A mine camera and a coal mine monitoring system

Abstract

The application discloses a mine camera and a coal mine monitoring system. The mine camera comprises a base, a support ring rotatably arranged on the base, the support ring being capable of rotating horizontally by 360 degrees relative to the base, and a protective cover arranged on the support ring. A camera is rotatably arranged on the support ring, the camera being located in the protective cover, the camera being capable of pitching rotation relative to the support ring, and the pitching rotation angle being between 60 degrees and 90 degrees. A cleaning mechanism is arranged on the base, the cleaning mechanism abutting against the outer surface of the protective cover, and the cleaning mechanism rubbing against the protective cover to clean the protective cover when the support ring rotates. The coal mine monitoring system comprises the mine camera. The mine camera disclosed by the application has a large visual range, can be self-cleaned, is more convenient for use in a mine, and the coal mine monitoring system can intuitively monitor and record the safety production conditions of a working site underground, and is safer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of camera equipment technology, and in particular to a mining camera and a coal mine monitoring system. Background Technology

[0002] Video surveillance systems are an important component of intelligent coal mining faces. Underground coal mining operations are far from the surface, with complex terrain, harsh environments, and a high risk of accidents. Using remote video surveillance systems, ground monitoring personnel can directly monitor the underground situation in real time. This not only allows for intuitive monitoring and recording of safety conditions at the underground work site, preventing potential problems, but also provides firsthand video data for post-accident analysis.

[0003] In the intelligent control of fully mechanized coal mining faces, each group (6) of supports in the working face is equipped with an intelligent camera to ensure full coverage of the working face video. The video data is connected to the host of the roadway control center through the switch of the roadway control center, and the real-time video of the working face is displayed on the display screen of the roadway control center.

[0004] Currently, there are very few pan-tilt cameras used in fully mechanized mining faces; most are still fixed cameras with a small field of view, generally around 100 degrees, resulting in large blind spots. Another solution involves simply adding a shell to the inner core of a dome camera; these products have a relatively wider field of view, but generally lack self-dust removal capabilities. A few manufacturers offer cameras with horizontal rotation capabilities for fully mechanized mining faces, but lack tilt and pitch functions, failing to effectively cover the site conditions. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a mining camera and a coal mine monitoring system, the main purpose of which is to solve the technical problems of large monitoring blind spots and lack of self-cleaning of current mining cameras.

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this application provides a mining camera, comprising:

[0007] Base;

[0008] A support ring is rotatably mounted on the base. The support ring can rotate 360 ​​degrees horizontally relative to the base. A protective cover is provided on the support ring.

[0009] The camera is rotatably mounted on the support ring and is located inside the protective cover. The camera can tilt and rotate relative to the support ring, and the tilt and rotation angle is between 60° and 90°.

[0010] A cleaning mechanism is disposed on the base and abuts against the outer surface of the protective cover. When the support ring rotates, the cleaning mechanism rubs against the protective cover to clean it.

[0011] Optionally, the mining camera further includes a vibration damping mechanism, which is disposed on the side of the base facing away from the support ring.

[0012] Optionally, a first damper is provided between the support ring and the base, and a second damper is provided between the camera and the support ring;

[0013] The cleaning mechanism is rotatably mounted on the base, and a third damper is provided between the cleaning mechanism and the base. The damping value of the third damper is greater than that of the first damper.

[0014] Optionally, the protective cover has a shooting port facing the camera, and the shooting port is encapsulated with a transparent protective plate.

[0015] Optionally, the mining camera further includes a control system, which includes a power module, a control module, a first drive module, a second drive module, and a communication module.

[0016] The power module is connected to an external power source and the control module respectively, and the power module is used to provide a constant voltage power supply to the control module.

