A high-power uniform underwater light source and its control system

Abstract

This invention relates to an underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system. The device includes: a multi-angle combined light array, which can be configured with the optimal stroboscopic light source according to the working environment, such as working distance, illumination range, camera position, and image illumination uniformity requirements; a low-latency stroboscopic light source controller, which is connected to the light array via a watertight cable, supplies power to the light array, and controls the light array to produce specific illumination as required; and a deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber, which encapsulates the light source, controller, and electrical components according to the light array combination method. This invention is used in deep-sea environments to provide autonomous underwater vehicles with a high-performance deep-sea high-power stroboscopic light source and its control system, enabling instantaneous high-power light source driving and high-uniformity illumination under conditions of limited power supply in deep-sea exploration, and improving the response speed of the deep-sea high-power light source during high-speed scene acquisition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of deep-sea exploration, specifically a high-power uniform underwater light source and its control system. Background Technology

[0002] The ocean is rich in biological and mineral resources, making the exploration and development of deep-sea resources using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) increasingly urgent. The deep-sea environment is completely dark, and the equipment must withstand immense pressure. AUVs typically require active lighting sources. However, the power supply for deep-sea exploration is often strained, making it impossible to continuously provide sufficient energy input for high-brightness light sources. Therefore, to ensure the efficient operation of AUVs, it is essential to equip them with high-performance, high-power deep-sea light sources and their driving power supplies.

[0003] Existing deep-sea light sources all use point sources, resulting in uneven lighting and poor illumination conditions, leading to low image quality and overexposure in some areas. Furthermore, the continuous discharge of the driving power supply results in high energy consumption. Therefore, achieving high-power light source driving under limited power supply conditions in deep-sea exploration, improving the response speed of high-power deep-sea light sources during high-speed scene acquisition, and providing highly uniform illumination in deep-sea scenarios remain significant challenges. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a high-power, uniform underwater light source and its control system. This method can overcome the problems of uneven light and poor illumination conditions of traditional deep-sea lighting equipment, and designs a multi-angle combined light array to generate specific lighting according to requirements such as working distance, illumination range, and image illumination uniformity.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to achieve the above objectives is as follows:

[0006] An underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system include: a multi-angle combined light array, a low-delay frequency flash source controller, and a deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber. The multi-angle combined light array and the low-delay frequency flash source controller are connected by watertight cables and are both located inside the deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber.

[0007] The multi-angle combined light array consists of an m*n array of several LED beads. The negative terminals of each column of LED beads are connected in parallel, and the positive terminals of every 3 columns of LED beads are grouped together and connected in parallel within each group. The positive and negative terminals of each column of LED beads are connected to the channel management module in the low-delay frequency flash source controller through watertight cables.

[0008] The low-latency frequency flash source controller includes a communication control module, a trigger module, a power management module, and an energy storage module. The communication control module is connected to a host computer via a serial port, receives control signals, and sends them to the power management module. The trigger module is connected to external components, receives trigger signals, and sends them to the energy storage module. The power management module is connected to a power input, receives electrical energy, and interacts with the energy storage module.

[0009] The power management module includes a power isolation module, a constant current DC-DC conversion module, and a channel management module. The power isolation module receives electrical energy and sends it to the energy storage module through the constant current DC-DC conversion module. The channel management module receives the electrical energy sent by the energy storage module and supplies power to different columns of LED beads in the multi-angle combined light array according to the control commands sent by the communication control module.

[0010] The energy storage module includes a capacitor and an output control switch, wherein: the capacitor stores electrical energy sent by the constant current DC-DC conversion module, and the output control switch controls whether the capacitor sends electrical energy to the channel management module according to the control signal sent by the trigger module.

[0011] The deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber includes a multi-angle combined light array sealed chamber and a low-delay frequency flash source controller sealed chamber, wherein: the multi-angle combined light array is located in the multi-angle combined light array sealed chamber, the low-delay frequency flash source controller is located in the low-delay frequency flash source controller sealed chamber, and the multi-angle combined light array sealed chamber and the low-delay frequency flash source controller sealed chamber are connected by a watertight cable.

