Self-cleaning device of railway monitoring equipment
By designing a self-cleaning device, airflow and a heater are used to remove contaminants from the transparent plate, solving the problem of unclear camera image acquisition and improving the monitoring effect of railway monitoring equipment.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202423045719.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-10
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-16
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-12-10
AI Technical Summary
In existing railway monitoring equipment, cameras are easily contaminated by external pollutants, affecting the clarity of image acquisition and resulting in poor monitoring performance.
A self-cleaning device was designed, including a protective cover, a ventilation cover, and an air supply mechanism. Through the cooperation of airflow and a heater, impurities and contaminants on the transparent plate are removed, ensuring the clarity of the camera images.
It effectively removed contaminants from the transparent plate, improved the image clarity of the camera, and enhanced the monitoring effect.
Smart Images
Figure CN223669814U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of railway monitoring technology, in particular to a self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring device. BACKGROUND
[0002] In the prior art, there are few wheel-rail contact point detection methods based on image detection technology. The main research direction in the existing literature is still to measure only one of multiple wheel-rail parameters such as rail profile, wheel profile, and wheel-rail edge, and there is a lack of a comprehensive and complete scheme to calculate the wheel-rail contact point position. In the outdoor driving environment, the camera for image acquisition may be contaminated by dust, and the traditional image processing method has a greater impact on noise and light for extracting laser stripes. Problems such as laser profile deformation, uneven picture brightness, and even complete loss of part of the laser cannot be handled, so that the monitoring device is contaminated by external pollutants and interfered, affecting the monitoring effect. CONTENT OF THE UTILITY MODEL
[0003] The present disclosure provides a self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring device, which can use airflow to realize self-cleaning of the transparent plate, so as to ensure the sharpness of the image collected by the camera and improve the monitoring effect.
[0004] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring device, the railway monitoring device comprising a camera, characterized in that the self-cleaning device comprises:
[0005] a protective cover, the protective cover being provided outside the camera, and the end of the protective cover towards the camera for collecting images being a transparent plate;
[0006] a ventilation cover, the ventilation cover being provided outside the protective cover and forming an airflow channel with the protective cover; the air outlet of the ventilation cover being provided at the end of the ventilation cover towards the transparent plate and forming a blowing slit in communication with the airflow channel, so that the airflow is transported towards the surface of the transparent plate;
[0007] and an air supply mechanism, the air supply mechanism being provided at the air inlet of the ventilation cover for transporting airflow into the ventilation cover.
[0008] In some embodiments, the self-cleaning device of the railway monitoring device is characterized in that the extension length of the air outlet of the ventilation cover is greater than the extension length of the protective cover towards the transparent plate, and the diameter of the air outlet of the ventilation cover is smaller than the diameter of the transparent plate, so that the airflow passing through the blowing slit is all directed towards the surface of the transparent plate.
[0009] In some embodiments, the width of the airflow channel is uniformly distributed along the outer peripheral wall of the protective cover, so that the airflow uniformly flows into the blowing slit along the circumferential direction thereof.
[0010] In some embodiments, the protective cover and the cover body at the camera are both circular annular in cross section, and the cross sections of the two are concentric circles, so that the air flow channel is circular annular.
[0011] In some embodiments, a filter for filtering impurities in the airflow is arranged between the air inlet of the ventilation cover and the air flow channel.
[0012] In some embodiments, a heater is installed in the air flow channel for heating the airflow in the air flow channel when enabled.
[0013] In some embodiments, the heater includes a heating wire arranged in a ring around the outer wall of the protective cover, and the heating wire is uniformly distributed in the air flow channel.
[0014] In some embodiments, the air blowing mechanism includes a fan and a motor; the motor is installed between the air inlet of the ventilation cover and the air flow channel, and the output end of the motor is connected to the fan to drive the fan to rotate.
[0015] In some embodiments, the motor is a direct current brushless motor for adjusting the rotation speed of the fan to adjust the air volume of the air blowing mechanism.
[0016] In some embodiments, the self-cleaning device further includes a controller connected to the camera for receiving images of the camera and monitoring image imaging quality; the air blowing mechanism is connected to and controlled by the controller.
