Medium measuring device and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a medium measuring device and method. Comprising a sensor and a medium measurement result determination unit; the medium measurement result determination unit is in communication connection with the sensor and is used for controlling the sensor to sequentially emit at least three incident electromagnetic wave signals to equipment to be measured; the sensor is used for carrying out differential processing on the received incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal so as to obtain at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, carrying out analog-to-digital conversion on the electromagnetic wave differential signals and then transmitting the electromagnetic wave differential signals to the medium measurement result determination unit; and the medium measurement result determination unit is also used for determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the to-be-measured equipment according to the at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals. According to the invention, the type and the thickness of the medium covering the surface of the to-be-detected equipment are determined according to the at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, so that the accuracy of medium identification, the accuracy of medium thickness detection and the measurement range of the medium thickness can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of media measurement technology, and in particular to a media measurement device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Ice and water accumulation on the surfaces of outdoor equipment such as roads, bridges, wind turbine blades, and aircraft wing surfaces can lead to increased resistance, loose connections, and reduced efficiency. To avoid these issues, it is necessary to inspect the surfaces of outdoor equipment for ice and water accumulation.

[0003] The commonly used medium measurement scheme is the single-frequency or dual-frequency microwave reflection measurement method. Specifically, one or two electromagnetic waves with fixed frequencies are emitted to the device under test, and the presence of ice water is determined by measuring the echo envelope or detecting the voltage.

[0004] However, the above detection scheme has the following problems: it is not sensitive to obstruction, has limited medium recognition capability, and cannot accurately and stably distinguish similar situations such as thin ice, thin water, and air; since the echo size of a single or two frequency points is periodic for ice and water of different thicknesses, single-frequency and dual-frequency points cannot achieve both high precision and wide detection range. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a medium measurement device and method to solve the problems of limited medium identification capability and inability to balance the accuracy and range of medium thickness measurement in existing medium measurement schemes.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a medium measuring device, including a sensor and a medium measuring result determination unit;

[0007] The medium measurement result determination unit is communicatively connected to the sensor and is used to control the sensor to sequentially emit at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test.

[0008] The sensor is used to receive reflected electromagnetic wave signals reflected by the device under test, perform differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal to obtain at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, and transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals to the medium measurement result determination unit after analog-to-digital conversion.

[0009] The medium measurement result determination unit is also used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

[0010] Optionally, the sensor includes a control unit, a microwave source, a microwave routing module, an antenna, a differential processing unit, and an analog-to-digital conversion unit;

[0011] The control unit is communicatively connected to the medium measurement result determination unit and the microwave source, respectively, and is used to receive control commands output by the medium measurement result determination unit, and control the frequency and number of types of the incident electromagnetic wave signal output by the microwave source according to the control commands;

[0012] The microwave routing module is connected to the microwave source, the antenna and the differential processing unit respectively, and is used to receive two identical incident electromagnetic wave signals output by the microwave source, transmit one of the incident electromagnetic wave signals to the antenna, and transmit the other incident electromagnetic wave signal as a reference electromagnetic wave signal to the differential processing unit.

[0013] The antenna is used to transmit the incident electromagnetic wave signal, receive the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal, and transmit the reflected electromagnetic wave signal to the microwave routing module.

[0014] The microwave routing module is also used to transmit the reflected electromagnetic wave signal to the differential processing unit;

[0015] The differential processing unit is also connected to the analog-to-digital conversion unit, and is used to perform differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reference electromagnetic wave signal to obtain the electromagnetic wave differential signal, and transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the analog-to-digital conversion unit.

[0016] The analog-to-digital conversion unit is also connected to the control unit and is used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the control unit after performing analog-to-digital conversion.

[0017] The control unit is also used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal after analog-to-digital conversion to the medium measurement result determination unit.

[0018] Optionally, the sensor may further include a shaping module;

[0019] The shaping module is connected between the microwave routing module and the differential processing unit. It is used to perform amplitude equalization, noise filtering, waveform normalization and timing alignment processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal output by the microwave routing module, and then transmit them to the differential processing unit.

[0020] Optionally, the medium measuring device further includes a temperature and humidity sensor;

[0021] The temperature and humidity sensor is connected to the control unit and is used to acquire the temperature and humidity information of the environment in which the device under test is located, and to transmit the temperature and humidity information to the control unit.