[0012] The multi-angle combined lamp array sealed chamber includes: a window encapsulation mechanism, a wiring hole, a wiring compartment, and a watertight connector. The LED lamp beads are located in the window encapsulation mechanism, and the power lines of the LED lamp beads are connected to the watertight connector in sequence through the wiring hole and the wiring compartment. The watertight connector is connected to the watertight cable.

[0013] The multi-angle combined lamp array sealed chamber has a lamp bead base, on which multiple LED lamp beads are evenly placed. Each LED lamp bead is fixed by a window encapsulation mechanism. The window encapsulation mechanism includes a window and a window base. A sealing groove is provided on the lamp bead base corresponding to the position of each LED lamp bead. The LED lamp bead is placed on the inner edge of the sealing groove, and the other side abuts against one side of the window base. A sealing ring groove is provided on the other side of the window base, and a sealing ring is placed in the sealing ring groove. The window abuts against the other side of the window base. The window, the window base and the lamp bead base are fixed together by bolts. The window and the window base are sealed by the sealing ring.

[0014] The sealed chamber of the low-delay frequency flash source controller is equipped with at least two sets of external watertight connectors and multiple watertight plugs, and the external watertight connectors include watertight cables.

[0015] The watertight cable can be an input cable or an output cable. The input cable includes a power line, a serial communication line, and a trigger line. The output cable is a multi-angle combined light array power supply cable.

[0016] The present invention has the following beneficial effects and advantages:

[0017] 1. The multi-angle combined light array proposed in this invention can be controlled and precisely synchronized with the exposure of a static camera, realizing carrier optical path coordination, and providing specific lighting according to requirements such as working distance, illumination range, and image illumination uniformity.

[0018] 2. The low-latency stroboscopic light source controller proposed in this invention can achieve high-power light source driving under the condition of limited power supply in deep-sea exploration, improve the response speed of multi-angle combined light arrays during high-speed scene acquisition, and meet the performance requirements of low power consumption and high reliability of deep-sea equipment.

[0019] 3. The present invention proposes an underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system. By utilizing a titanium alloy pressure-resistant shell and a window encapsulation mechanism, the system is guaranteed to have good watertightness, ensuring continuous and safe operation in seawater environments at specified depths. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 It is a mechanical diagram of a multi-angle combined light array;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the position and orientation of the LED beads in a multi-angle combined light array.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a wiring diagram for a multi-angle combined light array LED beads;

[0023] Figure 4 It is a low-delay stroboscopic light source control system;

[0024] Figure 5 It is a wiring diagram for a multi-angle combined light array;

[0025] Figure 6 It is a multi-angle combined lamp array lamp bead window packaging mechanism;

[0026] Figure 7 It is a sealed chamber for a low-delay frequency flash source controller;

[0027] Figure 8 This is the wiring diagram for a low-delay stroboscopic light source controller. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0029] A high-power uniform underwater light source and its control system include: a multi-angle combined light array, a low-delay stroboscopic light source controller and a deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber. The multi-angle combined light array (1) can be configured with the stroboscopic light source with the best lighting effect according to the working environment, such as working distance, lighting range, camera position and image lighting uniformity requirements.

[0030] Low-delay frequency flash source controller (2): Connected to the light array via a watertight cable, it supplies power to the light array and controls the light array to produce specific lighting as required.

[0031] Deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber (3): The light source, controller and other accessories are encapsulated according to the combination method of the light array.

[0032] The illumination angle and uniformity of the multi-angle combined light array (1) can be adjusted by adjusting the illumination direction and position of each light bead.

[0033] Multi-angle combined light array (1) can select different light array flicker combinations according to different needs, such as working range, lighting intensity, working environment, etc.

