UNDERGROUND INCLINOMETER SYSTEM

Abstract

The underground inclinometer system includes a probe having a displacement measurement sensor measuring displacement of the ground, a cable controller controlling the length of a cable inserted into the ground to move the probe within an inclinometer pipe, and a ground displacement calculator calculating the displacement of the ground by using displacement measurement information measured by the probe and information on the length of the cable controlled by the cable controller.

Claims

1. An underground inclinometer system comprising: a probe comprising a displacement measurement sensor configured to measure displacement of the ground; a cable controller configured to control the length of a cable inserted into the ground to move the probe within an inclinometer pipe; and a ground displacement calculator configured to calculate the displacement of the ground by using displacement measurement information measured by the probe and information on the length of the cable controlled by the cable controller, wherein the probe comprises: a sensor power supply unit configured to supply power to the displacement measurement sensor; a displacement storage unit configured to store a displacement measurement value measured by the displacement measurement sensor; and a ground displacement measurement time information acquisition unit configured to acquire ground displacement measurement time information of the displacement measurement sensor, and the ground displacement calculator comprises: a cable length measurement unit configured to measure the length of the cable controlled by the cable controller; and a cable length measurement time information acquisition unit configured to acquire cable length measurement time information of the cable length measurement unit.

2. The underground inclinometer system of claim 1, wherein the ground displacement calculator further comprises: a probe power supply unit configured to supply the power to the sensor power supply unit when the probe approaches within a preset distance; and a storage information reception unit configured to receive storage information of the displacement storage unit when the probe approaches within the preset distance.

3. The underground inclinometer system of claim 2, further comprising a probe acceleration measurer configured to measure the acceleration of the probe.

4. The underground inclinometer system of claim 3, further comprising a displacement calculator acceleration measurer configured to measure the acceleration of the displacement calculator.

5. The underground inclinometer system of claim 4, wherein the cable controller stops change of the length of the cable when the acceleration of the displacement calculator is above a preset criterion.

6. The underground inclinometer system of claim 5, wherein the probe further comprises: rotating bodies each moving while rotating in contact with an inner surface of the inclinometer pipe; and a rotational amount measurement unit configured to measure a rotational amount of the rotating body.

7. The underground inclinometer system of claim 6, wherein the probe further comprises: a probe location calculation unit configured to calculate the location of the probe by using information on the rotational amount of the rotating body.

8. The underground inclinometer system of claim 7, wherein the rotational amount measurement unit comprises: magnetic field generation parts formed in partial areas of the rotating body so as to generate a magnetic field while rotating according to the rotating of the rotating body; and a rotational speed calculation part configured to measure the magnetic field so as to calculate a rotational speed of the rotating body.

9. The underground inclinometer system of claim 8, wherein the magnetic field generation parts are respectively formed in a plurality of areas asymmetrical in a rotational direction of the rotating body with respect to a rotating axis of the rotating body.

10. The underground inclinometer system of claim 9, wherein the magnetic field generation parts are respectively formed in two areas having distances varying therebetween in the rotational direction of the rotating body with respect to the rotating axis of the rotating body.

11. The underground inclinometer system of claim 10, wherein the probe location calculation unit calculates the location of the probe from the rotational speeds of the rotating bodies calculated for the rotating bodies different from each other.

12. The underground inclinometer system of claim 11, wherein the rotational amount measurement unit measures displacement of a rotating angle of the rotating body so as to measure the rotational amount of the rotating body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a service state of a conventional underground inclinometer;

[0036] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an underground inclinometer system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of use of the underground inclinometer system of FIG. 2;

[0038] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a rotating body and magnetic field generation parts formed inside the rotating body of FIG. 2; and

[0039] FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic views of examples of a probe of FIG. 2.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0040] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an underground inclinometer system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of use of the underground inclinometer system of FIG. 2.

