchange data with the CPU 371. The I/O port 378 is connected to, for example, each part of the relay device 300.

The storage device 377 is configured to store, for example, a relay device control program. The storage device 377 may also be configured to store, for example, images of the facility 90 captured by the imaging unit 120 of the flying object 100, and facility-related information collected from the sensor 200. The storage device 377 is, for example, an HDD or SSD.

RAM 376 is configured to temporarily store programs, information, etc. that are read from storage device 377 by CPU 371.

The CPU 371 is configured to function, for example, as a power relay unit 372 and an information relay unit 373 by executing a predetermined program stored in the memory device 377.

The power relay unit 372 is configured, for example, to relay the supply of power from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200 via the power receiving unit 310, the DC/DC conversion unit 320, and the voltage output unit 330. The power relay unit 372 is also configured, for example, to use the power supplied to the sensor 200 as a trigger to drive the sensor 200 to measure predetermined facility-related information.
The information relay unit 373 is configured, for example, to relay transmission of facility-related information measured by the sensor 200 from the sensor 200 to the flying object 100 via the input/output unit 340 and the transmission unit 350 .

The equipment inspection methods performed by each part of the control unit 370 described above will be described in detail below, along with the method performed by the control unit 170 of the flying object 100.

The predetermined programs for implementing each part of the control unit 370 described above are installed in, for example, the computer that constitutes the control unit 370 and then used. The method for installing the programs can be, for example, the same method as the method for installing the programs of the control unit 170.

(4) Equipment Inspection Method Next, the equipment inspection method according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the equipment inspection method according to this embodiment.

The equipment inspection method of this embodiment includes, for example, a flight process S110, a relay device approach process S115, a relay device approach determination process S120, a power supply process S130, a measurement process S140, an information collection process S150, an information aggregation process S160, and an inspection end determination process S190. Hereinafter, the operation of each part of the flying object 100 and the operation of each part of the relay device 300 are controlled by the control unit 170 and the control unit 370, respectively.

(S110: Flight process)
The flying object 100 autonomously flies along a predetermined route that passes through the facility 90 to be inspected. At this time, the flying object 100, as described above, flies along a predetermined route or a route obtained by a GPS or the like. The drone may fly autonomously based on its own position information received from the management center 400, or based on instructions (signals) from the management center 400.

At this time, in this embodiment, while flying the flying object 100 in the air, the imaging unit 120 captures an image of the facility 90. Once the imaging unit 120 captures an image of the facility 90, the captured image is stored in the storage device 177.

The transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 may sequentially transmit real-time images (e.g., videos) captured by the imaging unit 120 to the management center 400.

(S115: Relay device approach process)
When the aircraft 100 arrives at the tower 920 to be inspected, the aircraft 100 approaches the relay device 300 of the tower 920 to be inspected.

The method of approaching the relay device 300 is not particularly limited, but for example, the following method can be adopted. First, when the flying object 100 arrives at the steel tower 920 to be inspected, the flying object 100 transmits a request to approach the relay device 300 to the management center 400, including its own current position information by GPS or the like. When the management center 400 receives the approach request, the management center 400 judges whether the flying object 100 is located above the steel tower 920 to be inspected. If it is judged that the flying object 100 is located above the steel tower 920 to be inspected, the management center 400 instructs the flying object 100 to approach the relay device 300 of the steel tower 920 to be inspected. Based on that, the flying object 100 starts approaching the relay device 300. The flying object 100 approaches the relay device 300 based on at least one of the image captured by the imaging unit 120 and its own position information by GPS or the like. If the flying object 100 has a laser, the flying object 100 may approach the relay device 300 based on the results of measuring the separation distance between the flying object 100 and the relay device 300 using the laser.

(S120: relay device approach determination step)
Thereafter, the flying object 100 determines whether or not the separation distance between the flying object 100 and the relay device 300 is within the allowable distance based on any of the above information.

