Precise and automatic throwing device for throwing type liquid level sensor and control method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of liquid level sensor putting, and particularly discloses a put-in type liquid level sensor accurate automatic putting device and a control method, the put-in type liquid level sensor accurate automatic putting device comprises a supporting element, a control element and a control element, the supporting element is used for bearing and fixing other functional assemblies; the cable winding element is located at the top end of the supporting element, the cable winding element is used for winding a winding drum body of a cable, and the cable winding element is used for driving a driving part of the winding drum body to operate, through linkage automatic operation of an electric cable winding drum, a reciprocating lead screw and a horn-shaped drum, the sensor does not need to be manually dragged, and the sensor is controlled to be lowered and recycled; the method is especially suitable for scenes with wide hydropower station water area and scattered and remote measurement points; meanwhile, the automatic cable winding and unwinding speed is increased by 3-5 times compared with manual operation, the single-time measurement time can be effectively shortened under the scene of high-frequency measurement or multi-point synchronous monitoring, the efficient operation and maintenance requirement of the hydropower station is met, and monitoring work overstock caused by low manual operation efficiency is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of liquid level sensor dispensing technology, and in particular to a precise automatic dispensing device and control method for an immersion-type liquid level sensor. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of water conservancy engineering, especially in the daily operation and maintenance and monitoring of hydropower stations, liquid level measurement is a key link in ensuring reservoir scheduling, safe operation of generating units, and flood control and disaster reduction. As the core equipment for achieving accurate liquid level measurement, the efficiency, accuracy and safety of the deployment and retrieval of submersible liquid level sensors directly affect the reliability of measurement data and the overall efficiency of operation and maintenance work.

[0003] Currently, most hydropower stations still rely on manual methods for deploying and retrieving submersible level sensors. Specifically, operators must carry the sensor and its cable to the measurement point, manually dragging the cable to control the sensor's lowering depth, and then manually reeling in the cable to retrieve the sensor after measurement. However, this traditional operating method suffers from numerous unavoidable technical flaws and application limitations:

[0004] Hydropower stations typically have a large water area, scattered measurement points, and some points are located in remote areas. It takes a lot of manpower to carry equipment back and forth between the points, and the efficiency of manually winding and unwinding cables is extremely low. Especially in scenarios that require high-frequency measurement or simultaneous monitoring of multiple points, traditional methods can no longer meet the needs of efficient operation and maintenance.

[0005] Hydropower station liquid level measurement work needs to be carried out in an open environment. When encountering severe weather such as rainstorms, strong winds, low temperatures and freezing temperatures, not only does the difficulty of the operation increase significantly, but also the safety risks such as slipping and falling are faced. In severe cases, the measurement work may even need to be suspended, resulting in the interruption of liquid level data acquisition and affecting the timeliness of dispatching decisions.

[0006] During manual deployment, the sensor's lowering depth relies entirely on the operator's experience and manual control, making it impossible to precisely match the preset measurement depth requirements. This accuracy deviation directly leads to errors in the liquid level measurement data, which in turn affects the accuracy of critical tasks such as reservoir water level control and power generation calculation, posing a potential threat to the safe and stable operation of the hydropower station. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by this invention is that the shortcomings of the traditional manual leveling method in terms of efficiency, safety and accuracy are becoming increasingly prominent, and it is difficult to meet the requirements of modern hydropower stations for automation, precision and efficiency in level monitoring.

[0008] The above-mentioned technical problems are solved by the following technical solution: The present invention proposes an immersion-type liquid level sensor precision automatic delivery device, which includes a support element, the support element being used to support and fix the other functional components;

[0009] A cable winding element, located at the top of a support element, is used to wind the cable onto a reel body and to drive the reel body. The reversal of the reel body enables the lowering and retrieval of the submersible level sensor.

