Blade imaging system and blade imaging method

Abstract

To provide a blade imaging system etc. capable of accurately grasping the state of a blade.SOLUTION: A blade imaging system 100 comprises a flying object 10 with an imaging apparatus 14 and a control device 30. The control device 30 transmits to the flying object 10 data containing a flying target position of the flying object 10 based on highly precise positioning information and altitude information of a whole-sphere positioning satellite system and rotation information indicative of posture control information of the flying object 10, as flight control information of the flying object 10 when the imaging apparatus 14 images blades 71a, 71b, and 71c of a wind mill 70.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to blade imaging systems and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] As a technology for capturing images of wind turbine blades in a wind power generation facility using a camera on an aircraft, for example, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is known. That is, Patent Document 1 describes that "based on information about the rotation speed of the blade recognized by a blade rotation speed recognition unit, the timing at which the blade to be inspected reaches a position directly in front of the telephoto camera is determined, and the telephoto camera is caused to capture an image of the blade at that timing." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7188832 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 captures an image of the blade to be inspected when it reaches a position directly in front of the telephoto camera based on information about the blade's rotational speed, but there is room for improvement in enabling the user to accurately grasp the condition of the blade.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a blade imaging system etc. that can accurately grasp the condition of the blade. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure provides a blade imaging system including an aircraft equipped with an imaging device and a control device, wherein the control device transmits data to the aircraft as flight control information for the aircraft when the imaging device images a wind turbine blade, the data including a flight destination position of the aircraft based on high-precision positioning information and altitude information of a global positioning satellite system, and rotation information indicating attitude control information of the aircraft. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a blade imaging system etc. capable of accurately grasping the condition of a blade. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a blade imaging system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an aircraft of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an input information table of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a wind turbine-related table of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a horizontal angle table of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a height position table of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a flight target position management table of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram relating to the concept of the center position of the wind turbine and the angle to the horizontal direction in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram relating to an offset amount of the wind turbine in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 10]FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram relating to the starting position of the wind turbine and the nacelle azimuth angle in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams relating to a separation distance and an imaging range in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a circular orbit in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram relating to the concept of horizontal angle and horizontal position in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 14A] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram relating to rotation information in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 14B] FIG. 11 is another explanatory diagram relating to rotation information in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of blades during inspection in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram relating to the vertical height position of the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 17] 10 is an explanatory diagram regarding changes in the horizontal angle and the flight target position accompanying changes in the nacelle azimuth angle in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 18] 11 is a flowchart of a process associated with a change in the nacelle azimuth angle in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding setting of a flight route in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 20] 1 is an explanatory diagram relating to setting a flight destination position of a flight route in a blade imaging system according to an embodiment; [Figure 21A] 10 is a flowchart of a process related to inspection of a blade in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 21B] 10 is a flowchart of a process related to inspection of a blade in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. [Figure 22]FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an image information database in the blade imaging system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] <Embodiment> <Blade imaging system configuration> FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a blade imaging system 100 according to an embodiment. The blade imaging system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a system for capturing images of blades 71a to 71c of a wind turbine 70 of a wind power generation facility by an imaging device 14 of an aircraft 10, and obtaining the resulting image information.

[0010] The wind turbine 70 includes a tower 72 extending vertically from the ground, a nacelle 73 (see FIG. 9) installed on the upper side of the tower 72, a hub 74 (see FIG. 9) installed at the tip of the nacelle 73, and a plurality of blades 71a, 71b, and 71c installed on the hub 74. The wind turbine 70 also includes a gearbox (not shown), a generator (not shown), and a power converter (not shown). The generator generates a predetermined amount of electricity as the blades 71a, 71b, and 71c rotate, and the generated electricity is transmitted to a power grid (not shown) via a power cable (not shown).

[0011] The blades 71a, 71b, and 71c of the wind turbine 70 may wear out with age and may also break or crack. There are different types of blades, and the blades have different shapes and dimensions depending on the type. In this embodiment, the control device 30 creates a flight route for the fixed blade type to be inspected by the imaging device 14 of the flying object 10 in advance, and the flight route corresponding to the blade type is registered in the wind turbine information database 33a in advance. The control device 30 extracts related data corresponding to the blade type from the wind turbine information database 33a to create a flight route, flies the flying object 10 based on the flight route, and images the blade to be inspected by the imaging device 14 of the flying object 10.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the blade imaging system 100 includes an aircraft 10 and a control device 30. Various information is transmitted and received between the aircraft 10 and a controller (not shown), and various information is transmitted and received between the controller (not shown) and the control device 30. As a form of such communication, for example, wireless communication via a multi-carrier base station (not shown) may be performed. In the wireless communication, communication standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (fourth generation mobile communication system), and 5G (fifth generation mobile communication system) are appropriately used.

[0013] When inspecting the blades 71a, 71b, and 71c of the wind turbine 70, the flying object 10 captures the blades to be inspected with the imaging device 14 based on the flight command information described above as well as flight destination information indicating the order in which the blades are imaged. The image information, which is the result of imaging, is stored in a storage medium, either the storage unit 18 of the flying object 10 or the storage unit 33 of the control device 30. If the image information cannot be directly transmitted from the flying object 10 to the control device 30 due to restrictions under the Radio Law, the image information is stored in the storage unit 18 of the flying object 10, and after the inspection is completed, it is stored in a PC via an SD card or the like, and then transmitted from the PC to the control device 30 via a network. If there is no such restriction, the image information is directly transmitted from the flying object 10 to the control device 30 and stored in the storage unit 33 of the control device 30. Next, the configuration of the flying object 10 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0014] <Flying object> FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an aircraft 10. The aircraft 10 shown in Fig. 2 is an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies based on flight command information from a controller (not shown). For example, a drone is used as such an aircraft 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the aircraft 10 includes a main body 11, arms 12a-12d, propellers 13a-13d (also called rotors or rotating wings), an imaging device 14, a camera arm M1, and skids K1 and K2.

[0015] The main body 11 has a function of accommodating a control board (not shown) and various sensors (not shown) as well as holding the arms 12a to 12d and the camera arm M1. The arms 12a to 12d are rod-shaped members whose base ends are attached to the main body 11. In the example of FIG. 2, the arms 12a and 12b are attached to the front part of the side of the main body 11. In addition, other arms 12c and 12d are attached to the rear part of the side of the main body 11. These four arms 12a to 12d extend radially from the main body 11 in a plan view.

[0016] Propeller 13a is a rotor installed near the tip of arm 12a. Motor 15a (see FIG. 1) is provided with a central axis of rotation perpendicular to the direction in which arm 12a extends. Propeller 13a rotates in a predetermined manner as motor 15a (see FIG. 1) rotates. The same applies to propellers 13b to 13d installed in a one-to-one relationship on the remaining arms 12b to 12d.

[0017] Propellers adjacent in the circumferential direction (for example, propellers 13a, 13b) rotate in opposite directions. The propellers 13a to 13d rotate in conjunction with the driving of motors 15a to 15d (see FIG. 1), generating lift, and allowing the flying object 10 to fly. The rotation speeds of the motors 15a to 15d (see FIG. 1) are individually controlled, so that the flying object 10 can ascend and descend vertically and obliquely, as well as hover (stop in mid-air), move forward and backward, move left and right, and rotate left and right.

[0018] The imaging device 14 is a camera for capturing images of the blades 71a to 71c (see FIG. 1) of the wind turbine 70 (see FIG. 1). In the example of FIG. 2, the imaging device 14 is installed on the underside of the main body 11 via a camera arm M1. The skids K1, K2 are a pair of legs for grounding the aircraft 10 on the ground. Note that the configuration of the aircraft 10 is not limited to the example of FIG. 2. Next, returning to FIG. 1, the configuration of the control system of the aircraft 10 will be described.