[0017] The self-cleaning device of the railway monitoring equipment provided by the present disclosure blows the airflow through the blowing slot to the surface of the transparent plate, thereby blowing the impurities on the surface of the transparent plate, and the impurities are sent out through the air outlet of the ventilation cover, realizing self-cleaning of the transparent plate, ensuring the clarity of the images collected by the camera, and improving the monitoring effect. At the same time, with the cooperation of the heater, the airflow can be heated to evaporate and dry the rain or snow adhered to the transparent plate, and dry the pollutants with high water content such as soil, thereby reducing the weight of the pollutants, so that when the airflow is blown to the transparent plate through the blowing slot, the impurities are blown away from the transparent plate by the wind, and the impurities are sent out through the air outlet of the ventilation cover, realizing self-cleaning of the transparent plate, ensuring the clarity of the images collected by the camera, and improving the monitoring effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0018] In the following, the present disclosure will be described in more detail based on embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings:
[0019] Figure 1 A structural schematic view of a self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring equipment provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in the figure;
[0020] Figure 2 A structure schematic diagram of the self-cleaning device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure after being radially cut open along the protective cover;
[0021] Figure 3 A structure schematic diagram of the self-cleaning device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure after being radially cut open along the protective cover; Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of A in FIG. 1;
[0022] Figure 4 A structure schematic diagram of the self-cleaning device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure after being radially cut open along the protective cover;
[0023] In the drawings, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and the drawings are not drawn according to the actual proportions.
[0024] In the drawings, 1, protective cover; 11, transparent plate; 2, ventilation cover; 21, air inlet; 22, air outlet; 3, air flow channel; 31, air blowing slit; 4, air blowing mechanism; 41, fan; 42, motor; 5, filter; 6, heater; 7, controller; 8, camera. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0025] In order to make the person skilled in the art better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, and to fully understand and implement the implementation process of the present disclosure how to apply technical means to solve technical problems and achieve corresponding technical effects, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all. The embodiments of the present disclosure and various features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict, and the technical solutions formed thereby are within the protection scope of the present disclosure. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by the person skilled in the art without creative labor shall be within the protection scope of the present disclosure.
[0026] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present disclosure and the above drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily indicate a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data thus used can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device including a series of steps or units does not have to be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but can include other steps or units not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.
[0027] It should be noted that the steps shown in the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions, and although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases the steps shown or described may be executed in a different order than that shown here.
[0028] Heavy-haul railways, with their heavy loads and axle weights, directly exacerbate the dynamic interaction between wheels and rails, leading to increased damage to vehicle treads, wheel wear, and track wear. This directly impacts the smoothness, safety, and operational and maintenance costs of freight trains. In recent years, computer vision technology has developed rapidly, and image detection techniques can effectively detect wheel-rail contact relationships online. The wheel-rail contact trajectory, as the most direct reflection of the wheel-rail contact relationship, plays a crucial role in in-depth analysis of wheelset dynamic behavior and safety. Therefore, researching continuous, online detection methods for wheel-rail contact points based on image detection technology for online monitoring of wheel-rail contact trajectories is particularly important.
[0029] In existing technologies, there are few wheel-rail contact point detection methods based on image detection technology. Current literature mainly focuses on measuring only one of several wheel-rail parameters, such as rail profile, vehicle profile, and wheel-rail edge, lacking a comprehensive and complete scheme for calculating the wheel-rail contact point location. In outdoor driving environments, image acquisition cameras may be contaminated by debris. Traditional image processing methods for extracting laser stripes are significantly affected by noise and lighting conditions, and problems such as laser contour deformation, uneven image brightness, and even complete absence of some laser lines cannot be addressed. This makes the monitoring device susceptible to interference from external contaminants, affecting the monitoring effect.
[0030] This disclosure provides a self-cleaning device for railway monitoring equipment, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the system includes a protective cover 1, a ventilation cover 2, and an air supply mechanism 4. The protective cover 1 is installed over the camera 8, with a transparent plate 11 at the end facing the camera 8 to capture images. The ventilation cover 2 is installed over the protective cover 1, forming an airflow channel 3 between them. The air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2 is located at the end facing the transparent plate 11, forming a blowing slit 31 between it and the transparent plate 11 that communicates with the airflow channel 3, allowing airflow to be delivered to the surface of the transparent plate 11. The air supply mechanism 4 is located at the air inlet 21 of the ventilation cover 2 and is used to deliver airflow into the ventilation cover 2. By supplying airflow into the airflow channel 3 through the air supply mechanism 4, the airflow flows through the blowing slit 31 and blows onto the surface of the transparent plate 11, thereby blowing out impurities from the surface of the transparent plate 11 and delivering them out through the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2. This achieves self-cleaning of the transparent plate 11, ensuring the clarity of the images captured by the camera 8 and thus improving the monitoring effect.