[0022] The control unit is used to transmit the temperature and humidity information to the medium measurement result determination unit;

[0023] The medium measurement result determination unit is used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information.

[0024] Optionally, the medium measurement result determination unit includes a controller, an instruction set memory, a data processing module, and a comprehensive decision model;

[0025] The controller is communicatively connected to both the control unit and the instruction set memory, and is used to retrieve the control instructions from the instruction set memory and transmit the control instructions to the control unit.

[0026] The controller is also used to receive the electromagnetic wave differential signal and temperature and humidity information, and to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the data processing module;

[0027] The data processing module is used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the integrated decision model after performing anomaly removal, smoothing, and state machine anti-jitter processing.

[0028] The comprehensive decision model is used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three processed electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information.

[0029] Optionally, the comprehensive decision model is used to interpolate and correct the electromagnetic wave differential signal based on the temperature and humidity information and a preset temperature and humidity compensation table, compare the corrected electromagnetic wave differential signal with historical experimental data for similarity, and determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on the comparison results.

[0030] Optionally, the medium measurement result determination unit is further configured to output alarm information and continue for a first preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, and to stop outputting alarm information and continue for a second preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold; wherein the preset trigger threshold is greater than the preset release threshold.

[0031] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a medium measurement method, applied to the medium measurement apparatus described in the first aspect, the medium measurement method comprising:

[0032] The sensor is controlled to sequentially emit at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test;

[0033] The sensor acquires at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, wherein the electromagnetic wave differential signals are obtained by the sensor performing differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal.

[0034] The type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test are determined based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

[0035] Optionally, before determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, the medium measurement method further includes:

[0036] Obtain the temperature and humidity information of the environment in which the device under test is located;

[0037] Determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, including:

[0038] The type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test are determined based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information.

[0039] Optionally, the medium measurement method further includes:

[0040] When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, an alarm message is output and continues for a first preset time. When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold, the alarm message is stopped and continues for a second preset time. The preset trigger threshold is greater than the preset release threshold.

[0041] The technical solution of this invention, by setting up a method to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, is beneficial to improving the accuracy of medium identification, the accuracy of medium thickness detection, and the measurement range of medium thickness.

[0042] It should be understood that the description in this section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present invention, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the invention. Other features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0043] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0044] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a medium measuring device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of another medium measuring device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another medium measuring device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 4 A flowchart of a medium measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 5 A flowchart of another medium measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of another medium measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0050] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0051] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or device that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or devices. The terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," etc., indicate orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only used to describe the relative positional relationships between components or constituent parts, and do not specifically limit the specific installation orientation of each component or constituent part.

[0052] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a medium measuring device provided in an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to... Figure 1The medium measurement device in this invention includes a medium sensor 10 and a medium measurement result determination unit 20. The medium measurement result determination unit 20 is communicatively connected to the medium sensor 10 and is used to control the medium sensor 10 to sequentially emit at least three incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test 200. The medium sensor 10 is used to receive the reflected electromagnetic wave signals reflected by the device under test 200, perform differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signals and the reflected electromagnetic wave signals corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signals to obtain at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, and transmit the differential electromagnetic wave signals to the medium measurement result determination unit 20 after analog-to-digital conversion. The medium measurement result determination unit 20 is also used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on the at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

[0053] For example, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 in this embodiment of the invention can be a host computer such as a PC, which can send parameters, view real-time and historical data, configure thresholds and strategies, and export data and logs. The medium sensor 10 in this embodiment of the invention can realize the generation and transmission of electromagnetic wave signals, the comparison sampling of reference and measurement, and analog-to-digital conversion, and can independently complete the closed loop of "acquisition-calculation-reporting". Specifically, when it is necessary to measure the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200, the host computer will first send a control command to the medium sensor 10. After receiving the control command, the medium sensor 10 will sequentially emit at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test 200. It can be understood that when the surface of the device under test 200 is covered with a medium (such as water or ice), the incident electromagnetic wave signal incident on the device under test 200 will be reflected twice. One reflection occurs on the upper surface of the medium, and the other reflection occurs on the surface of the device under test 200 that is in contact with the lower surface of the medium. Electromagnetic waves superimpose in space to obtain reflected electromagnetic wave signals. These reflected electromagnetic wave signals are received by the medium sensor 10. After receiving the reflected electromagnetic wave signals, the medium sensor 10 performs differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signals and the reflected electromagnetic wave signals to obtain electromagnetic wave differential signals. After performing analog-to-digital conversion on the electromagnetic wave differential signals, the signals are transmitted to the upper level. It should be noted that different incident electromagnetic wave signals have different frequencies, and each type of reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponds to a different type of reflected electromagnetic wave signal. Therefore, the number of types of electromagnetic wave differential signals obtained is the same as the number of types of incident electromagnetic wave signals.