[0042] In FIG. 2, an underground inclinometer system 100 includes: a probe 110 having a displacement measurement sensor measuring displacement of the ground; a cable controller 120 controlling the length of a cable inserted into the ground to move the probe 110 within an inclinometer pipe; a ground displacement calculator 130 calculating the displacement of the ground by using displacement measurement information measured by the probe 110 and information on the length of the cable controlled by the cable controller; a probe acceleration measurer 140; and a displacement calculator acceleration measurer 150.

[0043] The probe 110 includes a sensor power supply unit 111, a displacement storage unit 112, a ground displacement measurement time information acquisition unit 113, rotating bodies 114, a rotational amount measurement unit 115, and a probe location calculation unit 116, and the ground displacement calculator 130 includes a cable length measurement unit 132, a cable length measurement time information acquisition unit 134, a probe power supply unit 136, and a storage information reception unit 138.

[0044] The sensor power supply unit 111 supplies power to the displacement measurement sensor measuring the displacement of the ground. The displacement storage unit 112 stores a displacement measurement value measured by the displacement measurement sensor. The ground displacement measurement time information acquisition unit 113 acquires ground displacement measurement time information of the displacement measurement sensor.

[0045] The cable length measurement unit 132 measures the length of the cable controlled by the cable controller 120, and the cable length measurement time information acquisition unit 134 acquires cable length measurement time information of the cable length measurement unit 132.

[0046] In this case, the cable length measurement unit 132 may be provided as a rotating encoder capable of identifying a length by which the cable (wire) is wound or unwound, and even when the cable is deformed, the cable length measurement unit 132 may perform the measurement while maintaining a predetermined interval.

[0047] The ground displacement calculator 130 calculates the displacement of the ground by using the displacement measurement information measured by the probe 110 and the information on the length of the cable controlled by the cable controller 120. In this case, the ground displacement calculator 130 synchronizes time measured by the ground displacement measurement time information acquisition unit 113 and the cable length measurement time information acquisition unit 134.

[0048] By such a configuration, the cable of an underground inclinometer may be made lighter, cheaper, and more difficult to break because internal wirings may be removed from the cable adjusting the location of the probe 110. Further, the displacement of the ground may be accurately measured even when the cable is deformed or replaced.

[0049] The probe power supply unit 136 supplies the power to the sensor power supply unit 111 when the probe approaches within a preset distance, and the storage information reception unit 138 receives storage information of the displacement storage unit 112 when the probe 110 approaches within the preset distance.

[0050] The power supply or information transmission may be implemented so as to be performed while the probe 110 and the ground displacement calculator 130 are in physical contact with each other, but may also be implemented so as to be performed while the probe 110 and the ground displacement calculator 130 are spaced apart from each other by a short distance. When the power supply and information transmission are performed while the probe 110 and the ground displacement calculator 130 are spaced apart from each other, the probe power supply unit 136 and the storage information reception unit 138 may be provided so as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval to prevent a mutual interference therebetween.

[0051] By such a configuration, the supply of the power to the probe 110 or the acquisition of the information measured from the probe 110 may be easily performed by carrying out communications and power charging by wire or wireless when the probe 110 rises to the ground surface.

[0052] The probe acceleration measurer 140 measures the acceleration of the probe 110. The probe acceleration measurer 140 may be provided as an acceleration sensor provided in the probe 110 and may also be provided to store the measured displacement of the ground only when the measured acceleration is below a preset criterion. By such a configuration, abnormal data may be prevented from being measured by the probe 110 being vibrated.

[0053] The displacement calculator acceleration measurer 150 measures the acceleration of the displacement calculator 130. The displacement calculator acceleration measurer 150 may be provided as an acceleration sensor provided in a cable driving device (drum) and measures ground vibrations in the displacement calculator 130 that may occur due to surrounding traffic conditions or the like.

[0054] By such a configuration, when vibrations occur on the ground, the abnormal data which may be measured by the probe may be prevented. In particular, when the probe 110 is near the ground surface, the effect is even greater.