[0034] The low-latency flash source controller (2) includes a communication control module (21), a trigger module (22), a power management module (23), and an energy storage module (24). Further, the communication control module (21) is a serial communication module used to interact with a host computer; the trigger module (22) is used to receive external synchronous triggers; the power management module (23) is used to control the input and output of the power supply to achieve high instantaneous power conversion; and the energy storage module (24) is used to store the electrical energy required for instantaneous high-power output.

[0035] The communication control module (21) can configure the working mode of the strobe light source through the serial port, including but not limited to strobe time, strobe frequency, and lamp array combination.

[0036] The trigger module (22) can receive external element triggers and can cooperate with the camera to complete deep-sea photography and lighting with low latency, with a latency of less than 20us.

[0037] The instantaneous power conversion ratio refers to the ratio of the instantaneous output power to the input power of a low-delay stroboscopic source controller, and the instantaneous power conversion ratio of this controller is greater than 50.

[0038] The deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber (3) includes a multi-angle combined light array sealed chamber (31) and a low-delay frequency flash source controller sealed chamber (32).

[0039] The multi-angle combined lamp array sealed chamber (31) refers to the multi-angle combined lamp array pressure-bearing waterproof encapsulation, in which each lamp bead corresponds to a set of window encapsulation mechanisms (311); multiple wiring holes and wiring compartments are processed inside the sealed chamber, and the lamp bead power lines are connected to the watertight connectors through the wiring holes and wiring compartments; the lamp beads are connected in parallel.

[0040] The sealed chamber (32) of the low-delay frequency flash source controller refers to the pressure-bearing and waterproof enclosure of the low-delay frequency flash source controller, which includes at least two sets of external watertight connectors (321).

[0041] The encapsulation mechanism (311) includes a light-transmitting window (3112), a window base (3114), and a lamp bead base (3117). The light-transmitting window (3112) is a high-transmittance, high-pressure-resistant glass element, such as sapphire glass; the window base (3114) is a supporting element for the light-transmitting window; and the lamp bead base (3117) includes several lamp beads, the light-transmitting window, and mounting slots for the window base. Furthermore, a sealing ring is installed between the light-transmitting window (3112), the window base (3114), and the lamp bead base (3117), and pre-tightened with bolts to form the window encapsulation mechanism.

[0042] The watertight connector (321) of the sealed chamber of the low-delay frequency flash source controller includes an input cable (3211) and an output cable (3212). The input cable (3211) refers to power supply, serial communication, triggering, etc., and the output cable (3212) refers to the power supply cable for the multi-angle combined light array.

[0043] The specific technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, the multi-angle combined light array (1) can adjust the illumination angle and uniformity of the light array by adjusting the illumination direction and position of each lamp. Figure 2 As shown, taking a total of 18 LEDs in 3 rows and 6 columns as an example, the position and orientation of each LED are adjusted according to the illumination angle and light uniformity to achieve the design requirements.

[0045] Multi-angle combined light arrays (1) can be configured with different light array flicker combinations according to different needs, such as working range, lighting intensity, and working environment. For example Figure 3 As shown, the negative terminals of each row of LED lamp units are connected in parallel and connected to the corresponding cables of the watertight connector (314) (wire sequence 1-6). The positive terminals of the first three rows and the last three rows of LED lamp units are connected in parallel and connected to the corresponding cables of the watertight connector (314) (wire sequence 7-8). By selecting different power combinations of lamp arrays as needed, lighting with a specific working range and intensity can be generated.

[0046] like Figure 4As shown, the low-delay frequency flash source controller (2) includes a communication control module (21), a trigger module (22), a power management module (23), and an energy storage module (24). Further, the communication control module (21) is a serial communication module used to interact with a host computer; the trigger module (22) is used to receive external synchronous triggers; the power management module (23) is used to control the input and output of the power supply to achieve high instantaneous power conversion; and the energy storage module (24) is used to store the electrical energy required for instantaneous high-power output.