[0019] 1, in addition to the components described above. The position and attitude sensor 16 is a sensor for acquiring information used to calculate the current position (flight position) and attitude (flight attitude) of the aircraft 10. Although not shown, the position and attitude sensor 16 is equipped with a receiver for receiving radio waves (navigation signals) transmitted from a predetermined navigation satellite, as well as an acceleration sensor for measuring the acceleration of the aircraft 10, an electronic compass for measuring the orientation of the aircraft 10, and a gyro sensor for measuring the angular velocity of the aircraft 10.

[0020] It is advisable to use a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for the radio waves (navigation signals) transmitted from the navigation satellites. This makes it possible to obtain highly accurate positioning information including the latitude and longitude of the aircraft 10 at every moment. As shown in FIG. 1, each measurement value of the position and attitude sensor 16 is output to a control unit 19.

[0021] The communication unit 17 is a communication module that communicates with a controller (not shown) or the control device 30. The communication unit 17 receives flight destination position information via the controller (not shown) or from the control device 30 and outputs it to the control unit 19.

[0022] Although not shown, the storage unit 18 includes non-volatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a register. The storage unit 18 stores various programs and data. The various programs include a program for defining the flight route and flight attitude of the aircraft 10 when inspecting the blades 71a to 71c. The various data includes position and attitude information and route information of the aircraft 10. Details of the position and attitude information and route information will be described later.

[0023] The control unit 19 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), which reads out and develops various programs and various data stored in the storage unit 18, and executes predetermined processing. The control unit 19 includes, as functional components realized by the programs, a position and attitude calculation unit 19a, a flight control unit 19b, an imaging command unit 19c, and an image information output unit 19d.

[0024] The position / attitude calculation unit 19a calculates the current flight position and flight attitude of the aircraft 10 based on each measurement value of the position / attitude sensor 16. In this embodiment, in order to improve the detection accuracy of the current flight position of the aircraft 10, the aircraft 10 is configured to acquire high-precision positioning information based on RTK (Real Time Kinematic)-GNSS positioning. The source from which the high-precision positioning information is acquired may be, for example, a data distribution system (not shown) based on an electronic reference point (not shown), or an RTK base station (reference station: not shown).

[0025] In addition, the position / attitude calculation unit 19a calculates the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the flying object 10 based on the navigation signal input from the position / attitude sensor 16, and converts it into data of the flight position in the coordinate system of the flight space based on a predetermined conversion rule. In addition, the position / attitude calculation unit 19a calculates the orientation of the flying object 10 in the coordinate system of the flight space based on the measurement signal of an electronic compass (not shown) input from the position / attitude sensor 16. In addition, the position / attitude calculation unit 19a calculates the current flight attitude of the flying object 10 in the coordinate system of the flight space based on the measurement signal of an acceleration sensor (not shown) and a gyro sensor (not shown) input from the position / attitude sensor 16, as well as the orientation of the flying object 10. The position / attitude information calculated by the position / attitude calculation unit 19a is stored in the storage unit 18.

[0026] The flight control unit 19b controls the motors 15a-15d so that the moment-to-moment position and attitude information of the aircraft 10 conforms to the predetermined route information. The above-mentioned "route information" is information that specifies the flight route and flight attitude of the aircraft 10 when inspecting the blades 71a, 71b, and 71c, and is transmitted from the control device 30 to the aircraft 10 via a controller (not shown).

[0027] The flight route is a continuous link between the flight destination positions from the imaging start position to the imaging end position of the blade to be inspected based on the imaging order. The flying object 10 moves at a predetermined moving speed between the flight destination positions, and the moving speed of the flying object 10 is set to be approximately zero (hovering state) at the flight destination positions. When the setting of the attitude, etc. of the flying object 10 at the predetermined flight destination position is completed, the flight control unit 19b outputs an imaging possible flag to the imaging command unit 19c.

[0028] When an imaging possible flag is input from the flight control unit 19b, the imaging command unit 19c outputs an imaging command signal to the imaging device 14. This causes an image of the blade to be inspected (e.g., blade 71a). When imaging of the blade to be inspected is completed, the imaging command unit 19c outputs an imaging end flag to the flight control unit 19b. When an imaging end flag is input from the imaging command unit 19c, the flight control unit 19b moves the flying object 10 to the next flight destination position based on a predetermined flight route.

[0029] When image information that is the result of imaging by the imaging device 14 is input, the image information output unit 19d outputs this image information to the storage unit 18 (storage medium) in association with "blade-related information" for identifying the blade to be imaged and "imaging conditions" at the flight destination position. As a result, the image information that is the result of imaging the blade to be inspected is stored in the storage unit 18. The stored image information is stored in the PC from the storage unit 18 via the storage medium, and is transmitted from the PC to the control device 30 via the network.

[0030] <Controller> A controller (not shown) controls the flying object 10 in a predetermined manner based on route information transmitted from the control device 30 and measurement values ​​of each sensor of the flying object 10.

[0031] Although the pilot can also operate the controller (not shown), in this embodiment, the operation performed by the pilot is merely to turn on the controller (not shown) and set it to a state in which data can be transmitted and received. Therefore, there is no particular need for the pilot to operate the position or attitude of the aircraft 10.

[0032] <Control device> The control device 30 has a function of creating a flight route for the flying object 10 and managing the imaging results of the imaging device 14. Although not shown, a computer having a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, and various interfaces is used as the control device 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 30 includes an input / output unit 31, a processing unit 32, and a storage unit 33.

[0033] The input / output unit 31 communicates with a controller (not shown) or the flying object 10, and also functions as a user interface. The input / output unit 31 acquires predetermined input information from the wind turbine information database 33a based on a user's operation. Here, the "input information" refers to information used when specifying the blade to be inspected (e.g., blade 71a) and further specifying the flight destination position of the flying object 10 when specifying the orientation (imaging angle) of the imaging device 14 when imaging this blade.

[0034] Furthermore, the input / output unit 31 transmits the flying object control information and attitude control information set by the processing unit 32 to the flying object 10 via a controller (not shown). Here, the "flying object control information" refers to the flight destination position when imaging the blade. Furthermore, the "attitude control information" refers to horizontal rotation angle information of the flying object 10 set so that the imaging device 14 faces the starting position at each flight destination position. The input / output unit 31 also has a function of receiving image information that is the imaging result of the blade to be inspected.

[0035] The processing unit 32 creates a flight route for the aircraft 10 and manages image information of the blades. The details will be described later, but the processing unit 32 has the following functions (A) to (F).

[0036] (A) The processing unit 32 acquires predetermined input information, such as site information, unit information, blade number, horizontal angle, and nacelle azimuth angle information, via the input / output unit 31, identifies the blade type based on the site information and unit information, and uses this blade type as a search key to extract predetermined relevant information at the time of blade inspection from the wind turbine information database 33a.

[0037] (B) The processing unit 32 refers to the wind turbine information database 33a based on the horizontal angle that is the input information, and extracts the horizontal angle, the corresponding rotation information, the flight destination position X (latitude), and the flight destination position Y (longitude). (C) The processing unit 32 calculates the flight target position Z (altitude) based on the fixed position information of the target blade at the time of predetermined inspection, the hub height of the specified related information, and the height position corresponding to the blade type.

[0038] (D) When the nacelle azimuth angle of the wind turbine 70 is changed to an angle other than the reference angle, the processing unit 32 reads the reference data for the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle. Then, the processing unit 32 calculates the angle change amount of the nacelle azimuth angle due to this change, and reflects this angle change amount in the rotation information θ and horizontal angle of the reference data to correct it. Then, the processing unit 32 calculates all flight destination positions (latitude, longitude, altitude) at the corrected horizontal angle to create change-reflecting data.

