JP2000321361A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system semipermanently usable by constituting the system so that it is fitted to a pipe line, the power of a geothermal electric generator is utilized, and pipe line information is transmitted by an electromagnetic induction type radiocommunication. SOLUTION: This communication system is provided with a control part 200, a coil antenna part 207, an in-pipe information detecting part 212, a geothermal electric generator 216, and the like. The in-pipe information detecting part 212 comprises sensors such as a themister provided in a pipe line, and detects water temperature and the like in the pipe line to give them to the control part 200. Transmitted information from an observation device is received with the coil antenna part 207, then it is detected as a current quantity flowing in the antenna, and fixed frequency component is extracted to be given to the control part 200. Information from the control part 200 is given to the coil antenna part 207 through the respective processes such as coding, frequency modulation, amplification, and it is transmitted, placing on magnetic field generated according to the current quantity flowing in the coil. The geothermal electric generator 216 is a thermal generating module utilizing the Seebeck effect in which semiconductor elements P type and N type are alternately arranged between copper electrodes stuck to the opposite faces of a ceramics base plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, a water pipe, a gas pipe, and a power pipe buried underground, which are attached to pipelines, and transmit information related to the pipelines by electromagnetic induction wireless communication. The present invention relates to a communication device for transmitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, several methods have been put to practical use for specifying the burial positions of pipes buried underground such as water pipes, gas pipes, and power pipes.

[0003] As a first method, there is a method of specifying by performing surveying on the basis of a piping management drawing at the time of construction, or specifying an index provided on the ground at the time of construction.
As a second method, there is a pulse radar method in which an electromagnetic pulse is incident on the ground from the ground, and the electromagnetic pulse is specified based on a difference in a reflected wave between the ground and a pipe. As a third method, a magnetic field is generated in the pipeline itself or a device propelled in the pipeline, or a magnetic field is generated by flowing an electric current in the pipeline itself, and the magnetic field is specified by detecting the magnetic field from the ground. There is an electromagnetic induction method. A fourth method is, for example, an infrared thermal imaging method in which infrared radiation energy radiated from a fluid flowing in a pipeline is detected and specified.

[0004]

However, although the first method is a very simple method, the piping management drawing and the index become useless as indicating the actual position of the pipeline due to ground deformation caused by an earthquake or the like. Sometimes. In the second to fourth methods, a special device is required, and the handling thereof requires specialized knowledge.

In recent years, attempts have been made to obtain information on pipes such as the temperature of water flowing through the pipes, residual chlorine, and the direction of the water flow, in addition to the above-described location of the pipes.

[0006] This is because, for example, the water pipe path is generally very complicated, and the water flow at the time of design may be reversed due to the corrosion accumulated in the pipe. When the water pipe whose location is specified is replaced, it is used for specifying a valve to be closed by specifying the direction of water flowing through a pipe including the water pipe.

[0007] However, the above four methods are mainly aimed at specifying the position of the pipeline, and the first and second methods cannot obtain in-pipe information without excavating the ground. In the third method, for example, it is possible to specify only the direction of the flow of the fluid in the pipe. In the fourth method, it is possible to specify the temperature of the pipe surface from the temperature distribution of the imaged data.

As described above, in the first to fourth methods, although it is possible to specify the position of the pipeline, it is insufficient to obtain the in-pipe information. At the time of construction, an information collecting device is attached to a pipe, and information such as the temperature in the pipe and the direction of the flow in the pipe is obtained by a sensor such as a thermistor and a thermocouple provided in the apparatus.

However, such an information collecting device includes a storage device for storing in-pipe information measured by a sensor,
Although a battery for driving the sensor and the storage device is provided, it is necessary to periodically collect or replace the storage device and the battery.

In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to wire-connect the above-mentioned information collecting apparatus and an observation apparatus arranged on the ground. For example, when investigating a buried pipe just under a road, However, there is a problem that the observation device cannot always be installed on the ground. It is to be noted that a method of acquiring the in-pipe information obtained by the information collecting device by wireless communication on the observation device side is also conceivable, but in general, the ground and water hardly pass electromagnetic waves, and thus have not been put to practical use.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has a function of artificially generating a magnetic field, fluctuating the magnetic field, and performing electromagnetic induction communication using the magnetic field fluctuation. The detected in-pipe information can be wirelessly transmitted to the observation device side via, for example, the ground or water, and the temperature difference between the pipe to which it is attached and the surroundings of the pipe is used, for example, using the Seebeck effect A communication system such as an information collection device that can generate and respond to the observation device with high output using the generated power, and can be used semi-permanently by attaching it to a buried pipeline during construction. It is intended to provide a device.