If it is determined that the flying object 100 is not approaching the relay device 300 within the allowable distance (No in S120), the relay device approach process S115 continues.

(S130: Power supply process)
When it is determined that the flying object 100 approaches the relay device 300 within the allowable distance (Yes in S120), the flying object 100 supplies power to the sensor 200 and the sensor 200 driven by the supplied power is Collect facility-related information from

Specifically, the power transmission unit 140 of the flying object 100 supplies power from the power supply unit 130 to the power receiving unit 310 of the relay device 300 in a non-contact manner. When the relay device 300 receives power supply from the flying object 100, the relay device 300 relays the supply of power to the sensor 200 via the power receiving unit 310, the DC/DC conversion unit 320, and the voltage output unit 330.

(S140: measurement process)
Next, the relay device 300 relays the supply of power to the sensor 200 as described above, and drives the sensor 200 using the power supplied to the sensor 200 as a trigger. The power supplied to the equipment is used to measure predetermined equipment-related information.

Specifically, when the sensor 200 is configured as a flashover sensor 220, the relay device 300 acquires contact information corresponding to the occurrence of an accident current caused by a lightning strike or the like from the contact management unit 224 of the flashover sensor 220 via the input/output unit 340, based on a voltage applied to the flashover sensor 220 via the relay device 300. After acquiring the contact information, the relay device 300 sends a reset signal to the contact management unit 224 of the flashover sensor 220 to return the contact state to OFF (reset).

Alternatively, if the sensor 200 is configured as a tilt sensor 240, the relay device 300 supplies power from the voltage output unit 330 to the tilt sensor 240 to drive the tilt sensor 240. The tilt sensor 240 measures the tilt angle of the tower 920 for a predetermined period of time (e.g., one minute). The relay device 300 acquires tilt angle information of the tower 920 from the tilt sensor 240 via the input/output unit 340.

When the relay device 300 receives the above-mentioned facility-related information from the sensor 200, the relay device 300 relays the transmission of the facility-related information from the sensor 200 to the flying object 100 via the input/output unit 340 and the transmission unit 350.

(S150: Information collection step)
After the measurement process S140 is completed, the equipment-related information is collected from the sensor 200 by the flying object 100.

Specifically, the transmitting unit 350 of the relay device 300 transmits the facility-related information from the sensor 200 to the receiving unit 150 of the flying object 100. After the transmitting unit 350 transmits the facility-related information, the receiving unit 150 of the flying object 100 receives the facility-related information from the sensor 200. After the receiving unit 150 receives the facility-related information, the flying object 100 stores the facility-related information in the memory device 177 of the control unit 170. In this way, the facility-related information from the sensor 200 is collected by the flying object 100.

When the flying object 100 has collected the facility-related information from the sensor 200, the power supply from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200 via the relay device 300 is stopped. This causes the sensor 200 to be shut down.

(S160: Information collection step)
Once collection of the facility-related information from the sensor 200 is complete, the transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 transmits the image captured by the imaging unit 120 and the facility-related information collected by the receiving unit 150 to the management center 400.

If the radio wave conditions between the flying object 100 and the management center 400 are poor, the information collection process S160 is performed when the flying object 100 moves to a location with good radio wave conditions.

After the flying object 100 transmits various information to the management center 400, the management center 400 consolidates the images captured by the flying object 100 (for example, an image of the area around the currently measured tower 920) and the facility-related information collected by the flying object 100.

(S190: Inspection end determination process)
When the information gathering at the management center 400 is completed, it is determined whether or not to end the equipment inspection.

As a method of determining whether the equipment inspection is complete, for example, when the management center 400 has completed the collection of equipment-related information from the sensors 200 installed on a specific tower 920, the management center 400 determines whether to complete the equipment inspection. In other words, the management center 400 checks whether the collection of equipment-related information from the other towers 920 that make up the equipment 90 has been completed, and determines whether to continue the equipment inspection.