[0039] (E) The processing unit 32 creates a flight route by setting flight destination positions from the imaging start position to the imaging end position in the order of imaging, and transmits route information including this flight route to the flying object 10. (F) The processing unit 32 stores the image information of the captured blade, which is acquired via the input / output unit 31, in the image information database 33b.

[0040] 1 has a wind turbine information database 33a stored in advance, and also has an image information database 33b updated as appropriate. The wind turbine information database 33a is a database for managing information used to capture images of the blades 71a-71c. The image information database 33b is a database for managing image information that is the result of capturing images of the blades 71a-71c.

[0041] <Wind Turbine Information Database> The wind turbine information database 33a shown in Fig. 1 is configured to include a total of five tables shown in Fig. 3 to Fig. 7. Specifically, the wind turbine information database 33a is configured to include an input information table 41 (see Fig. 3), a wind turbine related table 42 (see Fig. 4), a horizontal direction angle table 43 (see Fig. 5), a height position table 44 (see Fig. 6), and a flight destination position management table 45 (see Fig. 7).

[0042] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the input information table 41. As shown in FIG. The input information table 41 is a data table in which predetermined input information input via the input / output unit 31 (see FIG. 1) is stored. The site column 41a shown in FIG. 3 stores identification information of the site where the wind turbine 70 (see FIG. 1) is installed. The location of the site is specified based on the site identification information. The unit column 41b stores a predetermined number which is unit information of the wind turbine 70. The blade number column 41c stores individual identification information of each of the blades to be inspected (e.g., blades 71a, 71b, 71c: see FIG. 1).

[0043] The horizontal angle column 41d stores information on horizontal angles for determining the horizontal position when the blades are imaged in the circumferential direction. Here, the "horizontal angle" refers to relative angle information of a point moved a certain angle clockwise in a plan view from the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle around the central axis (rotation axis) of the blades 71a to 71c, and is set in advance according to the blade type. The nacelle azimuth column 41e stores a nacelle azimuth angle in which the azimuth indicated by the direction of the hub tip center 74a (see FIG. 9) of the wind turbine 70 is taken as the azimuth indicated by the entire nacelle. This nacelle azimuth angle is specified by angle information within the range of 0° to 359°.

[0044] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the wind turbine-related table 42. The wind turbine-related table 42 shown in Fig. 4 is a data table that stores information about the blades 71a, 71b, 71c (see Fig. 1) and the wind turbine 70 (see Fig. 1). The site column 42a shown in Fig. 4 stores identification information for the site where the wind turbine 70 is installed. The unit column 42b stores a predetermined number that is unit information for the wind turbine 70. The wind turbine model column 42c stores information indicating the model of the wind turbine 70.

[0045] The blade number column 42d stores individual identification information of all blades belonging to the type of wind turbine 70 (e.g., blades 71a, 71b, 71c: see FIG. 1). The blade type column 42e stores information indicating the blade type corresponding to the blade's individual identification information. The blade length column 42f stores the longitudinal length of the blade corresponding to the blade type. The wind turbine center position (latitude) column 42g and the wind turbine center position (longitude) column 42h store the latitude and longitude of the center position of the wind turbine 70.

[0046] The hub height column 42k stores height information from the ground surface to the hub center of the wind turbine 70. The offset amount column 42m stores distance information from the center position of the wind turbine 70 in a planar view to the central axis (rotation axis) of the blade to be inspected. The origin position (latitude) column 42n and the origin position (longitude) column 42p store position information of a point that is moved horizontally by a predetermined offset amount from the center position of the wind turbine 70 in a planar view, which is determined by the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle.

[0047] 4, the information in the site column 42a and the unit column 42b corresponds to the information in the site column 41a and the unit column 42b of the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3) described above. The site and unit information is used as a key for linking the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3) with the wind turbine-related table 42. For example, when a specific site and unit are specified in the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3), the type of wind turbine is identified, and the hub height and starting point position (latitude, longitude), which are information corresponding to this site and unit, are extracted from the wind turbine-related table 42.

[0048] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the horizontal angle table 43. As shown in FIG. The horizontal angle table 43 shown in FIG. 5 is a data table indicating horizontal angles for determining the horizontal position when the blades of the wind turbine 70 are imaged from the circumferential direction, and is set based on the blade type of the wind turbine 70. The blade type column 43a shown in FIG. 5 stores information indicating the blade type. The rotation information column 43b stores rotation information of the flying object 10. Here, the "rotation information" is information indicating the horizontal rotation angle of the flying object 10 (see FIG. 1) based on a predetermined orientation set so that the orientation of the imaging device 14 becomes the starting point position after the flying object 10 moves to the flight destination position. This "rotation information" is used as attitude control information of the flying object 10 after the flying object 10 moves to the flight destination position. The horizontal angle column 43c stores information on horizontal angles for determining the flight destination position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) when the blades are imaged from the circumferential direction.

[0049] A flight destination position X (latitude) column 43d and a flight destination position Y (longitude) column 43e store information on the latitude and longitude of the flight destination position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) at the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle.

[0050] The information in the blade type column 43a of the horizontal angle table 43 corresponds to the information in the blade type column 42e (see FIG. 4) of the wind turbine-related table 42 (see FIG. 4). The blade type information is used as a key for linking the wind turbine-related table 42 (see FIG. 4) with the horizontal angle table 43. For example, when a specific site, unit number, and horizontal angle are specified in the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3), the wind turbine type and blade type are identified based on the wind turbine-related table 42 (see FIG. 4), and further, the rotation information, horizontal angle, flight target position X (latitude), and flight target position Y (longitude) are extracted from the horizontal angle table 43 based on the blade type and horizontal angle.

[0051] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the height position table 44. As shown in FIG. 6 is a data table showing the vertical height position when an image of an inspection target blade is captured. Although details will be described later, in this embodiment, an image is captured while the inspection target blade (e.g., blade 71a: see FIG. 1) is stopped and positioned so that the tip of the blade faces vertically upward.

[0052] 6 stores information on the blade type. The height position column 44b stores information on the vertical height position of the blade, corresponding to the blade type, when the height position of the hub center of the wind turbine 70 is set as the reference (Z=0). The separation distance column 44c stores the horizontal separation distance within the range at which the imaging device 14 (see FIG. 1) focuses on the blade for each of the height positions described above when the imaging device 14 captures an image of the blade.

[0053] In the height position table 44, the information in the blade type column 44a corresponds to the information in the blade type column 42e (see FIG. 4) of the wind turbine-related table 42 (see FIG. 4). The blade type information is used as a key for linking the wind turbine-related table 42 (see FIG. 4) with the height position table 44. For example, when a specific site and unit number are specified in the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3), the blade type is identified based on the wind turbine-related table 42 (see FIG. 4), and further, each value of the height position and the clearance distance corresponding to the blade type is extracted from the height position table 44.

[0054] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the flight destination position management table 45. The flight destination position management table 45 shown in Fig. 7 is a data table including flight destination positions. As shown in the lower part of Fig. 7, the flight destination position management table 45 includes reference data and change reflected data.

[0055] The "reference data" shown in FIG. 7 is information including rotation information, horizontal angle, and flight destination position when the nacelle azimuth angle of the wind turbine 70 (see FIG. 9) is the reference angle. In the example of FIG. 7, the reference angle β 0 The “reference data” includes the values ​​of the nacelle azimuth angle column 45a, the rotation information column 45b, the horizontal angle column 45c, the flight destination position X (latitude) column 45d, the flight destination position Y (longitude) column 45e, and the flight destination position Z (altitude) column 45f when the horizontal angle is set to 0°.