[0055] The cable controller 120 stops change of the length of the cable when the acceleration of the displacement calculator 130 is above a preset criterion. By such a configuration, when vibrations occur on the ground, the cable controller 120 may stop movement of the probe 110 through the cable length control such that the probe 110 may measure changes in the ground after the vibrations.

[0056] The rotating bodies each move while rotating in contact with an inner surface of the inclinometer pipe. In this case, the rotating body 114 may be provided as a spring wheel or the like provided in the probe 110. Magnetic field generation parts 200 are formed in partial areas of the rotating body 114 so as to generate a magnetic field while rotating according to the rotating of the rotating body 114. In this case, the magnetic field generation parts 200 may be respectively formed in a plurality of areas asymmetrical in a rotational direction of the rotating body 114 with respect to a rotating axis of the rotating body 114.

[0057] In particular, the magnetic field generation parts 200 may be respectively formed in two areas having distances varying therebetween in the rotational direction of the rotating body 114 with respect to the rotating axis of the rotating body 114. By such a configuration, the location of the probe 110 may be identified more accurately by identifying the rotational direction of the rotating body even with a simple structure.

[0058] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a rotating body and magnetic field generation parts formed inside the rotating body of FIG. 2. In FIG. 5, two magnetic field generation areas 210 and 220 are formed inside the rotating body 114. By such a configuration, rotation of a wheel may be recognized even with a simple structure because it is not required to provide the rotating bodies 114 with an additional power supply or communication device.

[0059] In particular, it can be seen that the two magnetic field generation areas 210 and 220 are formed to have distances varying therebetween in the rotational direction. That is, it can be seen that distance A and distance B are not equal. By such a configuration, the rotational direction of the rotating body 114 may be identified by using only a difference in detection time between magnetic fields generated from the two magnetic field generation areas 210 and 220.

[0060] The rotational amount measurement unit 115 measures the generated magnetic fields so as to calculate a rotational speed of the rotating body 114. The rotational amount measurement unit 115 may identify the rotating of the rotating body 114 on the basis of changes in the intensity of the magnetic field that periodically change according to the rotating of the rotating body 114 and may determine the number of times of repetition of a change period as the rotational speed of the rotating body 114.

[0061] The rotational amount of the rotating body 114 may be indirectly measured as described above and may also be directly measured by using an encoder provided inside or outside thereof In this case, the rotational amount of the rotating body may be measured by measuring displacement of a rotating angle of the rotating body 114.

[0062] The probe location calculation unit 116 calculates the location of the probe 110 by using the calculated rotational amount of the rotating body 114. In this case, the probe location calculation unit 116 may calculate the location of the probe 110 from the rotational speeds of the rotating bodies calculated for the rotating bodies 114 different from each other. By such a configuration, various unexpected error factors which may occur in one rotating body 114 may be easily corrected.

[0063] The current location of the probe 110 may be calculated by using the rotational speed of the rotating body 114 on the basis of a preset point. When the rotational speeds are respectively measured for the rotating bodies 114, an unexpected error situation such as a slip may be recognized and the current location may be accurately measured by using rotational speeds measured from the other rotating bodies even when the unexpected error situation occurs in some of the rotating bodies.

[0064] All components of the probe 110 may be provided such that the components are included inside the probe 110 to be integrally formed, and may also be provided such that the components are formed to have a conventional probe structure including a displacement sensor and a structure connected between the conventional probe structure and the cable and including the other components of the probe 110 except the displacement sensor so as to be connected to each other by a probe connection part 117.

[0065] FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic views of examples of a probe of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 illustrate an example in which the probe 110 includes a displacement sensor d is integrated therewith, and FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which a structure including the remaining components of the probe 110 is coupled to the conventional structure of the probe 110 including a displacement sensor.

[0066] It can be seen that FIG. 5 does not illustrate the probe connection part 117 illustrated in FIG. 6, and the magnetic field generation parts 200 are formed in the spring wheels 114 of the probe 110 itself.

[0067] Although the present invention has been described by some preferred embodiments, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and covers modifications or improvements in the embodiments supported by the claims.