If it is determined not to end the equipment inspection (No in S190), the flight process S110 and subsequent steps are repeated to allow the flying object 100 to continue collecting equipment-related information from the remaining towers 920.

If it is determined that the equipment inspection is to be completed (Yes in S190), the aircraft 100 is returned to the management center 400.

This completes the equipment inspection process for this embodiment.

(5) Effects of the Present Embodiment According to the present embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.

(a) In this embodiment, the flying object 100 is configured to capture images of the facility 90 while flying in the air, while collecting facility-related information from the sensor 200. By the flying object 100 collecting the facility-related information from the sensor 200, at least one of the functions of the power supply function of supplying the power necessary for the measurement of the sensor 200 and the information transmission function of transmitting the facility-related information to the management center 400 can be entrusted (entrusted, transferred) to the flying object 100. In other words, the functions of the sensor 200 that are fixed to the facility 90 far away from the management center 400 can be reduced. This can reduce maintenance on the sensor 200 side.

(b) In this embodiment, as described above, the flying object 100 is provided with a power supply function for measuring the sensor 200. That is, the flying object 100 is configured to supply power to the sensor 200 via the relay device 300 and collect facility-related information from the sensor 200 driven by the supplied power. That is, the sensor 200 of this embodiment does not have a power source such as a storage battery or solar cell. This makes it possible to reduce (and preferably eliminate) the maintenance work related to the power source of the sensor 200. As a result, the maintenance costs related to the sensor 200 can be reduced.

(c) In this embodiment, as described above, the flying object 100 is provided with an information transmission function to the management center 400. That is, the flying object 100 is configured to transmit facility-related information collected from the sensor 200 to the outside (the management center 400). This allows the freely mobile flying object 100 to transmit facility-related information to the management center 400 in a location with a good communication environment. As a result, the collection and transmission of facility-related information can be performed stably by the flying object 100.

(d) In this embodiment, the flying object 100 is configured to supply power to the sensor 200 in a non-contact manner. This allows power to be supplied from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200 while the flying object 100 is in the air. By supplying power in a non-contact manner, i.e., by eliminating the need for a connection such as a connector, power can be easily supplied from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200. Furthermore, even if, for example, the tower 920 is installed on a slope or the facility 90 is installed in a location with poor ground, power can be stably supplied from the flying object 100. As a result, it is possible to achieve both ease and stability in the supply of power from the flying object 100.

(e) The relay device 300 is configured to relay the transmission of facility-related information from the sensor 200 to the flying object 100 and the supply of power from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200. By relaying between the flying object 100 and the sensor 200 using the relay device 300, the sensor 200 can be placed at any optimal position in the facility 90. Furthermore, even if the sensor 200 is placed anywhere, the transmission of facility-related information from the sensor 200 to the flying object 100 and the supply of power from the flying object 100 to the sensor 200 can be stably performed.

(f) The management center 400 consolidates the images captured by the aircraft 100 and the equipment-related information collected by the aircraft 100. This allows the management center 400 to associate the images captured by the aircraft 100 with the equipment-related information collected by the aircraft 100, and to accurately grasp the condition of the equipment 90 and its surroundings. In other words, abnormalities in the equipment 90 that cannot be identified solely from images (still images or videos) captured by the aircraft 100 can be grasped and determined based on the equipment-related information from the sensor 200 or the mutual relationships between these. As a result, advanced maintenance inspections can be realized in the equipment inspection system 10.

(6) Modifications of an embodiment of the present disclosure The above-described embodiment can be modified as necessary as in the following modifications. Hereinafter, only elements different from the above-described embodiment will be described, and elements substantially the same as those described in the above-described embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

In the modified example, the equipment inspection method is different from that of the above-described embodiment. The equipment inspection system 10 of the modified example is similar to the equipment inspection system 10 of the above-described embodiment.

The modified equipment inspection method will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a modified equipment inspection method of this embodiment. Below, only the steps in the modified equipment inspection method that differ from the method of the above-described embodiment will be described.