[0056] The "change reflected data" is information including rotation information, horizontal angle, and flight destination position when the nacelle azimuth angle is changed from the reference angle. In the example of Fig. 7, each value of the nacelle azimuth angle column 45g to the flight destination position Z column 45p is included in the "change reflected data." Note that the change of the nacelle azimuth angle will be described later.

[0057] The values ​​of the rotation information column 45b, the horizontal direction angle column 45c, the flight destination position X (latitude) 43d, and the flight destination position Y (longitude) 43e included in the "reference data" of the flight destination position management table 45 correspond to the values ​​of the rotation information column 43b, the horizontal direction angle column 43c, the flight destination position X (latitude) column 43d, and the flight destination position Y (longitude) column 43e of the horizontal direction angle table 43 (see FIG. 5). The values ​​of the flight destination position Z (altitude) column 45f are calculated as altitude information according to a predetermined conversion rule by adding the values ​​of the height position column 44b of the height position table 44 (see FIG. 6) to the hub height of the wind turbine related table 42. This is because it is assumed that the blade to be imaged is arranged in a vertically upward position. Also, when the blade to be imaged is arranged in a vertically downward position, the altitude information is calculated by subtracting the values ​​of the height position column 44b of the height position table 44 (see FIG. 6) from the hub height. Whether the blade to be inspected is positioned "vertically upward" or "vertically downward" is determined based on the user's operational policy. Up to this point, a method has been shown in which the flight destination position is managed in the wind turbine information database 33a in the horizontal angle table 43 (see FIG. 5) and the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7), but it is also possible to deal with a method in which the information managed in the wind turbine information database 33a is reduced as much as possible. In this case, the management information in the wind turbine related table 42 (see FIG. 4) is limited to the offset amount column 42m, and the management information in the horizontal angle table 43 (see FIG. 5) is limited to the horizontal angle column 43c, and the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) is not necessary. Specifically, the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle and the arrangement of the blades to be inspected are determined in advance, and the processing unit 32 of the control device 30 extracts the information necessary to calculate the flight destination position from the wind turbine information database 33a, namely, "rotation information, height position, separation distance, wind turbine center position (latitude, longitude), hub height, and offset amount," based on the input information "site, unit number, blade number, horizontal angle, and nacelle azimuth angle (current angle)." Then, the processing unit 32 calculates the starting position from the center position (latitude, longitude) of the wind turbine, the offset amount, and the nacelle azimuth angle (current angle), calculates the angle change amount of the nacelle azimuth angle (amount of change from the reference angle to the current angle), corrects the angle change amount by reflecting it in the extracted rotation information and horizontal angle, and calculates the flight destination position (latitude, longitude) at the corrected horizontal angle. Furthermore, the processing unit 32 calculates the flight destination position (altitude) from the hub height and the height position. Then, the processing unit 32 creates a flight route in which all the calculated flight destination positions (latitude, longitude, altitude) are arranged in order from the image capture start position to the image capture end position, and transmits the flight route and the rotation information and horizontal angle corresponding to each flight destination position from the temporary storage area provided in the storage unit 33 to the storage unit 18 of the flying object 10. According to this method, the number of calculation opportunities of the processing unit 32 of the control device 30 increases, but the information managed in the wind turbine information database 33a can be reduced as much as possible. Next, the information in the wind turbine information database 33a in FIG. 1 (that is, the tables in FIGS. 3 to 7) will be described in more detail.

[0058] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram relating to the concept of the central position of the wind turbine 70 and the angle with the horizontal direction. The central position of wind turbine 70 (the central position of tower 72 in a plan view) is the central position of the tower ground surface at the location where wind turbine 70 is located, expressed as (latitude, longitude). For the horizontal angle, the concept of azimuth angle (angle rotated clockwise with true north as 0°) is used, with the east-west direction defined as the X-axis direction and the north-south direction defined as the Y-axis direction. In the example of Fig. 8, the X-coordinate and Y-coordinate values ​​of the central position of wind turbine 70 are expressed as (X0, Y0).

[0059] FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram relating to the offset amount δ of the wind turbine 70. As shown in FIG. The offset amount δ shown in Fig. 9 is the horizontal distance from the center position of the wind turbine 70 (the center position of the tower 72 in a plan view) to the central axis (rotation axis) of the blades 71a to 71c. This offset amount δ is associated with the type of the wind turbine 70 and the blade type, and is stored in advance in the wind turbine-related table 42 (see Fig. 4) (see the offset amount column 42m in Fig. 4). The offset amount δ is used to identify the starting point position.

[0060] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram relating to the starting position of the wind turbine 70 and the nacelle azimuth angle. The starting position is a position horizontally offset from the center of the wind turbine 70 to the central axis of the blade in a plan view. In other words, the starting position is a position that serves as a starting point (reference) when setting a flight destination position when imaging the blades 71a to 71c of the wind turbine 70, and the central axis of the blade to be inspected passes through this point. The nacelle azimuth angle indicates the angle rotated horizontally clockwise from due north to the central axis of the blades of the wind turbine, which are arranged vertically upward or downward. Note that the symbol W in Fig. 10 indicates a simplified diagram of the nacelle and hub in a plan view, and since the hub tip center 74a (see Fig. 9) is on an extension of the line connecting the center position of the wind turbine 70 and the starting point position, the direction indicated by the direction of the hub tip center 74a (see Fig. 9) of the wind turbine 70 is expressed as the direction of the entire nacelle, as the nacelle azimuth angle. In addition, the nacelle azimuth angle is provided with a reference angle β 0 In the example of FIG. 10, the reference angle β 0is set at an azimuth angle of 0°, and the starting position (X0, Y0+δ) is offset horizontally by a predetermined offset amount δ from the center position (X0, Y0) of the wind turbine 70 in a plan view. * ,Y0 * ) is set. The offset amount δ is set to the value of the distance from the center position (X0, Y0) of the wind turbine 70 to the central axis (rotation axis) of the blades 71a to 71c. In the example of FIG. 10, the reference angle β 0 In the above example, the reference angle is set to an azimuth angle of 0°, but the reference angle is not limited to 0°. When the reference angle is set to a value other than 0°, the starting point position (X0 * ,Y0 * ) is set.

[0061] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram relating to the separation distance L and the imaging range. As shown in Fig. 11, the imaging device 14 includes a lens 14a and an image sensor 14b. The lens 14a is an optical element that refracts light and focuses it on the image sensor 14b. The image sensor 14b photoelectrically converts the light incident through the lens 14a to generate imaging data. The imaging range is the range that can be imaged by the imaging device 14, and is composed of X and Y in Fig. 11, which are determined by the separation distance L.

[0062] The separation distance L is a predetermined horizontal distance from an origin position set within a range where the imaging device 14 focuses on the blade when the imaging device 14 captures an image of the blade of the inspection target of the wind turbine 70. The data of the origin position described above is used as a reference position (origin) on the XY plane when calculating the separation distance L. The separation distance L is set in advance within a range where the imaging device 14 focuses on the blade when capturing an image of the blade, based on the performance of the imaging device 14 (lens 14a, image sensor 14b, focal length, angle of view, etc.). In this embodiment, a predetermined separation distance L is associated with each blade type and height position in the height position table 44 (see FIG. 6).

[0063] The length of the blades 71a, 71b, and 71c (see FIG. 1) of the wind turbine 70 often reaches several tens of meters. Therefore, when a certain blade is imaged by the imaging device 14, the blade is divided into several parts from the base end (root) to the tip and imaged. Also, a characteristic of the blade shape is that the width becomes narrower toward the tip. Near the base end (root) of the blade, there is a risk that the nacelle and the aircraft 10 may come into contact depending on the horizontal angle, so the separation distance L is set to be longer to prevent contact. Also, near the tip where the blade width is narrow, the distance between the imaging device 14 and the blade is greater than the base end (root), so the separation distance L is set to be shorter. In this way, the separation distance L is appropriately set within the range where the imaging device 14 can focus at each vertical height position according to the shape of the blade. The separation distance L corresponding to each height position is stored in advance in the height position table 44 (see FIG. 6).