[0017] The first drive module is connected to the control module and the support ring respectively, and the first drive module is used to drive the support ring to rotate under the control of the control module;

[0018] The second drive module is connected to the control module and the camera respectively, and the second drive module is used to drive the camera to rotate under the control of the control module;

[0019] The communication module is connected to both the camera and the external switch, and is used to transmit video data to the external ring network through the switch.

[0020] Optionally, the first drive module includes an azimuth motor and an azimuth encoder. Both the azimuth motor and the azimuth encoder are electrically connected to the control module. The azimuth motor is connected to the support ring. The azimuth encoder is used to output a rotation angle to the azimuth motor. The azimuth motor is used to drive the support ring to rotate.

[0021] Optionally, the second drive module includes a pitch motor and a pitch encoder. Both the pitch motor and the pitch encoder are electrically connected to the control module. The pitch motor is connected to the camera. The pitch encoder is used to output a pitch angle to the pitch motor. The pitch motor is used to drive the camera to pitch and rotate.

[0022] Optionally, the communication module communicates with the camera and the switch via Ethernet.

[0023] Optionally, the power module is an intrinsically safe power module, and the power module is equipped with a dual voltage regulation circuit.

[0024] On the other hand, this application provides a coal mine monitoring system, including a mining camera as described in any of the above schemes, and also includes a roadway centralized control system. The roadway centralized control system includes a central control host and a switch. The switch is communicatively connected to the mining camera and the central control host, respectively. The central control host is used to collect video data of the coal mining face through the mining camera and control the operation of the mining camera.

[0025] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows:

[0026] The mining camera provided in this application can rotate 360 ​​degrees horizontally and 60 to 90 degrees vertically, thus achieving 360-degree panoramic monitoring of the electro-hydraulic control system in the coal mining face. This overcomes the limitations of traditional cameras with their small field of view, providing technical equipment support for coal mine safety monitoring, and enabling unmanned or minimally staffed operations, thereby improving the safety of coal mine production. Furthermore, this camera has a cleaning mechanism, enabling self-cleaning in the high-dust environment of underground mines, saving cleaning costs and improving ease of use. The coal mine monitoring system provided in this application, using the aforementioned mining camera, can intuitively monitor and record the safety production situation at the underground work site, providing early warnings, ensuring high safety, facilitating post-construction analysis and review, and reducing the workload of on-site inspections. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0028] Figure 1 This application provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a mining camera according to an embodiment. Figure 1 ;

[0029] Figure 2 This application provides a schematic diagram of the structure of a mining camera according to an embodiment. Figure 2 ;

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the composition principle of a control system for a mining camera provided in an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0031] Figure 4This paper illustrates the connection principle diagram of a control system for a mining camera provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 5 This paper shows a schematic diagram of the power supply module of a mining camera provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0033] The diagram is marked as follows:

[0034] 100. Base; 101. Gear plate; 102. First damper; 200. Support ring; 201. Protective cover; 202. Second damper; 300. Camera; 301. Camera control board; 302. Zoom motor assembly; 3021. Zoom lens protection board; 3022. Zoom motor; 303. Focusing motor assembly; 3031. Focusing lens protection board; 3032. Focusing motor; 304. Infrared light board; 305. Lens; 306. Two-wire Ethernet board; 400. Cleaning mechanism; 401. Cleaning brush; 500. Vibration damping. Mechanism; 600, First bearing; 700, Second bearing; 800, Positioning assembly; 801, First positioning element; 802, Second positioning element; 900, Control system; 910, Power supply module; 920, Control module; 930, First drive module; 931, Azimuth motor; 932, Azimuth encoder; 933, Gear; 934, First limit sensor; 940, Second drive module; 941, Pitch motor; 942, Pitch encoder; 943, Second limit sensor; 950, Communication module; 960, External connection module. Detailed Implementation

[0035] Various embodiments and features of this application are described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] It should be understood that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein. Therefore, the above description should not be considered as limiting, but merely as an example of embodiments. Other modifications within the scope and spirit of this application will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0037] The accompanying drawings, which are included in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with the general description of the present application given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0038] These and other features of this application will become apparent from the following description of preferred forms of embodiments given as non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] It should also be understood that although this application has been described with reference to some specific examples, those skilled in the art can certainly implement many other equivalent forms of this application.