[0054] It is understandable that the reflected electromagnetic wave signal and the incident electromagnetic wave signal have the same frequency but different amplitudes. The amplitude difference between the reflected electromagnetic wave signal and the incident electromagnetic wave signal (i.e., the amplitude of the electromagnetic wave differential signal) is related to the relative permittivity and thickness of the medium. Different media have different relative permittivity. Therefore, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 can determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on the electromagnetic wave differential signal.

[0055] It is also understood that the higher the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave signal, the higher the accuracy of the medium thickness measurement, but the smaller the thickness measurement range (maximum measurable thickness); conversely, the lower the frequency of the incident electromagnetic wave signal, the larger the thickness measurement range, but the lower the thickness measurement accuracy. In this embodiment of the invention, by setting a medium measurement result determination unit 20, the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 can be determined based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals. This ensures both the accuracy of the medium thickness detection and a sufficiently large measurement range for the medium thickness.

[0056] Based on dielectric dispersion characteristics, it is known that the dielectric constant of different media varies significantly with electromagnetic wave frequency. Single-frequency sampling can only capture a single reflection characteristic of the medium at a certain frequency, and cannot distinguish cases where the reflection amplitude is the same but the media are different; while multi-frequency sampling can capture the dielectric characteristic fingerprint of the medium across the entire frequency band, and accurate classification can be achieved through feature matching, thereby reducing misjudgments due to environmental interference and improving the accuracy of medium identification.

[0057] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention do not limit the specific values ​​of the number of incident electromagnetic wave signals or the frequency of each incident electromagnetic wave signal. Those skilled in the art can select the number of incident electromagnetic wave signals and the frequency of each incident electromagnetic wave signal according to the accuracy requirements of medium identification, the accuracy requirements of medium thickness detection, and the measurement range requirements of medium thickness. In another feasible alternative embodiment, a multi-frequency sweep or narrowband FMCW system can also be used, followed by subtracting and reducing the dimension of the responses at each frequency point, using ΔV as the discrimination feature.

[0058] This invention, by setting up a method to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, is beneficial to improving the accuracy of medium identification, the accuracy of medium thickness detection, and the measurement range of medium thickness.

[0059] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of another medium measuring device provided in an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to... Figure 2The dielectric sensor 10 in this embodiment of the invention includes a control unit 11, a microwave source 12, a microwave routing module 13, an antenna 14, a differential processing unit 15, and an analog-to-digital conversion unit 16. The control unit 11 is communicatively connected to the dielectric measurement result determination unit 20 and the microwave source 12, respectively, and is used to receive control commands output by the dielectric measurement result determination unit 20, and control the frequency and number of types of incident electromagnetic wave signals output by the microwave source 12 according to the control commands. The microwave routing module 13 is connected to the microwave source 12, the antenna 14, and the differential processing unit 15, respectively, and is used to receive two identical incident electromagnetic wave signals output by the microwave source 12, transmit one incident electromagnetic wave signal to the antenna 14, and transmit the other incident electromagnetic wave signal as a reference electromagnetic wave signal to the differential processing unit 15. Antenna 14 is used to transmit incident electromagnetic wave signals, receive reflected electromagnetic wave signals corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signals, and transmit the reflected electromagnetic wave signals to microwave routing module 13; microwave routing module 13 is also used to transmit the reflected electromagnetic wave signals to differential processing unit 15; differential processing unit 15 is also connected to analog-to-digital conversion unit 16, used to perform differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signals and reference electromagnetic wave signals to obtain electromagnetic wave differential signals, and transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals to analog-to-digital conversion unit 16; analog-to-digital conversion unit 16 is also connected to control unit 11, used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals to control unit 11 after analog-to-digital conversion; control unit 11 is also used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals after analog-to-digital conversion to medium measurement result determination unit 20.

[0060] To protect the medium sensor 10, a protective cover can be selected for the medium sensor 10 based on the distance between the medium sensor 10 and the device under test 200, as well as the signal coverage of the antenna 14. The control unit 11 in the medium sensor 10 can complete the cycle of "switching between three frequency points - stabilization - sampling - calculation - reporting" according to a predetermined rhythm.