[0047] The communication control module (21) is connected to the host computer via a serial port, such as RS485 / RS232. The operator sends configuration commands to the communication control module through the host computer software to configure the working mode of the strobe light source, including but not limited to strobe time, strobe frequency, and light array combination.

[0048] The trigger module (22) can receive triggers from external components. In this example, the camera shutter opens and sends a trigger signal to the trigger module (22). The trigger module (22) can cooperate with the device to complete the deep-sea photography lighting with low latency, which is less than 20µs.

[0049] The power management module (23) includes a power isolation module (231), a constant current DC-DC converter module (232), and a channel management module (233). The power isolation module (231) and the constant current DC-DC converter module (232) ensure stable input and output of the low-delay frequency flash source controller (2); the channel management module (233) is equipped with multiple output channels, and each channel is independent of the others and is controlled by the communication control module (21).

[0050] The energy storage module (24) includes a large-capacity capacitor (241) and an output control switch (242, such as a MOSFET). The power management module (23) and the energy storage module (24) are combined to achieve a high instantaneous power conversion ratio. The instantaneous power conversion ratio refers to the ratio of the instantaneous output power to the input power of the low-delay stroboscopic light source controller, and the instantaneous power conversion ratio of this controller is greater than 50. The power management module (23) uses the power isolation module (231) and the constant current DC-DC conversion module (232) to achieve stable charging of the energy storage module (24). The large-capacity capacitor (241) is quickly charged by the power management module (23) through the constant current DC-DC conversion module. The output control switch (242) is directly controlled by the trigger module (22). After receiving the trigger signal, the trigger module (22) turns on the output terminal of the energy storage module (24) with low delay and lights up the multi-angle combined light array (1).

[0051] The deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed chamber (3) includes a multi-angle combined light array sealed chamber (31) and a low-delay frequency flash source controller sealed chamber (32).

[0052] Multi-angle combined light array sealed chamber (31) refers to the multi-angle combined light array pressure-bearing and waterproof encapsulation, such as Figure 1 , 5 As shown, each LED corresponds to a set of window encapsulation mechanisms (311); multiple wiring holes (312) and wiring compartments (313) are processed in the sealed chamber, and the LED power lines are connected to the watertight connectors (314) through the wiring holes (312) and wiring compartments (313);

[0053] Window encapsulation mechanism (311) such as Figure 6 As shown, it includes a light-transmitting window (3112), a window base (3114), and a lamp bead base (3117). The light-transmitting window (3112) is a high-transmittance, high-pressure-resistant glass element, such as sapphire glass; the window base (3114) is a supporting element for the light-transmitting window; the lamp bead base (3117) includes a number of lamp beads (3115), the light-transmitting window (3112), and mounting grooves for the window base (3114). Furthermore, a sealing ring (3113) is installed between the light-transmitting window (3112), the window base (3114), and the lamp bead base (3117), and a waterproof silicone grease layer is provided, and they are pre-tightened by bolts (3111) to form a window sealing mechanism.

[0054] The sealed enclosure (32) for the low-delay frequency flash source controller refers to the pressure-resistant and waterproof encapsulation of the low-delay frequency flash source controller, such as... Figure 7 As shown, it contains at least two sets of external watertight connectors (321), and any remaining ones are encapsulated with watertight plugs (322).

[0055] like Figure 8 As shown, the watertight connector (321) of the sealed chamber of the low-delay frequency flash source controller includes an input cable (3211) and an output cable (3212). The input cable (3211) refers to power supply, serial communication, triggering, etc., and the output cable (3212) refers to the power supply cable for the multi-angle combined light array.