(S110: Flight process)
The aircraft 100 flies autonomously along a predetermined route that passes through the equipment 90 to be inspected.

At this time, in this modified example, the imaging unit 120 of the flying object 100 does not need to capture an image of the facility 90. Alternatively, even if the imaging unit 120 captures an image of the facility 90, high-resolution image data does not need to be recorded in the storage device 177.

(S162: Information transmission step)
When collection of the facility-related information from the sensor 200 is completed, the transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 transmits the facility-related information collected by the receiving unit 150 to the management center 400. At this time, the image captured by the imaging unit 120 does not need to be transmitted.

(S164: Abnormality determination step)
When the information transmission to the management center 400 is completed, the management center 400 judges whether or not there is an abnormality in the facility 90 based on the facility-related information.

Specifically, when the sensor 200 is configured as a flashover sensor 220, the management center 400 determines an abnormality in the equipment 90 based on the contact information in the flashover sensor 220. For example, when the contact information in the flashover sensor 220 is ON, the management center 400 determines that an accident current caused by a lightning strike or the like has occurred in the tower 920 on which the flashover sensor 220 is installed.

Alternatively, if the sensor 200 is configured as an inclination sensor 240, the management center 400 determines an abnormality in the equipment 90 based on the inclination angle information of the tower 920 in the inclination sensor 240. For example, the amount of inclination displacement is calculated from the inclination angle of the tower 920 in the inclination sensor 240. For example, when the amount of inclination displacement is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, the management center 400 determines that there is an abnormality in the tower 920 on which the inclination sensor 240 is installed.

If it is determined that there is no abnormality in the equipment 90 (No in S164), the flying process S110 and subsequent steps are repeated to allow the flying object 100 to continue collecting equipment-related information from other towers 920.

(S170: Designated position imaging step)
If it is determined that there is an abnormality in the equipment 90 (Yes in S190), the location where the abnormality is found in the equipment 90 is specified, and an image of the specified location is captured by the flying object 100.

Specifically, the management center 400 instructs the flying object 100 to allow photography of the equipment 90 in which an abnormality has been detected, and the flying object 100, based on that, flies to the specified equipment 90 and automatically photographs the abnormal area with the imaging unit 120. The flying object 100's flight can be switched from fully autonomous flight to flight under instructions from the management center 400, and the management center 400 can instruct photography permission while checking images sent in real time from the flying object 100, and the flying object 100 can photograph the abnormal area based on that.

(S180: Information collection process)
Once imaging of the flying object 100 at the specified position is complete, the transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 transmits the images captured by the imaging unit 120 to the management center 400.

After the flying object 100 transmits the image to the management center 400, the management center 400 consolidates the image of the specified position captured by the flying object 100 and the equipment-related information collected by the flying object 100 in the process up to this point. This allows the management center 400 to consider countermeasures for the abnormality in the equipment 90 based on the consolidated images and equipment-related information.

The subsequent steps are the same as in the above embodiment.

(Effects of this Modification)
In this modified example, a location where an abnormality is detected in equipment 90 is specified, and an image of the specified location is captured by aircraft 100.

Here, when the flying object 100 captures an image of the entire facility 90 along a specified route, the data volume of the image captured by the flying object 100 may become excessively large. This may slow down the transmission of the image to the management center 400. In addition, the data volume of the image may exceed the storage capacity of the storage device 177 of the flying object 100.

In contrast, in the modified example, as described above, the flying object 100 captures images only of the designated positions where abnormalities have been detected, thereby minimizing the data volume of the images captured by the flying object 100. This enables the images to be transmitted to the management center 400 more quickly. Furthermore, even if high-resolution images are acquired at the designated positions, the data volume of the images can be prevented from exceeding the storage capacity of the storage device 177 of the flying object 100. As a result, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of operation of the equipment inspection system 10.