[0031] Example 1
[0032] Figure 1 A structural diagram of a self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring device is provided for the embodiments of the present disclosure. The self-cleaning device is applied to a railway monitoring device, which includes a camera 8. As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , a self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring device includes a protective cover 1, a ventilation cover 2, a blowing mechanism 4, and a heater 6; wherein the protective cover 1 is covered outside the camera 8, and the end thereof facing the camera 8 for collecting images is a transparent plate 11; the ventilation cover 2 is covered outside the protective cover 1, and an air flow channel 3 is formed between the protective cover 1 and the ventilation cover 2; the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2 is arranged at the end thereof facing the transparent plate 11, and a blowing slit 31 in communication with the air flow channel 3 is formed between the air outlet 22 and the transparent plate 11, so that the airflow is transported towards the surface of the transparent plate 11; the air inlet 21 of the ventilation cover 2 is provided with the blowing mechanism 4 for transporting the airflow into the ventilation cover 2; and the heater 6 is installed in the air flow channel 3 for heating the airflow in the air flow channel 3 when in use. Through the cooperation of the blowing mechanism 4 and the heater 6, the rainwater or snow adhered to the transparent plate 11 can be evaporated and blown dry, and the pollutants with high water content such as soil can be blown dry to reduce their weight, so that after the airflow is blown to the transparent plate 11 through the blowing slit 31, the impurities are blown away from the transparent plate 11 by the wind force and are sent out through the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2, thereby realizing the self-cleaning of the transparent plate 11 to ensure the clarity of the images collected by the camera 8 and to improve the monitoring effect.
[0033] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , a filter 5 for filtering the impurities in the airflow is arranged between the air inlet 21 of the ventilation cover 2 and the air flow channel 3. In this embodiment, the filter 5 is a filter screen, which is detachably installed at the air inlet 21 of the ventilation cover 2, so that the airflow entering the air flow channel 3 is filtered to be free of impurities, thereby improving the cleaning effect.
[0034] Further, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the blowing mechanism 4 includes a fan 41 and a motor 42; the motor 42 is installed between the air inlet 21 of the ventilation cover 2 and the air flow channel 3, and the output end thereof is connected to the fan 41 to drive the fan 41 to rotate. The motor 42 is a direct-current brushless motor 42 for adjusting the rotation speed of the fan 41, so as to adjust the air volume of the blowing mechanism 4, thereby flexibly adjusting the wind force according to the cleaning requirement and reasonably using the energy consumption.
[0035] In some embodiments, the protective cover 1 is detachably mounted on the shell of the camera 8, and in the present embodiment, the mounting of the protective cover 1 on the camera 8 is achieved by a threaded structure, so as to facilitate the dismounting of the protective cover 1 for manual cleaning or replacement of the protective cover 1. The transparent plate 11 of the protective cover 1 is a glass plate or other high-definition transparent material, so as to facilitate the camera 8 to collect images through the transparent plate 11.
[0036] In other embodiments, the transparent plate 11 of the protective cover 1 can also be mounted with the protective cover 1 through a detachable structure such as a clamping or threaded connection, so that the transparent plate 11 can be directly dismounted for cleaning or replacement, improving the convenience of manual cleaning and replacement.
[0037] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3 , the width of the air flow channel 3 is uniformly distributed along the outer peripheral wall of the protective cover 1, so that the air flow in the blowing slit 31 is uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction. Specifically, the protective cover 1 and the cover cross section of the ventilation cover 2 at the camera 8 are both circular rings, and the cross sections of the two are concentric circles, so that the air flow channel 3 is circular, and the width of the air flow channel 3 is uniformly distributed along the outer peripheral wall of the protective cover 1, so as to uniformly send air flow to the blowing slit 31, improve the stability of air flow, and further improve the self-cleaning effect.
[0038] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3 , the extension length of the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2 is greater than the extension length of the protective cover 1 towards the transparent plate 11, and the diameter of the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2 is less than the diameter of the transparent plate 11, so that the air flow passing through the blowing slit 31 is all directed to the surface of the transparent plate 11. Further, the edge of the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2 is inclined to the surface of the transparent plate 11, forming an inward blowing slit 31, so as to guide the air flow to blow towards the transparent plate 11, further improving the self-cleaning effect of the transparent plate 11.
[0039] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the heater 6 includes a heating wire arranged in a ring around the outer wall of the protective cover 1, and the heating wire is uniformly distributed in the air flow channel 3, so that the air flow in the air flow channel 3 is uniformly heated, and the air flow is quickly heated, so as to blow and remove the impurities outside the transparent plate 11, improving the self-cleaning effect.