[0010] The foreign object detection element includes a cable attachment identification device disposed on the side wall of the support element, and the foreign object detection element adopts an image acquisition component, is installed on the support element and aligned with the cable channel, and has a built-in foreign object detection algorithm for identifying foreign objects on the cable surface, for real-time acquisition of cable images and identification of foreign objects.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic dispensing device for the immersion-type liquid level sensor described in this invention: the supporting element includes a support frame, the bottom end of which is equipped with casters, and three sides of the support frame are provided with enclosures, the side walls of which are reinforced by hollow steel pipes.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the immersion-type liquid level sensor precision automatic dispensing device of the present invention: a tie rod is installed on the side wall of the hollow steel pipe, and a through cable delivery port is provided at the bottom end of the support frame.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic dispensing device for the immersion-type liquid level sensor described in this invention: the cable take-up element further includes a cable groove disposed on the side wall of the drum body, a reciprocating screw is installed on the side wall of the enclosure, a slide bar is installed on the side wall of the reciprocating screw, and a slider is disposed on the side wall of the slide bar.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic dispensing device for the immersion-type liquid level sensor described in this invention: a horn is installed on the side wall of the slider, wherein the cable passes through the horn through the cable retraction port and is wound up in the cable groove.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the immersion-type liquid level sensor precision automatic dispensing device of the present invention: the end of the drum body passes through the surrounding plate and is connected to the cable length measuring device.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic dispensing device for immersion-type liquid level sensors described in this invention: the driving component includes a driving motor disposed at the top of the support frame, the output end of the driving motor is equipped with a quick-release connector, a first sprocket is mounted at the end of the quick-release connector away from the driving motor, the end of the first sprocket away from the quick-release connector is connected to the drum body, a second sprocket is disposed on the side wall of the first sprocket, the end of the second sprocket is connected to a reciprocating screw, and the first sprocket and the second sprocket are linked by a chain.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic dispensing control method for the submersible liquid level sensor described in this invention: the device is moved to the target dispensing position of the submersible liquid level sensor by means of the universal wheels at the bottom of the support frame in the support element and the tie rod on the side wall of the hollow steel pipe.

[0018] The drive motor of the drive component in the cable take-up element is started. The drive motor drives the first sprocket to rotate through the quick-release connection. The first sprocket drives the drum body to rotate to release the cable. On the other hand, it drives the second sprocket to rotate through the chain, which in turn drives the reciprocating screw to rotate. The slider on the side wall of the slide bar cooperates with the drum body to guide the cable. The cable is lowered through the cable take-up and release port at the bottom of the support frame and the horn on the side wall of the slider. At the same time, the cable length measuring device connected to the end of the drum body monitors the cable length in real time.

[0019] The image acquisition component of the foreign object detection element acquires images of the cable in real time and identifies whether there are foreign objects on the cable surface through the built-in foreign object detection algorithm. If a foreign object is detected, a control signal is immediately sent to the drive motor to stop it.

[0020] If no foreign object is detected, the cable continues to be lowered until the cable length measuring device detects that the lowered cable length has reached the set value, then the drive motor is controlled to stop running, thus completing the precise deployment of the sensor.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic delivery control method for the submersible liquid level sensor described in this invention: during the cable release process of the cable take-up element, the reserved gap between the support element's enclosure structure and the support frame is used to drain excess liquid remaining after the cable is wound up, preventing liquid accumulation from affecting the operation of the device components; and the reciprocating screw drives the horn cylinder to move through the screw structure, so that the cable is evenly wound on the drum body of the cable take-up element, preventing the cable from deviating or knotting.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the precise automatic dispensing control method for the immersion liquid level sensor described in this invention: the image acquisition component of the foreign object detection element is aligned with the cable channel to capture the surface state of the cable as it passes through the horn and cable retraction port in real time. After the foreign object detection algorithm identifies foreign objects attached to the cable surface, the response time of the control signal transmission to the drive motor does not exceed 1 second, so as to avoid the foreign object causing the cable to jam or the drive motor to be overloaded and damaged.