[0064] FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram regarding the circular orbit R1. The circular orbit R1 shown in Figure 12 starts from the starting point (X0 * ,Y0 * ) is a set of points whose horizontal distance from the starting point (X0 * ,Y0 * ) and the length of the horizontal radius is the separation distance L. As described above, the separation distance is set within the range in which the imaging device 14 (see FIG. 11) can focus. Therefore, if the flight destination position (X coordinate, Y coordinate) when imaging the blade is on the circular orbit R1, the blade will be in focus from any direction. As described above, the separation distance L differs depending on the height position (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the radius of the circular orbit R1 (i.e., the separation distance L) also differs depending on the height position in the vertical direction.

[0065] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram relating to the concept of the horizontal angle α and the horizontal position. In addition, Fig. 13 shows an example in which the horizontal angle α is set in five directions (α1 to α5) on the horizontal plane of the blade 71a at a certain height position. As described above, a plurality of horizontal angles α are set based on a predetermined side overlap ratio (degree of overlap with adjacent images in the circumferential direction) so that the imaging device 14 (see Fig. 2) does not miss any images of the blade to be imaged in the entire circumferential direction. When setting the horizontal angle α, the nacelle azimuth angle β is set relative to the reference angle β 0 In the example of FIG. 13, the nacelle azimuth angle β is set to the reference angle β 0 =0°. This horizontal angle α is the angle between the nacelle azimuth angle β and the reference angle β 0 Even if the blade position is changed accordingly, the horizontal angle must be maintained the same for the changed blade, so it is set as a relative angle from the nacelle azimuth angle β. In FIG. 13, the horizontal angle α is "α (absolute angle) = nacelle azimuth angle β + Δα (relative angle)" and is a function of the nacelle azimuth angle β. Therefore, the horizontal angle α also changes as the nacelle azimuth angle is changed. The change in the nacelle azimuth angle will be described later. The horizontal angle α is associated with the blade type, and the horizontal angle (absolute angle) at the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle is stored in advance in the horizontal angle table 43 (see FIG. 5). Specifically, in the horizontal plane at the height position, the starting point position (X0 * ,Y0 * ) in the horizontal direction is formed by the control device 30. Then, at the starting point position, the reference angle β 0 A line segment extending from the position of a central angle formed by rotating the axis clockwise by the n-th horizontal angle to an intersection with the circular orbit is set as a "reference line." A line segment extending from the position of a central angle formed by rotating the axis clockwise by the n-th horizontal angle from this reference line to an intersection with the circular orbit is set as an "n-th line segment." The control device 30 calculates the intersection with the circular orbit corresponding to each horizontal angle (n-th point) as a horizontal position that is a relative position from the starting position.

[0066] In FIG. 13, the X and Y coordinates of the intersections of the circular orbit R1 determined by the horizontal angles α1 to α5 are expressed as the first point (X1, Y1) to the fifth point (X5, Y5), which are horizontal positions. The horizontal angle α is * ,Y0 * ) on the horizontal plane and the nth line segment that extends from the central angle position rotated clockwise by the horizontal angle to the nth point that is the intersection point with the circular orbit. In FIG. 13, for example, the first line segment is expressed as the intersection angle formed by the starting point position (X0 * ,Y0 * A first point (X1, Y1) with a nacelle azimuth angle of 0° on a circular orbit R1 with a radius of a predetermined distance L from the center, and a starting point position (X0 * ,Y0 * ) and is the line segment connecting. In this embodiment, as shown in the horizontal angle column 43c (see FIG. 5) of the horizontal angle table 43 (see FIG. 5), the blade 71a is imaged from a plurality of horizontal angles (for example, five horizontal angles) in the circular orbit R1. As described above, the blade is positioned during inspection either "vertically upward" or "vertically downward", so a common horizontal angle is set so that either can be selected.

[0067] 14A and 14B are explanatory diagrams relating to rotation information. As described above, the rotation information θ is information indicating the horizontal rotation angle of the flying object 10 based on a predetermined orientation, for controlling the attitude of the flying object 10 (see also FIG. 2) so that the orientation of the imaging device 14 (see also FIG. 2) becomes the starting point position after the flying object 10 (see also FIG. 2) moves to the flight destination position. Therefore, the rotation information θ is a function of the horizontal angle α. The example of FIG. 14A shows a state in which the attitude control is performed so that the orientation of the imaging device 14 becomes the starting point position after the flying object 10 moves to the second point (X2, Y2) on the circular orbit R1 corresponding to the horizontal angle α2. The assumed orientation of the imaging device 14 and the flying object 10 is either the same as the orientation of the imaging device 14 (arrow A) and the orientation of the flying object 10 (arrow B) as shown in FIG. 14B, or different from each other. In either case, the rotation information θ can be expressed as the horizontal angle α+predetermined angle. The horizontal angle and rotation information are stored in advance in the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) in association with the flight destination position information.

[0068] FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the blades during inspection. In addition, "GL" (Ground Line) shown in FIG. 15 indicates the ground surface that is the ground surface of the tower 72. * ,Y0 * As described above, the starting point (X0 * ,Y0 * ), the position in the Z direction is not particularly specified. As described above, the blade arrangement during inspection is either "vertically upward" or "vertically downward". In this embodiment, it is assumed that the central axis of the inspection blade is fixedly arranged "vertically upward" or "vertically downward" in the direction indicated by the nacelle azimuth angle.

[0069] In this embodiment, the blade to be inspected (blade 71a in the example of FIG. 15) is fixed so as not to rotate in a position facing vertically upward. That is, as shown by the dashed frame P1, the blades 71a to 71c are stopped in a state where the height position of the tip of the blade 71a to be inspected is at its highest. Then, in a state where the blades 71a to 71c are stopped, the imaging device 14 (see FIG. 2) is configured to image the blade 71a to be inspected. This makes it less likely that blurring will occur during imaging compared to when the blades 71a to 71c are imaged while rotating, and since the imaging device 14 (see FIG. 2) can image the blade to be inspected in a state close to the blade to be inspected, highly accurate image information can be obtained.

[0070] The operation of stopping the blades 71a to 71c may be performed by a command from the control device 30, or may be performed by an operator operating the wind turbine 70 in a predetermined manner. For example, when the blade 71a (corresponding to blade No. A in FIG. 4) is the inspection target, the blade 71a is stopped in a vertically upward position. The blade to be inspected is stopped in a predetermined position before starting to capture an image of the blade.

[0071] Furthermore, when all of the blades 71a to 71c (blade Nos. A, B, and C in FIG. 4) are to be inspected, after the image of the blade 71a is captured, the other blade 71b is stopped in a vertically upward facing state, and furthermore, after the image of the blade 71b is captured, the other blade 71c is stopped in a vertically upward facing state. In this manner, the process of capturing an image of a predetermined blade while stopped so as to be vertically upward is repeated in sequence.

[0072] FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram regarding the height position. The example of Fig. 16 shows a case where six height positions Z1 to Z6 are set in the vertical direction for the blade 71a to be inspected. The height positions Z1 to Z6 indicate height positions with the height position of the hub center as the reference (Z=0) when the blade 71a to be inspected is stopped facing vertically upward. These height positions Z1 to Z6 are stored in advance in a height position table 44 (see Fig. 6) in association with the blade type.