[0012]

A communication device according to a first aspect of the present invention is attached to a pipe (P), and the pipe (P)
Communication device that performs electromagnetic induction type wireless communication in a communication device that detects information about the
210), and a thermoelectric generator (216) that generates heat and supplies generated power to at least the communication devices (204 to 210).
And characterized in that:

The communication device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the communication device of the first aspect, further comprising a storage battery (215) for storing the electric power generated by the thermoelectric generator (216).

According to the communication device of the first invention, the information is attached to the pipeline and transmits information on the pipeline to the observation device by, for example, electromagnetic induction wireless communication.
The information collection device as described above is configured as this communication device, and the observation device is also provided with an electromagnetic induction type wireless communication function so that information such as in-pipe information obtained by the information collection device can be wirelessly transmitted to the observation device. Can be received.

In addition, since a thermoelectric generator is provided and the electric power generated by the thermoelectric generator is supplied to the communication device for performing the above-mentioned communication, for example, a thermoelectric generator using the Seebeck effect is used, Power is generated by the difference between the temperature of the fluid flowing inside and the temperature of the ground where the pipeline is buried, and this power can be used to respond to the observation device with a large output. Sometimes it can be used semi-permanently by attaching it to a buried conduit. The power generated by the thermoelectric generator may be supplied to devices such as various sensors and communication devices connected thereto.

In the present invention, the information obtained by the communication device configured as the information collecting device can be not only the information in the pipe, but also information such as the temperature of the pipe itself and the temperature around the pipe. Further, the information collecting device as the communication device according to the present invention is not limited to the transmitting side, and the observation device is not limited to the receiving side. As shown in an embodiment described later,
It may be configured to perform bidirectional communication between both devices.
Further, in the present invention, the position of the pipeline is not limited to underground or underwater, and the installation position of the communication device is not limited, as long as the communication device is attached to the pipeline. Good.

According to the communication device of the second aspect, the power generated by the thermoelectric generator is stored in the storage battery. Therefore, even if the power generation capacity is small, for example, even if the power generation capacity is small, the power is required until the power is required. It is possible to store the quantity.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between an information collection device as a communication device according to the present invention and an observation device.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an observation device. The observation device 1 is movable on the ground, and is an information collecting device as a communication device according to the present invention mounted on a pipe P buried underground. 2, the position of the information collection device 2, that is, the position of the pipeline P can be specified using the electromagnetic induction type wireless communication, and the pipeline P detected by the information collection device 2 can be specified.
You can get the information inside.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the observation device 1. The observation device 1 includes a control unit 100, a display unit 10
1, operation unit 102, data storage unit 103, encoding unit 10
4, modulation section 105, amplification section 106, coil antenna section 1
07, fluctuation detecting section 108, demodulating section 109, and decoding section 1
10 and so on.

The control unit 100 includes a CPU and the like, and controls each unit of the observation device 1 connected thereto. Display unit 101
Displays information acquired from the information collection device 2 described later, the state of the information collection device 2 or the observation device 1, and the like. Operation unit 1
Reference numeral 02 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and inputs instruction information for controlling the information collection device 2 or the observation device 1 and information such as an observation history. Further, the data storage unit 103 stores information acquired from the information collection device 2.

The display unit 101, the operation unit 102, and the data storage unit 103 are constituted by a personal computer.
A configuration for serial connection via a 232C interface may be used. Further, a configuration in which communication with a personal computer is performed via a modem may be adopted.

The encoding unit 104 encodes information input from the operation unit 102 and supplies the encoded information to the modulation unit 105. The modulation unit 105 transmits the encoded information to a carrier wavelength (for example, 13
The frequency is modulated to 2 kHz), and this is given to the amplifier 106. The amplification unit 106 amplifies the frequency-modulated information and supplies the amplified information to the coil antenna unit 107.