A specific application example of this modified example is patrol work for power line accidents caused by lightning strikes, etc. Normally, in patrol work for power line accidents, a person rushes to the on-site facility 90 to check for equipment abnormalities and the status of the accident. By applying the modified example and utilizing the aircraft 100, patrol work can be performed without going to the site.

First, the aircraft 100 orbits the equipment 90 on which the flashover sensor 220 is installed, collecting equipment-related information (in this case, the contact information of the flashover sensor 220) and transmitting it to the management center 400. The management center 400 detects equipment 90 for which the contact information of the flashover sensor 220 is ON, and instructs the aircraft 100 to allow photography of the equipment 90 for which an abnormality has been detected. The aircraft 100 flies to the specified equipment 90 and takes an image. The management center 400 can check the status of the transmission equipment abnormality or accident point by looking at the images sent from the aircraft 100.

<Other embodiments of the present disclosure>
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

In the above embodiment, the case where the equipment 90 to be inspected is a power transmission equipment has been described, but this is not limited to this case. The equipment 90 may be something other than a power transmission equipment, such as a bridge pier or a slope on a road in a mountain area.

In the above embodiment, the flying object 100 is configured as a drone, but this is not limited to the above. The flying object 100 may be something other than a drone, such as a multicopter, a helicopter, an airplane, or a flying robot.

In the above embodiment, the flashover sensor 220 and the tilt sensor 240 are used as examples of the sensor 200, but this is not limited to the above case. The sensor 200 may be configured to measure the state of deterioration or corrosion in the steel tower 920 or the electric wire 910, for example. In this case, the sensor 200 may be a sensor that measures the amount of salt that is believed to be caused by rust or the like on the equipment 90.

In the above embodiment, the case where the power transmission unit 140 of the flying object 100 is configured to supply power to the sensor 200 in a non-contact (wireless) manner via the relay device 300 has been described, but this is not limited to the case. The power transmission unit 140 of the flying object 100 may be configured to supply power to the sensor 200 by directly contacting the relay device 300 or the sensor 200, for example. Specifically, the power transmission unit 140 of the flying object 100 may be configured to directly connect to the power receiving unit 310 of the relay device 300 by a specified connector or wire, and to supply power to the sensor 200 via the relay device 300. In this case, it is preferable that the relay device 300 has a stage on which the flying object 100 can land.

In the above embodiment, the receiving unit 150 of the flying object 100 is configured to receive predetermined facility-related information from the sensor 200 via the relay device 300 by wireless communication, but this is not limited to the above case. The receiving unit 150 of the flying object 100 may be configured to receive facility-related information from the sensor 200 by directly contacting the relay device 300 or the sensor 200, for example. Specifically, the receiving unit 150 of the flying object 100 may be configured to directly connect to the transmitting unit 350 of the relay device 300 by a predetermined connector or wire, and to receive facility-related information from the sensor 200.

In the above embodiment, the case has been described where the transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 is configured to transmit predetermined information or signals between the management center 400 and the flying object 100 itself by wireless communication, but this is not limited to this case. As another method of transmitting facility-related information from the transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 to the management center 400, for example, when the flying object 100 returns to the management center 400, the transmission unit 160 of the flying object 100 and the management center 400 may be connected by a predetermined connector or wire, or a predetermined external recording medium may be used to directly transmit facility-related information from the flying object 100 to the management center 400.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 170 of the flying object 100 and the control unit 370 of the relay device 300 are each configured as a computer having a CPU, RAM, and a storage device, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the control unit 170 of the flying object 100 and the control unit 370 of the relay device 300 may each be configured as a so-called one-chip microcomputer in which a CPU, RAM, storage device, etc. are mounted on a single semiconductor chip.

<Preferred embodiment of the present disclosure>
Preferred aspects of the present disclosure are described below.