[0073] For example, when imaging the vicinity of the base end (root) of the blade 71a to be inspected, the actual height position of the height position Z1 is calculated by adding the value of the height position Z1 (vertical distance from the hub center) to the hub height. In this way, the control device 30 (see FIG. 1) calculates the altitude information based on the actual height position when the orientation of the blade 71a to be imaged is set vertically upward at the position where the wind turbine 70 is located. Also, the actual height position is calculated by subtracting the height position when the blade arrangement is set vertically downward from the hub height, and the altitude information is calculated based on this height position. That is, the control device 30 (see FIG. 1) sets the blade to be imaged vertically upward or vertically downward at the position where the wind turbine 70 is located, and calculates the altitude information by adding or subtracting the hub height and the height position to the starting point position.

[0074] Then, the control device 30 acquires high-precision positioning information (latitude and longitude information of the flight destination position) from a predetermined distribution system (not shown) or RTK base station (not shown) based on the altitude information and the horizontal position determined by the horizontal angle. The flight destination position includes latitude and longitude information of the flight destination position, which is high-precision positioning information based on RTK-GNSS positioning, and altitude information of the flight destination position. In this way, the control device 30 acquires a predetermined position on the circular orbit R1 determined by the horizontal angle in the altitude information as high-precision positioning information by RTK-GNSS positioning.

[0075] In the example of Fig. 16, a vertically long rectangular range Q1 including the blade 71a is divided into six equal parts in the vertical direction, resulting in a total of six rectangular imaging ranges (see Fig. 11). Vertical height positions Z1 to Z6 are set at the centers of these imaging ranges. The imaging ranges may be arranged to partially overlap in the vertical direction based on a predetermined overlap rate (degree of overlap of adjacent images in the vertical direction) or the like. This makes it possible to prevent missing images in the vertical direction.

[0076] FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram regarding changes in the horizontal angle and flight destination position accompanying changes in the nacelle azimuth angle. In the example of FIG. 17, the nacelle azimuth angle β is a reference angle β 0 =0° to β * = 90°. For reasons such as the need to align the direction of the front side of the wind turbine (nacelle azimuth angle) to face the wind direction when generating electricity, the nacelle azimuth angle β shown in Fig. 17 can be changed as appropriate by an operator.

[0077] As the nacelle azimuth angle is changed, the position of the fixed blade also changes, so the horizontal angle α, which is a relative angle from the nacelle azimuth angle, and the rotation information θ, which is a function of the horizontal angle, also change. The control device 30 (see FIG. 1) extracts the above-mentioned reference data (see FIG. 7) from the wind turbine information database 33a. After extracting the reference data, the control device 30 calculates the angle change amount Δβ of the nacelle azimuth angle due to this change (Δβ=β * -β 0 ) is calculated, and the amount of change in angle Δβ is reflected in the rotation information θ and horizontal angle α of the reference data for correction. The corrected values ​​of the rotation information and horizontal angle are expressed as the rotation information θ * , horizontal angle α * Then, the control device 30 calculates the corrected horizontal angle α * All flight destination positions (X * ,Y * , Z) is calculated. The flight destination position is calculated as "X (latitude), Y (longitude), Z (altitude)" indicating the flight destination position in the coordinate system of the flight space based on a predetermined conversion rule. In this way, change reflection data (see FIG. 7) when the nacelle azimuth angle is changed is generated, and the change reflection data is stored in the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7).

[0078] FIG. 18 is a flowchart of the process associated with changing the nacelle azimuth angle (also refer to FIG. 1 as appropriate). In step S101, the processing unit 32 changes the nacelle azimuth angle β in the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3). The value of the changed nacelle azimuth angle β is acquired from the input / output unit 31 (see FIG. 1).

[0079] In step S102, the processing unit 32 obtains the reference angle β of the nacelle azimuth angle from the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7). 0 Extract reference data in In step S103, the processing unit 32 calculates the angle change amount (Δβ) of the nacelle azimuth angle.

[0080] In step S104, the processing unit 32 corrects the rotation information and the horizontal angle of the reference data by reflecting the calculated angle change amount Δβ. In step S105, the processing unit 32 calculates all flight destination positions at the corrected horizontal angles and sets them as change-reflecting data.

[0081] In step S106, the processing unit 32 stores the change reflection data in the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7). That is, the processing unit 32 stores the changed nacelle azimuth angle β * in the nacelle azimuth angle column 45g (see FIG. 7), and also stores the changed rotation information, horizontal angle, and flight destination position (X, Y, Z) appropriately in the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7). Note that the flight destination position in the Z direction is the same before and after the change in the nacelle azimuth angle β. Therefore, the flight destination position Z (altitude) in the change reflected data (see FIG. 7) will be the same value as the flight destination position Z (altitude) in the reference data (see FIG. 7). After performing the process of step S106, the processing unit 32 ends the series of processes related to the change in the nacelle azimuth angle β (END).

[0082] FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram regarding setting of a flight route. In the example of FIG. 19, the inspection target (i.e., the image capturing target) is the blade 71a. As described above, the blade 71a is captured from a plurality of horizontal angles. For example, if the blade type is TYPE-A (see FIG. 5), images may be captured at each of the horizontal angles α1 to α5 (see FIG. 5). When capturing images of the blade 71a at a plurality of horizontal angles in this manner, the processing unit 32 performs the following process.

[0083] First, the processing unit 32 extracts reference data or change-reflecting data from the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) based on the value of the nacelle azimuth angle β in the input information table 41 (see FIG. 3). For example, if the current angle of the nacelle azimuth angle β is less than the reference angle β 0 If so, the reference data is read.

[0084] When capturing an image of the blade 71a at a predetermined horizontal angle α1 (see FIG. 5), the processing unit 32 moves to a flight destination position (X1, Y1, Z1) at α1, which is the horizontal angle at which the flying object 10 starts capturing images, and as shown in the "outbound" of FIG. 19, flies from the base end of the blade 71a to the tip end, and captures images in the order of flight destination positions (X1, Y1, Z1)...(X1, Y1, Z6) in the vertical direction of the blade. Next, the flying object 10 flies from the horizontal angle α1 to a flight destination position (X2, Y2, Z6) at the same height position at the next horizontal angle α2 over an angle, and at the horizontal angle α2, flies from the tip end of the blade 71a to the base end, and captures images in the order of flight destination positions (X2, Y2, Z6)...(X2, Y2, Z1) in the vertical direction of the blade, as shown in the "returning" of FIG. 19. In other words, the imaging order is set so that the order of vertical height positions is reversed for the "outbound" at a given horizontal angle and the "returning" at the next horizontal angle. In this way, when multiple flight destination positions are set at different vertical height positions for the blade to be imaged, the control device 30 (see FIG. 1) sets the flight destination positions according to the imaging order and creates a flight route that passes through all of these flight destination positions in the order in which they are imaged. This allows the blade to be inspected to be imaged efficiently without any omissions.

[0085] FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram regarding setting of a flight destination position of a flight route. In addition, in Fig. 20, the top row surrounded by a thick frame indicates the imaging start position, and the bottom row surrounded by a thick frame indicates the imaging end position. As described above, at the horizontal angle α1 shown in Fig. 20, imaging is performed in the imaging order of the "outbound" (see also Fig. 19), and at the horizontal angle α2 shown in Fig. 20, imaging is performed in the imaging order of the "return" (see the same figure). This is because, in order for the flying object 10 to fly efficiently when the horizontal angle is changed, for example, at the point of change in the horizontal angle as shown by symbol C in Fig. 20, the flight destination position at the same height position is set as the next flight destination position.

[0086] Then, data in which a plurality of flight destination positions are sequentially linked from the imaging start position to the imaging end position is set as the flight route of the flying object 10 (see FIG. 2).