[0061] It should be noted that the microwave routing module 13 in this embodiment of the invention can be a circulator or a directional coupler, and those skilled in the art can choose according to cost, size and isolation requirements. The reference channel is preferably obtained from the output of the frequency source, but an equivalent can also be achieved by setting a micro-coupler or power divider at the front end to bring out a sampling arm.

[0062] Optional, see reference Figure 2 In this embodiment of the invention, the medium sensor 10 further includes a first communication module 17; the medium measurement result determination unit 20 includes a second communication module 21; the control unit 11 is communicatively connected to the first communication module 17, and the first communication module 17 is communicatively connected to the second communication module 21.

[0063] For example, the communication connection between the control unit 11 and the medium measurement result determination unit 20 is achieved through the first communication module 17 and the second communication module 21.

[0064] Optionally, the first communication module 17 includes a wireless communication unit and / or a wired communication unit; the second communication module 21 includes a wireless communication unit and / or a wired communication unit.

[0065] For example, the first communication module 17 and the second communication module 21 can be connected via wired means such as RS-485, RS-232, CAN or Ethernet, or via wireless means such as Bluetooth, WiFi, 4G, NB-IoT, 5G.

[0066] Optional, see reference Figure 2 The medium sensor 10 in this embodiment of the invention also includes a shaping module 18; the shaping module 18 is connected between the microwave routing module 13 and the differential processing unit 15, and is used to perform amplitude equalization, noise filtering, waveform regularization and timing alignment processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal output by the microwave routing module 13, and then transmit them to the differential processing unit 15.

[0067] In this embodiment of the invention, the shaping module 18 performs amplitude equalization, noise filtering, waveform regularization, and timing alignment on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal, respectively, to ensure that the signals entering the differential processing unit 15 maintain consistency, thereby meeting the differential operation requirements of the differential processing unit 15 and improving measurement accuracy.

[0068] It should be noted that, to improve robustness, smoothing filters, EWMA, or Kalman filters can also be used.

[0069] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of another medium measuring device provided in an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to... Figure 3 The medium measurement device in this embodiment of the invention also includes a temperature and humidity sensor 30; the temperature and humidity sensor 30 is connected to the control unit 11 and is used to acquire the temperature and humidity information of the environment where the device under test 200 is located, and transmit the temperature and humidity information to the control unit 11; the control unit 11 is used to transmit the temperature and humidity information to the medium measurement result determination unit 20; the medium measurement result determination unit 20 is used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information.

[0070] It is understandable that the temperature and humidity information of the environment in which the device under test 200 is located will affect the accuracy of the reflected electromagnetic wave signal, and thus the accuracy of the electromagnetic wave differential signal. The medium measurement result determination unit 20 can first compensate the electromagnetic wave differential signal through the temperature and humidity information, and then determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on the compensated electromagnetic wave differential signal. This helps to improve the accuracy of the final detection result.

[0071] refer to Figure 2 The medium measurement result determination unit 20 in this embodiment of the invention includes a controller 22, an instruction set memory 23, a data processing module 24, and a comprehensive decision model 25. The controller 22 is communicatively connected to the control unit and the instruction set memory 23, and is used to retrieve control instructions from the instruction set memory 23 and transmit the control instructions to the control unit. The controller 22 is also used to receive electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information, and transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals to the data processing module 24. The data processing module 24 is used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals to the comprehensive decision model 25 after performing anomaly removal, smoothing, and state machine anti-jitter processing. The comprehensive decision model 25 is used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three processed electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information.

[0072] The specific process of media measurement in this embodiment of the invention is as follows: The media measuring device first performs a self-test and starts the temperature and humidity sensor 30 to complete the temperature control preparation; the controller 22 retrieves the control command from the instruction set memory 23 and transmits the control command to the media sensor 10; after receiving the control command, the media sensor 10 will sequentially emit at least three incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test 200, thereby realizing sequential sampling of multiple frequency points. It should be noted that, for each frequency point, the media sensor 10 will sample multiple times within a short window and perform noise reduction synthesis, and then use a fixed compensation table to correct the temperature drift and range. If abnormalities such as saturation, underamplitude, or sample loss are found, it will... Automatic resampling or switching mode (referring to adjusting microwave power); the medium sensor 10 will package the final obtained at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity signals to transmit to the controller 22 of the medium measurement result determination unit 20. After receiving at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information, the controller 22 will first transmit them to the data processing module 24 for anomaly removal, smoothing and state machine anti-jitter processing. The processed electromagnetic wave signals and temperature and humidity signals will be transmitted to the comprehensive decision model 25. The comprehensive decision model 25 can determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on the received electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information.