[0040] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of this application will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and in view of the following detailed description.

[0041] Specific embodiments of this application are described thereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings; however, it should be understood that the claimed embodiments are merely examples of this application, which can be implemented in various ways. Well-known and / or repeated functions and structures are not described in detail to avoid unnecessary or redundant details that could obscure the application. Therefore, the specific structural and functional details claimed herein are not intended to be limiting, but merely serve as the basis and representative basis for the claims to teach those skilled in the art to use this application in a variety of substantially any suitable detailed structures.

[0042] This specification may use the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in another embodiment,” “in yet another embodiment,” or “in other embodiments,” all of which may refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments according to this application.

[0043] like Figure 1 and 2 As shown, this application embodiment provides a mining camera, which includes: a base 100; a support ring 200, which is rotatably mounted on the base 100 and can rotate horizontally 360 degrees relative to the base 100, and a protective cover 201 is provided on the support ring 200; a camera 300, which is rotatably mounted on the support ring 200 and located inside the protective cover 201, and can tilt relative to the support ring 200 at an angle between 60° and 90°; and a cleaning mechanism 400, which is disposed on the base 100 and abuts against the outer surface of the protective cover 201. When the support ring 200 rotates, the cleaning mechanism 400 rubs against the protective cover 201 to clean it.

[0044] The mining camera provided in this application can rotate 360 ​​degrees horizontally and 60 to 90 degrees vertically, thereby achieving 360-degree panoramic monitoring of the electro-hydraulic control system in the coal mining face. This overcomes the limitations of traditional cameras with their small field of view, providing technical equipment support for coal mine safety monitoring, and enabling unmanned or minimally staffed operations, thus improving the safety of coal mine production. Furthermore, this camera features a 400° cleaning mechanism, enabling self-cleaning in the high-dust environment of underground mines, saving cleaning costs and improving ease of use.

[0045] Specifically, the camera is fixed to the hydraulic supports or other mining equipment at the coal mining face. Generally, one camera is installed for every six hydraulic supports at the coal mining face to achieve comprehensive video monitoring coverage. Due to the special environment of fully mechanized coal mining faces, there is long-term vibration. Without measures to mitigate this vibration, the lifespan of electrical products will be reduced. Therefore, the camera is also equipped with a vibration damping mechanism 500. The vibration damping mechanism 500 is located on the side of the base 100 facing away from the support ring 200, and the camera is fixed to the hydraulic supports or other equipment via the vibration damping mechanism 500. The vibration damping mechanism 500 includes a fixing part fixed to the hydraulic support and a vibration damping part. The vibration damping part effectively buffers the vibration of the hydraulic supports or other mining equipment, which helps extend the lifespan of the camera and reduce the failure rate. The vibration damping mechanism 500 can be a spring, hydraulic, or pneumatic vibration damping mechanism.

[0046] The support ring 200 is rotatably mounted on the base 100 via a first bearing 600, which is horizontally arranged, thereby enabling the support ring 200 to rotate 360 ​​degrees horizontally relative to the base 100. Furthermore, a first damper 102 is provided between the support ring 200 and the base 100 support bracket. The first damper 102 applies resistance to the rotation between the base 100 and the support ring 200, reducing the rotational inertia of the support ring 200 and lowering the failure rate.

[0047] The support ring 200 includes a support portion connected to the first bearing 600 and a mounting portion for mounting the camera 300. A protective cover 201 is connected to the outer periphery of the support portion and covers the support portion and the camera 300 inside. The camera 300 is rotatably mounted on the support ring 200 via a second bearing 700, which is vertically arranged, thereby enabling the camera 300 to pitch relative to the support ring 200. Furthermore, a second damper 202 is provided between the camera 300 and the support ring 200. The second damper 202 applies resistance to the rotation between the camera 300 and the support ring 200, reducing the rotational inertia of the camera 300 and lowering the failure rate.

