Photoelectric equipment system suitable for extreme environment of South Pole

Abstract

The invention discloses a photoelectric equipment system suitable for an extreme environment in the South Pole. The photoelectric equipment system comprises a telescope body module and a control heat preservation module. The telescope body module comprises a sealed direct-driven rotary table, a telescope lens cone and a camera, wherein the sealed direct-driven rotary table is provided with an azimuth axis and a height axis which are movable; the telescope lens cone and the camera are arranged in a closed housing; the closed housing is provided with a light-passing window; the control heat preservation module is in communication connection with the telescope body module through a single cable and comprises a temperature rising module, a telescope control computer and a rotary table driving controller, starting of the telescope control computer is achieved through automatic timing self-inspection, and the whole photoelectric equipment system is connected to the outside through a single power line connected to the control heat preservation module. The system disclosed by the invention can still realize complete cold start even at an extremely low temperature of-70 DEG C; the telescope body module and the control thermal insulation module are connected through only one group of cables, and only one power line is arranged outside the whole system, so that the deployment difficulty and the system complexity are reduced, and the stability of the system is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the design of optoelectronic equipment systems in the extreme environment of Antarctica, specifically to the design of an optical telescope system for rapid deployment and long-term unattended operation in the Dome A region, realizing a solution for the deployment of optoelectronic equipment in an environment with an extremely short working window and for long-term unattended operation in harsh working conditions. Background Technology

[0002] The Dome A region in Antarctica has been confirmed as one of the best astronomical observation sites on Earth. Furthermore, due to its unique latitude, polar night conditions, and other environmental factors, deploying photoelectric telescopes in Antarctica holds unparalleled scientific significance. Since the construction of Kunlun Station in the Dome A region in 2008, the Nanjing Institute of Astronomical Optics and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has continuously constructed several batches of photoelectric telescopes of different sizes in Antarctica for observation and preliminary technical verification.

[0003] Deploying a telescope in Antarctica presents numerous challenges. First, the operational window is short; the research team's time at the station is affected by weather and other factors, leaving only about 20 days for deployment. Second, the telescope operates in harsh environments, with temperatures often reaching -70°C during the polar night. Considering that domestic research environments typically operate at 20-30°C, the operating temperature range is nearly 100°C, placing high demands on the telescope system design. Furthermore, given the possibility of power outages and other unforeseen circumstances, the equipment must be capable of cold-starting at -70°C. Finally, the telescope primarily operates during the polar night, and there are currently no overwintering stations in the Dome A area. Therefore, the equipment needs to operate in an automated, unattended mode for extended periods, requiring extremely high stability.

[0004] Traditional photoelectric telescopes do not have the same stringent requirements for deployment modes or working environments as Antarctic telescopes. Therefore, it is essential to design a photoelectric telescope system that can be rapidly deployed, adapted to extreme environments, and operated unattended. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention proposes a rapidly deployable optoelectronic telescope system suitable for long-term unattended operation in the extreme Antarctic environment. The design mainly consists of two parts: an optoelectronic telescope and a control cabin, solving the problem of rapid deployment and long-term unattended operation of optoelectronic equipment in the extreme Antarctic environment.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the system solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica includes a telescope body module and a control and insulation module, wherein: The telescope body module includes a sealed direct-drive turntable with movable azimuth and altitude axes, a telescope tube, and a camera. The telescope tube and camera are housed together in a sealed enclosure and perform imaging and photography through a light-transmitting window on the sealed enclosure. The telescope tube and camera are fixedly mounted on the sealed direct-drive turntable and rotate with the azimuth and altitude axes of the sealed direct-drive turntable. The control and insulation module is connected to the telescope body module via a single cable. It includes a heating module, a telescope control computer, and a turntable drive controller. The heating module and the turntable drive controller are connected to the telescope control computer within the same module. The telescope control computer uses wireless transmission technology for network communication and is started up through automatic timed self-testing. The entire optoelectronic equipment system is connected to the outside via a single power cable connected to the control and insulation module.

