Connected road system

Abstract

The invention relates to a connected street lighting system (1), comprising a cast iron or steel street lighting piece (2) covering a manhole and having at least one slot (3) through it, sensors, connectors associated with an electronic device (6), and a protective housing (7) for the electronic device (6). According to the invention, the electronic device (6) is fixed to the underside of the street lighting piece (2), which acts as a slot antenna to improve communication between, on the one hand, equipment located inside the manhole or integrated into the electronic device (6) and, on the other hand, equipment located outside the manhole, while preserving the mechanical properties of the street lighting piece (2).

Description

technical field

[0001] The invention relates to the general technical field of connected road systems or devices or to road systems associated with a communication system.

[0002] The present invention relates more particularly to a communicating street system enabling electronic equipment positioned inside the manhole to communicate with other equipment located outside and / or vice versa.

[0003] In general, manholes are constructed to protect gas lines, drinking water supply pipes, sewage and drainage pipes, low- or high-voltage electrical cables, telecommunications cables, pumping stations, and surface water control structures from exposure to the outside. However, for maintenance, inspection, control, operation, upkeep, remote metering, and equipment control, numerous access points are installed on the manholes to facilitate access, regardless of their final use.

[0004] However, given the number of manhole covers, their weight, the significant and necessary intervention times, the movement of vehicles or machinery, the risks of damage or safety accidents due to environmental conditions or contact with other objects, this work cannot be carried out freely at any time.

[0005] Thus, a number of infrastructures are equipped with sensors or controls to facilitate the transmission and / or reception of information necessary for maintenance, inspection, control, operation, remote metering, monitoring, or evaluation of various technical data from the installations, using wired or wireless means, communicating indiscriminately to the outside and / or inside. Transmission in such a system occurs via radio waves through an antenna and a wireless device installed in the manhole to a receiver installed outside and / or vice versa. However, street furniture, generally made of metallic or composite materials, absorbs or attenuates radio waves, which affects the proper transmission of data. Previous technique

[0006] Also described in patent EP 3,763,881 is an antenna device in which at least one notch portion of a predetermined length is formed in an edge of the antenna device as a slot antenna. The device comprises a structure that forms an internal space, a cover, an external space of the structure, a wireless device installed in the internal space, and a base station installed in the external space that transmits a radio wave to the wireless device. Propagation of the wave emitted inside is then permitted by this slot-shaped opening.

[0007] Most often in these devices, the information transmission elements are done either by a wired device, or by a device equipped with an antenna which is positioned inside the road device with rather random, or even mediocre, results, regularly forcing the developers of these remote measurement solutions or others to move an antenna outside the road system. Presentation of the invention

[0008] The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a new road system that improves the reliability of data transmission between the inside and outside of a manhole or vice versa.

[0009] Another objective of the invention is to create a road system comprising a road component, facilitating data transmission without altering the mechanical properties of said road component.

[0010] The purpose assigned to the invention is achieved with the aid of a connected road system, comprising a cast iron or steel road piece sealing a manhole and traversed by at least one slot, sensors, connectors associated with an electronic device and a protective housing for the electronic device characterized in that the electronic device is fixed on the underside of the road piece, which constitutes a slot antenna to improve communication between, on the one hand, equipment located inside the manhole or integrated into the electronic device and, on the other hand, equipment located outside the manhole, while preserving the mechanical properties of the road piece.

[0011] According to an example of an embodiment, the slot(s) in the roadwork component include a sealing material to fill said slot(s) over at least part of their height, thus protecting the electronic device.

[0012] According to one example of implementation, the electronic device includes a support plate fixed on the underside to the street piece by screwing and / or gluing and / or riveting.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the connected road system includes a sealing layer covering the support plate and forming the interface between the support plate and the road component.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the electronic device comprises a support plate fixed to a closing plate, said closing plate being fixed on the underside to the street piece by screwing and / or gluing and / or riveting, the protective housing being fixed to the closing plate so as to confine the internal space of said protective housing, thus protecting the electronic device.

[0015] According to an example of implementation, it includes a sealing layer covering the closing plate and constituting the interface of the closing plate and the roadworks component.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the closing plate includes at least one additional through slot.

[0017] According to an example of implementation, the closing plate and / or the fixing elements of said closing plate on the road part is / are made of stainless steel to avoid the occurrence of galvanic couplings.

[0018] According to one example of implementation, the electronic device integrates a radio reception and transmission system.

[0019] According to one example of implementation, the sensors are integrated into the road system or remotely connected via wired or wireless link.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the electronic device includes means for powering the slot antenna, for transmitting and receiving data and for processing collected data.