[0087] <Processing in processing units, etc.> 21A and 21B are flowcharts of a process for inspecting a blade (also see FIG. 1 as appropriate). In step S201 in Fig. 21A, the processing unit 32 acquires input information from the input information table 41 (see Fig. 3) of the wind turbine information database 33a via the input / output unit 31. As described above, the input information includes information on the site, unit number, blade number, horizontal angle, and nacelle azimuth angle. That is, the processing unit 32 of the control device 30 acquires, via the input / output unit 31, site information indicating the location of the wind turbine, unit number information indicating the individual identification information of the wind turbine, all horizontal angles when the blade is imaged, and nacelle azimuth angle information indicating the angle rotated horizontally clockwise from true north to the central axis of the blade when the blade is arranged vertically upward or vertically downward.

[0088] For example, in the case of a propeller type wind turbine, in consideration of balance, it is common for the three blades 71a to 71c to be configured with the same blade type. In such a propeller type wind turbine, all the blades may be specified as the inspection target, or a specific blade out of the three may be specified as the inspection target. When all the blades are specified, data such as "null, null, null" is input as the blade number (see FIG. 3). When a specific blade (for example, blade No. A in FIG. 4) is specified, data such as "1, null, null" is input.

[0089] The horizontal angle can be set, for example, in up to five directions (horizontal angles α1 to α5 in FIG. 5). The user may specify all horizontal angles (five directions), or may specify a specific horizontal angle among the five directions. When all horizontal angles are specified, data such as "null, null, null, null, null" is input as the horizontal angles (see FIG. 3). When a specific horizontal angle is specified (for example, a total of three horizontal angles α1, α3, and α5), data such as "1, null, 1, null, 1" is input.

[0090] Next, in step S202, the processing unit 32 extracts predetermined related information to be used for blade inspection from the wind turbine information database 33a based on the input information. Specifically, when the site and unit number of the wind turbine 70 are specified by the user's input operation, the processing unit 32 refers to the wind turbine related table 42 (see FIG. 4) and extracts the type of the wind turbine 70, the blade type, the hub height, the starting point position, the offset amount, etc. Then, based on the blade type, the processing unit 32 extracts each value of the rotation information, the horizontal angle, the flight target position X (latitude), and the flight target position Y (longitude) from the horizontal angle table 43 (see FIG. 5). Furthermore, the processing unit 32 extracts the height position and the separation distance from the height position table 44 (see FIG. 6).

[0091] In this way, before imaging the blade to be inspected, the control device 30 uses the site information and the unit information acquired via the input / output unit 31 as search keys to identify the type of the wind turbine 70 and the blade type from the wind turbine information database 33a, extracts the hub height and the starting point position corresponding to the type of the wind turbine 70, and extracts the height position corresponding to the blade type, the separation distance, the rotation information corresponding to the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle, the horizontal angle, and the flight destination position. The values ​​of the height position and separation distance are extracted from the height position table 44. Then, the control device 30 calculates the flight destination position Z (altitude) based on the height position and separation distance. Of these, the information on the rotation information, the horizontal angle, the flight destination position X (latitude), the flight destination position Y (longitude), and the flight destination position Z (altitude) are stored in the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) as "reference data" for the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle. When the nacelle azimuth angle acquired from the input / output unit 31 is different from the reference angle (β ≠ β 0 ), the control device 30 calculates the amount of change in the angle of the nacelle azimuth angle, corrects the amount of change in the angle by reflecting it in the rotation information and the horizontal angle, and calculates all flight destination positions at the corrected horizontal angle. The calculation results are stored in the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) as "change reflection data" for the current angle of the nacelle azimuth angle.

[0092] In step S203, the processor 32 reads the blade number to be inspected. When all blades are specified, the inspection sequence is set, for example, as blade No. A → B → C. When a specific blade, such as blade No. A, is specified, this blade is set as the blade to be inspected.

[0093] 21B, the processing unit 32 determines whether or not the nacelle azimuth angle β in the input information table 41 is the reference angle. If the nacelle azimuth angle β is the reference angle (S204: Yes), the processing unit 32 proceeds to step S205. In step S205, the processing unit 32 reads reference data from the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) and proceeds to the processing of step S207. If the nacelle azimuth angle β is not the reference angle in step S204 (S204: No), the processing unit 32 reads change reflection data from the flight destination position management table 45 (see FIG. 7) in step S206 and proceeds to the processing of step S207.

[0094] In step S207, the processing unit 32 creates a flight route. That is, the processing unit 32 sets data in which the flight destination positions are linked in sequence from the imaging start position to the imaging end position as the flight route.

[0095] In step S208, the processing unit 32 transmits data including the flight route to the flying object 10. Specifically, the control device 30 transmits data including the flight destination position of the flying object 10 based on the high-precision positioning information and altitude information of the global positioning satellite system, and rotation information indicating the attitude control information of the flying object 10, as flight control information of the flying object 10 when the imaging device 14 captures the blades of the wind turbine 70, to the flying object 10 (transmission step). Note that the above data may include the horizontal angle of the imaging device 14, but the horizontal angle is not essential and can be omitted as appropriate. This is because the rotation information is set so that the orientation of the imaging device 14 becomes the starting point position at each flight destination position, and the rotation information is used as the attitude control information of the flying object 10.

[0096] The process of transmitting predetermined data from the control device 30 to the flying object 10 via a controller (not shown) is also included in the matter of "transmitting data from the control device 30 to the flying object 10." The flight route information transmitted from the control device 30 is stored in the memory unit 18 of the flying object 10.

[0097] In step S209, the processor 32 confirms that the blade to be inspected is fixed in a position facing vertically upward (or vertically downward). Note that this confirmation may be performed by an operator operating the wind turbine 70 so that the blade to be inspected is fixed in a predetermined position. Note that the processes of steps S201 to S209 (see Figs. 21A and 21B) are performed as a preliminary step before the blades 71a to 71c of the wind turbine 70 are imaged.

[0098] In step S210, the flying body 10 acquires data including the flight destination position and rotation information from the control device 30, and automatically flies to each flight destination position along the flight route. Then, at each flight destination position, the flying body 10 rotates the flying body 10 based on the rotation information to perform attitude control, and captures an image of the blade to be inspected by the imaging device 14.

[0099] In step S211, the control device 30 receives image information of the imaging result from the flying object 10. The image information is stored in a PC or the like from the storage unit 18 via a storage medium, and then transmitted to the control device 30 via the network. In step S212, the control device 30 stores the received image information in the image information database 33b.

[0100] Next, in step S213 of Fig. 21A, the processing unit 32 determines whether or not there are other blades to be inspected. If there are other blades to be inspected (S213: Yes), the processing unit 32 returns to step S203. Then, the processing unit 32 causes the other blades to be inspected (i.e., the images of the blades) to be inspected. If there are no other blades to be inspected in step S213 (S213: No), the processing unit 32 ends the series of processes (END).

[0101] <Image information database> FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of the image information database 33b. As described above, the image information database 33b shown in Fig. 22 (see also Fig. 1) is a database in which image information, which is the result of capturing images of a blade, is associated with blade-related information and imaging conditions. Here, "blade-related information" is information for identifying the blade to be inspected, and includes information in the site column 331, the unit column 332, and the blade number column 333 shown in Fig. 22. The site column 331 stores identification information of the site where the wind turbine 70 (see Fig. 1) is located. The unit column 332 stores unit information about the wind turbine 70. The blade number column 333 stores individual identification information of the blade to be inspected.