[0073] Specifically, the comprehensive decision model 25 is used to interpolate and correct the electromagnetic wave differential signal based on temperature and humidity information and a preset temperature and humidity compensation table. The corrected electromagnetic wave differential signal is compared with historical experimental data for similarity, and the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test are determined based on the comparison results.

[0074] Taking the example of three types of electromagnetic wave differential signals, in the comprehensive decision model 25, three sets of electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information at the same time are acquired in each detection cycle. First, the three sets of electromagnetic wave differential signals are interpolated and corrected according to the preset temperature and humidity compensation table formed by the factory calibration, so as to eliminate the zero drift and slope change induced by the environment. The motivation for using three sets of electromagnetic wave differential signals is that single-frequency measurement has multiple solutions caused by period mapping. Although dual-frequency can alleviate it to a certain extent, the effective range and resolution cannot be obtained at the same time. The three frequencies provide sufficient breadth and mutual constraints in the observation space, thereby reducing ambiguity and improving the discriminability of thickness inversion. After compensation and short-time integral denoising, the joint spectral features of the three sets of electromagnetic differential signals are not directly substituted into the closed formula. Instead, they are compared with pre-obtained historical experimental data. This historical experimental database is divided into several environmental equivalent slices based on temperature, humidity, radome material, and installation attitude. The system first selects the slice closest to the field conditions and performs matching based on the shape and relative amplitude relationship of the three-frequency joint trajectory. Then, smooth interpolation is performed in the local neighborhood to obtain the most likely thickness and material combination inference. The material is limited to three types: air, ice, and water. The thickness is obtained by interpolation back along the thickness dimension of the matching curve. To ensure engineering robustness, the discrimination logic incorporates integral averaging within the sampling window and outlier sample removal, and applies slight regularization and smoothing on the time axis. When gain level switching, repeated acquisition, or other markers are detected, the results of this cycle will be automatically downweighted or a rapid retest will be triggered to ensure stability. In specific environments such as high humidity or extremely low temperature, the ice / water discrimination threshold can be slightly adjusted according to preset rules to maintain overall consistency. The above process uses joint observation of three frequencies as its core, supplemented by temperature and humidity compensation and experimental data-driven similarity comparison to achieve continuous and robust determination of material type and thickness. It should be noted that, in addition to multivariate linear or polynomial fitting, ridge regression or lightweight machine learning methods (such as random forest or shallow neural networks) can be used in the solution process.

[0075] In this embodiment of the invention, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 will also periodically report key results and status, and at the same time save a rolling log locally for traceability.

[0076] It should be noted that the dielectric measurement device in this embodiment of the invention completes electrical zero-point and gain calibration, temperature characteristic modeling, and collects features under standard samples to build a database at the factory. It also generates correction tables for common installation postures and casing materials, and all parameters are versioned and verified and permanently saved. After on-site installation, only a no-field baseline and necessary fine-tuning are performed. During operation, online compensation is continuously performed based on temperature and humidity, while long-term baseline drift is monitored. If the drift exceeds a threshold, cleaning or recalibration is prompted. Through the above mechanism, the system can still ensure long-term stable availability without relying on sensitive parameters.

[0077] Optionally, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 is further configured to output alarm information and continue for a first preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, and to stop outputting alarm information and continue for a second preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold; wherein the preset trigger threshold is greater than the preset release threshold.

[0078] For example, the alarm output employs a state mechanism with hysteresis and a minimum hold time to avoid jitter under boundary conditions. Specifically, after determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 can output an alarm message and continue for a first preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, to prompt personnel to perform de-icing or water removal actions on the device under test 200 and eliminate potential hazards in a timely manner. When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold, the alarm message will stop being output and will continue for a second preset time. It should be noted that the specific values ​​of the preset trigger threshold, preset release threshold, first preset time, and second preset time are not limited in this embodiment of the invention, and can be set by those skilled in the art according to actual conditions.