[0040] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 4As shown, the self-cleaning device further comprises a controller 7 connected with the camera 8 for receiving images of the camera 8 and monitoring image imaging quality; the air blowing mechanism 4 and the heater 6 are both connected to and controlled by the controller 7, so that the controller 7 can determine the pollution degree of the transparent plate 11 on the protective cover 1 according to the image imaging quality of the images taken by the camera 8, and then determine whether to clean and whether to start the heater 6 according to the pollution degree. When the cleaning is completed, if the controller 7 determines that the pollution degree of the transparent plate 11 on the protective cover 1 is still very serious, it is determined that the impurities cannot be completely removed by the self-cleaning device, and the controller 7 feeds back fault information so as to prompt the staff to perform manual cleaning or replace the protective cover 1 after receiving the fault information.
[0041] The self-cleaning device of the railway monitoring equipment disclosed by the embodiment of the present application can send air flow into the air flow channel 3 through the air blowing mechanism 4, so that the air flow blows to the surface of the transparent plate 11 after flowing through the blowing slit 31, thereby blowing the impurities on the surface of the transparent plate 11 away and out of the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2, realizing self-cleaning of the transparent plate 11, ensuring the definition of the images collected by the camera 8, and improving the monitoring effect. Meanwhile, the cooperation of the heater 6 can heat the air flow, thereby evaporating and blowing dry the rainwater or snow adhered to the transparent plate 11, blowing dry the pollutants with high water content such as soil, reducing the weight of the pollutants, so that when the air flow blows to the transparent plate 11 through the blowing slit 31, the impurities are blown away from the transparent plate 11 by the wind and out of the air outlet 22 of the ventilation cover 2, realizing self-cleaning of the transparent plate 11, ensuring the definition of the images collected by the camera 8, and improving the monitoring effect.
[0042] In the embodiments provided by the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can also be implemented by other means. The embodiments described above are only schematic, and the functional modules shown in the flowcharts and block diagrams do not necessarily mean that they are implemented in such a way in the actual implementation. In this regard, the functions shown in the flowcharts or block diagrams can be implemented in a different order from that shown or can be implemented at the same time by using a different structure. For example, two consecutive blocks can be implemented at the same time or in reverse order. The functions of the blocks can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The software can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and can include a number of programs stored and / or executed by one or more processors.
[0043] It is to be understood that the terminology "including", "comprising", or any other variation thereof, is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion such that processes, methods, articles, or apparatuses that comprise a list of elements are not necessarily limited to those elements, but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, articles, or apparatuses. Without limitation, an element preceded by "comprises a" does not, without more constraints, foreclose the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.
[0044] Although the disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure are as described above, the above description is only for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any person skilled in the art of the present disclosure can make any modification and change in the form and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, but the patent protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the scope defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A self-cleaning device of a railway monitoring apparatus, the railway monitoring apparatus comprising a camera, characterized in that, The self-cleaning device comprises: a protective cover, which covers the camera and has a transparent plate at the end facing the camera image acquisition; a ventilation cover, which covers the protective cover and forms an air flow channel with the protective cover; the air outlet of the ventilation cover is located at the end facing the transparent plate and forms a blowing slit with the transparent plate, which is in communication with the air flow channel, so that the air flow is transported towards the surface of the transparent plate; and an air supply mechanism, which is arranged at the air inlet of the ventilation cover and is used for transporting air flow into the ventilation cover.
2. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The extension length of the air outlet of the ventilation cover is greater than the extension length of the protective cover towards the transparent plate, and the diameter of the air outlet of the ventilation cover is smaller than the diameter of the transparent plate, so that the air flow passing through the blowing slit is all directed towards the surface of the transparent plate.
3. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The width of the air flow channel is uniformly distributed along the outer peripheral wall of the protective cover, so that the blowing slit uniformly flows into the air flow along the circumferential direction.
4. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, The cross section of the cover body at the camera of the protective cover and the ventilation cover is a circular ring, and the cross sections of the two are concentric circles, so that the air flow channel is a circular ring.
5. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, A filter is arranged between the air inlet of the ventilation cover and the air flow channel for filtering impurities in the air flow.
6. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, A heater is installed in the air flow channel for heating the air flow in the air flow channel when activated.
7. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The heater comprises a heating wire arranged in a ring around the outer wall of the protective cover, which is uniformly distributed in the air flow channel.
8. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air supply mechanism comprises a fan and a motor; the motor is installed between the air inlet of the ventilation cover and the air flow channel, and the output end of the motor is connected to the fan to drive the fan to rotate.
9. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The motor is a direct current brushless motor for adjusting the rotation speed of the fan to adjust the air volume of the air supply mechanism.
10. A self-cleaning device for a railway monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The self-cleaning device further comprises a controller connected to the camera, which is used for receiving the image of the camera and monitoring the image quality; the air supply mechanism is connected to and controlled by the controller.