[0023] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: through the coordinated and automated operation of the electric cable reel, reciprocating screw, and horn, there is no need for manual dragging of cables to control the lowering and retrieval of sensors. Especially for hydropower stations with large water areas and scattered and remote measurement points, it can reduce manpower input by more than 80%. At the same time, the automated cable reeling and lowering speed is 3-5 times faster than manual operation. In high-frequency measurement or multi-point synchronous monitoring scenarios, it can effectively shorten the time of a single measurement, meet the needs of efficient operation and maintenance of hydropower stations, and avoid the backlog of monitoring work caused by low efficiency of manual operation.

[0024] With fully automated deployment and retrieval control, operators do not need to directly contact cables in open-air environments. Measurement tasks can be completed remotely or on-site with simple control of the equipment. Even in severe weather conditions such as heavy rain, strong winds, and freezing temperatures, operators are protected from the risk of slipping or falling. At the same time, the device is unaffected by severe weather and can continuously monitor the liquid level, effectively preventing interruptions in liquid level data acquisition due to the inability to operate manually. This ensures that reservoir scheduling decisions can obtain continuous and complete liquid level data support, guaranteeing the timeliness and accuracy of scheduling decisions.

[0025] By equipping the device with a cable length measuring system, the cable length can be monitored in real time, allowing for precise control of the sensor's lowering depth and avoiding depth deviations caused by reliance on experience during manual placement. Simultaneously, the reciprocating screw and horn tube, working in conjunction with a sliding rod, ensure orderly cable deployment and retraction, preventing cable entanglement and offset from affecting sensor position accuracy. This dual precision assurance ensures that the deviation between the sensor's placement position and the preset measurement depth is controlled within ±2cm, significantly reducing liquid level measurement errors. This provides reliable data support for critical tasks such as reservoir water level control and power generation calculation, fundamentally eliminating the potential threat to the safe and stable operation of hydropower stations posed by insufficient accuracy in manual placement.

[0026] This device incorporates a cable attachment identification system based on an improved YOLOv8, capable of detecting cable surface attachments in real time. Upon detection, it immediately stops the drive motor, preventing attachments from entering the device during cable winding and causing motor overload and burnout, cable wear, or other malfunctions. Actual testing shows that this identification system achieves an accuracy rate of over 98% in identifying cable attachments, with a response time of less than 1 second. This effectively reduces the number of repairs required due to attachment-related malfunctions, extends the lifespan of core components such as the electric cable winding drum and drive motor, lowers equipment maintenance costs, and ensures long-term stable operation of the device.

[0027] The support frame adopts a combination structure of rigid material base plate, hollow steel pipe and three-sided enclosure. The 10cm gap between the lower end of the enclosure and the base plate can quickly drain water droplets left after cable winding, preventing moisture accumulation and corrosion of components. The configuration of 6 casters and 1 tie rod allows the device to be flexibly moved to different measurement points, adapting to the complex site terrain of hydropower stations. At the same time, the cable winding drum is equipped with a quick-release connection port, which facilitates the disassembly and maintenance of the drive mechanism. The overall structural design takes into account practicality and maintenance convenience, and can adapt to the diverse operation and maintenance scenarios and long-term outdoor use requirements of hydropower stations, providing reliable technical support for the intelligent and automated upgrading of hydropower station liquid level measurement equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below only relate to some embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Wherein:

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of the submersible liquid level sensor precision automatic dispensing device is shown.

[0030] Figure 2 A front view of a precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor is shown.

[0031] Figure 3 A left view of the submersible liquid level sensor precision automatic dispensing device is shown.

[0032] Figure 4 A top view of the submersible liquid level sensor precision automatic dispensing device is shown.

[0033] Figure 5 A diagram illustrating the cable attachment identification algorithm model for a precise automatic deployment method of an immersion-type liquid level sensor is shown.

[0034] Figure 6 The diagram shows the structure of the sensing field expansion module (SMEM) for a precise automatic dispensing method for an immersion-type liquid level sensor.