[0048] A cleaning mechanism 400 is mounted on the base 100. The cleaning mechanism 400 includes a cleaning bracket and a cleaning brush 401 located on the cleaning bracket. The outline of the cleaning mechanism 400 matches the outer outline of the protective cover 201, and the cleaning brush 401 abuts against the outer surface of the protective cover 201. When the support ring 200 rotates, the cleaning brush 401 rubs against the protective cover 201, thereby cleaning the protective cover 201.

[0049] To prevent the cleaning mechanism 400 from blocking the view of the camera 300 when the support ring 200 rotates, preferably, the cleaning mechanism 400 is rotatably mounted on the base 100. When the camera 300 is facing the cleaning mechanism 400, the relative position between the two can be adjusted by rotating the cleaning mechanism 400.

[0050] Furthermore, the camera provided in this embodiment also includes a positioning component 800, which includes a first positioning element 801 disposed on the support ring 200 and a second positioning element 802 disposed on the cleaning mechanism 400. In this embodiment, the positioning component 800 consists of two pairs of magnets respectively disposed on the support ring 200 and the cleaning mechanism 400. The magnets on the support ring 200 are positioned in the front and rear directions of the camera 300, and the cleaning mechanism 400 is located behind the camera 300 under the action of magnetic force under normal conditions, thereby avoiding the obstruction of the camera 300 by the cleaning mechanism 400.

[0051] To prevent the cleaning mechanism 400 from failing to perform its cleaning function due to synchronous rotation with the support ring 200 under magnetic force, preferably, a third damper is provided between the cleaning mechanism 400 and the base 100, and the damping value of the third damper is greater than the damping value of the first damper 102. The fact that the damping value of the third damper is greater than that of the first damper 102 ensures that the rotational speed of the cleaning mechanism 400 is less than that of the support ring 200, thereby creating a speed difference between the support ring 200 and the cleaning mechanism 400. This causes mutual friction between the protective cover 201 of the support ring 200 and the cleaning brush 401 of the cleaning mechanism 400, thus cleaning the outer surface of the protective cover 201.

[0052] In this embodiment, a shooting port is provided on the front of the protective cover 201 facing the camera 300, and a transparent protective plate is encapsulated at the shooting port. The camera 300 captures video of the fully mechanized mining face through the protective plate. The protective plate can be made of materials such as tempered glass or high-strength resin.

[0053] Furthermore, the camera 300 also integrates an audio acquisition device and an audio player to record the sounds happening at the scene while recording video, and to view the video in the event of an emergency, achieving audio and video synchronization.

[0054] like Figure 2-4As shown, in this embodiment, the mining camera further includes a control system 900, which includes a power module 910, a control module 920, a first drive module 930, a second drive module 940, and a communication module 950. The power module 910 is connected to both an external power source and the control module 920, providing a constant voltage power supply to the control module 920. The first drive module 930 is connected to both the control module 920 and the support ring 200, driving the support ring 200 to rotate under the control of the control module 920. The second drive module 940 is connected to both the control module 920 and the camera 300, driving the camera 300 to rotate under the control of the control module 920. The communication module 950 is communicatively connected to both the camera 300 and an external switch, transmitting video data to the roadway control center and the external ring network via the switch.

[0055] Power module 910 supplies constant voltage power to control module 920 and other modules. Since underground coal mines contain flammable methane gas, an intrinsically safe power supply is selected for power module 910 in this embodiment to ensure on-site safety. The schematic diagram of power module 910 is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the power module 910 incorporates a dual-mode diode at its 12V input to prevent external discharge and mitigate the influence of input capacitor characteristics. The 12V / 3.3V voltage conversion circuit connecting the power module 910 to sensors utilizes a dual-mode voltage regulator to ensure voltage stability even if one regulator fails. The total capacitance in the power module 910 circuit is kept below 27uF to meet explosion-proof design requirements.