[0007] Furthermore, the heating module includes a heating element and a temperature sensor. The heating element is connected to the external single power cord, and both the heating element and the temperature sensor are connected to the telescope control computer. The automatic timed self-test includes the following steps: Step 1: External power supply activates the heating element immediately, and the heating element heats up the control and insulation module. Step 2: After the heating element has been working for a specified time, attempt to supply power to the telescope control computer at predetermined time intervals until the telescope control computer starts up normally. Step 3: The telescope control computer activates the temperature sensor and determines whether to stop the heating device based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor; at the same time, the telescope control computer controls the turntable drive controller to drive the sealed direct drive turntable to work, so that the telescope body module can perform the observation task.

[0008] Furthermore, in step 2, power is attempted to be supplied to the telescope control computer every 30 minutes.

[0009] Furthermore, the heating device is a heating device with a fixed heat output.

[0010] Furthermore, the telescope body module also includes a snow removal unit, which includes a snow sweeping motor and a snow sweeping brush. The snow sweeping motor drives the snow sweeping brush to rotate back and forth to remove the snow covering the light-transmitting window.

[0011] Furthermore, the telescope body module also includes a snow removal unit, which is a glass with an ITO conductive film coated on the light-transmitting window, and the light-transmitting window is de-snowed and defrosted by heating it with electricity.

[0012] Furthermore, while maintaining stability, the system is particularly suitable for rapid deployment of equipment in the extreme environment of Antarctica.

[0013] The beneficial effects and advantages of this invention are as follows: 1. The modular design adopted in this invention facilitates rapid deployment of equipment in extreme environments such as Antarctica while also ensuring stability; 2. The invention employs a control insulation module, enabling the entire system to achieve a complete cold start even at extremely low temperatures of -70°C; 3. This invention adopts a modular design and wireless transmission technology for data transmission and remote control. The telescope body module and the control and insulation module are connected by only one set of cables, and the entire system has only one power cord. This reduces the difficulty of deployment and the complexity of the system, while improving the stability of the system. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a general system block diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the automatic temperature rise start-up process for controlling the insulation module; Figure 3 This is an example of a telescope body module; The markings in the diagram are: 1-Sealed enclosure; 2-Light transmission window; 3-Snow removal unit; 4-Sealed direct drive turntable. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica, which is suitable for rapid deployment in extreme environments, comprises two main modules: a telescope body module and a control and thermal insulation module. Figure 1 As shown.

[0017] The telescope body module described above is as follows: Figure 1The image shows a sealed photoelectric telescope system. The telescope system includes a telescope tube, a turntable, and a camera. The telescope tube is the optical imaging device, composed of several transmitting and reflecting mirrors, capable of imaging the observed target onto the camera. The telescope tube and camera are enclosed in a sealed housing 1, which completely shields the tube. The photoelectric telescope observes through a light-transmitting window 2 on the sealed housing. Depending on the specific situation, the window of the housing can be equipped with a snow removal unit 3, which has heating, anti-frost, and snow-clearing functions, or a snow-sweeping structure. The telescope turntable is a sealed direct-drive turntable 4, using a sealed direct-drive motor design, to ensure stable operation in extreme environments. The telescope tube and camera are integrally mounted on the sealed direct-drive turntable and rotate with it. See [reference needed]. Figure 3 As shown, the camera control, snow sweeping unit control, etc., are all connected to the sealed direct-drive turntable via internal cables.

[0018] The control and insulation module includes a telescope turntable drive controller, a telescope control computer, and a temperature-fixed heating module. The heating module, turntable controller, and control computer are interconnected within the same module and also connected to the telescope body module via an aviation connector, enabling the control computer to perform various local operations on the telescope. The telescope turntable drive controller controls the rotation of the azimuth and altitude axes of the photoelectric telescope. This design facilitates rapid deployment of the equipment in extremely low-temperature environments. The heating module consists of a heating element with a fixed heat output of 70 degrees Celsius and a temperature sensor.

[0019] For the sealed casing of the telescope body module, a snow-sweeping function can be added to the light-transmitting window. An additional snow-sweeping motor drives a snow-sweeping brush to periodically remove snow from the light-transmitting window. The snow-sweeping motor is connected to the control and insulation module via an aviation connector. Alternatively, the light-transmitting window can be replaced with glass coated with an ITO conductive film, and snow and frost can be removed by electrically heating the window. The heating electrode wires of the ITO conductive film-coated glass are connected to the control and insulation module via an aviation connector.