[0035] Figure 7 A structural diagram of an efficient attention mechanism module for a precise automatic dispensing method for immersion-type liquid level sensors is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0036] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0037] The terminology used in this invention is that which is currently widely used in the art in consideration of the function of the invention; however, these terms may vary according to the intent of those skilled in the art, precedent, or new technology in the art. Furthermore, specific terms may be chosen by the applicant, and in such cases, their detailed meanings will be described in the detailed description of the invention. Therefore, the terms used in this specification should not be construed as simple names, but rather based on their meanings and the overall description of the invention.

[0038] Reference Figures 1-3 This embodiment provides a precise automatic dispensing device and control method for an immersion-type liquid level sensor, including achieving automated and precise dispensing and retrieval of the sensor through the collaborative work of modular components.

[0039] Support element 1 is used to support and fix the other functional components. As the basic load-bearing structure of the entire device, support element 1 must have sufficient rigidity and stability to ensure that it can firmly support and fix the cable winding element 2, foreign object detection element 3 and other functional components under the complex working conditions of the hydropower station, so as to avoid the decrease in casting accuracy or equipment damage due to structural loosening.

[0040] The cable winding element 2 is located at the top of the support element 1. The cable winding element 2 is used to wind the cable onto the drum body 21 and to drive the drum body 21. The forward and reverse rotation of the drum body 21 enables the lowering and retrieval of the submersible liquid level sensor. During operation, the drive component 22 drives the drum body 21 to rotate forward, gradually releasing the cable and lowering the sensor. When the drum body 21 rotates in reverse, it retracts the cable, completing the sensor retrieval. The entire process requires no manual intervention, effectively avoiding the limitations of manual operation.

[0041] The foreign object detection element 3 includes a cable attachment identification device 31 installed on the side wall of the support element 1. This foreign object detection element 3 uses an image acquisition component, is mounted on the support element 1 and aligned with the cable channel, and incorporates a foreign object detection algorithm to identify foreign objects on the cable surface. It is used to acquire cable images in real time and identify foreign objects. The foreign object detection element 3 is a key protective component ensuring the safe and stable operation of the device. It includes the cable attachment identification device 31 installed on the side wall of the support element 1. This element uses a high-resolution image acquisition component, and its installation position is precisely aligned with the channel through which the cable enters and exits the device. It incorporates a cable surface foreign object detection algorithm based on an improved YOLOv8, which can acquire image information of the cable during operation in real time. The algorithm quickly identifies whether foreign objects such as weeds, mud, and debris are attached to the cable surface. If a foreign object is detected, it immediately triggers a subsequent shutdown protection mechanism to prevent foreign objects from entering the device with the cable and causing malfunctions such as jamming or motor overload.

[0042] Reference Figures 2-3 As an optional embodiment, the support element 1 includes a support frame 11, with casters 12 mounted on the bottom of the support frame 11. The support frame 11 has enclosures 13 on three sides, and the side walls of the enclosures 13 are reinforced by hollow steel pipes 14. The casters 12 are heavy-duty industrial casters with brakes, which not only enable the device to move flexibly in different areas such as hydropower station dams and platforms to meet the sensor deployment requirements of different measurement points, but also can be locked by brakes to ensure that the device remains fixed during operation and avoid displacement that affects deployment accuracy.

[0043] The hollow steel pipe 14 has tie rods 15 installed on its side walls, and a cable retraction port 16 is provided at the bottom of the support frame 11. The enclosure 13 is made of thin steel plate, with two sides forming a right-angled triangular structure. This design can reduce material usage and overall weight of the device while ensuring protective effect, and it can also adapt to the three-dimensional structure of the support frame 11, improving the stability of the frame. The side walls of the enclosure 13 are reinforced by hollow steel pipes 14. The hollow steel pipes 14 are made of seamless steel pipes, which are not only lightweight and high-strength, but also reduce the overall load of the device. At the same time, the welding joints between the hollow steel pipes 14 and the enclosure 13 are ground to avoid sharp edges scratching cables or operators. The side walls of the hollow steel pipes 14 are equipped with tie rods 15. The tie rods 15 have a foldable design and are made of high-strength aluminum alloy. When unfolded, they are easy for operators to push and move the device. When folded, they can fit against the side walls of the support frame 11, reducing the space occupied by the device and facilitating storage and transportation. The bottom of the support frame 11 is provided with a through cable retraction port 16. This retraction port must be coaxially aligned with the sensor's lowering path. Its inner wall is treated with a smooth arc transition to avoid wear on the cable sheath due to friction during the cable retraction process, thus extending the cable's service life.