[0056] like Figure 2 As shown, the control module 920 is mounted on the base 100 or the support ring 200. Optionally, the control module 920 is a PLC, a microcontroller, or other micro-control system, and its form is a control panel integrating a storage device and a computing device. The control module 920 stores a control program, which is called by the control module 920 to control the normal operation of the camera. The composition and working principle of the control module 920 are existing technologies in the art, and will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

[0057] The first drive module 930 includes an orientation motor 931 and an orientation encoder 932, both of which are electrically connected to the control module 920. The orientation motor 931 is mounted on the support ring 200. A gear 933 is mounted on the output shaft of the orientation motor 931. A corresponding annular gear disk 101 is provided on the base 100. The orientation motor 931 drives the gear 933 to rotate along the gear disk 101, thereby driving the support ring 200 to rotate relative to the base 100. Optionally, the orientation motor 931 can also be driven by other methods such as a worm gear; this embodiment does not limit this. The orientation encoder 932 is used to calculate the horizontal rotation angle of the support ring 200. The orientation encoder 932 calculates the horizontal rotation angle of the support ring 200 by the number of rotations. The control module 920 sends the target horizontal steering angle to the orientation encoder 932 and sends an enable signal to the orientation motor 931. The orientation motor 931 stops when it rotates to the target horizontal steering angle.

[0058] When the camera operates for an extended period, the orientation encoder 932 is prone to drift, causing deviations in the rotation angle of the camera 300. To address this, in this embodiment, a first limit sensor 934 is introduced inside the camera to detect the horizontal rotation angle of the support ring 200. When the target horizontal rotation angle is reached, the orientation motor 931 automatically stops rotating, overcoming the drift effect of the orientation encoder 932. Preferably, the limit sensor is a mechanical gyroscope.

[0059] The second drive module 940 includes a pitch motor 941 and a pitch encoder 942, both of which are electrically connected to the control module 920. The pitch motor 941 is mounted on the support ring 200, and its output is connected to the camera 300. The pitch encoder 942 calculates the pitch angle of the camera 300 relative to the support ring 200 by measuring the number of rotations. The control module 920 sends the target pitch angle of the camera 300 to the pitch encoder 942 and an enable signal to the pitch motor 941. The pitch motor 941 stops when it reaches the target pitch angle.

[0060] To prevent deviations in the camera 300's rotation angle due to drift of the pitch encoder 942 during prolonged camera operation, a second limit sensor 943 is introduced inside the camera in this embodiment. This second limit sensor 943 detects the pitch rotation angle of the camera 300. When the target pitch angle is reached, the pitch motor 941 automatically stops rotating, overcoming the drift effect of the pitch encoder 942. Preferably, a mechanical gyroscope is used as the limit sensor.

[0061] The composition and connection schematic diagram of the control system 900 are as follows: Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown. The control system 900 is electrically connected to the camera 300. The camera 300 includes a camera control board 301, a zoom motor assembly 302, a focus motor assembly 303, an infrared lamp board 304, a lens 305, and a two-wire Ethernet board 306. The camera control board 301 acquires and processes video data. The zoom motor assembly 302 includes a zoom lens protection board 3021 and a zoom motor 3022, used to zoom the lens 305. The focus motor assembly 303 includes a focus lens protection board 3031 and a focus motor 3032, used to focus the lens 305. The infrared lamp board 304 connects to infrared lamps for illuminating the camera 300 in low-light environments. The lens 305 is a fisheye lens. The two-wire Ethernet board 306 connects to the communication module 950, which transmits video data to a switch via an external connection module 960, and further transmits the video data to the roadway control center.