The coil antenna unit 107 is provided with a coil antenna for electromagnetic induction communication in which the winding core is arranged in a vertical direction, and the impedance of the coil antenna is changed to two types to flow through the coil antenna. The amount of current is set to HI / LOW, and information provided from the amplifying unit 106 is transmitted on a magnetic field generated in accordance with the current amount. Similarly, the coil antenna unit 107 receives the information transmitted from the information collection device 2 as a variation in the amount of current, and provides the variation to the variation detection unit 108.

The fluctuation detecting section 108 binarizes the fluctuation of the current amount by envelope detection and supplies the binarized signal to the demodulating section 109. The demodulation unit 109 demodulates the binarized information and decodes the information.
Give to. Decoding section 110 decodes the demodulated information and provides it to control section 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information collection device 2 as a communication device according to the present invention. The information collection device 2 includes a control unit 200, a data storage unit 203, an encoding unit 204, a modulation unit 205, an amplification unit 206, a coil antenna unit 207, a fluctuation detection unit 208, a demodulation unit 209, and a decoding unit 2.
10, I / O port 211, jurisdiction information detector 212, clock generator 213, power generator 214, storage battery 21
5 and a geothermal power generator 216.

The control section 200 has a CPU and the like, and controls each section of the information collecting apparatus 2 connected thereto. The data storage unit 203 stores information acquired from the observation device 1 and information detected by the in-pipe information detection unit 212. I /
The O port 211 can be connected to various devices via the O port 211, and transmits information obtained from these devices to the observation device 1 and performs communication with other communication devices. Is possible.

The in-pipe information detecting section 212 includes various sensors such as a thermistor and a thermocouple provided in the pipe P. In accordance with a detection instruction from the control section 200, the temperature, water flow, Control unit 200 detects the direction of the
Give to. Note that the sensor is not limited to the above-described sensor. For example, when a power pipe is used as a target pipeline P, the power amount or the like can be used.

The coil antenna unit 207 includes a coil antenna for electromagnetic induction communication, a rectifier, and the like, arranged with the winding core facing up and down, and transmits information transmitted from the observation device 1 to the amount of current flowing through the coil antenna. , And the fluctuation detection unit 208 detects this. In addition, when the information collection device 2 is attached to the metal pipeline P,
To adversely affect communication, it is desirable to configure the coil antenna as a cored coil antenna wound around a ferromagnetic material.

The fluctuation detecting unit 208 binarizes the fluctuation of the current amount detected as described above by envelope detection,
Give to 9. The demodulation unit 209 demodulates and extracts a predetermined frequency component from the binarized information and supplies the demodulated signal to the decoding unit 210. The decoding unit 210 transmits the demodulated information to the control unit 200
And gives it to the control unit 200.

The clock generation unit 213 generates a clock signal in accordance with a change in the amount of current flowing through the coil antenna unit 207, and supplies the generated clock signal to the control unit 200.

The encoding section 204 encodes information provided from the control section 200 in synchronization with the clock signal, and supplies the encoded information to the modulation section 205. The modulation section 205 frequency-modulates the encoded information to a carrier wavelength (for example, 132 kHz) and supplies the modulated information to the amplification section 206. The amplification unit 206 amplifies the frequency-modulated information and supplies the information to the coil antenna unit 207. The coil antenna unit 207 changes the impedance of the coil antenna to two types to set the amount of current flowing through the coil to HI / LOW, and puts information given from the amplification unit 206 on a magnetic field generated accordingly. Send.

The power generation unit 214 extracts power from the current rectified by the coil antenna unit 207 and supplies it to the storage battery 215, while supplying power from the geothermal power generator 216, which is a characteristic feature of the present invention described later. The supplied power is appropriately supplied to the storage battery 215. The storage battery 215 includes a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery.
The power supplied from 14 is stored. The storage battery 21
The power stored in 5 is supplied to the amplification unit 206, and is used to increase the communication output.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the geothermal power generator 216. The geothermal power generator 216 is a thermoelectric power module utilizing the Seebeck effect, and includes a pair of ceramic or silicon substrates 3 provided at an appropriate distance from each other.
Several plate-like copper electrodes 32, 32,
… Is affixed. In addition, these opposing copper electrodes 3
Column-like semiconductor elements 33, 33,... In which P-type and N-type are alternately arranged from the right side of FIG.