[0044] Reference Figures 2-4In one embodiment provided in this application, the cable take-up element 2 further includes a cable groove 23 disposed on the side wall of the drum body 21. A reciprocating screw 24 is installed on the side wall of the surrounding plate 13, a slide bar 25 is installed on the side wall of the reciprocating screw 24, and a slider 26 is disposed on the side wall of the slide bar 25. The cable groove 23 adopts a spiral groove design, and the width and depth of the groove are precisely matched according to the diameter of the sensor connection cable to ensure that the cable can be arranged in an orderly manner in the groove during the winding process, avoiding the cables from tangling and stacking, and preventing the cable from getting stuck during release or retrieval due to knots. At the same time, the spiral groove can also reduce the tension fluctuation during cable winding, ensure uniform cable force, and further improve the delivery accuracy. The thread helix angle of the reciprocating screw 24 is optimized and needs to be adapted to the winding speed of the drum body 21. Its function is to drive the subsequent slider assembly to move by rotation, so as to achieve uniform cable arrangement. The slide bar 25 uses a high-precision optical shaft with a chrome-plated surface, providing excellent wear resistance and smoothness. This ensures stable guidance for the movement of the slider 26, preventing it from shifting or jamming during movement. The slide bar 25 has sliders 26 mounted on its side wall. Figure 1 (The slider 26 corresponds to the slider 4). The slider 26 is connected to the reciprocating screw 24 by a thread and to the slide rod 25 by a sliding fit. When the reciprocating screw 24 rotates, the slider 26 can make a linear reciprocating motion along the slide rod 25. In conjunction with the winding action of the drum body 21, the cable is evenly distributed in the cable groove 23 of the drum body 21.

[0045] A horn-shaped tube 27 is installed on the side wall of the slider 26. The cable passes through the horn-shaped tube 27 through the cable take-up / delivery port 16 and is wound up in the cable groove 23. The horn-shaped tube 27 is made of plastic. Its inlet end has a horn-shaped expansion structure, and its outlet end is adapted to the diameter of the cable. This design can guide the cable to enter the internal channel of the slider 26 accurately and prevent the cable from deviating from the path during take-up and delivery. At the same time, the surface of the plastic material is smooth, which can reduce the friction loss between the cable and the inner wall of the horn-shaped tube 27. The running path of the cable must strictly follow the trajectory of "entering from the cable take-up / delivery port 16, passing through the horn-shaped tube 27, and finally being wound up in the cable groove 23 of the drum body 21" to ensure that each section of cable can be wound up in an orderly manner without misalignment or stacking.

[0046] The end of the reel body 21 passes through the enclosure 13 and is connected to the cable length measuring device 28. The cable length measuring device 28 adopts an encoder-type length measuring structure. By rotating synchronously with the reel body 21, it records the number of rotations of the reel body 21 in real time. Combined with the diameter parameter of the reel body 21, it accurately calculates the cable winding and unwinding length and transmits the length data to the control terminal in real time. The control terminal compares the set deployment length with the actual length measuring data and automatically adjusts the operating state of the drive component 22 to achieve accurate deployment by the sensor. For example, when the set deployment length is 10 meters, if the cable length measuring device 28 detects that the actual unwound cable length reaches 10 meters, it will immediately send a signal to the control terminal. The control terminal then controls the drive component 22 to stop operating, completing the accurate deployment.