(Appendix 1)
An equipment inspection system for inspecting equipment to be inspected,
An aircraft that captures an image of the facility while flying in the air;
A sensor provided in the facility for measuring predetermined facility-related information;
having
The aircraft is an equipment inspection system that collects the equipment-related information from the sensors.

(Appendix 2)
The equipment inspection system described in Appendix 1, wherein the aircraft supplies power to the sensor and collects the equipment-related information from the sensor powered by the supplied power.

(Appendix 3)
The equipment inspection system of claim 2, wherein the aircraft supplies power to the sensor non-contactly.

(Appendix 4)
An equipment inspection system as described in Appendix 2 or Appendix 3, further comprising a relay device provided in the equipment to relay the transmission of the equipment-related information from the sensor to the aircraft and the supply of power from the aircraft to the sensor.

(Appendix 5)
The equipment inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the aircraft transmits the equipment-related information collected from the sensor to an outside.

(Appendix 6)
An equipment inspection system described in any one of appendix 1 to appendix 5, further comprising a management center that consolidates images captured by the aircraft and the equipment-related information collected by the aircraft from the sensor.

(Appendix 7)
7. An aircraft having an equipment inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

(Appendix 8)
An aircraft used to inspect equipment to be inspected,
A flying part that flies in the air and generates at least lift;
An imaging unit that images the facility;
A receiving unit that receives predetermined facility-related information from a sensor installed in the facility and collects the facility-related information;
An aircraft having the above structure.

(Appendix 9)
A power supply unit that stores power;
a power transmission unit that supplies power from the power supply unit to the sensor;
9. The air vehicle of claim 8,

(Appendix 10)
An aircraft control program for controlling an aircraft used to inspect equipment to be inspected,
A flight control unit that controls the flight unit to generate at least lift to fly in the air;
An imaging control unit that controls an imaging unit to capture an image of the facility;
an information collecting unit that receives predetermined facility-related information from a sensor installed in the facility via a receiving unit and collects the facility-related information;
An aircraft control program that causes a computer to function as an aircraft control device, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

(Appendix 11)
The aircraft control program according to claim 10, which causes a computer to function as a power control unit that supplies power to the sensor from a power supply unit that stores power;
Or a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

(Appendix 12)
A relay device provided in the equipment inspection system according to claim 4.

(Appendix 13)
A relay device that is provided in a facility to be inspected and used for inspecting the facility,
a power receiving unit that relays the supply of power from the aircraft to the sensor;
A transmitter that relays transmission of facility-related information measured by a sensor installed in the facility to an aircraft flying in the air;
A relay device having the above configuration.

(Appendix 14)
A relay device control program that is provided in a facility to be inspected and controls a relay device used in inspecting the facility,
a power relay unit that relays the supply of power from the aircraft to the sensor;
An information relay unit that relays transmission of facility-related information measured by a sensor installed in the facility to an aircraft flying in the air;
a relay device control program for causing a computer to function as a
Or a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

(Appendix 15)
An equipment inspection method for inspecting equipment to be inspected, comprising:
taking an image of the facility while flying an aircraft in the air;
Measuring predetermined facility-related information by a sensor provided in the facility;
collecting the facility-related information from the sensors by the air vehicle;
An equipment inspection method having the above structure.

10 Equipment inspection system 90 Equipment 100 Aircraft 110 Flying section 120 Imaging section 130 Power supply section 140 Power transmission section 150 Receiving section 160 Transmission section 170 Control section 171 CPU
172 Flight control unit 173 Imaging control unit 174 Information collection unit 175 Power control unit 176 RAM
177 Storage device 178 I/O port 200 Sensor 220 Flashover sensor 222 Coil 224 Contact point management unit 240 Tilt sensor 300 Relay device 310 Power receiving unit 320 DC/DC conversion unit 330 Voltage output unit 340 Input/output unit 350 Transmission unit 370 Control unit 371 CPU
372 Power relay unit 373 Information relay unit 376 RAM
377 Storage device 378 I/O port 400 Management center 910 Power line 920 Steel tower