[0062] Secondly, this application provides a coal mine monitoring system, including a mine camera as described in any of the above schemes, and a roadway centralized control system. The roadway centralized control system includes a central control unit and a switch. The switch is communicatively connected to both the mine camera and the central control unit. The central control unit collects video data from the coal face through the mine camera and displays the real-time video of the working face on a display screen. The central control unit can also control the operation of the mine camera.

[0063] Furthermore, the switch is connected to the mining ring network, and video data is transmitted to the ground server for storage through the mining ring network. At the same time, the ground monitoring center can also display real-time video of the working face and control the operation of the mining cameras.

[0064] The coal mine monitoring system provided in this embodiment can intuitively monitor and record the safety production situation at the underground work site, provide early warnings, enhance safety, facilitate post-work analysis and review, and reduce the workload of on-site inspections.

[0065] The above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The scope of protection of this application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to this application within its substance and scope of protection, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions should also be considered to fall within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A mining camera, characterized in that, include: Base; A support ring is rotatably mounted on the base via a first bearing, the first bearing being horizontally arranged, and the support ring being able to rotate 360 ​​degrees horizontally relative to the base. A protective cover is provided on the support ring. The camera is rotatably mounted on the support ring via a second bearing, which is vertically arranged. The camera is located inside the protective cover and can tilt relative to the support ring at an angle between 60° and 90°. A cleaning mechanism is provided on the base, and the cleaning mechanism abuts against the outer surface of the protective cover. When the support ring rotates, the cleaning mechanism rubs the protective cover to clean it. The protective cover has a shooting port facing the camera, and the shooting port is encapsulated with a transparent protective plate; A first damper is provided between the support ring and the base, and a second damper is provided between the camera and the support ring; The cleaning mechanism is rotatably mounted on the base, and a third damper is provided between the cleaning mechanism and the base. The damping value of the third damper is greater than the damping value of the first damper. The mining camera also includes a positioning component, which consists of two pairs of magnets respectively disposed on the support ring and the cleaning mechanism. The magnets on the support ring are positioned in the front and rear directions of the camera.

2. The mining camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mining camera also includes a vibration damping mechanism, which is located on the side of the base facing away from the support ring.

3. The mining camera according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mining camera also includes a control system, which includes a power module, a control module, a first drive module, a second drive module, and a communication module. The power module is connected to an external power source and the control module respectively, and the power module is used to provide a constant voltage power supply to the control module. The first drive module is connected to the control module and the support ring respectively, and the first drive module is used to drive the support ring to rotate under the control of the control module; The second drive module is connected to the control module and the camera respectively, and the second drive module is used to drive the camera to rotate under the control of the control module; The communication module is connected to both the camera and the external switch, and is used to transmit video data to the external ring network through the switch.

4. The mining camera according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first drive module includes an orientation motor and an orientation encoder. Both the orientation motor and the orientation encoder are electrically connected to the control module. The orientation motor is connected to the support ring. The orientation encoder is used to output a rotation angle to the orientation motor. The orientation motor is used to drive the support ring to rotate.

5. The mining camera according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second drive module includes a pitch motor and a pitch encoder. Both the pitch motor and the pitch encoder are electrically connected to the control module. The pitch motor is connected to the camera. The pitch encoder is used to output the pitch angle to the pitch motor. The pitch motor is used to drive the camera to pitch and rotate.

6. The mining camera according to claim 3, characterized in that, The communication module is connected to the camera and the switch via Ethernet.

7. The mining camera according to claim 3, characterized in that, The power module is an intrinsically safe power module, and it is equipped with a dual voltage regulation circuit.

8. A coal mine monitoring system, comprising a mining camera as described in any one of claims 1-7, and further comprising a roadway centralized control system, wherein the roadway centralized control system comprises a central control center host and a switch, the switch being communicatively connected to the mining camera and the central control center host respectively, and the central control center host being used to acquire video data of the coal mining face through the mining camera and control the operation of the mining camera.

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