[0102] The "imaging conditions" mentioned above are information for identifying the imaging conditions at the flight destination position corresponding to each piece of image information. The "imaging conditions" include a horizontal direction angle column 334, a flight destination position X (latitude) column 335, a flight destination position Y (longitude) column 336, and a flight destination position Z (altitude) column 337 shown in FIG. 22. The horizontal direction angle column 334 stores the horizontal direction angle of each flight destination position. The flight destination position X (latitude) column 335, the flight destination position Y (longitude) column 336, and the flight destination position Z (altitude) column 337 store the latitude, longitude, and altitude values ​​of each flight destination position.

[0103] The imaging date and time column 338 in the image information database 33b in Fig. 22 stores time information when the imaging device 14 (see Fig. 2) images the blade. The image information column 339 stores image information obtained by imaging the blade. When the image information is generated, some or all of the text data in the site column 331 to the imaging date and time column 338 in Fig. 22 may be included in the image information of the imaging result. This makes it easier for a user who views the image information to understand blade-related information and imaging conditions.

[0104] In this manner, the control device 30 (see FIG. 1) acquires image information from the aircraft 10 (see FIG. 1) and stores it in the image information database 33b of the storage unit 33 (see FIG. 1).

[0105] <Effects> According to this embodiment, as flight control information for the flying body 10 when capturing images of the blades of the wind turbine 70, in addition to the flight destination position, data including rotation information as attitude control information for the flying body 10 is transmitted from the control device 30 to the flying body 10. As a result, after the flying body 10 moves to each flight destination position, the attitude of the flying body 10 is controlled based on the rotation information so that the orientation of the imaging device 14 becomes the starting point position, thereby allowing the blades to be inspected to be captured appropriately and with high accuracy, and the user can accurately grasp the condition of the blades by looking at the captured image information.

[0106] Furthermore, the horizontal angle and rotation information of the flying object 10 during blade inspection is stored in the wind turbine information database 33a in association with the type of wind turbine 70 and the type of blade. This makes it possible to extract information corresponding to the blade type from the wind turbine information database 33a and quickly create a flight route for imaging that matches the blade type. In addition, in this embodiment, the blade to be inspected is imaged while the blade is stopped and facing vertically upward. This allows the imaging device 14 to image the blade in a closer position than when the blade is rotated, and image information with high accuracy can be obtained. Also, since the blade is imaged at multiple horizontal angles in the circumferential direction, it is possible to image all of the blades without missing any.

[0107] In this embodiment, the image information of the blade is stored in the image information database 33b (see FIG. 22) in association with the blade-related information and the imaging conditions. This makes it easy to manage the image information of the blade, thereby reducing the management burden on the user.

[0108] <<Variations>> While the blade imaging system 100 and the blade imaging method according to the present disclosure have been described in the above embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these descriptions and various modifications can be made. For example, in the embodiment, a case has been described in which predetermined information is transmitted and received between the aircraft 10 and the control device 30 via a controller (not shown), but this is not limiting. That is, information may be transmitted and received between the aircraft 10 and the control device 30 without the controller (not shown). The control device 30 may store in a storage medium the image information of the captured blade in association with blade-related information including site information and unit number information, the flight destination position, and the imaging conditions including the horizontal angle corresponding to the flight destination position. The image information is stored in a PC or the like from the storage unit 18 via the storage medium, and then transmitted to the control device 30 via a network.

[0109] In the embodiment, the case where the image capturing is performed with the blade stopped in a position where the blade is facing vertically upward has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the blade may be stopped in a position where the blade is facing vertically downward. Even with such processing, the same effect as the embodiment can be achieved.

[0110] In addition, in the embodiment, the wind turbine 70 is installed on the ground, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the embodiment can be applied to a case where the blades of a wind turbine in an offshore wind farm or the like are captured. In addition, in the embodiment, the wind turbine 70 is a propeller type, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the embodiment can be applied to the case of capturing images of various types of wind turbine blades, such as a multi-blade type or a Dutch type.

[0111] In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the program, table, file, etc. that realizes each function can be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD. In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are necessarily shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0112] 10 Flying Objects 14 Imaging device 18 Storage unit (storage medium) 30 Control device 31 Input / output section 32 Processing section 33 Storage unit (storage medium) 33a Wind Turbine Information Database 33b Image information database 41 Input Information Table 42 Windmill related table 43 Horizontal Angle Table 44 Height Position Table 45 Flight Purpose Position Management Table 70 Windmill 71a, 71b, 71c Blades 72 Tower 73 Nacelle 74 Hub 74a Hub tip center 100 Blade Imaging System L separation distance R1 Circular orbit S209 step (transmission step)

Claims

1. A blade imaging system including an aircraft equipped with an imaging device and a control device, the control device transmits to the aircraft data including a flight destination position of the aircraft based on high-precision positioning information and altitude information of a global positioning satellite system, and rotation information indicating attitude control information of the aircraft, as flight control information of the aircraft when the imaging device images the wind turbine blades; A blade imaging system comprising:

2. The flying object acquires the data including the flight destination position and the rotation information from the control device, automatically flies to the flight destination position, and further rotates the flying object based on the rotation information to capture an image of the blade with the imaging device; 2. The blade imaging system of claim 1 .

3. the control device acquires, via an input / output unit, site information indicating the location of the wind turbine, unit number information indicating individual identification information of the wind turbine, all horizontal angles when the blade is imaged, and nacelle azimuth angle information indicating the angle rotated horizontally clockwise from true north to the central axis of the blade when the blade is arranged vertically upward or vertically downward; storing, in a storage medium, blade-related information including the site information and the unit number information, the flight destination position, and an imaging condition including the horizontal angle corresponding to the flight destination position, in association with image information of the captured blade; 3. The blade imaging system of claim 2.

4. prior to imaging the blades, the control device identifies the type of the wind turbine and the type of blades from a wind turbine information database using the site information and the unit information acquired via the input / output unit as search keys, extracts the hub height and starting point position corresponding to the type of wind turbine, and extracts the height position and separation distance corresponding to the blade type, the rotation information corresponding to the reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle, the horizontal angle, and the flight destination position; 4. The blade imaging system of claim 3.

5. The starting position is a position horizontally offset from a center position of the wind turbine to a central axis of the blade in a plan view, the separation distance is a predetermined separation distance in a horizontal direction from the starting position that is set within a range in which the imaging device focuses on the blade when imaging the blade, the control device forms a circular orbit on a horizontal plane at the height position, the circular orbit having a radius equal to the separation distance from the starting position; the horizontal angle is an intersection angle between a reference line and an n-th line segment, the n-th line segment being centered at the origin position; the reference line is a line segment extending from a position of a central angle formed by rotating clockwise from true north by a reference angle of the nacelle azimuth angle at the origin position to an intersection with the circular orbit, the nth line segment is a line segment extending from a position of a central angle formed by rotating the nth horizontal angle clockwise from the reference line to an intersection with the circular orbit; 5. The blade imaging system of claim 4.

6. the control device sets the blade to be imaged at the position where the wind turbine is located so that it faces vertically upward or vertically downward, calculates the altitude information by adding or subtracting the hub height and the height position to the starting point position, and acquires a predetermined position on the circular orbit determined by the horizontal angle in the altitude information as the high-precision positioning information by RTK-GNSS positioning; 6. The blade imaging system of claim 5.

7. the rotation information is a horizontal rotation angle of the aircraft based on a predetermined orientation set so that the orientation of the imaging device becomes the starting position after the aircraft moves to the flight destination position; 7. The blade imaging system of claim 6.

8. When setting a plurality of flight destination positions at different height positions in the vertical direction for the blade to be imaged, the control device sets the flight destination positions according to the order of imaging; 8. The blade imaging system of claim 7.

9. a transmission step in which a control device transmits data including a flight destination position of the aircraft and rotation information indicating attitude control information of the aircraft to the aircraft when the imaging device of the aircraft captures an image of the wind turbine blades, to the aircraft; A blade imaging method comprising:

Images