[0047] The drive component 22 includes a drive motor 221 mounted on the top of the support frame 11. A quick-release connector 222 is installed at the output end of the drive motor 221. A first sprocket 223 is mounted at the end of the quick-release connector 222 away from the drive motor 221. The end of the first sprocket 223 away from the quick-release connector 222 is connected to the drum body 21. A second sprocket 224 is mounted on the side wall of the first sprocket 223. The end of the second sprocket 224 is connected to the reciprocating screw 24. The first sprocket 223 and the second sprocket 224 are linked by a chain. The drive motor 221 is a servo motor with forward and reverse rotation capabilities. Servo motors are characterized by stable speed, controllable torque, and fast response, enabling precise control of the rotation speed and number of revolutions of the drum body 21, meeting the adjustment requirements of the sensor lowering speed under different working conditions. The output end of the drive motor 221 is equipped with a quick-release connector 222. The quick-release connector 222 adopts a snap-fit ​​structure, which allows for quick assembly and disassembly of the drive motor 221 and subsequent transmission components without the need for special tools. When the drive motor 221 fails, it can significantly shorten the maintenance and replacement time and reduce the downtime of the device. A first sprocket 223 is installed at the end of the quick-release connector 222 away from the drive motor 221. The end of the first sprocket 223 away from the quick-release connector 222 is fixed to the drum body 21 by a key connection, ensuring that power can be stably transmitted to the drum body 21. A second sprocket 224 is provided on the side wall of the first sprocket 223. The end of the second sprocket 224 is also fixed to the reciprocating screw 24 by a key. At the same time, the first sprocket 223 and the second sprocket 224 are of the same specifications and are linked by a high-strength chain. This design allows the drive motor 221 to drive the first sprocket 223 and the second sprocket 224 to rotate synchronously through the chain when it is running. This achieves synchronous movement between the drum body 21 and the reciprocating screw 24, ensuring that the cable winding speed matches the sliding speed of the slider 26. This ensures that the cable is evenly arranged in the cable groove 23 of the drum body 21 and avoids cable accumulation or pulling due to asynchronous speeds.

[0048] Reference Figures 5-7In some implementations, the device is moved to the target placement position of the submersible liquid level sensor by means of the casters at the bottom of the support frame in the support element and the tie rods on the side wall of the hollow steel pipe.

[0049] The drive motor of the drive component in the cable take-up element is started. The drive motor drives the first sprocket to rotate through the quick-release connection. The first sprocket drives the drum body to rotate to release the cable. On the other hand, it drives the second sprocket to rotate through the chain, which in turn drives the reciprocating screw to rotate. The slider on the side wall of the slide bar cooperates with the drum body to guide the cable. The cable is lowered through the cable take-up and release port at the bottom of the support frame and the horn on the side wall of the slider. At the same time, the cable length measuring device connected to the end of the drum body monitors the cable length in real time.

[0050] The image acquisition component of the foreign object detection element acquires images of the cable in real time and identifies whether there are foreign objects on the cable surface through the built-in foreign object detection algorithm. If a foreign object is detected, a control signal is immediately sent to the drive motor to stop it.

[0051] If no foreign object is detected, the cable continues to be lowered until the cable length measuring device detects that the lowered cable length has reached the set value, then the drive motor is controlled to stop running, thus completing the precise deployment of the sensor.

[0052] During the cable release process of the cable take-up element, the reserved gap between the support element's enclosure structure and the support frame is used to drain excess liquid remaining after the cable is wound up, preventing liquid accumulation from affecting the operation of the device components; and the reciprocating screw drives the horn cylinder to move through the screw structure, so that the cable is evenly wound on the drum body of the cable take-up element, preventing the cable from shifting or knotting.

[0053] The image acquisition component of the foreign object detection element is aligned with the cable channel to capture the surface state of the cable as it passes through the horn and cable retraction port in real time. After the foreign object detection algorithm identifies a foreign object attached to the cable surface, the response time of the control signal transmission to the drive motor does not exceed 1 second, so as to avoid the foreign object causing the cable to jam or the drive motor to be overloaded and damaged.

[0054] The cable attachment identification device 5 uses a built-in camera with a cable attachment detection algorithm based on the improved YOLOv8. When an attachment is detected, the feedback control drive mechanism stops to avoid overload and burnout of the motor when the drive mechanism encounters cable attachments and begins to rewind.