Terminals 34, 34 are provided on the two copper electrodes 32, 32 arranged on the lower left and right ends, respectively, in FIG.
, And one P-type and N-type semiconductor element 33, 33,... Constitute one conductor, and the direction of current flowing through the P-type and N-type semiconductor elements 33, 33,. It is configured to be in the opposite direction.

For example, as shown in FIG.
When the upper substrate 31 of 16 is arranged on the lower temperature side and the lower substrate 31 is arranged on the higher temperature side, electrons from the right terminal 34 side to the left terminal 34 side are P-type and N-type. Semiconductor element 3
.. Alternately flow in this order, and the lower and upper copper electrodes 32, 32,... Alternately flow in this order, thereby generating power. The flow of current is reversed by exchanging the high temperature side and the low temperature side.

The geothermal power generator 216 using the Seebeck effect has higher power generation efficiency than solar power generation. For example, it is made of bismuth tellurium (BiTe) manufactured by ultra-fine processing of 80 μm × 80 μm × 600 μm. When the semiconductor elements 33, 33,...
It is possible to output a voltage of about 0.2 V with a temperature difference of 1 ° C.

Thus, the geothermal power generator 216 generates power using, for example, the difference between the temperature of the fluid flowing in the pipeline P and the temperature of the ground outside the pipeline P.

The electric power stored in the storage battery 215 is
It may be used to drive various sensors, such as a thermistor and a thermocouple, provided in the in-pipe information detection unit 212, or may supply power to various devices connected to the information collection device 2 via the I / O port 211.

Although the function for specifying the position of the information collecting device 2 is not particularly described in the observation device 1 described above, the electromagnetic induction has directivity and the winding direction of the pair of coil antennas is Communication is possible only in a state where the communication is substantially opposite to the communication. Using this principle, the observation device 1 is moved near the ground where the information collection device 2 is considered to be buried, and information is collected directly below the position where the magnetic field generated by the information collection device 2 detected by the observation device 1 is strongest. The position of the device 2 can be specified.

The information collecting device 2 as a communication device according to the present invention is configured as described above, and can acquire in-pipe information detected by the information collecting device 2 from the observation device 1 by electromagnetic induction communication. In addition, predetermined information can be transmitted from the observation device 1 to the information collection device 2 and stored in the information collection device 2. These functions will be described below. Note that the stored information can be appropriately acquired from the observation device 1 side, and can be, for example, an observation date and time, an observation history of an observation contractor, etc., but the contents are not limited in the present invention. Absent.

FIG. 5 shows the data storage unit 2 of the information collection device 2.
It is a flowchart which shows the procedure by which the observation apparatus 1 acquires the information (in-pipe information) stored in 03. First, the observation device 1 is arranged so as to be directly above the information collection device 2 as described above, and an operator inputs a predetermined information request command from the operation unit 102 of the observation device 1 (step 11).
In response, the observation device 1 first starts transmission of an unmodulated carrier wave that does not include information (step 12).

In response to this, the information collection device 2 that has started receiving the unmodulated carrier starts generating power in the power generation unit 214 and supplies the power generated by the geothermal generator 216 to the storage battery 215. Is started (step 13), and the electric power is stored in the storage battery 215 (step 14). Then, the clock generator 213 starts generating a clock signal based on the received unmodulated carrier (step 1).
Along with 5), the amplifier 206 is driven by the stored power to amplify the transmission signal (step 16).

The information collecting device 2 generates power while receiving the unmodulated carrier, but may also generate power in response to the reception of a modulated carrier including normal transmission information. Good. In the present embodiment,
While the power generation unit 214 is receiving the unmodulated carrier,
Although the power generated by the geothermal power generator 216 is supplied to the storage battery 215, it is needless to say that the configuration can be such that the generated power is constantly supplied to the storage battery 215 and stored.

Next, the observation device 1 transmits the information request command input in step 11 (step 17).
The information collection device 2 receives the information request command transmitted from the observation device 1 (step 18), and outputs a detection instruction from the control unit 200 to the in-judgment information detection unit 212 in response to the command. From the detection unit 212 to the control unit 20
The in-pipe information given to 0 is temporarily stored in the data storage unit 103 (step 19), and the stored information is transmitted upon completion of the detection (step 20).