Claims (7)

An equipment inspection system for inspecting a power transmission equipment to be inspected,
An aircraft that captures an image of the power transmission facility while flying in the air;
A sensor provided in the power transmission facility for measuring predetermined facility-related information;
A management center that manages the power transmission facility;
having
The sensor includes at least one of a flashover sensor that detects a fault current and stores information about a state of a contact when a fault current flows through the power transmission facility, and an inclination sensor that measures an inclination of the power transmission facility;
The flying object is
An imaging unit that images the power transmission facility;
A power transmitting unit that supplies power to the sensor in a non-contact manner;
A receiving unit that collects the facility-related information from the sensor driven by the supplied power;
a transmission unit that transmits, via wireless communication, an image of the power transmission facility captured by the imaging unit and the facility-related information collected from the sensor by the receiving unit to the management center;
having
The management center is an equipment inspection system that associates and consolidates the images of the power transmission equipment with the equipment-related information. The facility inspection system according to claim 1 , wherein the management center determines an abnormality in the power transmission facility based on a correlation between the image of the power transmission facility and the facility-related information. The management center includes:
A process of collecting the facility-related information from the sensor by the flying object;
A process of determining whether or not an abnormality exists in the power transmission facility based on the facility-related information;
When it is determined that an abnormality exists in the power transmission facility, a process of designating a position where the abnormality exists in the power transmission facility and capturing an image of the designated position by the aircraft;
A process of associating and aggregating images of the power transmission facility captured by the aircraft with the facility-related information collected by the aircraft;
The equipment inspection system according to claim 1 , further comprising: The management center includes:
The equipment inspection system of claim 3, wherein in the process of having the aircraft collect the equipment-related information, the aircraft is controlled so that the imaging unit of the aircraft does not capture images or the images captured by the imaging unit are not recorded. An equipment inspection system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a relay device provided in the power transmission equipment for relaying the transmission of the equipment-related information from the sensor to the aircraft and the supply of power from the aircraft to the sensor. An equipment inspection method for inspecting a power transmission equipment to be inspected, comprising:
taking an image of the power transmission facility while flying an aircraft in the air;
a step of measuring predetermined facility-related information by using a sensor provided in the power transmission facility, the sensor including at least one of a flashover sensor that detects a fault current and stores information about a contact state when a fault current flows through the power transmission facility and an inclination sensor that measures an inclination of the power transmission facility, by supplying power from the aircraft in a non-contact manner to the sensor to drive the sensor;
collecting the facility-related information from the sensor powered by the supplied power using the flying object;
transmitting, via wireless communication, from the aircraft to a management center that manages the power transmission facility, an image of the power transmission facility captured by the aircraft and the facility-related information collected from the sensor by the aircraft;
a step of associating the image of the power transmission facility with the facility-related information and aggregating the image and the facility-related information in the management center;
An equipment inspection method having the above structure. An equipment inspection method for inspecting a power transmission equipment to be inspected, comprising:
Flying an aircraft in the air toward the power transmission facility;
a step of measuring predetermined facility-related information by using a sensor provided in the power transmission facility, the sensor including at least one of a flashover sensor that detects a fault current and stores information about a contact state when a fault current flows through the power transmission facility and an inclination sensor that measures an inclination of the power transmission facility, by supplying power from the aircraft in a non-contact manner to the sensor to drive the sensor;
collecting the facility-related information from the sensor powered by the supplied power using the flying object;
transmitting the facility-related information from the aircraft to a management center that manages the power transmission facility by wireless communication;
determining whether or not an abnormality exists in the power transmission facility based on the facility-related information;
When it is determined that the power transmission facility has an abnormality, a step of designating a position where the power transmission facility has an abnormality and capturing an image of the designated position by the aircraft;
a step of associating an image of the power transmission facility captured by the aircraft with the facility-related information collected by the aircraft and aggregating the information in the management center;
An equipment inspection method having the above structure.

Images