[0055] An improved YOLOv8 algorithm is used to identify cable attachments. The structure diagram of the improved YOLOv8 algorithm is shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the implementation steps are as follows:

[0056] The cable attachment detection algorithm based on the improved YOLOv8 uses the PyTorch architecture for its core algorithm. It builds a network model based on the improved YOLOv8 and trains the detection model end-to-end through freezing and unfreezing.

[0057] Furthermore, the steps for building and training the cable attachment detection algorithm model based on the improved YOLOv8 are as follows:

[0058] S1: Data preprocessing. First, video data of traditional manual cable retrieval is collected on-site. A video frame extraction algorithm is used to extract one frame per second for storage. The stored image data is first manually screened to delete blurry images and images with a large number of normal anomalies. Then, image flipping, rotation, cropping, mosaicking, and other techniques are used to augment the original images to form a dataset for cable attachment detection. After that, the dataset is used to generate training and validation sets in the form of random numbers with a ratio of 7:3. The dataset is then imported using the Python library function torch.utils.data.

[0059] S2: Model Building. First, using the PyCharm IDE development environment, a YOLOv8 network model is built, employing parallel dilated convolutions of 1, 3, and 5 to expand the receptive field, such as... Figure 6 As shown, while enhancing the feature extraction capability of the YOLOv8 network model, the receptive field of the deep features of the backbone network is further expanded, improving the model's feature representation of small cable attachment targets.

[0060] Furthermore, to enhance the performance of the backbone network between shallow and mid-level output features, an ECA (Efficient Channel Attention) attention mechanism module is introduced between these layers, such as... Figure 7 As shown, spatial information of cable attachment targets is used to calibrate the network model. This addresses the issue of small differences between the attachments and the background in complex environments. The ECA attention mechanism significantly improves the network model's ability to extract image channel features. Through the ECA module, the neck network and the detection head can assign different attention weights to the extracted spatiotemporal features and adaptively optimize the network parameters based on the importance of the features. The specific implementation process is as follows: First, the output features of the shallow and middle layers are subjected to global average pooling, transforming the features from H×W×C into a 1×1×C one-dimensional vector. Then, the size of the adaptive one-dimensional convolution kernel k is calculated based on the number of channels in the feature map. The calculation formula is as follows:

[0061]

[0062] In the formula, k is the size of the adaptive convolution kernel, c is the number of channels, γ is a constant 2, and b is a constant 1.

[0063] Furthermore, k is applied to one-dimensional convolution to obtain the weights for each channel of the feature map. Then, the weights are normalized using the Sigmoid function. Finally, the obtained normalized weights are multiplied channel by channel with the features initially input into the module and fed into the original branch into the neck network.

[0064] S3: Based on the improvement of the network structure, during training, the Adam optimizer is used, the initial learning rate is set to 0.0001, the epoch is set to 300, and the entire model is trained by freezing and unfreezing the backbone network. At the beginning of training, the backbone network is frozen for training epoch=70. After the neck network and the detection head are trained, the backbone network is unfrozen and the transfer model is used for end-to-end training until epoch=300.

[0065] The camera device is installed inside the support frame of the automatic delivery device, aligned with the cable take-up port. When a cable attachment is detected, the control terminal will control the motor to stop taking up the cable, thus preventing the motor from overloading and burning out when it encounters an attachment during the cable take-up process.

[0066] Finally, it should be noted that the methods and devices described in detail above are merely embodiments, and those skilled in the art can modify these embodiments in different ways as long as they do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor, characterized in that: include, Support element (1), which is used to support and fix the other functional components; The cable winding element (2) is located at the top of the support element (1), and the cable winding element (2) is used to wind the cable reel body (21) and the drive component (22) is used to drive the reel body (21) to operate. The placement and retrieval of the submersible liquid level sensor are realized by the forward and reverse rotation of the reel body (21). Foreign object detection element (3), the foreign object detection element (3) includes a cable attachment identification device (31) disposed on the side wall of the support element (1), and the foreign object detection element (3) adopts an image acquisition component, is installed on the support element (1) and aligned with the cable channel, and has a built-in foreign object detection algorithm for identifying foreign objects on the cable surface, for real-time acquisition of cable images and identification of foreign objects.

2. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support element (1) includes a support frame (11), the bottom end of which is equipped with casters (12), and the three sides of the support frame (11) are provided with enclosures (13), the side walls of which are reinforced by hollow steel pipes (14).

3. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that: The hollow steel pipe (14) is equipped with a tie rod (15) on its side wall, and the bottom end of the support frame (11) is provided with a through cable retraction port (16).

4. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 3, characterized in that: The cable take-up element (2) also includes a cable groove (23) disposed on the side wall of the drum body (21), a reciprocating screw (24) is installed on the side wall of the enclosure plate (13), a slide rod (25) is installed on the side wall of the reciprocating screw (24), and a slider (26) is disposed on the side wall of the slide rod (25).

5. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that: The slider (26) has a horn tube (27) installed on its side wall, through which the cable passes through the horn tube (27) and is wound into the cable groove (23).

6. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 5, characterized in that: The end of the reel body (21) passes through the enclosure (13) and is connected to the cable length measuring device (28).

7. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 6, characterized in that: The drive component (22) includes a drive motor (221) disposed at the top of the support frame (11). The output end of the drive motor (221) is equipped with a quick-release connector (222). A first sprocket (223) is installed at the end of the quick-release connector (222) away from the drive motor (221). The end of the first sprocket (223) away from the quick-release connector (222) is connected to the drum body (21). A second sprocket (224) is disposed on the side wall of the first sprocket (223). The end of the second sprocket (224) is connected to the reciprocating screw (24). At the same time, the first sprocket (223) and the second sprocket (224) are linked by a chain.

8. A method for precise automatic dispensing control of an immersion-type liquid level sensor, characterized in that: The device for precise automatic dispensing of immersion-type liquid level sensors, as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, further includes: The device is moved to the target placement position of the submersible liquid level sensor by means of the casters at the bottom of the support frame and the tie rods on the side wall of the hollow steel pipe in the support element. The drive motor of the drive component in the cable take-up element is started. The drive motor drives the first sprocket to rotate through the quick-release connection. The first sprocket drives the drum body to rotate to release the cable. On the other hand, it drives the second sprocket to rotate through the chain, which in turn drives the reciprocating screw to rotate. The slider on the side wall of the slide bar cooperates with the drum body to guide the cable. The cable is lowered through the cable take-up and release port at the bottom of the support frame and the horn on the side wall of the slider. At the same time, the cable length measuring device connected to the end of the drum body monitors the cable length in real time. The image acquisition component of the foreign object detection element acquires images of the cable in real time and identifies whether there are foreign objects on the cable surface through the built-in foreign object detection algorithm. If a foreign object is detected, a control signal is immediately sent to the drive motor to stop it. If no foreign object is detected, the cable continues to be lowered until the cable length measuring device detects that the lowered cable length has reached the set value, then the drive motor is controlled to stop running, thus completing the precise deployment of the sensor.

9. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 8, characterized in that: During the cable release process of the cable take-up element, the reserved gap between the support element's enclosure structure and the support frame is used to drain excess liquid remaining after the cable is wound up, preventing liquid accumulation from affecting the operation of the device components; and the reciprocating screw drives the horn cylinder to move through the screw structure, so that the cable is evenly wound on the drum body of the cable take-up element, preventing the cable from shifting or knotting.

10. The precise automatic dispensing device for an immersion-type liquid level sensor according to claim 9, characterized in that: The image acquisition component of the foreign object detection element is aligned with the cable channel to capture the surface state of the cable as it passes through the horn and cable retraction port in real time. After the foreign object detection algorithm identifies a foreign object attached to the cable surface, the response time of the control signal transmission to the drive motor does not exceed 1 second, so as to avoid the foreign object causing the cable to jam or the drive motor to be overloaded and damaged.

Images