The observation device 1 receives the in-service information transmitted from the information collection device 2 (step 21), and determines whether or not the reception has been normally completed (step 22). If it is determined that reception has not been completed normally by detecting a timeout, an error, or the like, the processing from step 17 is repeated to retransmit the information request command. The retransmission is limited to two times. On the other hand, if the reception has been completed normally, the transmission of the transmitted unmodulated carrier is terminated (step 23), and accordingly, the generation of power in the information collection device 2 is stopped.

FIG. 6 shows information (writing information) such as observation history from the observation device 1 which is stored in the data storage unit 203 of the information collection device 2.
5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for storing the information. First, the observation device 1 is arranged so as to be directly above the information collection device 2 as described above, and an operator inputs predetermined writing information from the operation unit 102 of the observation device 1 (step 31).
In response, the observation device 1 first starts transmission of an unmodulated carrier wave that does not include information (step 32).

In response to this, the information collection device 2 that has started receiving the unmodulated carrier starts generating power in the power generation unit 214 and supplies the power generated by the geothermal power generator 216 to the storage battery 215. Is started (step 33), and the electric power is stored in the storage battery 215 (step 34). Then, the clock generator 213 starts generating a clock signal based on the received unmodulated carrier (step 3).
Along with 5), the amplifier 206 is driven by the stored power to amplify the transmission signal (step 36).

Next, the observation device 1 transmits the write information input in step 31 (step 37). The information collection device 2 receives the write information transmitted from the observation device 1 (Step 38), and stores the received information in the data storage unit 103.
(Step 39). If the processing up to the storage is completed normally, an ACK (Acknowledgement) is transmitted, and if the reception or storage of the write information is not performed normally, a NACK is transmitted (step 40).

The observation device 1 receives the information transmitted from the information collection device 2 (step 41), and the received information is ACK.
Is determined (step 42). If it is NACK, the processing from step 37 is repeated to retransmit the write information. The retransmission is limited to two times. On the other hand, if the received information is ACK, the transmission of the transmitted unmodulated carrier is terminated (step 43).
In response to this, the generation of power in the information collection device 2 is stopped.

The write information stored in the data storage unit 203 of the information collection device 2 as described above can be acquired on the observation device 1 side in the same manner as in-tube information by the procedure shown in FIG. It is possible.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the accompanying drawings.

[0053]

As described in detail above, the communication device according to the present invention is attached to a pipeline and transmits information on the pipeline to an observation device by, for example, electromagnetic induction wireless communication. By configuring such an information collection device as this communication device, and by providing the observation device with an electromagnetic induction type wireless communication function, information such as in-pipe information obtained by the information collection device is wirelessly received by the observation device. be able to.

Since a thermoelectric generator is provided and the power generated by the thermoelectric generator is supplied to the communication device for performing the above-described communication, for example, a thermoelectric generator using the Seebeck effect is used, and Power is generated by the difference between the temperature of the fluid flowing inside and the temperature of the ground where the pipeline is buried, and this power can be used to respond to the observation device with a large output. Sometimes it can be used semi-permanently by attaching it to a buried conduit. The power generated by the thermoelectric generator may be supplied to devices such as various sensors and communication devices connected thereto.

Further, since the power generated by the thermoelectric generator is stored in the storage battery, even if the power generation capacity is small, for example, it is possible to store the required amount before the power is required. For example, the present invention has excellent effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between an information collection device as a communication device according to the present invention and an observation device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an observation device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information collecting device as a communication device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a geothermal power generator.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure in which an observation device acquires information (in-service information) stored in a data storage unit of the information collection device.

FIG. 6 shows information (writing information) such as observation history from an observation device.
5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for storing in the data storage unit of the information collection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Information collecting device 204 Encoding unit 205 Modulating unit 206 Amplifying unit 207 Coil antenna unit 208 Fluctuation detecting unit 209 Demodulating unit 210 Decoding unit 215 Storage battery 216 Geothermal power generator P Pipe

Claims (2)

[Claims] A communication device (2) attached to a pipeline (P) for detecting information on the pipeline (P) and transmitting a detection result, the communication device performing electromagnetic induction wireless communication. 204-210)
Thermal power generation and the generated power at least to the communication device (20
4 to 210), and a thermoelectric generator (216) for supply to the communication device (2). 2. The communication device (2) according to claim 1, further comprising a storage battery (215) for storing power generated by the thermoelectric generator (216).