[0021] According to one example implementation, sensors, for example of different types, are capable of controlling various equipment, receiving and / or transmitting various information.

[0022] One advantage of the invention lies in its ability to establish radio communications for underground road systems, eliminating the need for a remote antenna. The road component itself acts as a slot antenna for the communication system.

[0023] The roadworks component is then used in its entirety to transmit, for example, information from meters, various sensors such as temperature, vibration, piezometer, seismic, etc., and / or receive control or piloting information, for example, the piloting of regulating valves, opening and closing doors, various motors for lock gates, dams, drawbridges, lighting, cameras, etc. The underground application areas are extremely varied.

[0024] Another advantage of the invention lies in achieving improved reliability in establishing bidirectional communication for the connected road system. Brief description of the figures

[0025] Other features, purposes, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent, by way of non-limiting example, a preferred embodiment. These drawings show: there figure 1 is a perspective and exploded view of an example of an implementation of the road system according to the invention, the figure 2 is a perspective and exploded view of another example of an embodiment of the road system according to the invention, and the figure 3 is a representation of examples of slot shapes of a system made in a piece of road according to the invention. Detailed description of the invention

[0026] There figure 1This illustrates an example of the implementation of a road system 1, whose scope of application is very broad. The system can be larger or smaller to adapt to different applications in the road sector, namely water and communication networks or dry utilities such as gas or electricity, some non-exhaustive examples of which are given below.

[0027] These include, for example, keyholes which most often provide access to water valves, access hatches or covers, roadway manholes, inspection manholes, hydraulic manholes, sidewalk grates, gutter grates, drains, gas manholes, meter manholes (water, telecommunications or other).

[0028] The road system 1 includes a road component 2, an electronic device 6, a protective housing 7 intended to confine the electronic device 6 and sensors fixed on equipment at the bottom of the manhole and / or on the electronic device 6 and / or remote sensors and / or remote controls.

[0029] The roadworks component 2 is preferably made of cast iron or steel and is installed for example on roads, sidewalks, ports, airports, railway networks.

[0030] The road element 2 is traversed by at least one slot 3 of arbitrary shape, the edges of which, at the level of the upper surface of the road element 2, function as an antenna. The slot 3 is advantageously positioned in a central area or away from the peripheral edges of the road element 2.

[0031] The slot(s) 3 contain, for example, a filling material with a thickness of, for example, between 6 and 10 mm. In one embodiment, the thickness of the filling material is 8 mm.

[0032] The filling material advantageously includes a sealing material, for example an elastomer, a resin or other, to protect the electronic device 6 located under the slot 3 and to prevent the retention of water or other elements such as sand or pebbles or water which may infiltrate the protective housing 7.

[0033] The electronic device 6 advantageously includes a support plate 6a fixed on the underside to the roadworks piece 2 by screwing and / or gluing and / or riveting and / or clipping or any other system allowing electrical contact between the electronic device 6 and the roadworks piece.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the support plate 6a is covered with a sealing layer, which constitutes the interface of said support plate 6a and the roadworks piece 2.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the protective housing 7 is fixed to the underside of the roadworks piece 2 by means of screws and includes a peripheral sealing gasket 7a.

[0036] According to another embodiment, the protective housing 7 can itself be made of an elastomer-type material and directly ensure sealing when fixed to the roadworks piece 2.

[0037] According to another embodiment, the protective housing 7 can fully integrate the electronic device 6 into its constituent material, for example a resin, thus facilitating assembly with the road plate 2.

[0038] In the embodiment illustrated on the figure 2A closing plate 8 sealing the protective housing 7 has an additional through slot 8a. This additional slot 8a is, for example, identical or similar to the slot 3 of the roadwork component 2.

[0039] According to another embodiment, the complementary slot 8a and the slot 3 have different shapes.

[0040] The electronic device 6 is fixed to the closing plate 8 on the underside either directly or via an intermediate part.

[0041] The cover plate 8 is, for example, fixed to the underside of the roadworks component 2. The protective housing 7 is sealed by the cover plate 8, preferably via the sealing gasket 7a. The protective housing 7 can also be used as a housing for other electronic devices such as sensors and / or communication systems. The housing 7 can also accommodate one or more expansion ports for connecting sensors, batteries, or other external devices.