[0079] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: In terms of performance, the system is stable and reliable. By differentially processing the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal, power and gain drift can be significantly suppressed, ensuring long-term output stability. In terms of medium resolution and accuracy, the three-frequency measurement combined with environmental parameter fusion can significantly improve the distinguishability of ice, water, and air, and improve the thickness regression accuracy to the millimeter level. In terms of dynamic performance, it responds quickly and can cover all meaningful water and ice layer thicknesses, and can be further adjusted according to the antenna type and transmission power configuration. In terms of engineering implementation, it adopts integrated packaging, which is easy to expand, and provides a multi-functional communication interface, which is convenient for large-scale deployment and subsequent operation and maintenance.

[0080] This invention also provides a medium measurement method, which is applied to the medium measurement device provided in the above embodiments of this invention. Figure 4 A flowchart of a medium measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown below. Figure 4The medium measurement method in this embodiment of the invention includes:

[0081] S110, the control medium sensor sequentially transmits at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test.

[0082] For example, refer to Figure 1 In this embodiment of the invention, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 can control the medium sensor 10 to sequentially transmit at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test 200.

[0083] S120. At least three electromagnetic wave differential signals are acquired through a medium sensor, wherein the electromagnetic wave differential signals are obtained by differential processing of the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal by the medium sensor.

[0084] For example, refer to Figure 1 The medium measurement result determination unit 20 can acquire at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals through the medium sensor 10.

[0085] S130. Determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

[0086] For example, refer to Figure 1 The amplitude of the electromagnetic differential signal is related to the relative permittivity and thickness of the medium. Different media have different relative permittivity. Therefore, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 can determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on the electromagnetic differential signal.

[0087] This invention, by setting up a method to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, is beneficial to improving the accuracy of medium identification, the accuracy of medium thickness detection, and the measurement range of medium thickness.

[0088] Figure 5 A flowchart of another medium measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 The illustrated embodiments enrich the flow of the medium measurement method and provide a detailed explanation of how to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on the electromagnetic differential signal. (Refer to...) Figure 5 The medium measurement method in this embodiment of the invention further includes:

[0089] S210, the control medium sensor sequentially transmits at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test.

[0090] S220. At least three electromagnetic wave differential signals are acquired through a medium sensor, wherein the electromagnetic wave differential signals are obtained by the medium sensor through differential processing of the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal.

[0091] S230: Obtain the temperature and humidity information of the environment where the device under test is located.

[0092] For example, refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 The temperature and humidity sensor 30 is communicatively connected to the control unit 11 in the medium sensor 10. The temperature and humidity sensor 30 can acquire the temperature and humidity information of the environment where the device under test 200 is located and transmit the acquired temperature and humidity information to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 is also communicatively connected to the medium measurement result determination unit 20 and can transmit the temperature and humidity information to the medium measurement result determination unit 20.

[0093] S240. Determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information.

[0094] For example, refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 The medium measurement result determination unit 20 can determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and temperature and humidity information. The temperature and humidity information of the environment where the device under test 200 is located will affect the accuracy of the electromagnetic wave differential signal. The electromagnetic wave differential signal can be compensated first by the temperature and humidity information, and then the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200 can be determined based on the compensated electromagnetic wave differential signal, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the detection results.

[0095] Figure 6 A flowchart of another medium measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 The illustrated embodiments enrich the flow of the medium measurement method, see reference. Figure 6 The medium measurement method in this embodiment of the invention further includes:

[0096] S310, the control medium sensor sequentially transmits at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test.

[0097] S320. At least three electromagnetic wave differential signals are acquired through a medium sensor, wherein the electromagnetic wave differential signals are obtained by the medium sensor through differential processing of the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal.

[0098] S330. Determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

[0099] S340. When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, an alarm message is output and continues for a first preset time. When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold, the alarm message is stopped and continues for a second preset time. Wherein, the preset trigger threshold is greater than the preset release threshold.

[0100] For example, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 After determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test 200, the medium measurement result determination unit 20 can output an alarm message and continue for a first preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, so as to prompt the staff to perform de-icing or water removal actions on the device under test 200 and eliminate potential hazards in time. When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold, it will stop outputting the alarm message and continue for a second preset time.