Claims

1. An underwater high-power uniform light source and a control system thereof, characterized by, The application relates to a multi-angle combined light array (1), a low-delay stroboscopic light source controller (2) and a deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed cabin (3), wherein the multi-angle combined light array (1) and the low-delay stroboscopic light source controller (2) are connected through water-proof cables and are arranged in the deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed cabin (3). The multi-angle combined light array (1) is composed of an m*n array of LED lamp beads, the negative poles of LED lamp beads in each column are connected in parallel, the positive poles of LED lamp beads in every three columns are taken as a group, the positive poles in the group are connected in parallel, and the positive and negative poles of LED lamp beads in each column are connected with a channel management module (233) in the low-delay stroboscopic light source controller (2) through water-proof cables. The low-delay stroboscopic light source controller (2) comprises a communication control module (21), a trigger module (22), a power management module (23) and an energy storage module (24), wherein the communication control module (21) is connected with an upper computer through a serial port, receives a control signal and sends the control signal to the power management module (23), the trigger module (22) is connected with external elements, receives a trigger signal and sends the trigger signal to the energy storage module (24), and the power management module (23) is connected with a power input, receives electric energy and interacts with the energy storage module (24). The power management module (23) comprises a power isolation module (231), a constant-current DC-DC conversion module (232) and a channel management module (233), wherein the power isolation module (231) receives electric energy, sends the electric energy to the energy storage module (24) through the constant-current DC-DC conversion module (232), and the channel management module (233) receives electric energy sent by the energy storage module (24) and supplies different columns of LED lamp beads in the multi-angle combined light array (1) with power according to a control instruction sent by the communication control module (21). The energy storage module (24) comprises a capacitor (241) and an output control switch (242), wherein the capacitor (241) stores electric energy sent by the constant-current DC-DC conversion module (232), and the output control switch (242) controls whether the capacitor (241) sends electric energy to the channel management module (233) according to a control signal sent by the trigger module (22).

2. The underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The deep-sea pressure-resistant sealed cabin (3) comprises a multi-angle combined light array sealed cabin (31) and a low-delay stroboscopic light source controller sealed cabin (32), wherein the multi-angle combined light array (1) is arranged in the multi-angle combined light array sealed cabin (31), the low-delay stroboscopic light source controller (2) is arranged in the low-delay stroboscopic light source controller sealed cabin (32), and the multi-angle combined light array sealed cabin (31) and the low-delay stroboscopic light source controller sealed cabin (32) are connected through water-proof cables.

3. The underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, ​ 4. The underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The multi-angle combined lamp array sealing cabin (31) comprises a window packaging mechanism (311), a wiring hole (312), a wiring cabin (313) and a water-tight connector (314), wherein the LED lamp beads are arranged in the window packaging mechanism (311), the power supply lines of the LED lamp beads are sequentially connected with the water-tight connector (314) through the wiring hole (312) and the wiring cabin (313), and the water-tight connector (314) is connected with a water-tight cable.

5. The underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The multi-angle combined lamp array sealing cabin (31) has a lamp bead base (3117), a plurality of LED lamp beads (3115) are uniformly arranged on the lamp bead base (3117), and each LED lamp bead (3115) is fixed through the window packaging mechanism (311); the window packaging mechanism (311) comprises a window (3112) and a window base (3114), the lamp bead base (3117) is provided with a sealing groove (3116) corresponding to the position of each LED lamp bead (3115), the LED lamp bead (3115) is arranged on the inner edge of the sealing groove, and the other side of the LED lamp bead (3115) abuts against one side of the window base (3114); the other side of the window base (3114) is provided with a sealing ring groove, the sealing ring groove contains a sealing ring (3113), the window (3112) abuts against the other side of the window base (3114), the window (3112) and the window base (3114) are fixedly connected with the lamp bead base (3117) through bolts (3111), and the window (3112) and the window base (3114) are sealed through the sealing ring (3113).

6. The underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The low-delay stroboscopic light source controller sealing cabin (32) is provided with at least two groups of external water-tight connectors (321) and a plurality of water-tight plugs (322), and the external water-tight connectors (321) comprise water-tight cables.

7. The underwater high-power uniform light source and its control system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The water-tight cable is an input cable (3211) or an output cable (3212), the input cable (3211) comprises a power supply line, a serial communication line and a trigger line, and the output cable (3212) is a power supply cable for the multi-angle combined lamp array (1).

Images