[0042] The upper face of the closing plate 8 is advantageously covered with a seal 9 which extends over the entirety of said closing plate 8 and which serves as protection and shock absorption between the roadworks piece 2 and the electronic device 6.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, to prevent galvanic corrosion that occurs when two metals are brought into contact and an electrical potential difference develops between them, the cover plate 8 and the fasteners 10, such as screws, for attaching said cover plate 8 to the roadworks component 2, are made of stainless steel. Any other metallic material that prevents galvanic coupling may be used. The cover plate 8 may, for example, have a thickness of between 2 and 20 mm. In an advantageous embodiment, the thickness of the cover plate is approximately 10 mm.

[0044] According to another embodiment, the closing plate has a cavity, obtained for example by machining, in which the electronic device 6 is arranged, in whole or in part. This cavity is, for example, filled with a sealing resin, covering the electronic device 6.

[0045] The box 7 thus protects the connections that protrude from the resin and the wires that can be connected to connector sockets fixed on said box 7. This allows sensors to be connected directly to the box 7 from the outside, without it being necessary to open it, like a jack or a USB-C socket.

[0046] Another function of housing 7 is to integrate a battery power supply for the system. This battery is housed inside housing 7 and is held in place by clamps attached to bosses created in the plastic part of housing 7.

[0047] According to one embodiment, openings may be created in the housing 7 to allow for the installation of connectors, and the housing 7 may also be filled with a protective gel for the battery. The cover plate 8 is attached to the roadworks component 2, preferably by screwing and / or gluing and / or riveting. A close mechanical and / or electrical connection must be maintained over time to energize one or more slots 3 and to avoid interfering with the transmission of radio waves from the electronic device 6 to the roadworks component 2.

[0048] The electronic device 6 allows interfacing with the roadworks part 2 and exciting the slot 3.

[0049] According to one embodiment, the electronic device 6 incorporates a radio transmission and reception system.

[0050] In one embodiment, specific sensors transmit data by cable or wireless means. The sensors include, for example, at least one sensor chosen from a non-limiting family including a flow meter, an accelerometer, a pressure sensor, a leak detection sensor, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a vehicle presence sensor, a strain gauge, a pavement piezometer, a seismic activity sensor on pavement, a vibration sensor on civil engineering structures.

[0051] The sensor(s) are, for example, integrated into the road system 1 or remotely connected by wired or wireless link.

[0052] The connectors to the road system 1 are extension connectors which allow the connection of remote probes deeper into the manhole.

[0053] There figure 3illustrates non-limiting examples of shapes of slots 3 or 8. Slots 3 and 8 have, for example, a straight, angled or curved shape.

Claims

1. Connected street system (1), comprising a street piece (2) made of cast iron or steel sealing a manhole and through which at least one slot (3) passes, sensors, connectors associated with an electronic device (6) and a protective housing (7) for the electronic device (6), the electronic device (6) being fixed on the underside of the street piece (2), which constitutes a slot antenna to improve communication between, on the one hand, equipment located inside the manhole or integrated into the electronic device (6) and, on the other hand, equipment located outside the manhole, while preserving the mechanical properties of the street piece (2), characterized in thatthe electronic device (6) includes a support plate (6a) fixed to a closing plate (8), said closing plate (8) being fixed on the underside to the street piece (2) by screwing and / or gluing and / or riveting, the protective housing (7) being fixed to the closing plate (8) so as to confine the internal space of said protective housing (7), thus protecting the electronic device (6).

2. Connected road system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the slot(s) (3) of the road part (2) includes a sealing material to fill the said slot(s) (3) over at least part of their height, thus protecting the electronic device (6).

3. Connected road system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the electronic device (6) includes a support plate (6a) fixed on the underside to the roadwork piece (2) by screwing and / or gluing and / or riveting.

4. Connected road system (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that It includes a sealing layer covering the support plate (6a) and forming the interface between the support plate (6a) and the roadworks piece (2).

5. Connected road system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes a sealing layer (9) covering the closing plate (8) and forming the interface between the closing plate (8) and the roadworks piece (2).

6. Connected road system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure plate (8) has at least one additional through slot (8a).

7. Connected road system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the closing plate (8) and / or the fixing elements of said closing plate (8) on the road part (2) is / are made of stainless steel to avoid the occurrence of galvanic couplings.

8. Connected road system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the electronic device (6) incorporates a radio reception and transmission system.

9. Connected road system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The sensors are integrated into the road system (1) or remotely connected by wired or wireless link.

10. Connected road system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the electronic device (6) includes means for powering the slot antenna, for transmitting and receiving data and for processing collected data.

11. Connected road system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The sensors are capable of controlling various equipment, receiving and / or transmitting various information.

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