[0020] To enable cold starts in extremely low-temperature environments, the control and insulation module will be activated in the following order: first, the heating module will be activated, followed by periodic checks and attempts to activate the telescope control computer. The activation logic is as follows: Figure 2As shown. The heating module is equipped with a temperature sensor. Since neither the temperature sensor nor the control computer can cold start in extremely low temperatures, an automatic timed self-test function is required to attempt startup. The specific process is as follows: The heating module is connected to an external power input. The external power supply enables the heating module to start immediately. After working for a period of time, the heating module continuously attempts to supply power to the telescope control computer at predetermined time intervals (preferably 30 minutes in an Antarctic environment of -70°C) until the control computer starts normally. Then, the control computer activates the temperature detection, control turntable, and telescope tube, and decides whether to shut down the heating module based on the detected temperature. The heating or snow-sweeping function of the sealed tube is determined by the telescope control computer based on the imaging results. After the control computer has started, it can determine whether to shut down the heating module as needed and begin the observation task. The control computer is connected to the external network wirelessly to send remote control commands. Therefore, the entire system has only one external power cord and no other external cables, improving the convenience of overall system deployment.

[0021] The telescope body module and the control and insulation module are connected by only one set of cables for internal system connection between the photoelectric telescope equipment and the control box module. This connection uses a quick-plug aviation connector for easy rapid deployment in the field. The entire system uses wireless communication for external connection for data transmission and remote control; the entire design requires only one power cable for external connection.

[0022] The above embodiments are merely typical implementations of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. All equivalent substitutions or improvements made within the scope of the claims of the present invention are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica, characterized in that, It includes the telescope body module and the control and insulation module, wherein: The telescope body module includes a sealed direct-drive turntable, a telescope tube, and a camera. The telescope tube and camera are housed together in a sealed enclosure and perform imaging and photography through a light-transmitting window on the sealed enclosure. The telescope tube and camera are fixedly mounted on the sealed direct-drive turntable and rotate with the azimuth and height axes of the sealed direct-drive turntable. The control and insulation module is connected to the telescope body module via a single cable. It includes a heating module, a telescope control computer, and a turntable drive controller. The heating module and the turntable drive controller are connected to the telescope control computer within the same module. The telescope control computer uses wireless transmission technology for network communication and is started up through automatic timed self-testing. The entire optoelectronic equipment system is connected to the outside via a single power cable connected to the control and insulation module.

2. The optoelectronic equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating module includes a heating element and a temperature sensor. The heating element is connected to the external single power cord, and both the heating element and the temperature sensor are connected to the telescope control computer. The automatic timed self-test includes the following steps: Step 1: External power supply activates the heating element immediately, and the heating element heats up the control and insulation module. Step 2: After the heating element has been working for a specified time, attempt to supply power to the telescope control computer at predetermined time intervals until the telescope control computer starts up normally. Step 3: The telescope control computer activates the temperature sensor and determines whether to stop the heating device based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor; at the same time, the telescope control computer controls the turntable drive controller to drive the sealed direct drive turntable to work, so that the telescope body module can perform the observation task.

3. A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step 2, try to power the telescope control computer every 30 minutes.

4. A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica according to claim 2, characterized in that, The heating device is a heating device with a fixed heat output.

5. A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica according to claim 1, characterized in that, The telescope body module also includes a snow removal unit, which includes a snow sweeping motor and a snow sweeping brush. The snow sweeping motor drives the snow sweeping brush to rotate back and forth to remove the snow covering the light-transmitting window.

6. A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica according to claim 1, characterized in that, The telescope body module also includes a snow removal unit, which is a glass with an ITO conductive film coated on the light-transmitting window, and the light-transmitting window is de-snowed and defrosted by heating it with electricity.

7. A photoelectric equipment system suitable for the extreme environment of Antarctica according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system, while maintaining stability, is particularly suitable for rapid deployment of equipment in the extreme Antarctic environment.

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