[0101] The specific embodiments described above do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations, and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this invention should be included within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A medium measuring device, characterized in that, Includes a sensor and a unit for determining the measurement results of the medium; The medium measurement result determination unit is communicatively connected to the sensor and is used to control the sensor to sequentially emit at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test. The sensor is used to receive reflected electromagnetic wave signals reflected by the device under test, perform differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal to obtain at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, and transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signals to the medium measurement result determination unit after analog-to-digital conversion. The medium measurement result determination unit is also used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

2. The medium measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensor includes a control unit, a microwave source, a microwave routing module, an antenna, a differential processing unit, and an analog-to-digital conversion unit; The control unit is communicatively connected to the medium measurement result determination unit and the microwave source, respectively, and is used to receive control commands output by the medium measurement result determination unit, and control the frequency and number of types of the incident electromagnetic wave signal output by the microwave source according to the control commands; The microwave routing module is connected to the microwave source, the antenna and the differential processing unit respectively, and is used to receive two identical incident electromagnetic wave signals output by the microwave source, transmit one of the incident electromagnetic wave signals to the antenna, and transmit the other incident electromagnetic wave signal as a reference electromagnetic wave signal to the differential processing unit. The antenna is used to transmit the incident electromagnetic wave signal, receive the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal, and transmit the reflected electromagnetic wave signal to the microwave routing module. The microwave routing module is also used to transmit the reflected electromagnetic wave signal to the differential processing unit; The differential processing unit is also connected to the analog-to-digital conversion unit, and is used to perform differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reference electromagnetic wave signal to obtain the electromagnetic wave differential signal, and transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the analog-to-digital conversion unit. The analog-to-digital conversion unit is also connected to the control unit and is used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the control unit after performing analog-to-digital conversion. The control unit is also used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal after analog-to-digital conversion to the medium measurement result determination unit.

3. The medium measuring device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The sensor also includes a shaping module; The shaping module is connected between the microwave routing module and the differential processing unit. It is used to perform amplitude equalization, noise filtering, waveform normalization and timing alignment processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal output by the microwave routing module, and then transmit them to the differential processing unit.

4. The medium measuring device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The medium measuring device also includes a temperature and humidity sensor; The temperature and humidity sensor is connected to the control unit and is used to acquire the temperature and humidity information of the environment in which the device under test is located, and to transmit the temperature and humidity information to the control unit. The control unit is used to transmit the temperature and humidity information to the medium measurement result determination unit; The medium measurement result determination unit is used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information.

5. The medium measuring device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The medium measurement result determination unit includes a controller, an instruction set memory, a data processing module, and a comprehensive decision model; The controller is communicatively connected to both the control unit and the instruction set memory, and is used to retrieve the control instructions from the instruction set memory and transmit the control instructions to the control unit. The controller is also used to receive the electromagnetic wave differential signal and temperature and humidity information, and to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the data processing module; The data processing module is used to transmit the electromagnetic wave differential signal to the integrated decision model after performing anomaly removal, smoothing, and state machine anti-jitter processing. The comprehensive decision model is used to determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three processed electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information.

6. The medium measuring device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The comprehensive decision model is used to interpolate and correct the electromagnetic wave differential signal based on the temperature and humidity information and a preset temperature and humidity compensation table, compare the corrected electromagnetic wave differential signal with historical experimental data, and determine the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on the comparison results.

7. The medium measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The medium measurement result determination unit is further configured to output alarm information and continue for a first preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, and to stop outputting alarm information and continue for a second preset time when the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold; wherein the preset trigger threshold is greater than the preset release threshold.

8. A method for measuring a medium, applied to the medium measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The medium measurement method includes: The sensor is controlled to sequentially emit at least three types of incident electromagnetic wave signals to the device under test; The sensor acquires at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, wherein the electromagnetic wave differential signals are obtained by the sensor performing differential processing on the incident electromagnetic wave signal and the reflected electromagnetic wave signal corresponding to the incident electromagnetic wave signal. The type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test are determined based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals.

9. The medium measurement method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Before determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three of the electromagnetic wave differential signals, the medium measurement method further includes: Obtain the temperature and humidity information of the environment in which the device under test is located; Determining the type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals, including: The type and thickness of the medium covering the surface of the device under test are determined based on at least three electromagnetic wave differential signals and the temperature and humidity information.

10. The medium measurement method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The medium measurement method further includes: When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset trigger threshold, an alarm message is output and continues for a first preset time. When the thickness of the medium reaches a preset release threshold, the alarm message is stopped and continues for a second preset time. The preset trigger threshold is greater than the preset release threshold.

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